Mutual legal assistance meaning

This Checklist should be read alongside Practice Notes: Mutual legal assistance (MLA) and Grounds for refusing assistance by the requested authority... The Letter of Request (LOR) Requests from the UK for mutual legal assistance (MLA) are made through a formal letter of request (LOR). Under the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (C(IC)A 2003), the UK judicial authorities that may seek assistance are any judge or justice of the peace in England and Wales. A prosecution authority designated by an order of the Secretary of State may likewise request assistance where the conditions in C(IC)A 2003, s 7(5) are fulfilled: it appears to the authority that an offence has been committed there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence has been committed, and the authority has instituted proceedings in respect of the offence in question or the offence is being investigated Issuing authority When considering the LOR itself, ask: Was the LOR issued by a judge...

Duty of candour and requests for mutual legal assistance (R (on the application of MCML Ltd (formerly ED&F Man Capital Markets Ltd) and another v Southwark Crown Court) R (on the application of MCML Ltd (formerly ED&F Man Capital Markets Ltd) and another v Southwark Crown Court [2024] EWHC 861 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision refreshes the tests that govern assistance sought from abroad, while underlining the barriers facing practitioners who seek to set aside search warrants granted on such requests. Errors and inaccuracies were contained in material sent by the German and Dutch authorities to HMRC, which HMRC then relied upon when applying for warrants. The judge was not told that the Financial Conduct Authority had ended its investigation into one claimant without further measures... However, the court rejected the claimants’ case that, in the MLA setting, the duty of candour covers facts held by the Requesting Authority, even if those points were unknown to the domestic applicant after making all...

Gatwick Investment Ltd and others v Liberty Mutual Europe SE and other cases [2024] EWHC 124 (Comm) What are the practical implications of the case? This ruling is significant for those managing coronavirus BI claims. It builds on FCA v Arch [2021] UKSC 1, [2021] AC 649, Corbin & King v. Axa [2022] EWHC 409 (Comm), Stonegate v MS Amlin [2022] EWHC 2548 (Comm), and London EXCEL v RSA [2023] EWHC 1481, where the courts have sought to chart which policy wordings do or do not respond to coronavirus losses, and to define how such cover operates in practice. The judgment resolves many of the recurring Prevention of Access (Non-Damage) questions, and supplies useful guidance on the operation of limits and the deduction of furlough payments, applicable to other coronavirus BI matters and more broadly. That direction is intended to be of assistance across comparable disputes and in a wider context. Its discussion of limits exemplifies the difficulties that can arise when deciding the basis on which limits...

In this issue: Brexit highlights Brexit SIs Post-Brexit transition guidance Constitutional and administrative law Equality and human rights Judicial review Information law Public procurement Subsidy control and State aid Other Public Law news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Brexit highlights Cabinet Office publishes evaluation of Common Frameworks The Cabinet Office has released a review of the Common Frameworks, assessing how the UK Government and the devolved administrations collaborate after Brexit. Drawing on proforma data across 28 frameworks and six case studies, the review concluded that, although the frameworks support effective intergovernmental collaboration, there is scope to enhance cross-framework alignment, stakeholder participation and central guidance. It also observed that many processes within the frameworks remain untried, with limited examples of formal dispute resolution or managing divergence, and recommends continued evaluation as the frameworks mature. See: LNB News 18/07/2025...

This Practice Note considers the practical matters that commonly arise in connection with an employment settlement agreement (previously referred to as a compromise agreement). It also highlights the likely tax considerations and signposts our related Practice Notes for fuller guidance. For details of the legal requirements (that is, the conditions governing settlement agreements) that must be satisfied for an agreement to be binding and effective to compromise statutory employment claims, see Practice Note: Settlement agreements in employment—legal requirements Parties to the agreement Where the employer is an individual, or a company with a straightforward corporate set-up, the parties to the settlement agreement will be the employer and the employee, with no necessity to mention third parties. However, the identity of the employing entity may not be simple, eg within a more complex group structure where: the employee works, or has worked, for other companies in the employer’s group, eg on secondment the employee performs their duties for one company but is paid by another...

Issue Details Name: 1986 Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (Convention on Assistance) Parties: 131 (including 4 non–State parties, 57 signatories) Place: Vienna Adopted: 26 September 1986 Entry into force: 26 February 1987 Subject: International assistance and support in the event of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency What is the purpose of the Convention on Assistance? To allow rapid assistance and encourage international co‑operation when confronted with a nuclear or radiological emergency. The Convention is based on the International Atomic Energy Agency guidelines titled Guidelines for Mutual Emergency Assistance Arrangements in Connection with a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (1984). It sets a framework through which help can be requested and provided. What are the key elements of the Convention on Assistance? Key articles Article 2: A State Party may request assistance either: directly from another State Party; or through the IAEA. ...

This Practice Note sets out the principal features and scope of the Hague Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (the 2007 Hague Convention). The 2007 Hague Convention aims to deliver a straightforward, swift and effective framework for the mutual enforcement of family maintenance obligations across contracting states. After IP completion day, Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and co‑operation in matters concerning maintenance obligations (the EU Maintenance Regulation) ceased to apply in the UK (except in transitional cases) and the 2007 Hague Convention has taken on greater importance and relevance when addressing the cross-border recovery of child support and other family maintenance within the EU. 2007 Hague Convention and Brexit From 31 January 2020 (exit day), the UK was no longer an EU Member State and did not participate any longer in the EU’s political institutions and governance structures. In line with the transitional arrangements in Part 4...