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R (Greyhound Board of Great Britain Ltd) v Welsh Ministers [2026] EWHC 670 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling reinforces the constitutional divide between the courts and the legislature. It explains that the scheme and framework of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (GWA 2006) embody that separation of powers, and that any judicial attempt to recognise and enforce a common law obligation on Welsh Ministers to consult prior to introducing legislation in the Senedd would trespass upon that boundary. This is not a departure from established principle; case law has already upheld comparable rules for lawmakers in Scotland and at Westminster. However, this is the first express confirmation of the position for Welsh lawmakers, and the first time this dimension of the GWA 2006 has been analysed in such depth. The court examined earlier
The solution arrived through the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), a quasi‑judicial body handling mass claims, created under UN Security Council Resolution 687. By addressing environmental harm—most notably via its ‘F4’ claim class—the UNCC set a seminal benchmark shaping how international law and contemporary arbitral panels allocate financial responsibility for wartime ecological devastation. With present-day wars in areas such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East bringing dam breaches, strikes on chemical facilities, and the burning of farmland, the UNCC’s legacy endures as an essential reference point for states, global investors, and companies engaged in post‑conflict arbitration. The F4 claims: Quantifying the unquantifiable Prior to the 1990s, mechanisms in international law for war reparations overwhelmingly favoured property loss, foregone earnings, and bodily injury. The natural world was commonly treated as a mute, non-compensable victim of armed hostilities...
Understanding the farming business as a business Many farms still use long-standing structures that arose by habit, not strategy. Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common. While once effective, such setups can cause major issues around succession, tax planning and involving the next generation. A corporate team can take a fresh, business-led view of the farm, asking: Who owns the land and other critical assets? Who manages daily operations? Who carries the risk and who enjoys the return? What is the enduring plan for succession? From this review, the team can confirm whether the current setup is fit for purpose or if an alternative — for example an updated partnership agreement, a company, a limited liability partnership, or a blended model — would better meet the family’s aims. Tax efficiency through joined-up advice Tax sits at the centre of most
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On 12 January 2024, the United Kingdom formally put its name to the 2019 Hague Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters (the Hague Judgments Convention). This News Analysis examines what the Hague Judgments Convention sets out, and why the UK’s decision to join it is especially significant for Banking & Finance practitioners in particular. What is the Hague Judgments Convention? The Hague Judgments Convention establishes a shared framework of rules for recognising and enforcing civil and commercial court decisions originating from States that become parties to it (the Contracting States). The EU and Ukraine are, at present, Contracting States to the Hague Judgments Convention; however, a range of other states have signed, among them the US and, now, the UK. The Tracker— Hague Judgments Convention offers details on whether a jurisdiction has signed the...
EU developments EBA consults on identification, measurement, management and monitoring of ESG risks The European Banking Authority ( EBA) has opened a consultation on proposed guidelines covering environmental, social and governance ( ESG) risk management. The draft sets out what institutions should do to identify, quantify, manage and oversee ESG risks, and calls for strategies and plans to tackle exposures linked to the shift towards an EU climate-neutral economy. Feedback is requested by 18 April 2024. See: LNB News 19/01/2024 26. Source: The EBA consults on guidelines on the management of ESG risks. EFRAG launches consultation on two exposure drafts on SMEs sustainability reporting standards The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group ( EFRAG) has started a public consultation on the ESRS exposure draft for listed SMEs, alongside a voluntary reporting draft for non-listed SMEs. The consultation runs until 21 May 2024, inviting all...
In this issue: Sustainable finance and ESG round–up UK and international sanctions The Hague Judgments Convention—why is it of interest to finance lawyers? Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 LIBOR and benchmarks Security Project finance Real estate finance Sustainable finance Derivatives Restructuring Regulation for banking lawyers Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Useful information Sustainable finance and ESG round–up Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round–up For a summary of this week’s Sustainable finance and ESG developments, please see: Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round–up—25 January 2024. UK and international sanctions UK and US announce new sanctions on key figures in Hamas’s financial network According to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the UK, US and Australia have introduced sanctions targeting key leading individuals within the financing operations of Hamas and...
Covering the cost of the energy transition will demand at least €620bn a year through 2030, the European Commission estimates, a figure Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, highlighted in Davos there. ' Do we have the money? No,' she said, noting that governments lack sufficient fiscal room to step in, while 'banks can take some of it on, but it's not enough'. Lagarde once more floated the idea of creating an......
UK developments FCA announces establishment of industry-led working group for financial advisers The Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) revealed it has named Daniel Godfrey as chair and Julia Dreblow as vice-chair of a new working group dedicated to strengthening sustainable finance capability throughout the financial advice industry, more widely. The Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association ( PIMFA) will act as the secretariat. See: LNB News 16/01/2024 30......
ISDA launches clause library for sustainability-linked derivatives ( SLDs) ISDA has introduced a clause library for sustainability-linked derivatives ( SLDs), created to remove unnecessary differences and enhance standardisation within this market, delivering a negotiation process that is smoother, more consistent and more efficient overall......
In this issue Sustainable finance and ESG round–up Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 Lending Aviation finance Debt capital markets Derivatives Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Useful information Sustainable finance and ESG round–up Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round–up For a summary of this week’s Sustainable finance and ESG developments, see: Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round–up—18 January 2024. Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ( Consequential, Supplementary and Incidental Provisions) Regulations 2024 SI 2024/ Draft: These proposed Regulations would amend primary and secondary legislation where required as a consequence of, or supplementary or incidental to, the commencement of specified provisions of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ( ECCTA 2023). They will commence when ECCTA 2023, s 1 takes effect. See: LNB News...
The Court of Appeal decided that aerospace trader Mitsui Bussan Aerospace Co Ltd’s contractual claim against French jet maker Dassault Aviation SA could be passed to Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd, restoring an arbitration award made in 2021. Dassault maintained that its agreement to supply maritime surveillance aircraft to Mitsui Bussan Aerospace ( MBA) included a term barring MBA from assigning its rights to any third party without Dassault’s approval, the judgment simply records. Justice Geoffrey Vos found that when the contract was automatically moved to Mitsui Sumitomo under Japanese law, the non‑assignment clause was not breached (despite the absence of Dassault’s consent) because MBA was not ‘voluntarily causing or agreeing’ to the transfer. He wrote that the proper issue was whether the transfer was effected by MBA, rather than whether it occurred as a result of particular steps MBA had taken. MBA (which...
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor of the Exchequer, and Bim Afolami, the Treasury’s economic secretary, met on 9 January 2024 with banking chiefs and asset management leaders to explore ways to unlock business finance, according to the Treasury. The financial sector attendees, whose names were not disclosed, discussed with the ministers how to lift the volume of listings on the LSE. A Treasury spokesperson told Law360 that the economic secretary stressed the importance of delivering the Edinburgh Reforms, which will turbocharge growth in the UK’s capital markets, by streamlining the listings process and cementing the country’s status as a leading global capital markets destination......
EU developments European Sustainability Reporting Standards now take effect. Commission Delegated Regulation ( EU) 2023/2772 of 31 July 2023, which supplements Directive 2013/34/ EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards sustainability reporting standards, has duly been published in the Official Journal. See: LNB News 02/01/2024 11......
In this issue: Sustainable finance and ESG round–up UK and international sanctions Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 Registered Office Address ( Rectification of Register) Regulations 2024 Service Address ( Rectification of Register) Regulations 2024 Principal Office Address ( Rectification of Register) Regulations 2024 Finance Bill Lending Secondary trading Security over land Intercreditor Sustainable finance Debt capital markets Derivatives Structured products and securitisation Fintech Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Useful information Sustainable finance and ESG round–up Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round–up For a summary of this week’s Sustainable finance and ESG developments, refer to: Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round-up—11 January 2024. UK and international sanctions DBT updates guidance on compliance with sanctions related to Russia The Department for Business and Trade ( DBT),...
Barclays Bank UK plc v Terry [2023] EWHC 2726 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling illustrates how the court approaches rectification of the register where a mistake stems from a unilateral error by one party. It also matters more broadly, as the framework for addressing mistakes continues to have general reach, and the judgment touches on procedural aspects concerning witness statements and representative actions that practitioners will find of enduring relevance. What was the background? As part of a programme to streamline its mortgage portfolio, Barclays Bank plc undertook a long-term IT initiative to locate mortgages that had been redeemed but not formally discharged. The exercise identified over 41,000 mortgages. After review, the bank marked them as discharged on its system and sent automated applications to the Land Registry. Only once approximately 25,900 charges had been removed did the bank...
Re The Sustainable Bathroom Company Ltd [2023] EWHC 2065 ( Ch), [2023] All ER ( D) 60 ( Aug) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling reassures appointing creditors, their professional representatives and the insurers behind them. Although the judge accepted that the director’s complaints about the creditors’ behaviour had merit, the court still held the administration appointment to be effective. Running through the judgment is the principle that debentures exist to secure indebtedness in favour of creditors, and that this substantive reality ought to trump technical imperfections of form—save, perhaps, where adherence to substance would visit serious injustice on the debtor. What was the background? The applicant was the founding director of a modest enterprise manufacturing electric bamboo toothbrushes supplied to Aldi. To finance the procurement of stock from China, the company entered into a funding arrangement with a financier, agreeing in return to share its...
Galapagos Bidco Sarl v Kebekus [2023] EWHC 1931 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision offers useful clarification on the interpretation of familiar provisions and expressions found in the ‘distressed disposals’ clause of English law intercreditor agreements. The court scrutinised the distressed disposal mechanics in an English law-governed intercreditor to decide whether the restructuring had been properly implemented. A central question was whether the sale of the insolvent group could be treated as being ‘for cash’, notwithstanding that creditors of the insolvent group subscribed for notes in the newly reorganised group and set off the subscription monies against their entitlements under the payment waterfall. The court also considered whether that investment meant the relevant creditors’ claims had not been unconditionally released at the same time as the sale, as the intercreditor required. The court concluded that the...
Time GB Group Ltd v Yarwell Mill Country Park Ltd [2023] EWHC 1887 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment underscores the necessity for solid evidence to support any application seeking to restrain the advertisement of a petition, and showcases the court’s firm response to assertions that are not borne out by the material before it. It also provides a useful restatement of: the core principles that inform an application to restrain advertisement; the characteristics of a promissory note; and the circumstances in which a term of good faith will be implied into an agreement. The court drew upon leading authorities on when advertisement should be restrained, including Coilcolour v Camtrex [2015] EWHC 3202 ( Ch) ( Mr Justice Hildyard). It additionally referenced Lady Justice Arden’s decision in James Dolman & Co v Pedley [2004] BCC 504 (not...
What does ETDA 2023 do? Rooted mainly in the UK Law Commission’s March 2022 draft Bill, ETDA 2023 establishes the framework for recognising and handling trade documents in digital form under English law, giving an electronic trade document the same legal effect as its paper counterpart. In consequence, an electronic trade document attracts the same status and consequences as a comparable paper trade document. It confirms that a person can possess, indorse and transfer possession of an electronic trade document, and that any act carried out in relation to an electronic trade document has the same effect for that document as it would for an equivalent paper document. This parity covers possession, indorsement and ending possession too. Before ETDA 2023, English law did not recognise the possibility of possessing electronic trade documents, and so core English law principles concerning documentary...
Williams and another (as the Joint Administrators of Signature Living Residential Ltd) v Alter Domus Trustees ( UK) Ltd (formerly Cortland Trustees Ltd) [2023] EWHC 1820 ( Ch), [2023] All ER ( D) 94 ( Jul) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision offers a clear demonstration of how a purchaser’s equitable lien over property can sit alongside, and potentially compete with, other forms of security. The court explores key aspects of equitable liens in the setting of buyers of off-plan apartments, including whether each purchaser’s lien is geographically confined to the specific footprint of the relevant flat. These points are worked through by reference to the different purchasers involved, providing practical guidance on scope and priority issues. The judgment also examines, from para 38, what counts as a ‘signature’ for the purposes of LP( MP) A 1989, s 2. Recent...
The government is seeking the right equivalence arrangements as central to keeping the UK competitive, yet none have been concluded and no timelines set. As a result, it faces a steep challenge in identifying sufficient similarity between regulatory regimes in several major markets—and, crucially, persuading them to grant equivalence in return. According to Nathaniel Lalone, a partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP in London, reciprocal equivalence would effectively enlarge the UK's ‘domestic’ market to cover other equivalent jurisdictions. UK firms could then reach a far broader base of customers and users, lifting revenues and intensifying rivalry across a bigger field of market participants. An accord with the EU looks tough: its markets in cryptoassets regime, or ‘ Mi CA’, due to take effect in 2024, does not permit it. Those rules—well ahead of the UK's—allow equivalence to be revisited only after four years....
Re Avanti Communications Ltd (in administration) [2023] EWHC 940 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? Avanti is poised to carry three major consequences for restructuring lawyers, insolvency litigators, and finance lawyers. First, the ruling lowers the bar for taking fixed security, notably over fixed assets. It confirms that the Spectrum analysis is nuanced, and that absolute control is not a prerequisite for a fixed charge. The assets in Avanti were ‘fixed’ income‑producing capital assets rather than receivables or stock‑in‑trade, leaving charges over such property, in particular, less susceptible to recharacterisation. Second, although the facility documentation was intricate, it drew on Loan Market Association ( LMA) templates. Those contracts included permissions for the debtor to dispose of assets where (among other conditions) proceeds were paid through a creditor ‘waterfall’, or where assets had become obsolete. Avanti confirms that these...
English court orders crypto exchange to transfer assets into England and Wales to facilitate enforcement of judgment ( Joseph Keen Shing Law v Persons Unknown & Huobi Global Limited) Joseph Keen Shing Law v Persons unknown and Huobi Global Limited [2023] Lexis Citation 820 What is the impact of the decision? Huobi did not agree to the order, nor did it challenge it. The court concluded that exceptional circumstances justified granting the relief: although the exchange was assisting the claimant to stop the other defendants (who had defrauded the claimant) from accessing their accounts, the position could shift to the claimant’s disadvantage, and the court would have no control over Huobi because it is based outside England and Wales. This ruling (handed down in January but only recently released) predates Piroozzadeh v Persons Unknown and others [2023] EWHC 1024 ( Ch), where the High Court set aside an...
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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