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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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JSC VTB Bank v (1) Alexander Katunin (2) Sergey Taruta (3) Arrowcrest BVIHC ( COM) 2014/0062 Background VTB, a Russian bank, moved to enforce a US$30m judgment debt against a Ukrainian businessman and politician, secured before the invasion of Ukraine. Following the UK’s sanctions against VTB, its BVI legal advisers applied to come off the record on the basis that continuing to represent VTB would harm their reputation and was likely......
Ukraine conflict—impact of Russian invasion and sanctions on English law contracts—frustration, illegality, force majeure & MAC Does your agreement contain an illegality, force majeure or material adverse change ( MAC) provision and, if so, has it been engaged? This turns on construction, so the orthodox approach applies—scrutinise the pertinent circumstances and the wording of the provision. What, precisely, is the operative occurrence? It might be a legal development (eg whether making payment would constitute a criminal offence) or a factual situation (routes are blocked, power is unavailable, the plant has been hit). Does that occurrence fall within the clause’s reach, expressly or by necessary implication? Many force majeure provisions enumerate events that qualify. An illegality provision may identify the system of law under which performance must have become unlawful. MAC provisions frequently do not delineate what is covered, relying instead on the plain sense of the...
Olympic Council of Asia v Novans Jets LLP [2022] EWHC 88 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? Many of the conclusions flowed from the fact that neither side had lawyers involved in preparing the agreement. That omission made the terms hard to construe—first for the parties when deciding how to deal with the disputed invoice, and then for the court when determining the outcome. Acknowledging the potential injustice of a purely literal approach, Mrs Justice Moulder signalled that the court will consider the surrounding commercial context, particularly where the drafting is ambiguous and there is a real danger the parties accepted provisions which, with hindsight, did not advance their interests (para [163]). The decision also serves as a caution to those attempting to invoke contractual remedies before engaging with their opposite number. In assessing whether there had been a...
Judgments in Joined Cases Azurair and others, Cases C-146/20, C-188/20, C-196/20 and C-270/20, Airhelp, Case C-263/20, and Corendon Airlines, Case C-395/20 What are the practical implications of these cases? These rulings carry two key practical consequences for operating carriers governed by Regulation ( EC) No 261/2004 (the Regulation): Airlines must scrutinise timetable alterations, not only where they plan to push departures back (i.e. a delay for the purposes of the Regulation) but also where they intend to set off more than one hour earlier than scheduled, so as to avoid exposure to cancellation compensation. Article 5 of Regulation ( EC) No 261/2004 sets out compensation for cancelled flights and requires payment unless passengers are actually told in advance (and receive that notice), which may prove expensive if overlooked. Carriers are likewise reminded to provide passengers with clear information on their...
Lehman Brothers Holdings Scottish LP 3 v Lehman Brothers Holdings plc (in administration) and others; Joint liquidators of LB GP No 1 Ltd (in liquidation) and another v Joint administrators of Lehman Brothers Holdings plc (in administration) and another [2021] EWCA Civ 1523 What are the practical implications of this case? The effect of the court’s adjustment to the rule against double proof is that a surety who makes a part payment under a settlement and, in doing so: waives its right of indemnity against the insolvent principal debtor; and obtains an assignment from the creditor of the principal debtor’s liability, will be confined to proving for the remaining unpaid amount. In its capacity as assignee, it cannot rely on the general double proof rule that allows an unpaid creditor to prove in full without setting off any part payment made by a surety. Parties should...
M/ V Pacific Pearl Co Ltd v Osios David Shipping Inc [2021] EWHC 2808 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? The judgment carries significant consequences for P& I Clubs and other insurers, because sanctions create substantial complexity for arranging cover and for delivering benefits, including security for claims. Any association with a sanctioned state increases banks’ risk of non-payment, even where the transaction is neither prohibited nor sanctionable. This mirrors banks’ positions on transfers linked to sanctioned jurisdictions, even where no prohibition applies in the banking system. It is therefore reasonable for P& I Clubs to incorporate sanctions clauses into security documentation that mirror the banks’ stance. In practice, the possibility of non-payment exists regardless of the security obtained—be that a vessel arrest or an LOU—by the recipient. Nevertheless, a recipient presented with P& I Club security...
Mars Capital Finance Ltd v Hussain and others [2021] EWHC 2416 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling underlines that, after a transfer of land has been entered on the register, any prior defects in the enforceability of the underlying contract for that transfer cease to matter. Accordingly, earlier formal shortcomings cannot be used to unsettle a completed, registered disposition. That principle is clear and decisive here. In addition—though not essential to the outcome—the judge endorsed the position that sections 43 and 44 of the Companies Act 2006 permit three mechanisms for a company to enter a written contract (by the company or on its behalf). This contrasts with the interpretation that, for the purposes of the Law of Property ( Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, only two methods exist, and it departs from Lewison J’s approach in Redcard Ltd v...
Galer v Mond (administrator of SFPL Ltd) and another [2021] EWHC 1952 ( Ch), [2021] All ER ( D) 110 ( Jan) What are the practical implications of this case? Several elements of this ruling turn on the precise wording of the facility agreement and the deed of assignment, so its broader relevance is limited. Even so, the court set out helpful general guidance: in the absence of any evidence of misconduct, it is wholly improper to imply that a particular administrator will fail to fulfil their duties properly. The judge made plain that one cannot obtain a declaration that an administrator’s appointment is invalid by relying on what he described as 'a smokescreen of general allegations'... What was the background? SFPL Ltd ( SFPL) was incorporated in August 2016 as a vehicle for the acquisition and development of a property in London. There were a number of...
Pakistan International Airline Corporation v Times Travel ( UK) Ltd [2021] UKSC 40 What are the practical implications of this case? This Supreme Court ruling delivers a timely and thorough reassessment of the law on lawful act economic duress. Divergent judicial approaches in the case underscore the area’s complexity and challenge. The claim of lawful act duress prevailed at first instance, but the Court of Appeal reversed that outcome. The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal, though only one Justice, Lord Burrows, adopted its reasoning. The majority advanced a different analysis yet ultimately agreed that this was not a case of lawful act economic duress. The extent of disagreement is regrettable, given the core question: how far parties in commercial bargaining may leverage inherent advantages to obtain a stronger negotiated position from a weaker counterpart. That is a practical concern...
The International Trade and Forfaiting Association ( ITFA) has revised section 5.2 of its manual on structured letters of credit, to clarify the...
EMFC Loan Syndications LLP v The Resort Group plc [2021] EWCA Civ 844 What are the practical implications of this case? This decision is significant for transactional lawyers and litigators: To ensure a contract reflects the parties’ intentions, state everything expressly. If a term is to be a condition or warranty, make that explicit; otherwise it is innominate. Interpret and draft by reading the agreement as a whole and checking whether clauses fit, or conflict with, the proposed construction. A construction that seems unfair or unreasonable may still stand: the test is not fairness but what, objectively, the parties are taken to have agreed. Any effective cause term is subject to special wording or indicators in the contract and will depend on the particular facts and terms of each agreement, by reference to ordinary principles of construction and implication. ......
A Introduction This paper explores whether running parallel schemes of arrangement is either required or desirable when implementing cross-border restructurings for companies incorporated in an offshore jurisdiction (namely the Cayman Islands, Bermuda or the British Virgin Islands (‘ BVI’)) whose principal operations or assets, in substance, lie predominantly within an onshore jurisdiction (specifically Hong Kong or the People’s Republic of China). The issue emerges from certain obiter observations made by Deputy High Court Judge William Wong SC in Da Yu Financial Holdings Ltd [2019] HKCFI 2531 (not reported by Lexis Nexis®), a case that concerned parallel and inter-conditional schemes of arrangement advanced in both the Cayman Islands and in Hong Kong in respect of a Cayman-incorporated company whose principal place of business, and only significant asset, were situated in Hong Kong. While approving the Hong Kong scheme, Deputy Judge...
Brown- Forman Beverages Europe Ltd v Bacardi UK Ltd [2021] EWHC 1259 ( Comm) (19 May 2021) What are the practical implications of this case? The rule from Holme v Brunskill (1877) 3 QBD 495 provides that any material change to the contractual terms between the creditor and the principal debtor releases a guarantor. If a variation has been made, the creditor must demonstrate that the change can only operate to the surety’s advantage, or that by its very character it can never in any situation increase the surety’s exposure. Parties may exclude this rule by agreement, and prudent creditors routinely do so. It has been labelled a snare for the careless creditor. This judgment confirms two significant practical propositions concerning the rule and points to a specific hazard. First, the court reiterates that the rule is confined to guarantees and does not extend to...
Commerz Real Investmentgesellschaft mbh v TFS Stores Ltd [2021] EWHC 863 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? Advisers have long anticipated a defended claim for arrears of commercial rent predicated on the now routine coronavirus arguments that have echoed since the first lockdown in March 2020. Yet, despite the undeniable hardship endured by retail and other business occupiers during the pandemic, the court’s scope to recast the parties’ bargain is minimal. Put shortly, the court is tasked with enforcing, not reshaping, the bargain the parties struck. Sympathy cannot rewrite the parties’ contracts. Two aspects of the ruling stand out. First, implying a term into a meticulously negotiated commercial lease to suspend rent when government measures compel the premises to shut is exceptionally difficult. Those brokering pandemic provisions on renewals under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 will recognise the breadth and...
Wood v Commercial First Business Ltd and other companies; Business Mortgage Finance 4 plc v Pengelly [2021] EWCA Civ 471 What are the practical implications of this case? The Court of Appeal has reset the approach to secret commissions and bribes by returning to first principles. This judgment reminds practitioners that rescission of the transaction, recovery of the amount paid as a bribe or secret commission, and/or an award of damages are remedies available at common law as well as in equity. As a result, it is no longer necessary to engage in a fine-grained assessment of the precise nature and scope of the relationship between the parties to determine whether, and to what extent, it was fiduciary. The core enquiry is simply whether the recipient of the bribe or secret commission owed a duty to provide neutral and unbiased advice or...
Government backs Law Commission’s charity law reform proposals, LNB News 22/03/2021 98 What are the Law Commission's proposals, and which have the government accepted? The government has agreed to almost all of the Law Commission’s suggestions. Although many appear, at first glance, to be highly technical (and some certainly are), taken one by one and, more importantly, in combination, they are expected to be of real, practical value to charity trustees and their lawyers. Section 5 of the government’s reply deals with the Commission’s recommendations on buying and selling (including specified leases) and on securing mortgages over charity land. The existing framework sits mainly in Part 7 of the Charities Act 2011 ( CA 2011). As the Commission’s report explains, elements of the present regime have drawn criticism for complexity, impracticality, and for adding needless expense and delay. The most notable...
Morley (trading as Morley Estates) v Royal Bank of Scotland plc [2021] EWCA Civ 338 What are the practical implications of this case? This decision clarifies the boundaries of a bank’s obligations to its client and demonstrates how those responsibilities shift over the course of their dealings. Where a borrower has taken out a secured lending facility, the bank’s duty to deliver banking services with reasonable skill and care ceases when the contractual loan period ends. After that point, the bank is only bound by the express provisions of the mortgage and the equitable duties inherent in that security relationship (for example, the recognised obligation to exercise reasonable care to realise a proper price for the collateral). It is not correct to read into the mortgage an implied contractual duty of reasonable skill and care. In addition, the Court of Appeal endorsed RBS’s...
Westfields Homes Ltd and another v Keay Homes ( Windrush) Ltd [2020] EWHC 3368 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling applies settled doctrines within a well‑known commercial setting. Two points merit attention. First, duties to act in good faith and in the spirit of the bargain derive their content from the other express provisions of the contract. As Lady Justice Arden explained in Re Coroin Ltd ( No 2) [2013] EWCA Civ 781, [2013] 2 BCLC 583 (at [50]–[53]), such duties cannot widen a party’s commitments because, absent explicit direction in the agreement, the court lacks any standard by which to police the obligation. The practical effect of a clause of this kind is to demand performance aligned with the parties’ common objectives when they entered the deal; it is ‘no more than a reflection of the...
Security Trustee Services Ltd v Seabrooke Road Ltd [2021] EWHC 436 ( Ch), [2021] All ER ( D) 105 ( Jan) Delivering judgment, Miles J determined that the omission to serve the QFCH not only breached para 26 but also constituted an abuse of process, warranting the No Is’ removal from the court record in accordance with the Court of Appeal’s guidance in JCAM Commercial Real Estate Property XV Ltd v Davis Haulage Ltd [2017] EWCA Civ 267. This signifies a departure from the recent authorities of Re Tokenhouse VB Ltd; Strategic Advantage SPC v Rutter and others [2020] EWHC 3171 ( Ch), and Re NMUL Realisations Ltd; Causer and others v NMUL Realisations Ltd (in administration) [2021] EWHC 94 ( Ch), where Insolvency and Companies Court Judges ( ICCJs) treated the non-service of a QFCH with a No I (under para 15 or para 26) as a...
Re Anthony Leslie Hancock; Promontoria ( Pine) Designated Activity Co v Hancock [2021] EWHC 259 ( Ch), [2021] All ER ( D) 86 ( Feb) What are the practical implications of this case? The court’s observations on the use of redacted material offer clearer guidance to other lenders about how far documents may properly be obscured on security or confidentiality grounds. More broadly, the decision aids lenders when preparing deeds of assignment, underscoring that confidential material ought to be segregated from the operative mechanics so that no working provisions need be blanked out for confidentiality reasons. Together, these points give lenders practical direction on presenting evidence and structuring assignments while preserving confidentiality without undermining enforceable terms of deal overall. Notably, the court affirmed that extensive redaction must be comprehensively explained and justified, a requirement of particular importance in opposed statutory demand...
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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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