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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Consumer protection International Sale and supply of goods Supplier management Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings—23 October 2024 The Advertising Standards Authority ( ASA) assessed a promotion for a shopper reward programme on the Complete Savings website to judge whether it misled consumers. The ASA determined the promotion breached the CAP Code. The outcome sits within a broader project on online choice architecture, prioritised for review in light of complaints received and intelligence gathered by the ASA. See: LNB News 23/10/2024 37. Consumer protection HM Treasury launches consultation on draft regulation of ' Buy- Now, Pay- Later' HM Treasury has opened a public consultation on draft legislation intended to bring Buy- Now Pay- Later ( BNPL) products into...
Practical delivery remains daunting, highlighted by the European Commission’s plan to push back by 12 months the commencement of the European Union Deforestation Regulation, allowing businesses extra time to ready themselves for its granular legal due diligence obligations. The range of moving parts companies must weigh includes: the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, or CSDDD, which took effect at the end of July the significant ruling on supply chain oversight issued by the Court of Appeal in World Uyghur Congress v National Crime Agency in late June, and recent corporate supply chain shortcomings that have undermined trust and re-emphasised established benchmarks such as the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015 Alongside more enduring soft law, reference points include the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Viewed together, these shifts underline the need to...
Product Regulation and Metrology Bill The rise of online marketplaces, the presence of lithium batteries in ebikes, and fresh product risks and technologies such as AI have increased the urgency of revising post- Brexit UK product safety rules, ministers and officials told lawmakers yesterday as they defended the wide powers set out in a new draft law. Junior business minister Justin Madders told Parliament that the far-reaching Product Regulation and Metrology Bill aims to support ministers in managing more than 150 separate regulations that regularly require technical updates, covering areas from toys and cosmetics to lifts and noise-generating products, before even accounting for emerging domains that also need safeguards. For example, he said, there must be clear accountability for online marketplaces and certainty about how they are positioned within the framework......
In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Agency and distribution Consumer protection E-commerce International Sale and supply of goods Supplier management Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings—16 October 2024 A single formal complaint reached the Advertising Standards Authority ( ASA) about the Travel Crew website. It questioned whether the promoted flight fares were misleading, because the fare shown at the point of booking was higher than the headline price originally displayed. The ASA upheld the complaint. See: LNB News 16/10/2024 18. Ofcom renews co-regulatory ASA arrangements for broadcast, ODPS and VSPs ads Ofcom has extended for a further ten-year period its co-regulatory arrangements with the Advertising Standards Authority ( ASA) covering advertising across broadcast, on-demand programme services ( ODPS) and...
Kompaktwerk GMBH (a company incorporated under German law) v Liveperson Netherlands BV (a company incorporated under Dutch law) [2024] EWHC 2278 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? Kompaktwerk v Live Person is the first judicial foray into whether the Saa S model can sit within the ‘sale of goods’ category. Historically, English law has not treated computer software as ‘goods’; however, after the Court of Justice decision in The Software Incubator v Computer Associates ( Case C410/19), it remained a live issue how English law would characterise software—and, in particular, how it would address the now‑dominant Saa S model. The court determined that a time‑bound subscription to Saa S is not a ‘sale’ and does not concern ‘goods’, a conclusion with broad reach. Although the ruling concerned the Commercial Agents ( Council Directive) Regulations 1993, SI 1993/3053 (...
Illiquidx Ltd v Altana Wealth Ltd and others [2024] EWHC 2191 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling underscores for all practitioners the need to pin down, with accuracy, the precise scope of the 'confidential information' their client wishes to shield. It contains takeaways for both transactional and disputes lawyers: from settling the language of a non-disclosure agreement ( NDA) to setting out, with particularity, the confidential material in issue and the ways said material is alleged to have been misused. Pitching an over expansive tranche of information as 'confidential' risks a strike-out for abuse of process. By contrast, failing to identify the relevant categories of 'confidential' information at the start, then attempting to widen those categories mid-proceedings, will almost certainly attract robust opposition from a defendant. Here, the claimant was criticised for a succession of amendments since...
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ( ECCTA 2023) Enacted a year ago, ECCTA 2023 contains a clause requiring large companies to put in place ‘reasonable procedures’ to protect against prosecution for failing to prevent fraud. This aligns with the UK’s Bribery Act, under which organisations can face action for failing to prevent bribery. The provision has not yet taken effect, as the UK is awaiting the publication of guidance explaining the changes. The regime will commence no earlier than six months after that guidance is released. That guidance was originally due to be published in June 2024......
In this issue Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Consumer protection Data protection International Public procurement Sale and supply of goods Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings—9 October 2024 The Advertising Standards Authority ( ASA) upheld 14 complaints across a range of ads and settled nine more informally. The rulings centred on misleading mid-contract broadband price rises and omissions of promotion end dates, and also included a challenge to an advert for a product high in fat, salt or sugar that had been directed at children, among other issues raised in the decisions. See: LNB News 09/10/2024 61. ICAS launches Global Think Tank to promote responsible advertising practices The Advertising Standards Authority confirmed it is a founding sponsor of the new Global Think Tank, set up by the...
Carl v Hawkins and others [2024] EWHC 2186 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The court confirmed that duress can operate as a defence to conversion where goods are taken by force from the person in possession. Conversion is an intentional tort: it requires an intention to deal with property inconsistently with the true owner’s rights, and someone whose will is completely overridden by threats cannot be said to possess that mental element. A threat of physical violence will suffice where the threatened person genuinely believes that treating the goods as they did was the only way to avoid injury. Accordingly, when duress is pleaded to a conversion claim, the courts will examine both the facts and their effect on the defendant. The decision also underscores that conversion—unlike most torts—is actionable without proof of loss or detriment. Where coercion negates...
What does the Bill do? The Bill is concise, comprising 14 clauses, and comes with fuller Explanatory Notes. Its modest length masks the extensive enabling powers it would confer. In essence, it equips the Secretary of State ( So S) with broad authority to make future secondary legislation across the OPSS’s remit—product regulation, product safety and metrology. It would permit the creation and enforcement of new product rules and obligations, and allow amendment or repeal of specified existing laws. Strikingly, there is no explicit duty to consult prior to using these powers. As to scope, the framework would span most consumer goods—such as toys, cosmetics and machinery—matching the OPSS’s current remit. A schedule lists excluded categories, including medicines, medical devices and food. Three core areas of focus emerge from the Bill and supporting materials: Adapting to new technology: the government wants the UK regime to be...
In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Brexit Contracts International Sale and supply of goods Supplier management Supply of services Lex Talk®Commercial: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Advertising, marketing and sponsorship The Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA) has released a practical compliance guide (the Guidance) on environmental claims for fashion brands, drawing on the principles in its Green Claims Code (the Code). It has also encouraged 17 fashion brands to revisit their green claims in light of the Guidance. In their article, Nigel Parr, partner, Christopher Eberhardt, counsel, and Olivia Spong, associate, at Ashurst, set out the main insights from the Guidance and consider the potential consequences for businesses both inside and beyond the fashion industry, including effects on internal...
Key takeaways The CMA Guidance, derived from the Code, sets out detailed expectations for any environmental or sustainability claims by fashion brands about products or ranges, plus steps to achieve compliance. The emphasis is on giving enough information so claims are clear, specific, accurate, and supported by evidence. Businesses are encouraged to implement strong internal controls to ensure the accuracy of environmental claims in line with the Guidance. This means having suitable policies, routine staff training, and mechanisms to check product listings and supplier assertions. The Guidance precedes the CMA’s forthcoming enforcement powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 ( DMCCA 2024), which will permit financial penalties of up to 10% of a business’s global turnover for breaches of consumer protection law. The CMA has already contacted 17 fashion brands over concerns about their environmental claims, signalling active oversight and an...
KSY Juice Blends UK Ltd v Citrosuco GMBH [2024] EWHC 2098 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? The upshot of the ruling is that where a sale of goods contract stipulates that price is to be agreed, and it never is, the bargain cannot be enforced, since price is plainly a fundamental term of such an agreement. This is because the price of the goods is, quite clearly, an essential component of the contract itself. The judgment will interest both those who prepare sale of goods documentation and those involved in disputes where wording of this kind appears. One might assume that stating the price is to be agreed would, failing consensus, simply engage section 8 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 ( SGA 1979), so that the buyer must pay a reasonable sum. Yet, this decision in effect...
In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Consumer protection Contracts International Sale and supply of goods Supplier management Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Implementation of advertising curbs for less healthy food and drink on television and online—overview of the updated consultation response. The Department of Health and Social Care has released the government’s reply to the 2022 consultation on draft legislation introducing these advertising limits. Katrina Anderson, Principal Associate at Mills & Reeve, reviews the implications. See News Analysis: The implementation of advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online—an analysis of the updated Consultation response. Google’s €1.49bn antitrust penalty in the Ad Sense matter overturned. On 18 September 2024, the General Court of the European Union set aside the fine for alleged abuse of dominance in online search advertising...
Court offers guidance on responsibility for adjudicators’ charges and ‘substantial’ remedies for late payment ( A& V Building Solution v J& B Hopkins) A& V Building Solution Limited v J& B Hopkins Ltd [2024] EWHC 2295 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment underscores that an adjudicator’s ruling on apportioning its fees and expenses between the parties is final and cannot be reopened in court or arbitration. Accordingly, a party who lost in adjudication and was directed to meet all (or part) of the adjudicator’s fee stays liable for that sum—even if it later succeeds in litigation or arbitration in overturning the adjudicator’s findings on the merits. That said, the court signalled there may now be room to revisit this position (rooted in the Scottish authority Castle Inns v Clark). It remains to be seen whether, in a future dispute, a court might be...
Introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for products high in fat, salt or sugar In its reply to the 2022 consultation, Introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for products high in fat, salt or sugar, the government reaffirmed commitment to tackling childhood obesity by introducing limits on TV and online promotion of 'less healthy' foods and drinks. In practice this refers to high fat, salt or sugar ( HFSS) products that fall within the 'less healthy' categories. These advertising controls have been taken forward through the Health and Care Act 2002, which received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022 and added new sections to the Communications Act 2003, including: A 9pm television watershed for HFSS products, applying to all TV programmes regardless of programming or typical audience age, and covering all on-demand programme services ( ODPS) under UK...
Little and another v Olympian Homes Ltd [2024] EWHC 1766 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment offers clear guidance on the requirements for contractual waivers. The court confirmed that, where a contract demands any waiver to be in writing, an email will suffice, as emails plainly amount to “writing”. It also held that an email can be validly electronically signed where: the individuals’ names are added or appear within the footers; the inclusion of phrases such as “ Kind regards”, “ Thanks”, or “ Many thanks” demonstrates an intention to link the name to the content; and the email footer contains names and contact details in the conventional form of a signature. As to consideration in the context of waivers, the court indicated obiter that consideration is not inevitably required to support a contractual waiver, unless the waiver is more aptly...
KSY Juice Blends UK Ltd v Citrosuco Gmb H [2024] EWHC 2098 ( Comm) In this decision, the court held that the parties’ omission to settle the price for any additional product to be delivered under the sale arrangement meant there was no binding commitment for those further amounts—only an unenforceable agreement to agree. The background facts The contract, made in 2018, related to the sale of a product described as orange pulp wash, or “wesos”. The price for wesos under the agreement was linked to Brix and adjusted according to the Brix value. Brix measures the quantity of dissolved solids in a liquid by its specific gravity. The “ Brix unit” is widely used in the orange juice sector as a pricing measure. The contract set a fixed quantity of 1,200 MT per year for 2019 to 2021. Among other provisions, it...
In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Consumer protection Contracts International Public procurement Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings—18 September 2024 Two complaints reached the Advertising Standards Authority ( ASA), challenging Vodafone’s claims that its broadband matched BT’s for a lower price, and that millions of BT customers had moved to, or were considering, Vodafone. The ASA upheld the complaints. See: LNB News 18/09/2024 19. CMA publishes guidance for fashion sector on Green Claims Code The Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA) has released a compliance guide to help fashion retailers follow the Green Claims Code when making environmental statements about products. It reflects lessons from the CMA’s recent scrutiny of ASOS, Boohoo and George at Asda, which led to formal...
In a statement, the General Court explained it reached this outcome despite endorsing most of the European Commission’s findings, as the Commission had failed to consider all of the pertinent circumstances in its assessment of the length and duration of the contractual clauses it had deemed abusive. The Court additionally concluded that the Commission made mistakes in defining the market covered by the 2016 clauses in agreements with Google’s online advertising brokering service, Ad Sense for Search. In its summary of the decision, it observed that the Commission had not shown that the three identified clauses each amounted to an abuse of a dominant position, or that together they formed a single, continuous infringement. Consequently, the Court found the Commission had not proved that the clauses in those contracts stifled innovation......
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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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