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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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Baines contended that Mail Online—ranked the UK’s third most visited news site and fifth globally by trade outlet Press Gazette—was breaching privacy laws. Rather than offering a ‘reject all’ option, its banner presents a ‘got it’ button that signifies consent to cookies, alongside a ‘cookie settings’ control to amend cookie preferences. The complaint referenced multiple remarks from ICO officials about cookie banners, among them a June interview deputy commissioner Stephen Bonner granted to MLex. Following a freedom of information request, the ICO released that interview. According to MLex, the ICO has now refused to open an investigation into the matter. In a letter to Baines dated 14 November 2023, the ICO stated that it had passed on the information concerned......
Agile enforcement When the UK Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) served Snap with a preliminary enforcement notice on 6 October 2023, potentially forcing its AI chatbot off the UK market, it illustrated the regulator’s renewed focus on ‘agile’ enforcement (see: LNB News 06/10/2023 31). Edwards said it is a capability they must become more comfortable exercising. He noted the Snap action mattered because issues were spotted in March, when the product first went live. The ICO asked questions, formed a team and accelerated the process. In the past, reaching that stage might have taken three to four years. This time, the authority arrived there in around six months, reflecting what Edwards called a ‘culture change’ that will let the ICO apply a wider spectrum of responses to data protection concerns. In some scenarios, such as Snap’s ‘ My AI’ chatbot, it enables faster...
The UK's new online safety legislation has passed the House of Lords on 6 September 2023. The Online Safety Bill gained approval with final changes on remote access and ministers’ powers, and a government note allowing content scanning of private communications, though this will not apply until technically feasible. The Bill now returns to the House of Commons, where the government may endorse it or make alterations. It is anticipated to complete its passage by the end of September 2023. Parliamentarians backed 17 fresh amendments introduced by the government minister. While many amounted to minor adjustments, one......
Meta Platforms Inc (formerly Facebook Inc) and other companies v Bundeskartellamt ECLI- EU- C-2023-537 What are the practical implications of this case? This Court of Justice ruling signals a shift in competition enforcement, centring on data-gathering practices that may weaken competition. It recognises that control over personal data is now a key competitive parameter in the digital economy, and that compliance with data protection rules helps to prevent abuse of dominance. Consequently, dominant online platforms that accumulate extensive data for personalised advertising, both on and off their services, can expect their processing to be examined by multiple regulators. The Court’s narrow reading of contractual ‘necessity’, and of Meta’s claimed legitimate interests in processing Facebook users’ data, mirrors the enforcement taken against Meta by the Irish Data Protection Authority in December 2022 (see LNB News 04/01/2023 27). It likewise aligns with obligations for firms in strong market...
What is the background to the IPO’s Transformation Programme and what stage has the consultation process reached? The UK government unveiled the One IPO Transformation Programme (the Programme) on 22 April 2021. Its objective is to create a centralised, digital platform for administering all UK‑registered intellectual property ( IP) rights, renewing how the UK Intellectual Property Office ( IPO) delivers its services and internal processes, and ironing out unnecessary discrepancies in the treatment of different categories of IP rights. Between 3 November 2022 and 6 January 2023, the IPO conducted its first consultation on how the IP legal framework might be adapted to achieve the Programme’s proposed outcomes. That consultation had two strands, with Part A addressing the digitisation of IPO services and Part B examining the uniform operation of the IPO Tribunal ( Tribunal). It further permitted respondents to nominate...
The EU Data Act The EU Data Act seeks to hand people using Internet‑connected products, from fridges to smartphones, greater control over the information they generate. EU lawmakers approved it in June 2023 after fraught negotiations centred on safeguarding trade secrets, and it is slated for formal adoption before the close of 2023. Negotiators aimed to balance wider data access with protection of trade secrets. A study financed by the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a technology lobby, argues the package will significantly, even dramatically, reshape the landscape for digital commerce in Europe and further afield. It foresees substantial consequences for leading US digital service providers that the European Union has designated as “gatekeepers”—large platforms expected to comply with regulatory duties—as well as for these firms’ hundreds of millions of trans‑ Atlantic European business and individual customers. From the EU’s General Data Protection...
Tanya O’ Carroll, a human rights advocate and senior fellow at Foxglove, a non-profit dedicated to fairness in the use of technology, launched a High Court action against Meta in November 2022. She asked the court to uphold the General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation ( EU) 2016/679 ( EU GDPR), invoking the ‘right to object’ to data being collected for targeted advertising. The EU GDPR grants individuals the right to object to the processing of their data, although in many areas this is subject to exemptions. Direct marketing, however, carries no exemptions, making it an ‘unqualified’ right. In its June 2023 defence, Meta argued that O’ Carroll’s portrayal of targeted advertising as direct marketing is mistaken, and therefore it does not have to......
What IP issues are involved in making a film that is based on a well-known product like the Barbie doll? ‘ Barbie’ is one of the most talked-about films of the summer. When crafting a feature based on a famous product such as the Barbie doll, a host of IP questions arises. We will return to trade mark protection and the more obvious IP categories, but the launch point for a project like Barbie is a knockout script. A production of this scale is threaded with numerous layers of IP, from the screenplay to the music script. Although Greta Gerwig’s direction has been widely highlighted, there has been less focus on her partner and co-writer, Noah Baumbach. Inevitably, there will be intricate contractual arrangements (likely several) covering authorship and ownership of the screenplay and its related copyright. Copyright also safeguards the...
The video-sharing platform, owned by the Chinese tech company Byte Dance, counts as one of 17 VLOPs under the landmark content moderation regulation, so it falls under tougher obligations and oversight by the Commission as a result. Bing from Microsoft and Google Search from Alphabet are likewise formally labelled as VLOPs. The Commission assigned that status in April 2023. Tik Tok must comply by 28 August 2023. Tik Tok stated that users aged 13–17 will no longer receive personalised adverts derived from their activity on or beyond Tik Tok. This update applies to users in the EEA, namely the EU alongside Iceland, Liechtenstein......
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...
Rancom Security Ltd v Girling and others [2023] EWHC 1115 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment has two strands—a refresher on essential legal principles and a pragmatic guide for disputes practitioners, notably those pursuing civil fraud or dishonesty claims, when building a case. Conflicting evidence Beyond its survey of principle, the court offers a detailed account of how it confronts a routine but difficult problem: conflicting evidence. It sets out the framework for evaluating changing accounts, gaps in proof, defects in disclosure, and the way witness statements and the litigation process can shape witnesses' recollections. The judgment also illustrates the courts' approach to weighing credibility and drawing adverse inferences. While the findings inevitably turn on the facts, and arose within a dishonesty context, the court's treatment of these topics has broader resonance for any disputes lawyer. The sheer range of matters the judge...
Intricate tax planning may amount to confidential information, notwithstanding parallel arrangements by others ( Kieran Corrigan & Co Ltd v One E Group) Kieran Corrigan and Co Ltd v One E Group Ltd and others [2023] EWHC 649 ( Ch) (23 March 2023) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling is indispensable reading for practitioners handling disputed confidentiality claims. The judge explored the nuanced considerations underpinning whether particular material is confidential, while also providing a crisp, thorough synopsis of the breach of confidence jurisprudence as a whole, beginning with the test in Coco v AN Clark ( Engineers) Ltd [1969] RPC 41. The discussion spans scenarios where products are already publicly available (yet secrecy is claimed in the design), where the confidential corpus blends ‘public’ with ‘private’ elements, and where numerous ‘public’ components are assembled to yield...
The Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) imposed a £12.7m penalty on Tik Tok Information Technologies UK Limited and Tik Tok Inc ( Tik Tok) for violations of the UK’s General Data Protection Regulation, Retained Regulation ( EU) 2016/679 ( UK GDPR), including not handling children’s personal data lawfully. The ICO estimates in 2020 Tik Tok permitted up to 1.4m UK children under......
Inter Digital Technology Corp and others v One Plus Technology ( Shenzhen) Co and others [2023] EWCA Civ 166 What are the practical implications of this case? As is long recognised, standard-essential patents must be offered under clear, Fair, Reasonable and Non- Discriminatory ( FRAND) terms. In these matters, once technical trials determine, following detailed evidence, that one or more patents are truly essential and valid, a subsequent FRAND trial sets the conditions of a FRAND licence. As part of that process, and as confirmed by the Supreme Court in Unwired Planet v Huawei [2020] UKSC 37, the claimant’s existing licences are carefully examined to identify FRAND terms. Accordingly, SEP infringement actions in the courts of England and Wales commonly see defendants routinely pursuing pre-action disclosure of prior SEP licensing agreements. Given the highly confidential nature of those agreements, the court typically...
The surge in this field arises from several converging factors: the expansion of the funding market, shifts within the legal system of England and Wales, and the influence of US ‘class action’ style litigation. Group actions are expected to keep growing in England and Wales and to span a broad range of legal areas. The rising appetite for product liability actions highlights the scope for numerous claims that have not yet been pursued. This is a welcome development for individuals harmed by large corporations, who can utilise collective actions to obtain justice and compensation more readily. Causes of action in product liability Product liability is the area of law holding organisations involved in supplying products—often to members of the public—responsible for harm or loss caused by those products. The three principal bases that commonly support a product liability claim are: ...
How to witness and attest a deed under the Law of Property ( Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 ( Euro Securities & Finance v Barrett) Euro Securities & Finance Ltd v Barrett and others [2023] EWHC 51 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The safest route to prevent disputes over a deed’s validity is: all principal signatories execute at the same time and in the same location; any witness should be a non-party to the deed and observe the signatures physically, in person; and each witness should attest, separately, every signature they observed, doing so straightaway while remaining in the signatories’ presence. Each of these points ought to be documented in writing. That said, the judge in Euro Securities considered that the LP( MP) A 1989 may afford parties greater latitude. Although much of the discussion was obiter, in essence the judge...
Anron Bunkering DMCC v Glencore Energy UK Ltd [2023] EWHC 295 ( Comm) The underlying claim, brought by the claimant, arose out of two contracts for the sale of unleaded petrol. The claimant aimed to recoup various advance sums it had paid under the two sale contracts on the basis that the defendant had not delivered the agreed amount of petrol, failing to supply the correct quantity. It argued that the purported shortfall in delivery meant the consideration for which the advances were paid had failed, giving rise to a right to restitution for unjust enrichment. The defendant sought summary dismissal of the claim on the basis that it was time-barred, because the alleged non-delivery of petrol occurred more than six years before the claim was issued. The judge confirmed that unjust enrichment claims are ‘founded on simple contract’ for the purposes of section 5 of the...
These additional rules will also sit alongside the usual obligation that promotions are transparent, fair, and not misleading. As the UK government set out its plans to bring crypto activities within the existing financial services regulation, it also said it would exempt crypto businesses, which are not currently authorised in the UK, from needing their adverts to be signed off by an authorised firm. The exemptions were introduced in response to industry concerns about the lack of......
Energy Works ( Hull) Ltd v MW High Tech Projects UK Ltd and another [2022] EWHC 3275 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? The comprehensive judgment of the Honourable Mr Justice Pepperall sets out the practical hazards and challenges frequently faced on energy and infrastructure schemes, particularly where advanced technology intensifies complexities in design and construction. It further highlights the significance of a contractor’s reporting duties, within a contractual framework that did not restrict liability for wilful defaults, including the deliberate misreporting of progress. This ruling will be of clear interest to practitioners, construction professionals and other stakeholders working across the construction, infrastructure and energy sectors. The court also provided useful guidance and clarification on several broader legal issues relevant to disputes arising in construction, infrastructure and energy projects. First, the court confirmed that, in the absence of express contractual or statutory...
TP ICAP Ltd v NEX Group Ltd [2022] EWHC 2700 ( Comm) The claims for breach of warranty stemmed from two probes: one by the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission concerning swaps trading linked to bond issuances and another by a Frankfurt public prosecutor targeting a named director of a group entity in relation to cum-ex trading during the relevant period. In essence, the alleged breaches concerned warranties addressing the following: that no group company, officer, or employee had been the subject of any non-routine investigation of any kind by a ‘ Governmental Authority’ within the prior 18 months; and that no circumstances existed which could reasonably be expected to result in litigation against a group company where the amount in dispute exceeds £500,000. Those warranties were, in places, qualified by a seller-awareness threshold (here defined as the actual knowledge, after...
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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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