Featured documents
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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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
Most recent News
Parties extended the gender work programme; put the new Loss and Damage Fund into operation; and advanced efforts to amplify the voices of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in climate action by adopting the Baku Workplan and prolonging the mandate of the working group supporting implementation of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform. Yet they failed to agree on implementing the Global Stocktake outcomes or the just transition work programme, with talks on these items pushed to later sessions. Countries chose to delay reviewing the Global Goal on Adaptation framework until after the second global stocktake in 2028, and launched the Baku Adaptation Road Map to keep negotiations going in 2025. Further missed chances included not bolstering commitments to shift from fossil fuels to clean energy options, and limited progress in linking climate and nature. A new climate finance goal The primary agenda item at COP29 was...
In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and network connections Renewable energy Capacity Market, balancing services and energy system flexibility Oil and gas Property and construction issues in the energy sector Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change International energy Lex Talk®Energy: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Ofgem launches consultation on energy code manager selection process Ofgem has opened a consultation on its proposed method for appointing code managers within the new energy code governance framework created by the Energy Act 2023. It also invites feedback on a three-phase appointment process—covering an eligibility check, a licensing evaluation, and an implementation and assurance regime—as set out in the Code Manager...
In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and network connections Renewable energy Oil and gas Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change International energy Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& A Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Ofgem announces energy price cap increase for Q1 2025 The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets ( Ofgem) has confirmed a 1.2% uplift to the energy price cap for the first quarter of 2025 (1 January to 31 March 2025), putting the typical annual bill for a dual-fuel household paying by Direct Debit at £1,738. This equates to a yearly rise of £21, yet the level is still 10% (£190) below the cap for January to March 2024 (£1,928) and 57.2% (£2,321) beneath the peak seen...
My Contracts Ltd v 74 Hamilton Terrace Freehold Ltd [2024] EWHC 2896 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision offers a timely reminder of the way time periods are to be construed within construction contracts, and acts as a useful sequel to the judgment in Elements ( Europe) Ltd v FK Building Ltd, which likewise involved a JCT form of contract. At bottom, though, it principally reiterates that the courts will give effect to the contractual text as agreed, and will decline to interpolate wording into a clause that the parties neither drafted nor intended. What was the background? My Contracts Ltd ( MCL) and 74 Hamilton Terrace Freehold Ltd (74HTF) entered into a contract based on the JCT Design and Build Contract 2016 edition, incorporating extensive bespoke amendments and dated 2 March 2023 (the Contract), for the execution of works...
Questions & unsatisfactory answers—the European Commission publishes guidance on the importer requirements of the EU Methane Regulation On 19 November 2024, the Commission released ‘ Questions and answers on importer requirements of EU Methane Regulation ( EU) 2024/1787’ (the Methane Q& A). In essence, the Methane Q& A seeks—albeit inadequately—to resolve key issues that have preoccupied the energy sector since Regulation ( EU) 2024/1787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on the reduction of methane emissions in the energy sector and amending Regulation ( EU) 2019/942 (the EU Methane Regulation) took effect on 4 August 2024. The EU Methane Regulation imposes extensive obligations on: operators with gas, oil or coal activities within the EU, and importers placing on the EU market natural gas, oil or coal extracted outside the EU The Methane Q& A...
In this issue: Key developments and materials Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and network connections Capacity Market, balancing services and energy system flexibility Oil and gas Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change International energy Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Key developments and materials DESNZ publishes 2023–24 annual report and accounts The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero ( DESNZ) has released its 2023–24 annual report and accounts, detailing its work, financial outcomes, and milestones across 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. The publication sets out resource utilisation, departmental priorities, and the financial statements for DESNZ together with its partner bodies. Headline developments include the enactment of the Energy Act 2023 in October 2023, alongside momentum on the review of...
Background to the appeal The question on this appeal concerns when a trade union may litigate, as a third party, for breach of an employment contract between employer and worker. Sections 1(1)(b) and 1(3) of the Contracts ( Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 ( C( RTP) A 1999) create a default rule: where a contractual term grants a benefit to a third party who is expressly identified in the instrument, that third party can enforce the term in its own name. It applies only where the beneficiary is expressly identified within the contract and thereby conferred a benefit. The appeal turns on the proper reading of section 1(2) C( RTP) A 1999, which states that the default position is displaced if, construing the contract correctly, it appears the parties did not intend the term to be actionable by the third party. The...
In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and network connections Renewable energy Nuclear energy Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Ofgem launches consultation on ED3 framework Ofgem has opened a consultation on the framework for the next electricity distribution price control ( ED3), beginning on 1 April 2028. This period is pivotal to reshaping the energy system to meet the government’s clean energy mission, support greater electrification of demand, and connect more renewable generation. Views are sought on elements of the framework, including objectives, regulatory models, consumer outcomes, and specific measures to tackle future challenges and unlock opportunities across electricity distribution, and other aspects of the framework too. The...
Shell persuaded the Hague Court of Appeal that it need not cut its emissions by 45%—or by any figure—by 2030, despite judges accepting campaigners’ argument that the firm owes a duty to the public to curb emissions to confront the climate emergency. There can be no doubt that shielding people from dangerous climate change is a human right, the appeals court stated. It is chiefly for legislators and governments to implement measures that reduce dangerous climate change. The 2021 ruling on appeal from the Hague District Court had directed Shell to lower carbon dioxide output and to bring corporate policy into line with the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Activists hailed the judgment as a landmark first. The action was initiated by Milieudefensie, the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth, along with more than 17,000 co-claimants in total supporting the case...
In this issue Key developments and materials Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and network connections Renewable energy Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change International energy Lex Talk®Energy: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Key developments and materials Built environment industry responses to the Autumn Budget 2024: In the wake of the Autumn Budget issued on 30 October 2024, a range of built environment bodies have set out their responses. See: LNB News 31/10/2024 37. Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Carbon Dioxide Transport and Storage ( Determination of Turnover for Penalties) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/1089: These Regulations outline the method for determining a carbon dioxide transport and storage licence holder’s turnover when establishing the maximum penalty, as referenced in paragraph 10 of Schedule 3 (maximum amount of penalty) to the Energy Act 2023 (the 2023 Act). They entered into force on 1...
R (on the application of Friends of the Earth Ltd and others) v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2024] EWHC 2707 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The court clarified the scope of the Secretary of State’s obligations under CCA 2008, s 58. A wide margin of discretion applies, creating a high hurdle for any legal challenge to a national adaptation programme ( NAP). The Secretary of State is not required to provide the level of granularity demanded for policies and proposals under CCA 2008, s 13; no fixed degree of specificity is mandated. While the Committee on Climate Change ( CCC)’s critiques formed part of the decision‑making context, they did not show that NAP3 rested on a legal error. Claimants whose homes face...
In this issue: Key developments and materials Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and network connections Renewable energy Oil and gas Nuclear energy Planning issues in energy projects International energy Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Key developments and materials Autumn Budget 2024—key environment and energy announcements On 30 October 2024, the Autumn Budget was delivered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, unveiling a suite of proposals affecting the energy and environmental spheres. Headline pledges encompassed major backing for both Track-1 carbon capture, usage and storage ( CCUS) clusters, alongside the 11 winning HAR1 electrolytic hydrogen schemes earlier trailed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero ( DESNZ). In addition, nuclear received a boost, with £2.7bn...
In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Network and network connections Renewable energy Oil and gas Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Electricity Code Modifications Comprehensive information on every live change to the Connection and Use of System Code ( CUSC), the Grid Code ( GC), the System Owner - Transmission Owner Code ( STC) and the Security and Quality Supply Standard ( SQSS) is now brought together on NESO’s Modification Tracker. The tracker explains each proposal’s aim, the stakeholder groups impacted, includes Panel observations on prioritisation, and indicates its current stage in the assessment pathway. For further details, see: Codes. Network and network connections NESO commissioned to develop first SSEP for Great Britain DESNZ confirmed that the newly established NESO has been tasked by energy ministers from the Scottish, Welsh, and UK governments to prepare Great...
In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and network connections Renewable energy Capacity Market, balancing services and energy system flexibility Oil and gas Nuclear energy Air emissions, efficiency and climate change International energy Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Ofgem launches consultation on future of BAT after March 2025 Ofgem has opened a consultation to extend the Ban on Acquisition-only Tariffs ( BAT) to 31 March 2026, following its July 2024 decision to keep the BAT in place until 31 March 2025. The BAT is a measure that stops electricity suppliers from offering unsustainable fixed-term deals solely to new customers. Ofgem is seeking views on prolonging the BAT’s market-wide derogation for the same period, how well the BAT is...
South Lakeland Action on Climate Change— Towards Transition v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities [2024] EWHC 2349 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The judgment brings welcome clarity to the steps required when conducting EIAs and provides an important steer on how the courts will treat applications that depend on ‘substitution’ reasoning. The central message is straightforward: developers and planning authorities must ensure the EIA includes an appraisal of downstream emissions arising from the proposal. It will not suffice to maintain that such emissions need not be assessed simply because they will be counterbalanced or ‘offset’ by some other factor. While the ruling leaves scope for promoters to argue that their scheme has a neutral environmental effect by advancing a substitution case, any material relied upon must be scrutinised under the 2011 regulations, enabling public...
In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Network and network connections Renewable energy Oil and gas Nuclear energy Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Electricity ( Standards of Performance) ( Amendment) Regulations 2024 SI 2024/984 This instrument updates the Electricity ( Standards of Performance) Regulations 2015 ( SI 2015/699), which set out the amounts that electricity suppliers and distributors must pay customers as compensation when agreed service performance standards are not met, subject to specified exemptions. The changes made by this measure relate to electricity distributors and take effect on 1 November 2024. See: LNB News 04/10/2024 18. DESNZ and Ofgem publish joint response to energy code reform...
In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and network connections Renewable energy Nuclear energy Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change International energy Lex Talk®Energy: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Ofgem consults on Gas Transporters traditional metering licence conditions Ofgem has issued its decision from the August 2024 consultation reviewing the Gas Transporters’ traditional metering licence conditions, setting out its proposals and rationale to keep these conditions in force until 31 December 2025. It has also opened a statutory consultation on changes to the Special and Standard Special licence conditions for Gas Transporters held by National Gas Transmission Plc and the Gas Distribution Network Operators, suggesting the current end date for the ‘ Sunset...
In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and network connections Renewable energy Capacity Market, balancing services and energy system flexibility International energy Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing DESNZ launches consultation on regulating TPIs in the retail energy market The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has opened a consultation to bring Third Party Intermediaries in the retail energy market under regulation, bolstering consumer protection and aiding the shift to a cleaner energy system. Triggered by cases of consumers and businesses being targeted by unregulated rogue brokers and other TPIs, this forms part of the government’s ongoing support for Ofgem to develop an effective market for non-domestic customers, alongside implementing recommendations from Ofgem’s July 2023 non-domestic policy...
In this issue: Key developments and materials Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and network connections Renewable energy Conventional power, waste to energy, biomass, and CHP projects Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Key developments and materials Energy Act 2023 ( Commencement No 3) Regulations 2024 ( SI 2024/957): selected provisions of the Energy Act 2023 take effect on 1 October 2024. See LNB News 17/09/2024 7. DESNZ confirms NESO launch date: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has stated that the National Energy System Operator will launch on 1 October 2024. As part of a new strategy to achieve clean energy by 2030, the NESO will support connections for new...
In contrast to the better-known Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (an annual conference, now on its 29th gathering in Azerbaijan in November 2024), the biodiversity COP is held every two years, rather than annually. COP16 follows a high bar set by the 2022 meeting in Montreal, Canada (co-hosted with Kunming, China), where a landmark biodiversity agreement was adopted by parties collectively at that summit. The Kunming– Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (the Global Biodiversity Framework) seeks to tackle biodiversity loss, revive ecosystems and uphold indigenous rights as agreed. Central to the framework is a clear commitment to safeguard 30% of the world’s lands, inland waters, coastal areas, oceans and degraded ecosystems by 2030. It also proposes boosting finance for developing nations—a highly contentious and challenging endeavour to date—by mobilising at least $200bn per year in domestic and...
Popular documents
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 ]...
Discover more from LexisNexis
