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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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: Banking and finance Commercial Corporate Data protection and cybersecurity Financial services Free movement, immigration and employment Energy Environment IP Life sciences Regulatory TMT Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Banking and finance ECB releases annual report on supervisory activities for 2023 The European Central Bank ( ECB) has released its 2023 report on supervisory activities, alongside opening remarks by Claudia Buch, chair of the Supervisory Board, delivered at a hearing with the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee ( ECON). Buch outlined the outlook for EU banking, the ECB’s supervisory priorities, and steps towards completing the EU Banking Union. See: LNB News 21/03/2024 26. Council of the EU adopts MREL ‘daisy chain’ directive The Council of the EU has adopted a directive amending the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive ( BRRD) and the Single Resolution Mechanism Regulation ( SRMR), introducing targeted proportionality rules for the consolidated treatment of internal MREL (minimum...
Cobult UG v TAP Air Portugal SA, Case C-76/23, ECLI- EU- C-2024-253 What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling permits carriers that had not previously offered travel vouchers as an alternative to monetary compensation to introduce them, on condition that passengers are provided with clear, transparent details, in plain and accessible terms, about the alternative reimbursement options available, and that the passenger is aware of the choices and gives informed consent to accepting travel vouchers in place of a cash payment. It also establishes that a passenger’s completion of an online form fulfils the requirement for a ‘signed agreement’ to be obtained in order to refund the price of the ticket by way of travel vouchers. Informed consent is not achieved where reimbursement is linked to: ambiguous or incomplete...
Worldcoin, a crypto initiative backed by Open AI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, has been barred from gathering certain data in Portugal, only weeks after a comparable sanction in Spain. Portugal’s data protection authority said it had instructed the Worldcoin Foundation to implement, within 24 hours, a temporary restriction on the collection of biometric information. It must cease harvesting that category of data for 90 days while the regulator finalises its inquiry and delivers a definitive ruling, the Portuguese DPA said. The Worldcoin scheme lets individuals confirm they are human online by submitting to biometric capture via bespoke, orb-shaped iris scanners. In return for enrolling for a World ID, applicants are granted a one-off allocation of the cryptocurrency, also named Worldcoin. The urgent interim measure taken by the Portuguese DPA follows dozens of......
In this issue: EU fundamentals Commercial Competition and state aid Corporate Financial services Free movement, immigration and employment Energy Environment Insurance and reinsurance IP Life sciences Regulatory TMT Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers EU fundamentals Council of the EU adopts reform of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the EU The Council of the EU has signed off reforms to the Statute of the Court of Justice of the EU, designed to streamline the administration of justice across the Court of Justice and the General Court. The package amends Protocol Three on the Statute so that, in defined areas, competence to deliver preliminary rulings is reassigned from the Court of Justice to the General Court. See: LNB News 19/03/2024...
Background On 23 February 2022, the Commission unveiled its proposal for a new Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence. The measure seeks to create a corporate sustainability due diligence duty, obliging companies to conduct checks across their supply chains to identify and then prevent, mitigate, or stop actual and potential adverse effects of their activities on human rights and the environment. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ( CSDDD) sits within a broader legislative framework on sustainable corporate governance alongside the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ( Directive ( EU) 2022/2464), and complements measures in the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation ( Regulation ( EU) 2019/2088) and the EU Taxonomy Regulation ( Regulation ( EU) 2020/852). Which companies are in scope? As provisionally agreed in December 2023, the CSDDD was initially intended to apply to EU companies with more than 500 employees and a net...
Italy and France, two countries that had voiced concerns over the law’s effect on their businesses’ competitiveness, accepted Belgian eleventh-hour concessions that lift the annual revenue threshold for companies to be caught by the law from €300m to €450m. According to the agreed text, only companies with more than a thousand employees will fall within the scope of the law. Belgium, which has been chairing legislative discussions among member states as the current holder of the Council of the EU’s rotating presidency, also pared back some oversight provisions......
In this issue: EU fundamentals Commercial Data protection and cybersecurity Free movement, immigration and employment Financial services Energy Environment IP Life sciences Regulatory TMT Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers EU fundamentals European Commission releases March 2024 infringements package The European Commission has unveiled its March 2024 infringements package, highlighting EU Member States it is pursuing for breaches of EU law. It is sending letters of formal notice, issuing reasoned opinions and making referrals to the Court of Justice against Member States including Germany, Spain, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Slovenia, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Poland, Netherlands and Croatia, for infringements spanning the environment, internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs), migration, home affairs and security union, justice, energy and climate, and mobility and transport. See: LNB News 13/03/2024 51. Council of the EU allows EU to negotiate with Switzerland The Council of the EU has authorised the EU to begin...
A three-judge panel affirmed a Manhattan district judge’s ruling to refuse Bon Sens.org ( Bon Sens)’s application for discovery intended for use in a foreign proceeding. The organisation also sought the communications to use in its lawsuit against the Government of France, in which it alleged that France and several other countries had unlawfully granted Pfizer immunity from liability linked to the coronavirus vaccines. Bon Sens says it is a collective of ‘citizens, artisans, entrepreneurs, farmers, doctors [and] teachers’, adding that ‘people of good will and common sense have decided to act to face the health and ecological challenges that the world will face in the coming decades.’ According to its website, it also backs scientific studies and pursues legal actions against the French Government in the name of transparency......
In 2021, the European Commission tabled a Platform Work Directive to improve conditions in platform-based work by, among other measures, ensuring accurate classification of platform workers’ employment status and advancing openness, fairness and accountability in the algorithmic oversight of their work. This marked the Commission’s attempt to bring the expanding gig economy under regulation. In December 2023, the preparatory bodies of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached a provisional deal on the Directive. Such provisional arrangements must still be formally endorsed by the Parliament and the Council (i.e. EU Member States)......
The EU’s General Court found that time started to run after the July 2014 posts, as roughly 300,000 Instagram users had liked the pop star’s pictures of a white trainer, posted when she took on the role of creative director at the sportswear giant. That interaction triggered the 12‑month grace window for Puma to apply for protection — which it failed to do until July 2016. According to the court, the photographs enabled observers to discern ‘all the features of the prior designs from various angles,’ thereby disclosing the design in advance. A Dutch footwear wholesaler, Handelsmaatschappij J Van Hilst BV, applied in 2019 to invalidate Puma’s filing, contending that multiple images from the star’s account years earlier had stripped the design of its individual character......
To get a head start on putting the draft EU AI Act into practice, the European Commission chose to set up the EU AI Office before the Act’s formal adoption. This early move was intended to begin preparing for implementation of the draft EU AI Act without delay. The decision creating the EU AI Office took effect on 21 February 2024, though it could be amended once the EU AI Act is passed. Housed within the Commission, the EU AI Office sits in the administrative framework of the Directorate- General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology and follows its yearly management plan. It has been purpose-built to carry out and police the EU AI Act. The EU AI Office has a major remit in relation to general-purpose AI ( GPAI) models, with duties that cover assessing capabilities, overseeing GPAI models, and probing...
In this issue: Commercial Competition and state aid Corporate Data protection and cyber security Dispute Resolution Financial services Energy Environment IP Life sciences Regulatory TMT International trade Lex Talk®EU Law: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Commercial European Parliament adopts text to establish EU-wide digital wallet The European Parliament has approved the text of a proposal to amend Regulation ( EU) No 910/2014 (the e IDAS Regulation) to create a European Digital Identity framework, building on the 2023 provisional deal struck with the Council of the EU on a pan- European digital identity scheme. Use of the EU wallet will be optional. During the talks, MEPs won safeguards to uphold individuals’ rights and to ensure inclusion by preventing any...
Main features The Digitalisation Regulation creates a single legal framework for deploying electronic communications and digital tools in cross-border legal proceedings, and in particular sets out rules on the following: communications among competent authorities, and between natural or legal persons and competent authorities use of videoconferencing or alternative remote communication technology deployment of electronic signatures and electronic seals legal consequences of electronic documents payment of fees by electronic means It requires that, wherever possible, exchanges between competent authorities across different EU Member States, and between a national competent authority and an EU body or agency, take place via a decentralised IT system. By contrast, for civil and commercial matters involving communications between natural or legal persons and competent authorities, a European electronic access point will be established on the European e- Justice Portal. The Regulation also permits...
Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive Belgian officials, overseeing EU legislative negotiations as the current holder of the Council of the EU’s rotating presidency, reported that a meeting of national envoys failed to break the deadlock. They noted that a final compromise on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive had been tabled for Coreper ambassadors to endorse, but, despite the presidency’s efforts, sufficient backing did not materialise. For adoption, the proposal required a qualified majority: at least 15 Member States, together accounting for a minimum of 65% of the EU’s citizens. However, Germany and Italy, along with Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta and Slovakia, all abstained, and Sweden voted against the measure. Austrian officials said they were unable to take......
In this issue: EU fundamentals Commercial Competition and state aid Data protection and cybersecurity Energy Environment Financial services IP Justice and home affairs Life sciences TMT International trade Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers EU fundamentals New transparency and workload management measures for Court of Justice The European Parliament has endorsed reforms introducing a series of new transparency and caseload management measures to be adopted by the Court of Justice, following the agreement reached with the Council and the Court on 7 December 2023. Under these rules, references for preliminary rulings in specified areas, such as taxation and emissions trading, will be automatically reassigned to the General Court. Judges and advocates general tasked with preparing cases will follow the same procedural rules in the General Court as those...
In 2022, the Court of Justice disposed of just under 30 intellectual property appeals, yet in 2023 it heard only four. Commentators in the field cannot pinpoint the cause of this decline, and the slowdown is ill-timed as practitioners press the top courts for guidance on live issues. Richard May of Osborne Clarke LLP cautioned that, without a steady flow of CJEU rulings, confidence in particular points of law will ebb. Conflicting Decisions Consequently, for all but a small number of trade mark matters, the EU’s General Court stands as the only forum outside the European Intellectual Property Office ( EUIPO), and diverging outcomes have left certain areas of doctrine less clear than lawyers would wish. Moreover, the General Court has itself been taking fewer appeals from EUIPO decisions, increasing the strain on the Board of Appeal as the final destination for a growing share of trade mark...
While the EU AI Act is not meant to interfere with copyright matters, the leaked draft recognises data’s vital role in building AI systems and introduces tailored requirements and constraints to balance innovation with copyright and related rights. In doing so, it mirrors the EU copyright framework, particularly the ‘commercial’ text and data mining ( TDM) exception in Article 4 of Directive ( EU) 2019/790 (‘ EU DSM Copyright Directive’). Guided by the recitals and the Act’s specific provisions, the following principles apply: Adherence to copyright law—providers of general-purpose AI models in the EU market must comply with EU copyright and related rights and, in particular, identify and honour reservations of rights expressed by right holders under the EU DSM Copyright Directive, regardless of where copyright-relevant training took place (recitals 60i–j) Copyright policy—providers must adopt a policy to respect EU copyright law, including...
In this issue: Banking and finance Commercial Competition and state aid Corporate Data protection and cybersecurity Environment Financial services IP Life sciences Regulatory TMT Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Banking and finance EU banking package: EBA consults on Pillar 3 disclosures and supervisory reporting requirements for operational risk The European Banking Authority ( EBA) has opened consultation on two draft implementing technical standards ( ITS) that would revise Pillar 3 disclosure obligations and supervisory reporting for operational risk. Feedback is invited by 30 April 2024. See: LNB News 20/02/2024 42. EU banking package: EBA consults on business indicator-related mandates in CRR3 The EBA is also seeking views on two sets of draft regulatory technical standards ( RTS) covering the components of the business indicator ( BI), together with a draft ITS...
Copyright owners are urging the EU’s new AI Office to act quickly so that Open AI’s Chat GPT, Dall- E and other general-purpose AI systems comply with EU copyright rules when they trawl the internet for vast quantities of material to train foundation models. The EU’s AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive AI law, sets out specific duties to ensure foundation models observe Directive ( EU) 2019/790, the Digital Single Market ( DSM) Copyright Directive. Right holders notched a win in December 2023, when EU negotiators agreed to impose obligations on foundation models to honour copyright. The European Commission’s 2021 draft had omitted such safeguards, arguing the DSM Copyright Directive already addressed them. Even so, Members of the European Parliament pressed to include these requirements, especially after Chat GPT’s surge in popularity following its November 2022 launch. Copyright protection has become a pivotal global...
Laudamotion Gmb H v flightright Gmb H, Case C-474/22, ECLI- EU- C-2024-73 What are the practical implications of this case? In Laudamotion Gmb H v flightright Gmb H ( Case C-474/22; ECLI- EU- C-2024-73), the consequences for air passengers covered by Regulation ( EC) No 261/2004, the Air Passenger Rights Regulation (the ‘ Regulation’), are far-reaching. Air passengers often find themselves already informed that a flight will run three hours late. Such delays are routine within aviation and may stem from technical problems with the aeroplane, strikes, or any other cause. When, because of that known delay, an air passenger no longer wishes to travel—whether because they know they will miss their meeting, as occurred in the dispute, or for any other reason—it is perfectly ordinary for them not to go to the gate to check in; and, where the delay is flagged much sooner, not even to set...
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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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