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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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High Court provides guidance on the court’s approach to interim applications under section 5 of the Inheritance ( Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 ( Weisz v Weisz & Ors) Weisz v Weisz & Ors [2019] EWHC 3101 ( Fam)) What are the practical implications of this case? With few reported decisions under I( PFD) A) 1975, s 5, this judgment delivers practical direction on the manner in which the discretion should be exercised. Francis J confirmed that the wording in I( PFD) A) 1975, s 5—‘immediate need of financial assistance’—ought not to be viewed as broadly akin to the discretion applied under section 22 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, where, in some instances, Maintenance Pending Suit orders may cover items extending beyond what would properly be regarded as immediate necessities. The test under I( PFD) A) 1975 is narrower, and the...
For much of the UK’s membership of the EU, the interaction between European law and the domestic system has sparked debate. To many observers, it operates as a limitation—practically, if not as a strict matter of doctrine—on the constitutional tenet that Parliament, acting with the Crown, is sovereign. In that context, the European Union ( Withdrawal Agreement) Bill ( WAB) sets out a number of measures with significant consequences for how sovereignty is to be understood in the United Kingdom. Current status of EU law At present, section 2(1) of the European Communities Act 1972 ( ECA 1972) stipulates that all rights, powers, liabilities, obligations and restrictions created by or under the Treaties, together with all remedies and procedures they provide, are to take legal effect in the United Kingdom without further legislation. Those rights must be recognised, available and enforced in UK law, and...
Hallman v Harkins [2019] UKUT 245 ( LC) What are the practical implications of this case? When the application for permission to appeal was made, no one had put in issue whether the FTT possessed authority to fix the scope of the relevant beneficial share. The UT, having granted permission, observed that it would have to settle a long-standing doubt about whether the FTT enjoyed any such jurisdiction at all. By deciding that the FTT lacked jurisdiction to determine the extent of a beneficial interest, the UT also emphasised that courts and tribunals should not deliver advisory or non-binding views, and that parties seeking an informed steer ought instead to consider the recognised forms of alternative dispute resolution available to them. Beyond the jurisdictional point, the decision is valuable for its recital of the considerations that inform whether a beneficial interest arises and, if so, how far...
Ubbi and Anori (minors) v Ubbi [2018] EWHC 1396 ( Ch), [2018] All ER ( D) 38 ( Aug) What are the practical implications of this case? In proceedings by two children seeking maintenance from their late father’s estate under the Inheritance ( Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, the parties settled on a calculation approach that the court endorsed and applied. The agreed multiplier–multiplicand methodology drew on the Ogden Tables for each head of maintenance. An investment rate of -0.75% was adopted, on the footing that any lump sum would be invested in gilts to mirror the lowest investment risk. From the overall figure, there was a deduction to reflect the reasonable contribution the children’s mother could be expected to make across the relevant period. As a result, her financial position and anticipated earnings and income were pertinent, and evidence...
Keays (by her litigation friend, Keays) v Executors of the late Parkinson [2018] EWHC 1006 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? Executors ought to refrain from personal, ad hominem critiques of a litigation friend’s fitness to act. The ruling also underlines that executors should not seek to foist their preferred nominee to supplant the existing litigation friend, even where there was a prior in‑principle consensus to appoint a professional. Further, in the absence of a Beddoe order, applications of this nature are liable to leave executors and/or beneficiaries personally responsible for both parties’ costs if the application fails, rather than enjoying indemnity from the estate. What was the background? In February 2017, Sara Keays, acting as litigation friend for her adult daughter, Flora, issued proceedings in the Chancery Division under the Inheritance ( Provision for Family and...
Thompson v Ragget and others [2018] EWHC 688 ( Ch), [2018] All ER ( D) 18 ( Apr) What are the practical implications of this case? If an unmarried couple have no wills and one dies, the survivor has no statutory entitlement to inherit under the intestacy rules. Nevertheless, as the claimant did, a surviving cohabitee may bring a court claim for financial provision if they lived together for two years, or if they were a dependant immediately before the deceased’s death. A central consideration in such claims, as here, is whether accommodation should be provided through a life interest rather than by transferring capital outright. In the widely reported case Ilott v The Blue Cross and others [2017] UKSC 17, [2017] All ER ( D) 96 ( Mar), Lord Hughes emphasised that the statutory power is to meet maintenance, not to grant capital; where...
Re Various Incapacitated Persons ( Appointment of Trust Corporations as Deputies) [2018] EWCOP 3 What are the practical implications of this case? This test case lays out guidance for any trust corporation seeking appointment by the Court of Protection as property and affairs deputy for people who lack capacity. Although the corporations before the court were all linked to solicitors’ legal practices, the ruling equally applies to other regulated trust corporations (for example charities, banks and other financial institutions) and to unregulated trust corporations. As a result, every future application by a trust corporation to the Court of Protection is affected. Given the broad and growing reliance on trust corporations in this function, the decision offers clear and useful direction to the wider profession and is essential reading for anyone practising in this sphere. What was the background? The Court of Protection listed 36 matters...
Original news A Local Authority v AMc C and others [2017] EWHC 2435 ( Fam), [2017] All ER ( D) 49 ( Oct). Care orders were granted for two boys, aged 13 and 15, because remaining in their existing residential placements was judged to be in their welfare best interests. The Family Division also found that the near‑18‑year‑old brother’s presumption of capacity had not been displaced; nonetheless, an injunction was made which did not oblige him to live in any specified accommodation, but barred him from residing at his mother’s home until capacity and jurisdiction could be revisited. What is the significance of this case? Why is it important for practitioners? This appeal succeeded against the final care orders on grounds of procedural unfairness. Those final orders were imposed at a re‑listed issues resolution hearing rather than at a final hearing. The process was held to have...
What is the background to this case? In R (on the application of CXF (acting by his mother, his litigation friend)) v Central Bedfordshire Council and another, [2017] EWHC 2311 ( Admin), Dinah Rose QC, acting as a Deputy High Court Judge, examined the operation of section 117 of Me HA 1983. This framework supports people discharged after compulsory detention under Me HA 1983. The entitlement derives from Me HA 1983, s 117, widely known as ‘section 117 aftercare’. Such aftercare is supplied without charge, regardless of financial means, unlike much social services support. Funding is shared between health services, through CCGs, and social services, via local authority adult social services departments ( LAs). Certain provisions do not fall within section 117 aftercare: these are services seen as meeting only basic needs, lacking a sufficient nexus with an individual’s mental health disorder. The notion of...
Original news Re V (a child) (recognition of foreign adoption) [2017] EWHC 1733 ( Fam), [2017] All ER ( D) 59 ( Jul) The applicants, Nigerian citizens temporarily present in the UK, sought recognition of a Nigerian adoption order. Having reviewed the full range of criteria relevant to acknowledging adoptions made abroad, the Family Court granted the application. Why does this matter, and what should practitioners take from it? The decision engages the doctrine of comity in the context of recognising adoption orders from other jurisdictions. Where the order originates in a state that has ratified the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, it is automatically recognised as a Chapter 4 ‘overseas adoption’ ( Adoption and Children Act 2002, ss 66, 87; Adoption ( Recognition of Overseas Adoptions) Order 2013, SI...
Original news Nahajec v Fowle (acting as executor of the estate of Nahajec deceased and as beneficiary of the estate) [2017] Lexis Citation 270, [2017] All ER ( D) 42 ( Aug) The claimant’s father’s will left the entirety of his estate to the defendant, providing no reasonable financial provision for the claimant. Having weighed every matter in section 3 of the Inheritance ( Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 ( I( PFD) A 1975), the County Court concluded that the reasonable sum, duly capitalised for maintenance, to be received, was £30,000. What was the background to this case? The deceased left his estate to his friend, Stephen Fowle, whom he also appointed as executor of the estate. A note accompanying the will highlighted the absence of contact with his three children and his view that they were...
Original news Makhlouf v Secretary of State for the Home Department ( Northern Ireland) [2016] UKSC 59, [2016] All ER ( D) 93 ( Nov) The Supreme Court rejected an appeal against a deportation order made against a foreign offender, notwithstanding that his children are British citizens living in the UK. While the appellant argued that removal would violate his and his children’s rights under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the court decided that, on the evidence, he had no relationship with either child and their lives had been completely unaffected by his being their father. The court also determined that the Secretary of State was not required to undertake further enquiries concerning the appellant and his children beyond those already conducted. What was the background to the case? The appellant, a Tunisian national, married a British citizen in Tunisia in 1996. In 1997, his...
Original news R Trust [2015] JRC267A What were the background facts of the case? The matter arose from directions issued by the English Family Court against Jersey-based trustees of a Jersey discretionary trust, even though the trustees had not accepted the authority of that court. Following divorce proceedings in England between Mr B and his former spouse, Mrs B, the court ordered a distribution of the matrimonial estate. Included within that division was a trust established by Mr B, whose only beneficiaries were the parties’ children, both of whom were minors. The trust deed nevertheless allowed, among other powers, the addition of further beneficiaries. The English court determined that Mr B’s transfer of assets into the trust should be unwound, and instructed the trustee to recognise that position and return the trust fund to Mr B so that he could make payment on to Mrs B. The...
Original news R (on the application of Ali) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; R (on the application of Bibi) v Secretary of State for the Home Department ( Liberty Intervening) [2015] UKSC 68, [2015] All ER ( D) 150 ( Nov) The Supreme Court concluded, among other points, that obliging the overseas spouse or partner of a UK citizen, or a person settled in the UK, to pass an English language competence test before joining them was not an unjustified infringement of rights under ECHR, art 8. What key issues do these cases raise? Mrs Bibi and Mrs Ali are British nationals married to non- EEA citizens. Following amendments to the Immigration Rules on 29 November 2010, their husbands had to demonstrate English language ability by passing a competence test before being admitted to the UK for settlement. The rule does not apply in every...
Original news Williams and another v London Borough of Hackney [2015] EWHC 2629 ( QB), [2015] All ER ( D) 99 ( Sep). The Queen’s Bench Division ordered damages of £10,000 for each claimant parent. While the children’s initial removal from the family home was lawful and a proportionate step to protect them from harm, the defendant authority’s continued retention of the children after the police protection order expired was unlawful; accordingly, the resulting interference with the parents’ article 8 European Convention on Human Rights ( ECHR) rights was also unlawful. What issues did the court have to decide in this claim? How rare or noteworthy is the decision? The background is that on 5 July 2007 Mr and Mrs Williams were arrested following allegations by one of their eight children that they would regularly use excessive corporal punishment to discipline the...
Original news Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 ( Commencement) Order 2014 LNB News 01/08/2014 57; SI 2014/2039: With effect from 1 October 2014, a spouse or civil partner of someone who dies without leaving a valid will will take the entire intestate estate where there are no issue, and a larger allocation where issue are left. These revisions flow from the commencement of the Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 ( ITPA 2014). What does ITPA 2014 mean for the routine work of wills and probate practitioners? ITPA 2014 takes effect on 1 October 2014. Among the most notable shifts introduced by ITPA 2014 is the overhaul of the intestacy rules in section 46 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 ( AEA 1925). The legislation secures substantially enhanced financial provision for a surviving spouse where a person dies...
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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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