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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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Hirachand v Hirachand and another [2024] UKSC 43 Background This appeal addressed whether an order for financial provision under the I( PFD) A 1975 can encompass a sum reflecting the success fee under a Conditional Fee Agreement ( CFA) owed by a successful claimant to their solicitors. A CFA is an arrangement between a client and their solicitor under which fees become payable only in specified situations, most commonly if the client wins. Such agreements often include an uplift on the solicitor’s base costs where the client is successful; this uplift is termed a success fee. Although a prevailing party in civil proceedings will usually recover reasonable legal costs from the losing party, section 58A(6) of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 bars a ‘costs order made in proceedings’ from requiring payment of a success fee. The factual setting was that...
Knight (as property and affairs deputy for BJB) v Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and another [2024] EWCOP 59 What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment examined whether the Court of Protection had authority to determine a dispute between a claimant and a defendant, where a compromise agreement named a senior judge of that court as the decision‑maker on whether the claimant, through her deputy, could be released from a reverse indemnity undertaking, and allowed the defendant to answer any such application for release and to be heard. Although HHJ Hilder concluded that the Court of Protection did have that jurisdiction ‘by approved consent’, she questioned whether it was ‘right’ for issues arising in civil litigation to be transferred to the Court of Protection, as the issues in this case had been. The court also considered the correct approach to adopt in such...
Practice and procedure In this issue: Practice and procedure Relationship breakdown Private children Public Children Court of protection Daily and weekly news alerts Content spotlight Updated content New Q& As Useful information Key family law developments in 2024 and looking ahead to 2025 Within Key family law developments in 2024 and looking ahead to 2025, the Lexis+ Family Practical Guidance ‘ Next Generation’ Consulting Editorial Board ( CEB) assess the standout shifts in family law across 2024 and outline what they predict could become the principal developments in 2025. The ‘ Next Generation’ CEB comprises Matt Foster, senior associate at Charles Russell Speechlys LLP; Aimee Jones, senior associate at Sternberg Reed LLP; Laurie Kershaw, senior associate at JMW Solicitors LLP; Sacha Lee, associate at Dawson Cornwell LLP; and David Wilkinson, solicitor at Slater Heelis. Extension of the transparency reporting pilot for financial remedy proceedings The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary ( CTJ), acting with the approval of the...
What were the most significant family law developments in 2024? Matt Foster ( MF): From my day-to-day caseload and experience, the standout change has been, without doubt, the Court of Appeal ruling in Standish v Standish [2024] EWCA Civ 567, [2024] 2 FLR 966, which, to a degree and for present purposes, refines and clarifies the approach taken in respect of non-marital assets and indicates a discernible shift (or perhaps a return) towards closer scrutiny of the provenance and origin of the asset concerned. Aimee Jones ( AJ): In my view, the most significant development in 2024 was the amendments to the Family Procedure Rules 2010 ( FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, on non-court dispute resolution ( NCDR). A further important development was the continuation and expansion of the family court transparency pilots. These two important strands also have the prospect of...
In this issue: Practice and procedure Emergency procedures Public children Private children Lex Talk®Family: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content Content spotlight New Q& A Useful information Practice and procedure Courts and Tribunals Judiciary publishes inaugural Family Court annual report Sir Andrew Mc Farlane, President of the Family Division, has issued the Family Court’s first annual report, coinciding with ten years since its creation. The publication signals a move towards greater transparency across the Family Court. It provides a wide-ranging account of the court’s operations, highlighting the dedication of judges, magistrates, court personnel, social workers and other practitioners in resolving family disputes and protecting vulnerable people. He stressed the vocational character of family law and offered thanks for the commitment shown by everyone supporting the Family Court’s work. See: LNB News 02/12/2024 46. New Supreme Court Practice Directions published The Supreme Court has issued the Supreme Court Practice Directions, featuring a new Practice...
In this issue: Practice and procedure Emergency procedures Financial provision Public children International children Enforcement Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content Useful information Practice and procedure Speeches by Lord Justice Jackson and Mr Justice Mac Donald Mr Justice Mac Donald’s address at the East London Family Justice Board Conference — 6 November 2024 Mr Justice Mac Donald’s speech to the Judicial Council, Dublin — 21 November 2024 Lord Justice Jackson: Four inspiring women and one idea whose time has come — 21 November 2024 Lord Justice Jackson: The case for FDAC — 21 November 2024 The Lady Chief Justice speaking at the FDAC Annual Conference — 22 November 2024 Emergency procedures Commencement of domestic abuse protection order pilot Among the significant measures in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 ( DAA 2021) are...
GH v H [2024] EWHC 2869 ( Fam) What are the practical implications of this case? The decision aids practitioners in ascertaining who has standing to seek a charging order over a debt owed by a third party that flows from a financial remedy order, holding that a party to the original proceedings may apply. In spelling out the legal position, it removes what would otherwise be an undesirable situation in which a child would be required to take action against a parent within the broader parental dispute. The judgment further underscores the need for care so that order headings accurately identify the court seised of the matter. Because the bundle contained inconsistent captions—some describing the High Court and some the Family Court—the judge paused twice to consider whether his order on interest had in fact been correctly made. In the end, the wife was...
Re A and B ( Separate Representation) [2024] EWHC 2834 ( Fam) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment clarifies the considerations the court will apply when determining an application seeking separate representation. In the circumstances, the court also weighed the likelihood of success of the children’s intended set aside application, whether party status would have been afforded, and the extent to which their capacity to issue independent instructions had been impaired, as set out at paragraph [27]......
In this issue Practice and procedure Relationship breakdown Financial provision Public children International children Daily and weekly news alerts New flowcharts New Q& As Updated content Useful information Practice and procedure Family law and AI Clare Williams, a Lexis Nexis professional support lawyer, introduces AI in the family law sphere. The webinar, ‘ Be part of the conversation’, supports those new to AI tools and the issues they present, as well as more experienced users seeking space to assess their practice and AI’s role within the family justice system. Beyond bringing together essential terminology and practical guidance, the session examines potential pitfalls and difficulties, and considers how family practitioners might handle clients’ use of AI... Ministry of Justice annual report and accounts 2023–24 The Ministry of Justice ( Mo J) has released its annual report and accounts for...
DDR v BDR [2024] EWFC 278 What are the practical implications of this case? As well as offering a highly accessible distillation and application of the principles governing disputes over property between a sole legal proprietor and a non-legal claimant asserting a beneficial interest, this judgment underlines the truly basic distinction between the court’s declaratory function in property matters and its redistributive powers under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 ( MCA 1973). It also offers a template for the clear, targeted presentation of financial remedy applications. Where questions arise about the scope of a party’s bankruptcy estate, the approach must be equally disciplined. Its structured reasoning demonstrates how to keep such issues sharply defined and tightly analysed throughout the conduct of the application, from start to finish. The judge’s careful, methodical analysis should not mask the 'somewhat unfocused and...
GH v GH [2024] EWHC 2547 ( Fam) What are the practical implications of this case? Mr Justice Peel stated that the financial dispute resolution hearing ( FDR) — covering the increasingly favoured private FDR — is a fundamental step in the court process. It is treated as an essential part of that process. Dispensing with an FDR will be exceptionally rare, save perhaps where a party has entirely failed to engage, or in other similarly narrow circumstances. Whilst other scenarios might be advanced to move from the first appointment straight to a final hearing without an FDR, such instances will be uncommon in the extreme, genuinely very few and far between... What was the background? What was the background?......
In this issue: Practice and procedure Private children International children Financial provision Daily and weekly news alerts New content Updated content Useful information Practice and procedure Family Procedure Rule Committee meeting minutes Minutes from the Family Procedure Rule Committee meetings held on 8 July and 7 October 2024 have now been published. Suspected physical abuse of children—experts in the Family Court On 7 November 2024, the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew Mc Farlane, addressed the British Society of Paediatric Radiologists on ‘ Suspected physical abuse of children—experts in the Family Court’. Private children Family Justice Council announces 17th annual debate—expanding legal parentage The Family Justice Council will hold its 17th annual debate on 5 December 2024, 5 pm–7 pm, exploring the question: ‘ Has the time come to widen the scope of legal parentage?’ Chaired by the President of the Family...
In this issue: Practice and procedure Private children Financial provision Public children International children Lex Talk®Family: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content New Q& As Useful information Practice and procedure Family Procedure Rules 2010 Practice Direction Update No 6 of 2024 The sixth 2024 update to the Family Procedure Rules 2010 ( FPR 2010) Practice Directions has been released, revising FPR 2010, PD 5B (setting out when documents can be sent to the court by email), revising FPR 2010, PD 30A (to align with amendments to FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, r 30.3 regarding appeals) and introducing a new FPR 2010, PD 6D (addressing service of documents). This PD update draws on changes brought in by the Family Procedure ( Amendment) Rules 2024, SI 2024/1016......
In this issue: Autumn Budget 2024 Relationship breakdown International children Enforcement Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content Useful information Autumn Budget 2024 Autumn Budget 2024— Private Client analysis Private Client analysis: An overview of the principal personal tax measures set out in the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024. On that date, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, presented the government’s Autumn Budget. This much-awaited statement was the first Budget from a Labour administration in 14 years, and it also marked a historic first as the initial Budget delivered by a female Chancellor. For private clients, many of the headline points had been foreshadowed to some extent, and certain proposals—particularly the capital gains tax ( CGT) changes—proved less severe than many had anticipated......
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, delivered the government’s Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024 Keenly awaited and watched, this was the first Budget from a Labour administration in fourteen years, and the first ever presented by a woman Chancellor. Many headline measures for Private Clients had been trailed in one form or another, and several of the changes—such as the Capital Gains Tax reforms—were not as draconian as many had feared, proving less severe than anticipated. It was definitely a Labour Budget, unmistakably Labour in flavour, with the Chancellor honouring election pledges not to raise income tax or National Insurance for ‘working people’, and instead securing the £40bn of tax rises by lifting employers’ National Insurance, narrowing the scope of IHT agricultural and business property reliefs, increasing CGT rates, reforming the taxation of carried interest, changing the rules for non‑ UK...
In this issue: Practice and procedure International Children Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content New Q& As Useful information Practice and procedure Official Solicitor publishes litigation friend referral form The Official Solicitor and Public Trustee has released a form for solicitors to provide further details about a child party or protected party (other than in public children cases) when the Official Solicitor is requested to act as litigation friend. This assists the Official Solicitor in understanding the circumstances and reaching decisions more promptly. Any legal professional representing a party to the proceedings may complete the form. Where no legal professional is instructed, the referrer may fill it in... International Children Leave to remove ( HK v NK) In HK v NK [2024] EWHC 1987 ( Fam), the parents, formerly married, share two children. The father is British and the mother is from an...
In this issue: Practice and procedure Relationship breakdown Private children Financial provision Public children International children Enforcement Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content New Q& As Useful information Practice and procedure The Family Procedure ( Amendment) Rules 2024, SI 2024/1016 amend and update the Family Procedure Rules 2010, SI 2010/2955, which, together with accompanying Practice Directions, prescribe the processes and requirements to be used in family cases before the High Court and the Family Court. They take effect in part on 11 November 2024 and in full on 13 January 2025 respectively. See also: LNB News 11/10/2024 15. Conkerton memorial lecture by Mr Justice Cobb: on 10 October 2024, Mr Justice Cobb presented the Conkerton memorial lecture to the Liverpool Law Society in Liverpool, entitled Justice must be seen to be done. Relationship breakdown My HMCTS: How to apply online for a divorce or dissolution— The practitioner guide for lodging a divorce or dissolution...
In this issue: Emergency procedures Financial provision Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content New Q& As Useful information Emergency procedures Resolution publishes domestic abuse in financial remedy proceedings report On 8 October 2024, Resolution released a report exploring the connection between domestic abuse and the handling of finances upon separation and divorce. It brings together Resolution’s research, analysis and suggested legal and procedural reforms. Resolution, a membership organisation for 6,500 family justice professionals, champions a non-confrontational method for settling family disputes and campaigns for improved laws and support for families experiencing change. In mid-2023, Resolution assembled a multi-disciplinary working party to examine how domestic abuse relates to the allocation of assets on separation and/or divorce/dissolution, and the way it is treated in other financial proceedings. The report presents 12 recommendations, urging a cultural shift across all family justice...
Jassal v Shah [2024] EWHC 2214 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? With practitioners still waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision on whether success fees can be recovered under the Inheritance ( Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 ( I( PFD) A 1975), the High Court has resolved a different, perhaps unexpected, issue that strikes at the core of costs. May an I( PFD) A 1975 claimant receive an allowance for their legal costs within the substantive award? The court’s response is an emphatic ‘no’: costs fall to be determined later, via a distinct process. Yet James Pickering KC, acting as a Deputy High Court Judge, plainly recognised the troubling ramifications of that conclusion. More than ten years have passed since Mr Justice Briggs (as he then was) voiced a ‘real sense of unease’ in Lilleyman v...
In this issue: Private children Public children Medical treatment Lex Talk®Family: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content New Q& As Useful information Private children Contact ( Re M ( Children: Contact in Prison)) In Re M ( Children: Contact in Prison) [2024] EWCA Civ 1104, [2024] All ER ( D) 43 ( Sep), the Court of Appeal allowed the appellant mother’s challenge to an order that had permitted only limited contact between the two children and the imprisoned respondent (the father). Both parents were police officers. After their separation, the mother left the family home with the children. The father subsequently began a relationship with another officer. The mother and children later returned to the home for a time, during which the father raped the mother on two occasions. Extensive...
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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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