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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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What do online services likely to be accessed by children need to consider? The ICO issued a refreshed Opinion on age assurance for the Children’s Code in January 2024, a little over two years after the initial publication. The updated document emphasises that this field is fast-moving, still advancing and in flux, with the recent growth in AI use and the commencement of the OSA 2023 driving changes to the earlier text. Although Ofcom will oversee the OSA 2023, Ofcom will draw upon the ICO’s work undertaken since the Children’s Code was first produced, and the two regulators have been—and continue to be—working closely together on these matters. Between the first and revised editions, the ICO shaped its guidance through focus groups and engagement with innovators, specialists, technologists and organisations. It also carried out voluntary audits, reviewing how online services recognise risks to...
In this issue: Data protection Confidential information Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Data protection ICO issues fresh guidance on data protection fines The Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) has released new guidance on data protection fines, setting out how it imposes penalties and works out fine levels. The guidance details the legal framework that gives the ICO authority to levy fines, outlines its approach to core questions—such as identifying the broader ‘undertaking’ or economic entity of which a controller/processor forms part—and explains the methodology used to calculate penalties. See: LNB News 18/03/2024 59. Deadline for transitional arrangements allowing contracts to rely on 'old EU SCCs' for UK GDPR compliant international data transfers Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation, Assimilated Regulation ( EU) 2016/679 ( UK GDPR), organisations transferring personal data outside the UK on or after 21 March 2022 can rely on two...
In this issue: Data protection Cybersecurity Confidential information Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Data protection Court of Justice ruling clarifies limited role of IAB Europe in TCF The Court of Justice has defined IAB Europe’s limited role through its judgment in IAB Europe v Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit. That decision relates to IAB Europe’s appeal against the Belgian Data Protection Authority ( APD)’s February 2022 finding concerning IAB Europe and the Transparency and Consent Framework ( TCF). It follows the Belgian Market Court’s September 2022 interim judgment, which posed questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling and concluded that the APD’s decision lacked sufficient substantiation and did not reach the required standard for proper investigation and fact-finding. According to IAB Europe, the ruling delivers much-needed clarity on the notions of personal data and of (joint)...
In this issue: Data protection e Privacy Cybersecurity Lex Talk®Information Law: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q& A Data protection Clarity for companies on UK data protection fines, ICO to publish new calculation guidance MLex: Businesses facing UK data protection enforcement can expect clearer visibility on the scale of any penalty once the Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) issues its updated guidance. The regulator’s general counsel said in London on 29 February 2024 that details of a new ‘five-step process’ will be unveiled very soon. They added that the ICO must keep pace with legislative shifts at home and overseas, as these increasingly determine when and how a particular regulator has authority over specific elements. See News Analysis: Clarity for companies on UK data protection fines, ICO to publish new...
Your Lawyers Ltd v Capital Interchange Ltd & Therium Capital Management Ltd; Your Lawyers Ltd v Capital Interchange Ltd & Therium Capital Ltd [2024] EWHC 287 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This was a lengthy, fact‑heavy judgment, and its chief value for practitioners lies in the court’s appraisal of the prospects of success in some less commonly encountered causes of action. The judge was able to rely on Court of Appeal decisions arising from prior litigation between the Claimant and another party said to be involved in the alleged breach of its confidence, Harcus Sinclair. It was common ground that the Second Defendant had passed on the contents of a ‘ Litigation Pack’ prepared by the Claimant to Harcus Sinclair; the contested issue was whether that pack contained sufficient detail to attract the necessary quality of...
After a consultation period, the ICO is preparing to release guidance offering deeper clarity on how it works out penalties – to a degree, according to Claudia Berg, ICO general counsel, speaking at the ‘ IAPP Data Protection Intensive: UK 2024’ in London on 28–29 February 2024. ‘ People need to grasp, and to some extent anticipate, what the likely penalty will be if you do break the law,’ Berg said, adding that monetary sanctions are ‘one tool in the toolbox.’ Steps, buckets, traffic lights The updated approach will use five stages. First comes a ‘traffic light’ grading into ‘three buckets’ of seriousness, Berg explained. Subsequent stages consider both aggravating and mitigating elements. These will inform any potential fine to be imposed......
Farley (formerly CR) and others v Paymaster (1836) Ltd [2024] EWHC 383 ( KB) What are the practical implications of this case? The court’s move to strike out a large tranche of claims underscores how hard it is to surmount the stringent evidential thresholds in data breach litigation. Claimants must prove tangible loss, and cannot simply lean on inference—no matter how compelling—or on the fact of distress alone. The onus remains with the claimant to establish that an unauthorised third party actually accessed the personal data. Conduct that does not lead to unauthorised access is treated differently by regulators than by the civil courts. For instance, if documents with personal data are mistakenly left on public transport, a regulator might act over security failings, yet a civil claim may falter if the papers were swiftly recovered and not read by...
Enforcement against those already identified as non-compliant is coming At a privacy conference in London, Information Commissioner John Edwards warned that action is imminent. “ Our bots are coming for your bots,” he said, describing a coding challenge his office launched on 28 February 2024 with external experts, using AI to scan websites and verify cookie banner compliance. Flagged earlier in 2024, the hackathon complements established enforcement. In November 2023, the ICO wrote to 53 of the largest websites with non-compliant cookie banners. By January 2024, the ICO said 38 had complied and four more would do so within a month. That figure has not shifted, Edwards added, and enforcement now awaits the remainder. Enforcement is coming for the rest, he confirmed......
In this issue: Data protection Cybersecurity Confidential information Reputation management New and updated content Daily and weekly news alerts Data protection Eleonor Duhs, Partner and Head of Data and Privacy at Bates Wells, explores the consequences of the Retained EU Law ( Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 ( REUL( RR) A 2023) and the shift to ‘assimilated’ law for practitioners in data protection. For details, see News Analysis: Implications of the move to ‘assimilated’ law, and the Retained EU Law ( Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, for data protection lawyers. The Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) has published guidance on biometric recognition, setting out how the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Assimilated Regulation ( EU) 2016/679 ( UK GDPR) applies when biometric data is used within recognition systems. The guidance also surveys biometric recognition use cases and confirms these...
Legal Service Board report: The misuse of non-disclosure agreements: call for evidence themes and summary of evidence The LSB reported that clients and their legal advisers deploy these binding agreements to hide conduct that is lawful yet unethical, including bullying, settlements involving consumer products, and conflicts in construction and building. Numerous respondents also indicated NDAs are used across workplaces to conclude employment disputes. Matthew Hill, the LSB’s outgoing chief executive, voiced his gratitude to those who contributed to the review, which ran from May to July, noting that the exercise helped to illuminate a corner of legal practice that is, by its very nature, hidden. He further observed that the recurrent patterns set out in the report demonstrate that, when NDAs are misused, the consequences for people’s lives can be devastating......
PSN Recruitment Ltd (trading as Cosmopolitan) v Ludley and Greenscape Specialist Recruitment Ltd [2023] EWHC 3153 ( IPEC)) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment strengthens established principles on confidentiality and the law of confidence, and clarifies how protected confidential material should be assessed and categorised. Whilst it cannot be presumed that any client database is automatically confidential, a significant line of authority indicates that lists containing active and target client contact details typically satisfy the requirements for confidence, and this ruling now further endorses that stance. The decision also highlights the need for parties to provide full cooperation to the court and to avoid obstructive conduct, reflected both in the approach to the damages award and, more broadly, in Her Honour Judge Clarke’s remarks on the defendant’s behaviour and conduct throughout. In particular, Ludley’s destruction of evidence and his breach of the duty owed to...
A recap: What changes were already made in the period 2018–2020, as part of implementing Brexit? At the point when EU rules ceased to apply in the UK (31 December 2020), the European Union ( Withdrawal) Act 2018 ( EU( W) A 2018) preserved EU-derived rights and duties within domestic legislation. This covered the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation ( EU) 2016/679 ( EU GDPR), which was then recast as the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Retained Regulation ( EU) 2016/679 ( UK GDPR) under the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications ( Amendments etc) ( EU Exit) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/419, reg 2. The Data Protection Act 2018 ( DPA 2018) likewise continued in force. The EU law so preserved, together with UK measures that had implemented EU rights and obligations, formed a broad category of domestic law termed retained EU...
In this issue: Data protection Reputation management e Privacy Cybersecurity Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Data protection Court of Appeal emphasises the distinction between administrative policy and legislation for an immigration control exemption to the UK GDPR ( R (on the application of The3Million)) This matter concerned an appeal against a High Court judicial review judgment, which found the government’s second bid to craft an immigration exemption under section 16 of the Data Protection Act 2018 ( DPA 2018) (‘the Immigration Exemption’) removing certain United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Retained Regulation ( EU) 201/679 ( UK GDPR) data subject rights to be unlawful, as it failed to satisfy Article 23(2)–(3) of the UK GDPR. The appeal was rejected. Accordingly, the exemption did not meet Article 23(2)–(3) requirements under the UK GDPR. The judgment also...
Hemming v Poulton [2023] EWHC 3001 ( KB) What are the practical implications of this case? Of particular interest is the discussion of when claimants may amend their claim to add further defamation causes that would otherwise be out of time. The ruling underscores how difficult this is—the essence of libel lies in publication, not the nature of the allegations. Claims concerning discrete publications, even if repeating the same or similar accusations, will rarely, if ever, arise from ‘the same or substantially the same facts’ already in issue. The decision likewise highlights the challenge of seeking to disapply the libel limitation period under section 32A of the Limitation Act 1980. What was the background? Factual background The case has a long and complex factual and procedural history. The claims ultimately stem from allegations that the claimant, the former MP for Birmingham Yardley, assaulted an...
Under parliamentary rules, proposed laws are generally expected to gain approval within 12 months from the day they are lodged in Parliament, and additional time must be secured through extensions. The long-postponed Bill was first released on 8 March 2023 and was carried forward to the next session of Parliament on 17 April 2023. Since that debut, it has undergone several amendments along the way. As the Bill again approached its lapse date, the government then on 7 February 2024......
This judgment underscores that any UK GDPR exemptions must accord with Article 23 of the Retained Regulation ( EU) 2016/679. That provision aligns with the constitutional ‘rule of law’, meaning departures from fundamental rights must be precisely framed, legally binding, and sanctioned by Parliament. Because the government’s intended immigration exemption policy did not satisfy those criteria, the exemption was unlawful. R (on the application of The 3million and another) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and others [2023] EWCA Civ 1474 What are the practical implications of this case? Policy This decision is significant beyond data protection and immigration, as it shows the court’s exacting stance when the government seeks to rely on a policy document (here, the ‘ Immigration Exemption Policy Document’ or IEPD) as a safeguard to justify and lessen interference with a fundamental right, rather than putting binding...
In this issue: e Privacy Data protection Cybersecurity Reputation management Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content e Privacy Following its review of period and fertility apps, the Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) has urged all app developers to safeguard users’ privacy. Although the review did not uncover serious compliance failures, the ICO emphasises the need for continuing transparency about the use of personal information, securing genuine and informed consent, confirming a valid lawful basis for processing, and demonstrating accountability for the data they hold. Developers are reminded to ensure their practices clearly explain how personal data is used and to keep robust records that evidence consent and lawful processing. See: LNB News 08/02/2024 85. The IAB Technology Laboratory ( Tech Lab) has published its assessment of Google’s intention to retire third-party cookie tracking in Chrome and replace it with the...
Court of Justice judgment C-667/21, Krankenversicherung Nordrhein What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling departs slightly from C‑456/22, Gemeinde Ummendorf, and C‑340/21, Natsionalna agentsia za prihodite, which confirmed that liability under Article 82 rests on showing an infringement, damage and a causal link. The present decision introduces a fourth element: the controller’s fault is presumed unless the controller proves that the event causing the damage cannot be attributed to them. The Court of Justice stated that this fault‑based approach (as opposed to strict liability) is supported by a contextual interpretation of the EU GDPR. In theory, this may narrow GDPR liability for companies that fall victim to cyberattacks. In practice, the threshold will be demanding, requiring organisations to demonstrate not only that they had suitable technical and organisational measures in place to prevent...
Manufacturers of 'smart' products placed on the UK market are set to shoulder a sizeable administrative workload and technical obstacles to satisfy new cybersecurity obligations due to commence in under three months, with parallel duties extending to importers and distributors, according to cybersecurity adviser, Bluman. Bluman made the remarks in advance of the PSTI regulations 2023 coming into force on 29 April 2024. The UK government is empowered to impose the regulations under the PSTI Act 2022. It has recently written to industry to highlight the looming compliance date and to publicise guidance issued to support those efforts. The regulations set out granular security standards for 'relevant connectable products'—a label covering a broad range of internet-connectable and network-connectable items, including 'internet of things' devices and software. The regime, among other measures, effectively prohibits universal default passwords on in-scope products, requires the...
Misuse of private information claim based on broadbrush allegations fails ( Hussain & others v Rahman & others) Hussain and others v Rahman and others [2024] EWHC 116 ( KB) What are the practical implications of this case? An appraisal of the evidence led the court to determine that the second claimant’s choice to halt the third claimant’s proceedings against the defendants arose from the pressures of the coronavirus ( COVID-19) pandemic and his health anxieties in March 2020, decisively dismissing the claimants’ contention that intimidation by the defendants prompted the abandonment of the action. The court reaffirmed adherence to the approach articulated in Murray v Express Newspapers plc [2009] Ch 481 when assessing whether private information has been misused. On these facts, the court concluded that the first claimant—a young woman from a traditional Muslim household who had sought to shield her social...
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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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