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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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Sasof III ( A3) Aviation Ireland DAC, together with aircraft leasing manager Carlyle Aviation Management Ltd and UMB Bank NA, has struck a confidential settlement with insurers, as recorded in a High Court order dated 19 December 2025 that has only recently been disclosed. Settling defendants include German reinsurer Munich Rückversicherungs- Gesellschaft and Axis Specialty Europe SE’s Brussels and Belgian branch. In an amended claim filed in February 2024, Carlyle, Sasof and UMB pursued 24 reinsurers to recover about US$44m tied to a 2006 Airbus A330 leased to Russian carrier I- Fly. Insurers that did not participate in the settlement include Convex Insurance UK Ltd and Liberty Corporate Capital Ltd, alongside various syndicates and entities such as Arch Insurance ( UK) Ltd and Swiss Re International SE. The claim states......
European SI No 440/2025 European Union ( Anti- Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Trusts) ( Amendment) ( No 2) Regulations 2025 ( Ireland) ( SI 440/2025 ( IRL)) published Published on 3 October 2025, SI 440/2025 ( IRL) was formally issued. These Regulations modify provisions of SI 194/2021 European Union ( Anti- Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Trusts) Regulations 2021 ( Ireland) to further implement Article 31 of the Anti- Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Directive ( AMLD) 4, as revised by AMLD 5, art 1(16). They impose additional obligations on designated persons where particulars of a relevant trust have not been entered in the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts. SI 440/2025 ( IRL) took effect on 1 October 2025 and can be accessed here for reference and review. On 9 October 2025, the EBA released a report addressing ML/ TF risks for...
On 10 November 2025, the ECB revealed it had levied periodic penalty payments totalling €187,650 on ABANCA, a credit institution headquartered in Spain. The sanction arose from ABANCA’s non-compliance with a requirement in an ECB decision directed to ABANCA on 1 December 2023. That decision obliged ABANCA to carry out, by a defined deadline, a materiality assessment of its climate-related and environmental ( C& E) risks. As part of this assessment, ABANCA had to strengthen how it identifies the material C& E risks to which it is, or could be, exposed. ABANCA did not properly perform the materiality assessment in the manner specifically required by the ECB decision for a period of 65 days as set out in the decision......
Domestic CBI feedback report on ESMA’s CSA on sustainability risks and disclosures in the investment funds sector CBI has issued a paper setting out its findings and observations arising from ESMA’s 2023–2024 CSA on integrating the sustainability risks and disclosures. This publication follows ESMA’s own report, released in June 2025......
Asset Management & Investment Funds— CBI publishes feedback report on CSA on sustainability risks and disclosures On 23 October 2025, the Central Bank of Ireland ( CBI) issued its feedback report on the 2024 European Securities and Markets Authority ( ESMA) Common Supervisory Action ( CSA), which evaluated fund management companies’ ( FMCs) adherence to sustainability-related disclosures and the embedding of risk considerations ( Feedback Report). As part of the wider European push on sustainable finance, the exercise closely reviewed the extent to which Irish FMCs meet the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation ( SFDR), the Taxonomy Regulation, and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive ( AIFMD) and Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities ( UCITS) Directive Level two obligations on integrating sustainability risks. Although the CBI observed strong alignment with supervisory expectations and a clear willingness to meet SFDR...
The estate of crash victim Shikha Garg On 19 November 2025, the estate of crash victim Shikha Garg urged jurors to grant her husband, Soumya Bhattacharya, between US$80m and US$230m, reflecting her ordeal in-flight and its impact on him. Boeing contended that a figure nearer US$12m was fair and proportionate, arguing the estate’s demand would effectively penalise the company for a tragic accident for which it has already acknowledged responsibility. After hearing the verdict, however, Shanin Specter of Kline & Specter PC said the parties had settled the matter before delivering closing arguments earlier that morning, 19 November 2025. The development capped around a week of testimony jurors heard about the March 2019 crash, which happened less than seven minutes after take-off. Garg’s action is the first civil claim to reach a jury over the Boeing 737 Max 8 disaster, which occurred five months after the loss of...
Ireland’s financial watchdog has imposed a €21.4m penalty on cryptocurrency platform Coinbase Europe over anti-money laundering failings tied to deals totalling billions of euros in value. According to the Central Bank of Ireland, the crypto-asset and wallet services provider did not adequately oversee 30m transactions in total valued at €176bn over a 12-month span. It subsequently required nearly three years to fully finish scrutinising the affected activity. After this review, Coinbase lodged 2,708 suspicious transaction reports with Ireland’s Financial Intelligence Unit for further examination. These shortcomings, spanning April 2021 to March 2025, related to one third of Coinbase Europe’s total transactions over the four-year window......
The European Commission’s 2026 Work Programme Published on 21 October 2025, the European Commission’s 2026 Work Programme (the ‘ Work Programme’) outlines a bold yet practical and comprehensive legislative plan for the year ahead. Centred on competitiveness, simplification and strategic consolidation, it marks a clear reorientation of priorities across financial services and investment funds, signalling a recalibration. Although the Commission still advances both the digital and sustainability transitions, the Work Programme conspicuously lowers the priority of some reviews, among them the much-awaited reassessment of Commission Directive 2007/16/ EC (the ‘ Eligible Assets Directive’, or ‘ EAD’). Despite prior traction, the EAD review—defining which assets UCITS funds may hold—has slipped down the legislative schedule and been deferred in practical terms. This move follows ESMA’s technical advice of 26 June 2025, recommending a stricter look-through methodology and narrower, more precise definitions for specified eligible assets in...
Participation exemption Among the most requested updates, the Bill both narrows certain anti-avoidance rules and broadens the overall scope of the dividend participation exemption ( DPE), which was introduced by the Finance Act 2024 and applies from 1 January 2025 in its current iteration. Geographic scope Previously, the DPE applied only where the company was resident in an Irish treaty partner or an EEA state in scope for these purposes. Helpfully, the Bill widens this to include territories that, as a rule, levy foreign withholding tax on distributions, so long as such withholding tax has been paid by the relevant subsidiary on the entire distribution and cannot be reclaimed. ‘ Relevant subsidiary’ anti-avoidance measures The Finance Act 2024 set out mechanical anti-avoidance tests under which, for example, if a non- Irish subsidiary acquired share capital from a company resident in a non- Treaty...
The Irish challenger bank confirmed it has launched a formal sale process, aiming to secure a new, long-term owner for the institution, according to the bank. It further added that the exercise is being run under the Irish Takeover Rules, with Goldman Sachs International appointed as its financial adviser for the process. PTSB, which describes itself as Ireland’s third-largest bank, reported a marked rise in demand for its shares among international investors, the lender noted......
The EU is reshaping the management of digital identity across Member States, with the Digital Identity Wallet shifting from conceptual policy to near-term deployment. Driving this change is the amended Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services Regulation ( EU) 2024/1183 (the e IDAS2 Regulation), which took effect on 20 May 2024, building on the original e IDAS framework (e IDAS Regulation ( EU) 910/2014) that set rules for electronic identification and trust services throughout the EU. The centrepiece of e IDAS2 is the ‘ Identity Wallet’—a secure mobile application enabling EU citizens and businesses to store, control and share digital credentials such as identity documents, professional certificates and business licences. By the end of 2026, the Identity Wallet must be available to all EU citizens, residents and organisations. By December 2027, specific regulated sectors, including banks, credit...
According to the document, the EU’s executive arm will abandon efforts to secure a deal on a financial transaction tax within its work programme centred on Europe’s sovereignty. The plan might have imposed a charge of up to 0.1% on the trading of securities across EU markets. The Commission likewise intends to scrap its proposed Unshell directive, created to curb the use of shell companies for tax avoidance and evasion. The document states that the Commission aims to pull these draft directives within the coming six months, as outlined in the same document......
Asset Management & Investment Funds: Irish practice developments— October 2025 Some annual compliance deadlines 31 December 2025—individual accountability framework: Regulated Financial Service Providers ( RFSPs) should deliver suitable, continuing training so individuals fully understand their responsibilities regarding the Conduct Standards and precisely what is required within their roles. Firms should be able to demonstrate that each person has completed the relevant training and keep records up to date. 31 December 2025—corporate governance: By year-end, complete the 2025 evaluations of board and individual director performance, and the schedule of matters reserved to the board. A formal, documented review, including an appraisal of the chairperson, must take place once every three years. At least annually, assess directors’ time commitments and confirmation of other directorships, adherence to procedures for managing conflicts of interest, and the terms of reference of any board...
Asset Management & Investment Funds: EU & international developments— October 2025 SIU The European Commission published two significant policy initiatives to advance the SIU, specifically to improve financial literacy and to expand investment opportunities available to EU citizens across the Union. Savings and investments accounts ( SIAs) Through its recommendation, the Commission presents Member States with a comprehensive European blueprint for SIAs, drawing on existing and established best practices. It urges Member States to establish SIAs where they do not yet exist, and to strengthen and enhance current frameworks by embedding leading practices from across Europe and worldwide......
Although Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohue, did not reference a targeted DWT exemption for investment ILPs in his Budget Day address, the Finance Bill released on 16 October 2025 did include such a measure, sought by several industry bodies on which A& L Goodbody participates. The draft provisions would extend the existing DWT exemptions in section 172C of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ( Ireland) ( TCA 1997 ( IRL)) to encompass ‘relevant distributions’ received by an ILP, or an ‘equivalent partnership’ authorised in the EEA, where specified qualifying conditions are satisfied. Once enacted, the new exemption will apply to relevant distributions made on or after 1 January 2026. Background to introduction of exemption ILPs serve as a key Irish holding vehicle for private assets. It is common for ILPs to route investments through several lower-tier investment subsidiaries ( SPVs), with SPV profits returned to the ILP by way of...
The European Securities and Markets Authority ( ESMA) has issued its final report concerning draft implementing technical standards ( ITS) aimed at broadening the use of the alleviated format for insider lists. The draft ITS are set out in Annex III. The Listing Act, printed in the Official Journal on 14 November 2024, amends the Market Abuse Regulation ( MAR) and instructs ESMA to reassess the ITS governing the format for compiling and maintaining insider lists, so that the alleviated format can be extended to all issuers......
AIFMD 2 AIFMD 2 signals a decisive turn for EU private credit funds, unveiling a harmonised regime for AIFMs of loan-originating AIFs that replaces disparate national rules with clear, consistent standards to ensure a level playing field. For private credit managers, it enables the structuring of both open-ended evergreen and closed-ended direct lending AIFs across the EEA, with aligned requirements on governance, risk, liquidity, and investor protection overall......
The long-anticipated AIFMD II, amending Directive 2011/61/ EU ( AIFMD) and Directive 2009/65/ EC on Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities in relation to delegation arrangements, liquidity risk management, supervisory reporting, the provision of depositary and custody services, and loan origination by alternative investment funds, entered into force on 15 April 2024. Delegation The recitals to AIFMD II acknowledge the crucial contribution of third-party delegation to streamlined portfolio management and to securing know-how in a specific region or asset class. AIFMD already bars AIFMs from outsourcing to such an extent that they amount to a ‘letter-box entity’. Delegation remained a central theme of the AIFMD review, and the recitals also stress the need for supervisors to hold up-to-date details on the principal features of delegation set-ups, and to implement targeted adjustments to enhance AIFMD’s operation, including the standards for AIFMs that delegate to third...
Regulatory Technical Standards ( RTS) on Settlement Discipline The European Securities and Markets Authority ( ESMA) has issued its final report proposing amendments to the Regulatory Technical Standards on Settlement Discipline, designed to improve settlement efficiency across the EU and help the shift to a shorter settlement cycle ( T+1) by......
ESMA 2026 workprogramme In its 2026 workprogramme, the European Securities and Markets Authority ( ESMA) confirmed that teams are already getting ready to assume fresh supervisory duties, including oversight of consolidated tape providers that will supply a unified electronic stream of price and volume market data. ' Through extensive outreach and preparatory work, ESMA supervisory teams are gearing up to take on these new responsibilities', ESMA Director Natasha Cazenave said in a statement. ESMA’s preparations are already under way now. The regulator added that the broader remit will align with new or updated European rules taking effect across financial services. From 2 July 2026, ESMA will begin registering ESG rating agencies under the new ESG ratings regulation. This framework, enforced by ESMA, sets out how agencies issue environmental, social and governance assessments to gauge companies’ financial exposure to these risks......
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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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