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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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Full statement below: 21st May 2025 Across the last two years, the DPC has worked closely and intensively with numerous leading technology firms driving AI innovation, particularly around how adults’ personal data is used to train Large Language Models within the EU/ EEA. We recognise that applying the General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR) to this rapidly evolving field is intricate; nevertheless, via our supervisory engagement the DPC has clarified for companies exactly what is expected in order to mitigate significant risks and potential harms to individuals. As a result of this engagement, several companies have introduced enhancements and extra data protection safeguards ahead of launching in the EU. In March 2024, Meta notified the DPC of its intention to train its Large Language Model on public content posted by adults on Facebook and Instagram throughout the EU/ EEA. Following engagement with Meta and a...
Full statement below: Commission calls on 19 Member States to fully transpose the NIS2 Directive. Today, the European Commission resolved to issue a reasoned opinion to 19 Member States ( Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, France, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland and Sweden) for not notifying full transposition of the NIS2 Directive......
Allegations of human-rights abuses in Gaza have put the EU- Israel association accord, which frames their political and trade ties, under close examination right now. After meeting the bloc’s foreign ministers on Tuesday, the EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said member states had requested the European Commission to reassess the pact because of the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza. First sought by Ireland and Spain last year, the review could ultimately result in the association agreement being suspended. In February 2024, the pair sent a joint letter to the Commission calling for an ‘urgent review’ of the accord, citing worries that Israel may have violated the human-rights clauses contained in the document......
Carrying out a data protection impact assessment for AI systems is a core GDPR compliance duty and must not be reduced to a box-ticking exercise, stated Cian O’ Brien, Ireland’s Deputy Data Protection Commissioner. Regulators, he noted, are already treating the duty to undertake a DPIA [data protection impact assessment] with the utmost seriousness in relation to AI systems. Speaking today at AI Governance Global Europe 2025 ( IAPP, Brussels, 15 May 2025), O’ Brien said Ireland’s data protection authority has opened a wide-ranging investigation to establish whether Google fulfilled the GDPR’s data protection impact assessment obligation before it started training its AI model, Pa LM 2, using EU users’ data......
Meta Platforms faces a lawsuit filed yesterday by a German consumer group that has asked judges to block the social media company's training of its AI model with personal data in Germany. Consumer organisation Verbraucherzentrale in North Rhine- Westphalia is moving to halt Meta’s plans via summary proceedings lodged with the Cologne Higher Regional Court. While the next procedural steps remain unsettled, the group told MLex it anticipates the court will set a date for an oral hearing. Meta has stated it intends, by the end of May, to begin using Instagram and Facebook users’ publicly accessible personal data — including posts, photos and comments — to train its AI systems. Users may opt out of this training before 27 May 2025 (see here). Lawyer Christine Steffen said the application for a preliminary injunction is designed to stop Meta from...
Concerns over Meta Platforms harvesting users’ information to train artificial intelligence systems prompted UK legislators last night to push through a tweak to the nascent data reform bill, designed to stop training on people’s data without consent and, in turn, to shore up public confidence in AI. A peer in the House of Lords, Parliament’s upper chamber, tabled an amendment to the Data ( Use and Access) Bill—targeting how the legislation would modify processing of personal data for scientific research—and the government lost the resulting vote in the chamber on the UK measure. The change bears on the bill’s plan to revise Article 4 of the UK’s General Data Protection Regulation, which provides the definitions around research. Lords member Charles Colville, who advanced the proposal, condemned the state of affairs laid bare last year by disclosures about Meta scraping user data—at first without...
Meta Platforms Ireland’s challenge of an opinion by an umbrella group of EU data protection authorities on the ‘consent or pay’ business model has been rejected as inadmissible, the EU’s lower-tier General Court has ruled (see here) The action was thrown out on the basis that it was in part inadmissible and in part manifestly lacking any legal foundation, according to the General Court’s order dated 29 April, which was made public today. A Meta representative told MLex they were disappointed the court would not pronounce on the validity of the EDPB’s opinion, stressing that subscriptions offered as an alternative to viewing advertising are a well-established and economically viable business model used across numerous industries. The US technology giant had asked the court to declare the European Data Protection Board’s opinion, issued in April 2024, null and void (see here). The EDPB’s view was...
Irish Data Protection Commission ( DPC) The Irish Data Protection Commission ( DPC), serving as Tik Tok’s lead supervisory authority in the EU, concluded that the short-form video platform breached General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR) requirements on transparency and the legality of international data transfers. It did so by moving EU users’ personal data to the People’s Republic of China without ensuring protections equivalent to those guaranteed within the EU. Beyond issuing a monetary penalty, the Irish regulator has directed Tik Tok to bring its processing operations into full compliance within six months. Should the company fail to meet this deadline, its transfers of personal data to China will be halted, the authority noted. “ The GDPR requires that the high level of protection provided within the EU continues where personal data is transferred to other countries,” said DPC Deputy...
The official notice is enclosed. Case ref: T-179/25. See Action lodged on 13 March 2025 – Wireless Connect v...
EU AI Act timeline for GPAI Code of Practice Under the EU AI Act, the Code of Practice must be finalised by 2 May 2025 at the latest, and the European Commission’s AI Office is obliged to take the ‘necessary steps’ so the Code is recognised as an official compliance instrument. Yet, earlier this week the EU AI Office informed participants in the drafting work that ‘the final GPAI Code of Practice and the Commission guidelines on GPAI [are] expected to be published ahead of August 2025’. Its communication further notes: ‘ This extension of the deadline comes as a result of prioritising extended feedback cycles (as requested by all stakeholders), and to give stakeholders four weeks to respond to the consultation on guidelines’. According to the Commission’s updated website, the definitive Code will be presented at the closing plenary session and issued by August 2025,...
Attached are the Strategy Statement 2025–2027 and the 2025 Work Programme. The press release follows. Strategy is built on six key outcomes– Children, Democracy, Trust, Irish Culture and Media, Diversity and Inclusion, and Public Safety On 24.04.25, Coimisiún na Meán published its first three-year strategy, setting out the organisation’s vision for a vibrant and healthy media landscape in Ireland. Executive Chair, Jeremy Godfrey, expressed confidence that this strategy will support the creation of a media landscape that benefits all of society. The Strategy Statement 2025–2027 is accompanied by a 2025 Work Programme, which outlines priority projects across Coimisiún na Meán’s remit of online safety, media sector development and regulation. Children — a media landscape that protects the rights, wellbeing and development of children, and supports their safe engagement with content Democracy — a media landscape that sustains democracy and democratic values, underpins civic discourse, and reduces the impact of...
Tik Tok owner Byte Dance Tik Tok’s parent Byte Dance could be hit with a fine as early as next week by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, after an investigation into whether users’ information was sent to China, a commissioner at the authority told MLex. Des Hogan, a commissioner at the Irish DPC, said in a Washington interview on the sidelines of a conference that action on Tik Tok would come within the next few weeks. He also added the DPC has circulated its draft ruling to fellow data protection authorities across the 27-nation EU and has received no objections. Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation’s Article......
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ( CCPC) has unveiled a fresh process for settling administrative competition law investigations and cases. From September 2023, the CCPC, acting via independent adjudication officers, may determine that a business has infringed competition law and levy financial penalties of up to 10% of the undertaking’s global annual turnover or €10m, whichever amount is higher. Under the new Settlement Procedure, the CCPC may accept the application of a lowered monetary penalty where a business acknowledges a breach of competition law and consents to a simplified process to bring the investigation to a close. The CCPC and the business may likewise agree any measures that the business will be......
CCPC outlines competition concerns in preliminary assessment of Circle K/ Pelco deal. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ( CCPC) has issued a preliminary assessment to the parties involved in the planned purchase of Pelco Holdings Ltd by Ard Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Circle K Ireland Holding Ltd ( M/24/042). The assessment outlines the CCPC’s preliminary concerns regarding how the proposed acquisition might reduce competition in the retail motor fuel sector overall. As this is only a preliminary assessment, and not a final decision, the parties may now also formally reply in writing, deliver oral submissions, and further get......
Suppliers of general‑purpose AI models, including Open AI, Anthropic, and Microsoft, witnessed the Commission set out its preliminary approach to implementing the EU AI Act’s pertinent provisions, preceding the publication, in due course, of administrative guidance on the matter itself. This initial approach was issued within a consultation intended to solicit input from AI companies, downstream actors, public authorities, and civil society on forthcoming GPAI guidance. See: LNB News 22/04/2025 37. The guidance will clarify core concepts in the EU AI Act, and this early approach offers a first view of how the Commission, which will also be the sole enforcer of the GPAI provisions, reads them. General-purpose AI models Among the first issues the guidance seeks to elucidate are the practical criteria for deciding when a model comes within the scope of the EU AI Act. In particular, the Commission notes that the key...
Chinese online marketplace Temu has been accused of allegedly unfairly restricting the pricing autonomy of its commercial partners in a new complaint lodged with Germany’s competition regulator. A retailers’ trade body claims Temu imposes pricing caps and also uses covert sales tactics through advertising and so-called ‘countdowns’, in which an online shopper watches the clock tick down on a quoted price......
The EU AI rulebook adopts a phased rollout: some headline provisions take effect from August 2025, with most following in 2026. As these milestones approach, organisations are rushing to interpret an opaque legal text. Uncertainty stems from doubts about Regulation ( EU) 2024/1689 (the AI Act), notably its relevance during development, any extraterritorial reach, the meaning of central legal concepts, and the limits of the scientific research and development exemption. Development phase The AI Act indicates it does not extend to research, testing, or development activities for AI systems or models before they are placed on the market or put into service. However, a European Commission question‑and‑answer paper on general‑purpose AI ( GPAI) recognises that certain duties for model providers, implicitly or explicitly, relate to the development stage. These include: Notifying the regulator if providers anticipate GPAI models will exceed the Act’s training compute...
Statement follows. Competition and Consumer Protection Commission publishes record of enforcement activity for 2024 Five successful prosecutions, including Tesco and Homesavers Influencers among those served compliance notices for breaching consumer protection law 47 fines issued to traders in eight counties The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ( CCPC) has today released its annual Consumer Protection List ( CPL) 2024, setting out its consumer protection enforcement actions. Businesses featured span multiple sectors, including supermarket chains, department stores, pubs, bars and restaurants, and vehicle retail. For the first time, the list also records action taken against influencers who failed to disclose the commercial nature of their social media posts. In 2024, the following enforcement outcomes were finalised: Five traders were prosecuted in court, including Tesco and Homesavers 23 Compliance Notices were served on traders, three of these to...
Online platforms will see age assurance be in focus in the EU Digital Services Act guidance A senior Commission official said today that the EU Digital Services Act guidance will put age assurance centre-stage for online platforms. Martin Harris Hess, head of the Commission’s protection of minors unit, told an event that a draft will be released for public consultation in the coming weeks and will lay out a broad set of recommendations for platforms. The breadth is warranted, he noted, because of the wide ‘variety and diversity of platforms’. He also explained that the current version, still subject to change, spans ‘over a dozen chapters’ and frames advice from the user’s point of view. It is expected to address areas including platform governance, account creation and set-up, content moderation, recommender systems, generative AI and age verification. For every chapter there will be...
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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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