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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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Facts [2023] EWHC 3269 ( Comm) The dispute stemmed from two crude oil sale and purchase agreements between the applicant, Premier, as seller, and the defendant, Shell, as buyer (the Contracts). Each contained a comprehensive and, for relevant purposes, identical pricing formula under which the price was to be determined, among other matters, by reference to “the average of the high and low daily quotations for Urals Rotterdam versus Med Dated Brent Strip as published in Platts ( AAGXJ00)” (the Urals Assessment). The Contracts also stipulated that, if Platts implemented a material modification to the heading or contents of assessments relied upon in the pricing structure (including the Urals Assessment), the parties would agree an alternative pricing source. If they failed to reach agreement, a referee would be appointed to select the alternative source. Following the imposition of European sanctions on Russia, Platts made a...
In this issue: Liability defences Road traffic accidents Other PI and clinical negligence news Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts Liability defences Defence of illegality—ex turpi causa does not apply where a claimant was not guilty by reason of insanity In Lewis- Ranwell v G4S Health Services ( UK) Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 138, the Court of Appeal conducted a comprehensive examination of the illegality defence in tort. By a majority decision—with Lady Justice Andrews dissenting—the court determined that ex turpi causa does not bar a negligence claim founded on conduct that would otherwise be ‘criminal’ (here, the claimant killed three individuals) where the criminal court has found the claimant not guilty by reason of insanity. See: Lewis- Ranwell v G4S Health Services ( UK) Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 138......
Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council [2023] EWCA Civ 1416 What are the practical implications of the case? This ruling could mark a watershed for ADR, likely prompting a sharp rise in mediations and other ADR mechanisms across disputes. The Court stressed the need to temper any compulsion with parties’ rights under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and underscored judicial discretion throughout the judgment, signalling balance rather than automatic coercion. Its application will turn on the facts of each dispute. How that discretion is exercised will be case by case and fact-sensitive. Although the soundness of the Council’s complaints scheme was not ultimately ruled upon, parties should note that where a clear route to ADR is overlooked, they will be expected to explain the omission to the Court. Parties who are both represented and comparably resourced, in...
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...
PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights—15 February 2024 In this issue: Road traffic accidents Clinical negligence Costs Court and the legal profession Other PI and clinical negligence news Daily and weekly news alerts Useful information New Q& As Road traffic accidents Pure economic loss and remoteness In Armstead v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company Ltd [2024] UKSC 6, the Supreme Court held that a bailee’s possessory interest in goods is sufficient to found a claim against a third party whose negligence damages those goods. The appeal succeeded: a car-hirer was entitled to sue the negligent third party in tort to recover the contractual daily loss-of-use sum owed to the vehicle owner (the bailor, hire company) arising from the damage. The court also issued succinct guidance on core principles governing negligence claims for harm to tangible property, and on the...
The change, due to take effect in April, is designed to reflect ‘historic inflation’ accumulated since fees were last increased in 2011, the department stated publicly on 12 February 2024 following its wide-ranging consultation. The measure is forecast to generate somewhere between £170,000 and £210,000 annually. ‘ These uplifts aim to remedy the sharp erosion in the real-terms value of fees and to deliver extra funding for the Supreme Court’s administration,’ the ministry also added. In addition to introducing a new charge for applying for permission to appeal within the proposed framework, the amount payable to lodge a notice objecting to an appeal is set to rise from......
Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2024] UKSC 1 What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling settles the long-running disagreement and friction in the caselaw about the correct treatment of secondary victim claims arising from clinical negligence, as opposed to accidents (for example, road traffic crashes, workplace injuries or major incidents such as the Hillsborough disaster). In the clinical negligence arena, the scope for a relative to pursue a secondary victim claim for psychiatric harm is now very narrow, albeit not entirely precluded where the events can properly be viewed as an accident, as defined by the Supreme Court. As these appeals did not involve an accident but concerned a medical crisis, the court considered that whether such claims might succeed should be resolved in a case where an accident is present on the facts. Even then, the central enquiry will be...
Maritime Developments v Hindustan Oil Exploration Company [2023] EWHC 3411 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? The decision offers highly practical reading for litigants grappling with serving civil proceedings out of the jurisdiction, and who may have to pursue default judgment in the absence of proof that service was validly effected. It will be of notable relevance to those required to serve pursuant to the Hague Service Convention yet who, after transmission, either cannot complete service, or cannot secure the formal certificate of service that would normally permit an application for default judgment under the English Civil Procedure Rules. It is also among the small handful of authorities to examine the reach and operation of Article 15(2) of the Hague Service Convention, which allows a court to enter judgment even in default without a certificate of service provided...
Zuhri v Vardags Ltd [2023] Lexis Citation 1620 What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling affirms that, once a bill has been assessed under SA 1974, the operation of the one-fifth rule in SA 1974, s 70(9) is not ousted by Part 36 in relation to costs. Section 70(9) stipulates that the party chargeable with the bill bears the costs of the assessment unless the bill is cut by at least one-fifth. The costs judge accepted the previously expressed commentator view that SA 1974 is a self-contained scheme, complete with its own checks and balances, so the primary statute cannot be supplanted by the different regime in Part 36. The decision therefore supplies firm guidance for future disputes. A valid Part 36 offer may, in some situations, amount to 'special circumstances' capable of displacing the default position; however, this has no role where the...
Court of Appeal highlights differences between applications for assessment under section 71(3) of the Solicitors Act 1974 ( SA 1974) and applications for assessment under SA 1974, s 71(1) ( Daniel Kenig v Thompson Snell & Passmore LLP) Daniel Kenig v Thompson Snell & Passmore LLP [2024] EWCA Civ 15 What are the practical implications of this case? The bills at issue, issued between 17 October 2021 and 2 August 2021, totalled £54,410.99 plus VAT. Although an initial estimate of £10,000.00 to £15,000.00 was cited, they will, it appears, now be remitted back to the SCCO for an actual assessment. It seems highly probable that the sums claimed will be materially pared back once the expense of the appeal is taken into account. Notably, an application for assessment under SA 1974, s 71(3) permits the consequences of any assessment to be placed at multiple doors......
Note: the CPRC has stopped sharing the supporting papers alongside the minutes, so this News Analysis is not accompanied by any documents clarifying the issues discussed. A copy of the minutes can be accessed here: Minutes of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee. The minutes contain several references to matters intended for a forthcoming CPR and PD update scheduled for April 2024. Please note that, after this CPRC meeting, updates to the CPR and PDs were issued (see 163rd Practice Direction update approved) with in-force dates of 1 February and 6 April 2024, LNB News 01/02/2024 82, and Civil Procedure ( Amendment) Rules 2024, LNB News 01/02/2024 37. Welcome Item 1 The Chair welcomed all present to the meeting. Item 2 The minutes of the meeting on 3 November 2023 (see News Analysis: Minutes of the CPR committee meeting—3 November 2023) were agreed and the action log was...
PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights—8 February 2024 In this issue: Evidence and disclosure Road traffic accidents Abuse and criminal injuries CPR updates Costs Court and the legal profession Daily and weekly news alerts New Q& A Useful information Evidence and disclosure The Court of Appeal has distinguished between late attempts to introduce factual material and delayed bids to rely on expert opinion. The first requires relief from sanctions and is judged by the Denton principles; the second does not, and is determined by applying the overriding objective. Authored by Phillip Patterson, barrister, Gatehouse Chambers. See News Analysis: Late application to rely on expert evidence is not an application for relief from sanctions ( Yesss ( A) Ltd v Warren). Road traffic accidents Approved settlement in brain injury from RTA claim. In GJC (a protected party by PKR, his father and litigation friend) v Walker [2024] EWHC 182 ( KB), the King’s Bench Division approved the...
Al Sadeq v Dechert LLP and others [2024] EWCA Civ 28 What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment is must-read material for practitioners dependent on LPP, acting as a stark reminder of the dangers of misapprehending its limits. It is especially pertinent to those undertaking disclosure where LPP is claimed but attacked via the iniquity exception. It supplies not merely a thorough treatment of the governing principles and authorities, but also hands-on direction on the proper conduct of a disclosure review—and, if required, its litigation—when wrongdoing is said to be in play. Accordingly, it serves as both warning and roadmap for practitioners managing privilege disputes in complex disclosure, clarifying expectations, recommended steps, and approaches where alleged wrongdoing is in issue. What was the background? From 2010 to 2014, the claimant, Mr Al Sadeq, served first as a senior lawyer and...
Yesss ( A) Ltd v Warren [2024] EWCA Civ 14 What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment adds to the series of significant Court of Appeal decisions on relief from sanctions. It confirms that a late bid to adduce expert evidence, where the trial date is unaffected, is not a relief from sanctions application, so the Denton principles do not apply. In doing so, it resolves a clash in earlier High Court rulings on this issue. The ruling also has broader significance in two respects: It indicates that the notion of implied sanctions in the rules is tightly limited, apparently restricted to notices of appeal and respondent’s notices. As a material counterbalance to the overall tenor, it stresses that the shift towards stricter adherence to rules, orders and practice directions operates not only within the sanctions framework but also across...
On 30 January 2024, the trade body issued fresh guidance on generative AI to support barristers in meeting legal and ethical duties. It urges them to grasp the risks and other factors linked to using Chat GPT and similar tools built on large language models. Sam Townend KC, Chair of the Bar Council, noted that AI’s expansion within the legal field is unavoidable, and the most advantaged barristers will be those who take time to understand these technologies so they can deploy them with oversight and integrity. He added: ‘ Any deployment of AI must be undertaken with care to protect client confidentiality and uphold trust and confidence, privacy, and adherence to applicable laws’, Townend said. The guidance stresses careful, informed use across practice to maintain standards......
Representative actions—a recap on CPR 19.8(2) ( Commission Recovery v Marks & Clerk LLP) Commission Recovery Ltd v Marks & Clerk LLP and another [2024] EWCA Civ 9 What are the practical implications of this case? The Court of Appeal’s ruling is essential reading for practitioners running representative proceedings under CPR 19, or weighing up whether discrete claims could instead advance via a representative route. Echoing the Supreme Court’s analysis in the relatively recent Lloyd v Google [2021] UKSC 50 judgment, the decision clarifies how far class members can be said to share a sufficient common interest, and identifies when representative claims may still be pursued even where some issues must be resolved individually rather than on a class-wide footing. Under CPR 19.8(2), the court examined whether the group had the same interest and held that, in this case, the class was unified around proving the...
PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights—1 February 2024 In this issue Abuse and criminal injuries Case management Costs Other PI & Clinical Negligence news Lex Talk®PI & Clinical Negligence: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New Q& As Useful information Abuse and criminal injuries The Ministry of Justice and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority have released updated guidance on criminal injuries compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012. It clarifies eligibility, the application steps, applicant obligations, and how claims are dealt with. The revision also explains submitting appeals online via the First-tier Tribunal’s Document Submission Service. See: LNB News 30/01/2024 54. Case management A bid to strike out or stay the claim was refused notwithstanding a mandatory adjudication clause. As fourth defendant, Lancashire County Council applied to set aside service of the claim form under CPR 11(1)(b) and CPR 11(6)(b). Alternatively, it sought to strike out the claim pursuant to CPR...
In this issue: Employers' liability Costs Clinical negligence Damages Case management Daily and weekly news alerts Useful information Employers' liability Work experience tortfeasor held not sufficiently closely connected to defendant to be akin to employment Permission to appeal was declined by the Supreme Court on 19 December 2023. In an earlier ruling, the Court of Appeal ( Civil Division) in MXX v A Secondary School [2023] EWCA Civ 996 dismissed the claimant’s appeal. The respondent was a mixed secondary school educating pupils aged 11 to 16. The appellant, then 13, had joined the school. PXM, a former pupil of the school, undertook a work experience placement ( WEP) there. He committed the torts of assault and battery against the claimant, later pleading guilty to sexual activity with a child. The claimant sought agreed damages of £27,500 for personal injury...
Sellers v Simpkins [2023] Lexis Citation 2487 What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling carries practical consequences for: lawyers whose client ends a CFA before the claim is ‘won’ litigants considering bringing a CFA to an end new lawyers assuming conduct of the same claim Relationships between solicitors and clients can fracture during litigation, leading clients to seek fresh representation. In exercising that choice, litigants must be alive to the potentially serious costs repercussions. Clients who end a CFA with their current solicitors are likely to forfeit costs cap protection, subject to the precise terms of the particular CFA. Notably, the sums owed to their dismissed solicitors may exceed either the costs recovered from the other side or the agreed percentage of damages. For lawyers whose CFAs have been terminated, a strategic decision arises as to when to elect to seek their...
Lancashire Schools SPC Phase 2 Ltd v Lendlease Construction ( Europe) Ltd [2024] EWHC 37 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling illustrates that the court retains a discretion to refuse striking out and staying proceedings, even where a party has failed to abide by compulsory alternative dispute resolution obligation. That conclusion may come as a surprise to practitioners who might anticipate steps to enforce mandatory alternative resolution clauses. The court, however, weighed the practical difficulties that would emerge if the claim brought solely against the fourth defendant were put on hold. Imposing a stay in that context posed a risk of either postponing the progress of the litigation overall, or of the claim against the fourth defendant advancing on a different timetable from the other claims within the proceedings. The obligatory character of the ADR clause, which...
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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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