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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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UK data reform act rollout plans UK businesses should anticipate the country’s data reform act being delivered through secondary legislation over the next six to nine months, with the first changes likely by autumn 2025 and the final measures pencilled in for winter 2025 under the UK privacy watchdog’s plans. The data reform bill, which entered into law on 19 June 2025, brings a range of updates to the UK data protection framework. However, the rollout will be staged, as various elements hinge on secondary legislation not yet put before lawmakers, or on additional materials still to be released by the data protection regulator. The Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) has signalled intentions to prepare guidance and start implementing some aspects, though firm dates are yet to be confirmed. Overall, the timetable indicates a lead-in period of six to nine months from the law’s...
A You Gov poll commissioned by Protect, a whistleblowing charity, indicates that those aged 18 to 24 are less inclined to raise concerns with their employer than all older generations. However, the poll also found that Gen Z are more likely to reveal wrongdoing on social media and to journalists... Sybille Raphael, Protect’s legal director, noted that Gen Z are less certain about what to report to employers and how. ‘ Despite perceptions that Gen Z are more vocal than other generations about poor behaviour in the workplace, our research shows they are less likely to blow the whistle......
In this issue: Practice Compliance forecast Financial sanctions AML, CTF & counter-proliferation financing Data protection Other Practice Compliance updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Practice Compliance forecast New Practice Compliance forecast as at 17 June 2025 Our latest Practice Compliance forecast (as at 17 June 2025) is now available. This month we cover: (1) the SRA’s annual AML and sanctions data-gathering exercise, (2) the Data ( Use and Access) Bill moving through Parliament, (3) the LSB’s enforcement against the SRA following the Axiom Ince review, and (4) changes to the SRA’s first-tier complaints handling requirements. See News Analysis: New Practice Compliance forecast as at 17 June 2025. Financial sanctions OFSI publishes guidance on sanctions compliance threats for art market and high-value goods The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation ( OFSI) has issued guidance...
Our Practice Compliance forecast as at 17 June 2025 This forecast tracks proposed regulatory developments relevant to law firm compliance, enabling you to prepare for changes that may affect your organisation. Please examine it closely; priority points to keep in view are outlined below. New items we’re tracking this month SRA firm anti-money laundering and sanctions data requirements — In July 2025, the SRA will undertake its annual AML and sanctions data collection exercise. All regulated firms must submit details of work within the scope of the MLR 2017, their interaction with the sanctions regime, and any suspicious activity reports sent to the National Crime Agency. See: AML, CTF and counter-proliferation financing. Updates to existing items we’re tracking JMLSG ......
As part of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ recent government spending review, the government has pledged an extra £8.3m in additional support to the SFO over the coming three financial years. This will lift the specialist prosecutor’s budget up to £97.64m by 2028 in total. The money will target proactive intelligence activity, bolster its proceeds of crime team, and improve the effective use of advanced technology in disclosure processes. This settlement enables sustained investment in intelligence capability, broadens investigative reach, and reinforces efforts to recover criminal assets, including crypto assets, wherever they are found across jurisdictions, said Nick Ephgrave, the SFO’s director. The agency added that the cash has revived firm plans to relocate to new accommodation, probably in Canary Wharf, within around 18 months’ time. In February 2025, the SFO said budget pressures had forced it to...
GPAI model developers should still get a final draft of the EU Code of Practice from the Commission in July 2025, despite a potential ‘stop the clock’ on the EU AI Act, MLex has learned Bilateral talks are continuing, and the draft is foreseen for the first week of July. MLex earlier reported that the Commission was weighing a hold on the EU AI Act after a critical letter from the Trump administration in the US and a visit to Washington by the Commission’s Executive Vice- President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen. The matter was recently put on the agenda of a meeting of EU digital ministers, where Virkkunen formally indicated that parts of the EU AI Act could be paused if technical standards and administrative guidance are not ready when the rules take effect. The EU AI Act phases in over...
In this issue: Sanctions AML, CTF & counter-proliferation financing Other financial crime Data protection Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New and updated content Sanctions From Russia with love? UK lawyers mull sanctions U-turn Law360, London: Financial institutions are turning to white-collar practitioners to map out routes for re-entering Russia if the US departs from its Western allies and loosens sanctions, though commentators warn capricious political currents make the dangers as numerous as the prospects. Read News Analysis: From Russia with love? UK lawyers mull sanctions U-turn. UK needs modern sanctions rules, ex- Lord Chancellor warns Law360, London: The UK’s sanctions framework is increasingly ill-suited to its purpose and requires reform to address emerging, multifaceted aggression such as cyber-attacks and economic sabotage, the former Lord Chancellor urged on 5 June 2025. Read News Analysis: UK needs modern sanctions rules, ex- Lord...
John Bedford, a partner at Dechert LLP, observed that a number of companies have approached him to clarify whether they can trade in securities that have remained frozen or otherwise blocked since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. Others are exploring if they should start laying groundwork now to re-enter the Russian market after a prolonged hiatus, mindful of the lengthy lead time needed to re-establish and stabilise operations. Any prospective geopolitical reset becomes more complex if the UK and EU decline to follow America’s lead, leaving advisers to grapple with applying divergent, and potentially conflicting, regimes. For multinational businesses, obtaining permission in a single jurisdiction is far from straightforward, as they risk breaching, or being seen to breach, rules in other territories. Bedford warned that, even where firms consider themselves subject only to US sanctions or believe...
Across sectors where high‑value, cross‑border transactions are commonplace, exposure to financial crime is pronounced. Specific hazards include the possibility that assets traded are stolen or were acquired with the proceeds of crime; that either buyer or seller is implicated in terrorist activity; or that the asset functions simply as a vehicle for money laundering or terrorist financing. Although anti‑money laundering ( AML) controls—such as requirements to disclose suspicious activity—are now firmly embedded within many firms’ compliance procedures, the absence of parallel counter‑terrorist financing controls persists as a key weakness. There are important lessons to draw from Ojiri’s case. Art sales lead to hot water From October 2020 to December 2021, Ojiri is reported to have sold eight artworks, with a combined value of £140,000, to an individual alleged to be involved in terrorist financing. Although this individual was not personally designated under the UK...
Introducing a layered sanctions framework that permits adaptable reactions to varied hostile conduct is strongly urged in a paper from the Adam Smith Institute, the free-market think tank, and co-written by Robert Buckland KC. According to the report, such an approach would draw distinctions among modern forms of aggression, including cyber attacks, violations of human rights and economic subversion. The paper also lists environmental damage alongside political meddling as well. In addition, the institute argued that revising the legal meaning of ‘conflict’ would enable the UK to calibrate for differing degrees of risk and to take measured steps against state as well as non-state entities......
It marks the fifth bid by the House of Lords to harness the Data ( Use and Access) Bill to shield the creative sectors, taken despite ministers urging the upper revising chamber to step aside. Though the government is almost certain to strip out the amendment when the Bill returns to the House of Commons, where it commands a substantial majority, the mounting stand-off between both houses endangers the Bill’s prospects, with consequences for UK data protection law and the nation’s EU data adequacy standing. The Data ( Use and Access) Bill is a post- Brexit initiative to adjust elements of the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Assimilated Regulation ( EU) 2016/679, carried over from EU membership. The Bill is already on its third version, having been tabled and then heavily reworked by the previous Conservative...
On 4 June 2025 at Southwark Crown Court, the Serious Fraud Office ( SFO) accused United Insurance Brokers Ltd of corporate misconduct, arising from its purported failure to prevent employees of a US-based intermediary from paying bribes to a state official in the South American country during the period October 2013 to March 2016......
The AI Act follows a staggered timeline for when its different chapters take legal effect, although the enforcement rules and sanction regime will only apply with the bulk of the provisions starting 2 August 2026 The AI Act is being phased in, with different chapters activating at separate times, while the enforcement mechanisms and penalties start alongside most provisions on 2 August 2026. The early roll-out has been demanding, with the Commission juggling the creation of a new AI Office, the publication of administrative guidance, and the orchestration of a code of practice for general-purpose AI models. That code has become especially divisive, touching on delicate matters such as copyright safeguards in developing generative AI and approaches to societal risks, which ultimately led to the legal deadline being missed. It has also turned into a source of friction with the US...
In this issue: Financial sanctions AML, CTF & counter-proliferation financing Other financial crime Other Practice Compliance updates this week Lex Talk®Practice Compliance: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New and updated content Financial sanctions OFSI launches new financial sanctions video guidance series The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation ( OFSI) has released a fresh series of guidance videos, ' Financial Sanctions: The Basics'. Six short films explain key elements of UK sanctions implementation, spanning guidance, the consolidated lists, reporting requirements and licensing processes. The aim is to support people and businesses in meeting UK financial sanctions obligations. See: LNB News 04/06/2025 44. Outcomes from the cross-government review of sanctions implementation and enforcement On 15 May 2025, the UK government issued its first cross-government review on sanctions implementation and enforcement. It assessed the UK’s enforcement model and set out the broader strategic context and principles underpinning the UK’s approach to sanctions,...
In February 2025, the European Commission issued two guideline suites clarifying core aspects of Regulation ( EU) 2024/1689, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act ( EU AI Act)— Guidelines on the definition of an AI system and Guidelines on prohibited AI practices. These texts aim to steer stakeholders through the tranche of EU AI Act duties that took effect on 2 February 2025, in particular the definitions section of the EU AI Act, requirements on AI literacy, and bans on certain AI practices. Spanning well over one hundred pages in length, the Guidelines deliver highly detailed direction on interpreting and applying each of the eight prohibited AI practices listed in Article 5 of Regulation ( EU) 2024/1689. As a reminder, Article 5 sets out practices that are forbidden in relation to AI systems. The Guidelines also closely examine how high-risk AI systems...
What did the review look at and why? The review commenced in October 2024 to explore ways to bolster the UK's enforcement model. Overall oversight sat with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ( FCDO), and it incorporated input from HM Treasury, the Department of Business and Trade, the Department of Transport, HM Revenue and Customs, and the National Crime Agency. Furthermore, the process also drew on further meetings with various cross industry sanctions specialists, academics, and others, informing its conclusions......
Appeal by Dmitrii Ovsiannikov over UK Russia sanctions conviction Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, once a politician for Russia’s ruling party, has filed an appeal after his April conviction for breaching the UK’s Russia sanctions. He was found guilty of six counts of circumventing sanctions under the Russia ( Sanctions) ( EU Exit) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/855, alongside two counts of money laundering. At Southwark Crown Court, a judge handed the former Russian trade minister and ex‑governor of Russian‑occupied Sevastopol a 40‑month prison term. Liam Lane of Peters & Peters, who acted for Ovsiannikov, confirmed an application had been submitted on his behalf. Ovsiannikov’s brother, Alexei Owsjanikow, received a 15‑month sentence, fully suspended, after he too was convicted of circumventing sanctions for paying the school fees of Ovsiannikov’s children. Owsjanikow’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. These convictions and sentences were the first in the UK for...
As the SFO's drive for whistleblower incentives gathers momentum, corporations should consider the implications for managing misconduct risk On 22 April 2025, the Home Office unveiled the second part of Jonathan Fisher KC’s fraud offences review, the first independent examination of UK fraud law since 1986. Spanning six phases of the fraud lifecycle, the opening phase features an in-depth appraisal of rewards for criminal informants and whistleblowers. The Fisher review is anticipated to be pivotal to the Labour government’s fraud agenda, offering the SFO a key platform to advance incentives reform within government. Soon after the announcement, the SFO stated it would liaise with the Fisher Review team to set out its case for change. These moves followed HM Treasury’s March 2025 commitment to introduce a fresh informants’ scheme aimed at tackling serious tax non-compliance, with a focus on major...
In this issue: Sanctions Cybersecurity Other Practice Compliance updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New and updated content Sanctions DBT and OTSI update guidance on reporting suspected trade sanctions breaches The Department for Business and Trade ( DBT) and the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation ( OTSI) have revised their guidance on reporting potential breaches of trade sanctions. A new section, ‘ Whistleblowing for trade sanctions’, has been introduced, confirming that from 26 June 2025 individuals will be able to make whistleblowing disclosures to OTSI about persons or businesses they suspect of breaching trade sanctions implemented and enforced by OTSI. These changes follow the Public Interest Disclosure ( Prescribed Persons) ( Amendment) Order 2025, SI 2025/604, laid before Parliament on 21 May 2025......
External guidance on corporate co-operation and enforcement in relation to corporate criminal offending External guidance on corporate co-operation and enforcement in relation to corporate criminal offending supersedes and replaces the SFO’s 2019 co-operation guidance. It underscores swift self-reporting and comprehensive co-operation with SFO investigations as pivotal factors for prosecutors when considering a DPA to conclude a corporate investigation and to refrain from formal charges, save in exceptional cases and subject to prosecutorial discretion. However, the availability of a DPA is not ruled out where a company has not self-reported, provided it has offered exemplary co-operation with the SFO’s investigation. DPAs have been deployed in the US for more than 30 years as a corporate pre-trial diversion mechanism, alongside non-prosecution agreements, with federal authorities entering approximately 327 corporate DPAs in total between 1992 and the present day. Reflecting a broader global movement in favour of...
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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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