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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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The House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee ( WPC) announced its new inquiry on 16 July 2025 Launched in response to growing concern about the structural hurdles disabled people face when starting work and staying in employment, the inquiry addresses ongoing challenges. The WPC stated that disabled people are twice as likely to be unemployed and to leave the workforce at double the rate of non-disabled peers, in spite of existing government programmes. Labour MP Debbie Abrahams, who chairs the WPC, observed that the data makes clear that disabled people confront steeper barriers to getting into work and are more likely to fall out of it, highlighting the Committee’s focus......
Brexit highlights Brexit SIs Post- Brexit guidance Constitutional and administrative law Public procurement Projects and infrastructure Equality and human rights Judicial review Subsidy control and state aid Information law Central government pensions Other Public Law news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information UK- EU Common Understanding—what is on the horizon for the energy sector? At the UK– EU summit on 19 May 2025, the UK government agreed the UK– EU Common Understanding, with specific focus on energy. Part 4, titled ‘strengthening our economies while protecting our planet and its resources’, addresses three energy themes: (1) energy co-operation, notably possible participation in the EU internal electricity market; (2) technical and regulatory engagement on emerging...
In this issue: Public Law case law quarterly Brexit highlights Brexit SIs Constitutional and administrative law Judicial review Equality and human rights Information law State security and intelligence Subsidy control and State aid Other Public Law news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Public Law case law quarterly Public Law case law quarterly— Q2 2025 The Public Law case law quarterly sets out summaries and commentary on significant rulings compiled each quarter by the Lexis+® UK Public Law team. Standout coverage in this instalment reviews the Supreme Court’s ruling in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers, confirming that ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 ( Eq A 2010) denotes biological sex. The issue further surveys Supreme Court judgments...
Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr Addressing Mansion House in London on 2 July 2025, Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr urged stringent supervision so that lawyers, particularly newcomers at the start of their careers, recognise the hazards of deploying AI. She also drew attention to instances where practitioners had relied on fabricated court judgments in the UK. She warned that the legal profession must stay perpetually vigilant and resolute in how it embraces the use of AI......
Brexit highlights In this issue: Brexit highlights Brexit SIs Post- Brexit transition guidance Constitutional and administrative law Public procurement Judicial review Information law Subsidy control and State aid State security and intelligence State accountability and liability Other Public Law news Lex Talk®Public Law: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information HM Treasury and European Commission publish joint statement on Withdrawal Agreement payments HM Treasury and the European Commission issued a joint update confirming ongoing progress on the Withdrawal Agreement’s financial settlement after the eleventh meeting of the Specialised Committee on Financial Provisions on 25 June 2025. The UK and the EU exchanged updates on work within the Committee’s remit and reviewed the annual reporting package...
Editor’s note Welcome to the second instalment of the Public Law case law quarterly for 2025, spanning the year’s second quarter. We open with the Supreme Court’s ruling in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers, confirming that ‘sex’ in the Eq A 2010 denotes biological sex, and that holders of Gender Recognition Certificates ( GRCs) are not included within the definition of their acquired gender for the purposes of the Eq A 2010. This is a significant judgment on the meaning of the Eq A 2010 and on discrimination law, with particular implications for women and trans people. It warrants careful attention from all involved in or advising on discrimination issues, especially employers, service providers and public authorities. We then examine Abbasi v Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Haastrup v King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, where the Supreme Court...
In this issue: Brexit headlines Brexit SIs Post- Brexit guidance Constitutional and administrative law Judicial review Equality and human rights Information law Public procurement Subsidy control and State aid State security and intelligence Other Public Law news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Brexit headlines Commons Library assesses Murphy’s review on democratic oversight of the Windsor Framework The Commons Library has issued a briefing on the independent review of the Windsor Framework, commissioned by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn MP, and chaired by Lord Murphy of Torfaen, with the report expected by 10 July 2025. Set up in February 2023 to revise the Protocol on Ireland/ Northern Ireland and prevent a hard border, the Framework is being scrutinised to identify how it can operate with support from all communities in Northern Ireland. The commission follows a 10 December 2024 vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly, which backed the...
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...
Millbrook Healthcare Ltd v Devon County Council [2025] EWHC 744 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? Millbrook contended that removing the automatic suspension would damage its reputation, diminish its capacity to compete in later procurements, and erode market share, so that an award of damages would not be an adequate remedy in the circumstances as they stood. Notably, in open correspondence at the time Millbrook stated it would agree to the suspension being lifted if Devon County Council acknowledged that each pleaded breach of duty, if established at trial, would be sufficiently serious to merit an award of damages. The TCC was therefore asked to decide whether, at the interim stage of the proceedings, judges can meaningfully evaluate the chance of a claimant being left without an effective remedy by the time of trial. Put...
Dalton v United Kingdom ( Application no. 5363/24) Background This application relates to the state's positive duty, under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights ( ECHR), to investigate the circumstances of a death. Sean Dalton died in 1988 when an IRA device exploded. Police conducted inquiries but brought no charges at all. The coroner’s inquest found he succumbed to injuries from the blast. The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland condemned the policing, concluding there had not been a thorough inquiry, and said his work was hindered by missing files and some officers’ non-cooperation. The Attorney General for Northern Ireland declined to order a new inquest. The High Court in Northern Ireland rejected a judicial review of that refusal......
Judicial Review— High Court quashes decision refusing recusal application ( R ( Ladybill) v Sheffield Magistrates’ Court & Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council) R (on the application of Ladybill Ltd) v Sheffield Magistrates Court [2025] EWHC 1169 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? Appreciating the ramifications of this judgment should aid practitioners who advise clients on recusal applications in matters where judicial bias may potentially be in issue or suspected. The High Court observed that allegations of actual bias directed at judicial decisions in this jurisdiction are uncommon, and rarely feature in challenges to judicial decision‑making. Far more frequently, the complaint concerns apparent bias, instead of allegations of actual prejudice. The governing test for apparent bias comes from Porter v Magill [2001] UKHL 67: ‘whether the fair minded and informed observer, having considered the facts, would consider that there was a real...
In this issue: Brexit highlights Brexit SIs Post- Brexit transition guidance Constitutional and administrative law Judicial Review Equality and Human Rights Public procurement State security and intelligence Information Law Subsidy control and State aid Other Public law news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Brexit highlights The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office ( FCDO) confirmed that the UK, the European Commission and Spain have reached a political accord on core elements of Gibraltar’s post‑ Brexit arrangements. The deal introduces dual controls at Gibraltar’s ports: Spain will undertake Schengen checks, while UK and Gibraltar authorities retain existing controls, and all checks between Gibraltar and La Línea will be lifted. It also establishes a customs union between Gibraltar and the EU,...
Misuse of AI in court and the consequences ( Ayinde v Haringey & Al- Haroun v Qatar National Bank) R (on the application of Frederick Ayinde) v Haringey London Borough Council; Al- Haroun v Qatar National Bank QPSC and another company [2025] EWHC 1383 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling sets out explicit directions for lawyers who deploy AI, so that they remain within their professional obligations. The court also outlined what must happen when practitioners discover that they, their wider team, or their client has misused AI. Generative AI systems, including Chat GPT, are not a dependable source of legal research. They can offer convincing but inaccurate claims, refer to authorities that do not exist and attribute quotations to genuine materials that are not present in those texts. Both the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar...
In this issue: Brexit highlights Brexit SI Post- Brexit transition guidance Public Procurement Constitutional and administrative law Equality and human rights Judicial review Information law State security and intelligence Other Public Law news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Brexit highlights Defra policy paper outlines new 'not for EU' labelling process for Great Britain goods The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs ( Defra) has released a policy paper setting out how ‘not for EU’ labelling will be introduced under the Marking of Retail Goods Regulations 2025. It explains that the Secretary of State will assess potential supply chain disruption, liaise with businesses, and issue notices requiring specified products to carry the label before they are offered for sale to...
Summary The Pensions Ombudsman has supported a grievance concerning a scheme’s refusal to supply details of a member’s annual allowance status within the expected timescales. Repeated holdups in issuing the necessary statements amounted to maladministration. The scheme had pledged to exceed the obligations set by the relevant disclosure regulations, and it was fair for the complainant to expect that undertaking to be honoured. The commitment created a clear expectation that the promised information would be delivered promptly. This decision illustrates that a pension scheme can be liable where it promises to go beyond statutory duties and then fails to do so. What were the facts? Dr S belonged to the 2008 Section and the 2015 Section of the NHS Pension Scheme (the Scheme)......
For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, [2025] 2 All ER 759 What are the practical implications of this case? Employers, service organisations and public bodies ought to audit existing policies and procedures to ensure they accord with discrimination law as articulated by the Supreme Court. This ruling is especially salient amid the continuing public and political debate about the rights of trans people and of women, whether those rights clash, and the ways the law presently does, and ought to, accommodate them. The UK government welcomed the decision; the Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson, said it ‘brings welcome clarity and confidence for women and service providers’. However, some lawyers and organisations criticised the outcome, voicing concern about its impact on trans people’s rights. On 25 April 2025, the Equality and Human Rights Commission announced a...
In this issue: Brexit highlights Brexit SIs Post- Brexit transition guidance Equality and human rights Judicial review Freedom of information Public procurement Subsidy control and State aid Public sector pensions State accountability and liability Free webinars: Judicial Review: Practice and Procedure Pt 1 and 2 Lex Talk®Public Law: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Brexit highlights Institute for Government explainer on UK– EU summit outcome The Institute for Government has released an explainer following the inaugural UK– EU Summit in London, setting out the freshly announced results of the UK– EU reset. See: LNB News 03/06/2025 43. Weekly round-up of EU– UK TCA Specialised Committees’ publications—30 May 2025 This summary covers publications issued by...
What is the background to this consultation and how does it fit in with the IPO’s transformation programme? The IPO’s transformation programme is an ambitious upgrade designed to streamline how UK IP rights are filed, administered and contested. Its ambition is to provide a single, integrated digital platform spanning patents, trade marks, designs and IPO tribunal services. In 2022 the IPO ran a public consultation on the changes needed to underpin its forthcoming digital patents service, scheduled for release later on in 2025. The government’s reply, issued in August 2023, set out several legal and procedural adjustments necessary to support construction of that service. A further consultation followed in 2023 to shape the subsequent phase of the programme, this time covering trade marks, designs and tribunal services. The government’s response, published on 10 April 2025, confirmed its intended approach to a range of...
Employment Judge Peter Mc Tigue In a ruling published on 23 May 2025, Employment Judge Peter Mc Tigue concluded that Nottinghamshire County Council, in central England, did not unfairly dismiss a teacher who had raised safeguarding concerns in relation to the school’s direction to use a child’s chosen gender. He found that her dismissal in 2022 stemmed from misconduct. The decision records that she had on numerous occasions used the school’s Child Protection Online Monitoring System ( CPOMS) to view the child’s information without authorisation. According to the 82-page decision, she offered the disciplinary panel no assurance that, if allowed to return to her role, she would refrain from using CPOMS without proper authority......
What was the background to the consultation? What was proposed? On 14 November 2024, the Df E opened a consultation examining adjustments to member contribution rates and the extension of Fair Deal to further education institutions within the TPS. The department requested feedback on potential increases to member rates after the 2020 scheme valuation indicated a lower-than-expected member contribution yield. In the TPS, members collectively are expected to contribute 9.6% of pay across the entire membership — the ‘member contribution yield’ — yet the 2020 estimate came in at 9.45%. The consultation papers highlighted that, if contribution rates were left unchanged, the resulting shortfall in member payments would need to be met by employers and, in the end, the taxpayer. Consequently, the Df E consulted on keeping the current six-tier contribution model, while raising the member contribution rates for tiers 2 to 6 by 0.3...
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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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