Featured documents
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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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
Most recent News
In this issue: Key PI and Clinical Negligence developments Road traffic accidents Public authorities and the state Clinical negligence Other PI and Clinical Negligence news Lex Talk®PI & Clinical Negligence: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Lexis Nexis® Webinars Useful information Key PI and Clinical Negligence developments AI in personal injury rehabilitation Artificial Intelligence ( AI) is swiftly reshaping countless parts of contemporary life, advancing faster than most anticipated. Yet in personal injury, one thing endures: rehabilitation’s impact. For claimants, it offers a route to maximise potential and pursue the greatest independence and quality of life achievable. For defendants, it may lessen dependency and consequently diminish a claim’s overall worth. Against this backdrop, considering ways AI could augment—rather than supplant—the rehabilitation pathway is both opportune and vital. Authored by Pamela- Jane Riley, legal director in the...
Mergers The CMA released the full published text of its Phase 1 decision relating to the anticipated acquisition by Global Payments Inc...
In this issue: Pharmaceuticals—regulatory framework Medical devices Pricing and reimbursement Research and development Advertising of medicines Intellectual property Lex Talk®Life Sciences: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Useful information Pharmaceuticals—regulatory framework The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ( MHRA) has released a policy paper setting out plans for a new regulatory model to accelerate the development and authorisation of rare disease treatments. Created with input from the newly formed Rare Disease Consortium, the framework is due to be finalised in 2026, following a public consultation slated for early 2026. See: LNB News 05/11/2025 60. The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations ( EFPIA), together with eight other healthcare associations, has challenged the European Chemicals Agency’s ( ECHA) approach to its proposed universal...
In this issue: Media Internet Databases Data protection Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Telecommunications Lex Talk®TMT: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Media Getty gets pyrrhic victory in UK stability AI case Law360, London: On 4 November 2025, Getty Images persuaded a London court that artificial intelligence ( AI) developer Stability AI had produced a small number of images infringing the stock image company’s trade marks. However, the court was not convinced that the model itself breached the photo giant’s intellectual property in this landmark dispute. See: Getty gets pyrrhic victory in UK stability AI case. Internet Ofcom launches call for evidence on age assurance effectiveness and app store safety under OSA 2023 Ofcom has opened a call for evidence to inform two...
In this issue: VAT Share sales Taxes management and litigation Budgets and Finance Bills International Individuals and income tax Financial services Lex Talk®Tax: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information VAT FTT rules biscuits were zero-rated as they were not partly chocolate-covered ( Ferrero UK Ltd v HMRC). As highlighted last week, in Ferrero UK Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 1202 ( TC), the tribunal concluded the taxpayer’s biscuits were not in part coated with chocolate and therefore qualified for VAT zero-rating. See News Analysis: FTT rules biscuits were zero-rated as they were not partly covered in chocolate ( Ferrero UK Ltd v HMRC). Supreme Court confirms hospital car parking charges carry VAT ( Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust v HMRC). As noted in...
In this issue: Companies House Corporate governance Equity capital markets Accounts and reports Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Companies House Companies House announces fee changes from February 2026 Companies House has confirmed a revised fees schedule from 1 February 2026, following its annual assessment to align charges with the cost of providing services. Notably, the digital incorporation filing fee will rise to £100, and the digital confirmation statement fee will increase to £50. These adjustments are set out in the Registrar of Companies ( Fees) ( Amendment) Regulations 2025 ( SI 2025/1137), which were laid before Parliament on 30 October 2025 and take effect on 1 February 2026. The accompanying explanatory memorandum states that the updated fees are...
In this issue: Probate UK taxation for private clients Budget and Finance Bill developments HMRC Manual updates Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Private client regulatory compliance Charity and philanthropy Disputed trusts and estates Pensions, insurance and tax-efficient investments Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Question of the week Daily and weekly alerts Lex Talk® Private Client: a Lexis+® community Fresh and revised content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As Useful information Probate Court and Public Guardian Fees ( Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2025 SI 2025/1126: This Order raises the fees for applications to register Lasting Powers of Attorney ( LPA) and Enduring Powers of Attorney ( EPA), together with the reduced charge for repeat LPA registration at the Office of the Public Guardian ( OPG), and also the fees for...
Foreign Subsidies Regulation Commission launches in-depth investigation into the tender for the construction of Lisbon railway line under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation The Commission announced that it has initiated an in-depth investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation ( FSR) concerning a tender for the construction of the Lisbon railway line accordingly......
In this issue: Trade in goods Lex Talk®International Trade: a Lexis®Nexis community Customs Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trade in goods DBT and OFSI publish guidance on countering Russian sanctions evasion for freight and shipping sector The Department for Business and Trade ( DBT) together with the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation ( OFSI) has issued comprehensive guidance directed at the freight and shipping industry to deter Russian sanctions evasion. This material supports firms in spotting frequent techniques used for Russian circumvention and in cutting the likelihood of being singled out by actors seeking to bypass sanctions......
International arbitration In this issue: International arbitration Institutional and ad hoc arbitration Hall, Moser & Wade: International Arbitration Handbook Other arbitration and ADR-related news and developments Lex Talk®Arbitration: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Useful information Australia— Enforcement of ICSID Awards and State Immunity In Blasket Renewable Investments LLC v Kingdom of Spain [2025] FCA 1028, the Federal Court of Australia assessed Spain’s claim to sovereign immunity in proceedings to recognise and enforce intra‑ EU International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes awards. Spain argued the awards were not binding or enforceable as EU law bars intra‑ EU investment arbitration. The court rejected this, ruling the awards are binding under Article 53 of the ICSID Convention and enforceable in Australia under Article 54, as Spain, by entering the Convention, consented to enforcement...
EU fundamentals Commission publishes 2025 Enlargement Package assessing EU accession progress On 4 November 2025, the Commission released its yearly Enlargement Package, reviewing progress across ten EU candidate states: Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Türkiye and Georgia. Montenegro has concluded four negotiating chapters and is aiming to finalise talks by end-2026; Albania has opened four clusters, with completion targeted for 2027. Ukraine and Moldova have finished the screening phase and satisfied the conditions to open three clusters each, with negotiations expected to close by 2028. The Commission also signalled that forthcoming Accession Treaties will carry tougher safeguards to prevent rule of law backsliding. See: LNB News 05/11/2025 22. Commission publishes indicative timetable for upcoming 2025 proposals The Commission has set out a provisional timetable for the legislative proposals it plans to table in 2025. See: LNB News 05/11/2025...
In this issue: Practice and procedure Public children International children Lex Talk®Family: a Lexis®Nexis community Updated content Daily and weekly news alerts Useful information Practice and procedure HMCTS publishes 2025 courts and tribunals Christmas and New Year opening times HM Courts and Tribunals Service ( HMCTS) has issued the opening schedule for courts and tribunals over the 2025 Christmas and New Year period. Temporary closures will apply on: Wednesday 24 December 2025 (limited to the County and Family Courts, Crown Courts, the High Court and the Court of Appeal— Royal Courts of Justice and Rolls Building—and specified tribunals) Thursday 25 December 2025 Friday 26 December 2025 Thursday 1 January 2026 For remand hearings only, selected magistrates’ courts will open on 27 December 2025 and 1 January 2026. Magistrates’ courts and Scotland tribunal offices will continue to operate on 24...
In this issue: The Pensions Regulator Pensions dashboards Taxation Members and benefits Funding, surplus and investment Public sector pensions Dates for your diary Trackers The Pensions Regulator TPR announces full benefits secured for Box Clever pension members after ITV case The Pensions Regulator ( TPR) confirms it has secured full benefits for all 2,800 members of the Box Clever Group Pension Scheme, bringing its long-running case against ITV to a close. Individuals who had received payments at Pension Protection Fund ( PPF) levels since 2014 have now moved to the ITV Pension Scheme and will receive full scheme entitlement plus back payments. TPR has also released a regulatory intervention report setting out how, for more than a decade, it pursued ITV, deploying its Financial Support Direction ( FSD) powers to require the broadcaster to underpin the scheme...
In this issue: Building safety Payment under construction contracts Standard-form construction contracts Arbitration Construction industry news Litigation Lex Talk®Construction: the Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Construction trackers Building safety The Court of Appeal in Wilson v HB ( SWA) Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 1360 rejected an appeal on fire safety defect claims, affirming the TCC’s firm stance on striking out unparticularised and speculative heads of loss. The ruling underscores the need for rigorous pleading in construction defect disputes. It confirms no substantive distinction between damages in contract and those available under the Defective Premises Act 1972, and stresses that loss must be clearly particularised in statements of case. Parties should concentrate on recognised heads of loss such as cost of remedial works, diminution in value or any residual diminution, and provable...
The new Practice Direction 51ZH— Access to Public Domain Documents has been released and is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2026. The Judiciary website has likewise issued a Guidance note explaining the scheme. The pilot is set to operate for two years, from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2027—far longer than the initially envisaged six months—although a six‑month review is planned. Andrew Howell, partner, Helen Robinson, senior associate, Natalia Faekova, senior associate, and Charlie Balshaw, trainee solicitor at Taylor Wessing, consider what the pilot covers, its significance for litigants, and how to prepare for greater transparency and possible public scrutiny. Key features of the pilot scheme Implementing Dring v Cape The initiative represents the judiciary’s latest move to give effect to the landmark Supreme Court ruling (and subsequent High Court decision) in Dring v Cape [2019] UKSC 38. Those...
In this issue: Heritage and natural environment Enforcement Planning policy Planning appeals Planning applications and decisions Buildings and Building Regulations Lex Talk®Planning: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Related Documents Heritage and natural environment Court of Appeal clarifies liability and sentencing for serious breaches of TPOs ( R v Chamdal) In R v Chamdal [2025] EWHC 2809 ( KB), the Court of Appeal ruled that for contraventions of section 210 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ( TCPA 1990), courts can levy deterrent, means‑assessed fines, treating the offence as one of strict liability with at least negligent culpability where owners do not check tree preservation order ( TPO) coverage and obtain consent. The court upheld a £200,000 sanction for causing or permitting the felling of at least 132 trees as...
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...
Blasket Renewable Investments LLC v Kingdom of Spain [2025] FCA 1028 What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling carries notable weight for the enforcement of intra‑ EU ICSID awards against foreign states in Australia, and more widely in courts outside the EU. It strengthens the accumulating judicial view that ICSID awards cannot be subjected to collateral attacks at the enforcement stage, especially where sovereign immunity is pleaded. As the ICSID Convention—unlike the New York Convention—constitutes a self‑contained framework, challenges to awards must be pursued solely within its own mechanisms. The Court also clarified that EU law arguments, including the Court of Justice of the European Union’s decisions in Republic v Achmea BV [2018] 4 WLR 87 ( Achmea) and Republic of Moldova v Komstroy LLC [2021] 4 WLR 132 ( Komstroy), which found intra‑ EU...
HMRC v Ducas Ltd [2025] UKUT 362 ( TCC) The core controversy involves HMRC’s assertion that the taxpayer enabled the dishonest avoidance of over £171m in national insurance contributions ( NICs) by supplying its clients (employment agencies) with falsified paperwork. HMRC contends these actions render the taxpayer responsible for the unpaid NICs as a deemed secondary contributor under the Social Security ( Categorisation of Earners) Regulations 1978 ( SI 1978/1689). A 20-day final hearing is scheduled to begin in April 2026. In November 2024, prior to the FTT issuing case management directions, HMRC secured freezing orders against the taxpayer and other parties. The judge who made the orders found ‘ample evidence of dishonesty in the form of Ducas providing fraudulent documents to its customers’ ( HMRC v Ducas Ltd and others [2024] EWHC 3132 ( Ch) at [13]). HMRC’s evidence derived from enquiries into the...
On 29 October 2025, the Legal Standards Board ( LSB) announced a review prompted by a decision that has unsettled lawyers whose working practices could now be judged unlawful. The exercise will look at advice provided and guidance issued in the years preceding the ruling and how regulators responded afterwards, with the activities of bodies such as the Bar Council and the Law Society placed under scrutiny. In a document setting out the scope of the review, the LSB said it would consider whether the regulatory objectives have been adversely affected by the acts or omissions of approved regulators and, where appropriate, other regulatory bodies, in their approach to advice, guidance and compliance concerning the conduct of litigation. The board confirmed it was embarking on this work following weeks of uncertainty triggered by the High Court's 16 September 2025 judgment in Julia Mazur v...
Popular documents
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 ]...
Discover more from LexisNexis
