Legal News

Mergers The Commission has received notification of the L- GAM/ Hayfin/ Vinventions transaction ( M.12171), proceeding under the simplified merger procedure. NOTE— For all live merger investigations before the Commission, consult the EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker. State aid Applying EU State aid rules, the Commission has approved France’s support (€11.7m) for the manager of Carcassonne airport for 2001–2011. It also determined that certain agreements from the same period between Carcassonne airport and airlines operating there (including Ryanair) constituted incompatible State aid (around €1.8m). France must now recover this amount—see press release. An application has been filed before the General Court in Case T‑531/25, Merkur Spielbanken NRW v Commission, seeking annulment of the Commission’s decision in SA.48580— Alleged State aid to West Spiel—see application. NOTE— For all live State aid decisions and live formal State aid investigations, see the EU State aid...

Tajinder Pawar v HMRC [2025] UKUT 309 ( TCC) The dispute concerned the taxpayer’s late application for permission to appeal against HMRC’s review decision that confirmed a PLN issued to him. That PLN transferred to him penalties that had first been assessed on a company of which he was both director and shareholder, arising from VAT return inaccuracies. The First-tier Tribunal ( FTT) refused permission pursuant to section 83G(6) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994, applying the Upper Tribunal’s three-stage approach in Martland. Under that approach, the tribunal must: (i) determine how long the delay was; (ii) identify the reason or reasons for the delay; and (iii) consider all the circumstances, weighing the cogency of the explanation for the delay and any prejudice that granting or refusing permission would cause to each side, while giving particular weight to the need for...

How has the absence of the Recast Brussels Regulation and the Lugano Convention impacted personal injury claimants in cross border UK- EU disputes since Brexit? Before Brexit, the UK was a signatory to Regulation ( EU) 1215/2012 (‘recast Brussels’). That regime governed, alongside rules on forum, the recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments throughout the European Union as a whole. Separately, the EU, together with Switzerland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland, was also party to the 2007 Lugano Convention on jurisdiction and on recognising and enforcing civil and commercial judgments (‘the Lugano Convention’). Once the UK exited the EU, neither recast Brussels nor the Lugano Convention continued to operate for this jurisdiction. As a result, beyond pronounced questions of jurisdiction, parties to civil and commercial disputes, including those bringing personal injury actions, could no longer rely on the automatic...

Antitrust ORR unveils updated guidance on enforcing the Competition Act 1998 in the railway sector The Office of Rail and Road ( ORR) has released refreshed guidance, outlining its approach to enforcing the Competition Act 1998 in connection with the supply of railway services (the Guidance), replacing and updating its 2016 guidance document. Background The ORR holds, alongside the CMA, concurrent powers to apply and enforce the Chapter I and Chapter II prohibitions of the Competition Act 1998 to the provision of services relating to railways in Great Britain......

International sanctions regimes Sanctions frameworks work best when states act in unison to penalise offenders and when companies intensify their compliance efforts. Yet each nation’s regime develops on its own, making divergence between systems unavoidable. This stems from sanctions serving as instruments of foreign policy, shaped by varied legal architectures, languages and, above all, the political and policy choices of sovereign governments and their institutions. There are many instances where US, EU and UK measures have aligned, split and shifted—sometimes separately, sometimes in co-ordinated fashion—at pivotal moments. These shifts bear on live cross-border disputes and on global businesses throughout the supply chain, impacting suppliers, clients and end users alike. This news analysis offers a concise overview of the distinct regimes, with a particular emphasis on measures targeting Russia. It examines key points of divergence and what they mean for companies and...

According to data secured by Nockolds via the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Acas handled 5,583 helpline calls about sexual harassment in the first six months of 2025, up from 4,001 in the first half of 2024. The Worker Protection ( Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, which took effect in October 2024, places a duty on employers to take 'reasonable steps' to shield their staff from sexual harassment......

On 10 September 2025, a decision of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU noted that delegates from 26 of 27 Member States agreed that Article 26 of the ECT may not be invoked by investors from one Member State to begin investor‑state arbitration against another Member State. Delegates from Hungary did not sign. The decision states: ' The effective implementation of Union law is being undermined by the issuing of awards violating Union law in intra‑ EU arbitration proceedings'......

News Analysis: UK product liability reform—new redress rules for AI systems? We recently discussed the likelihood of forthcoming changes to the UK product liability framework (see News Analysis: UK product liability reform—new redress rules for AI systems?), which could result in the UK’s product liability regime being brought into closer alignment with the new EU Product Liability Directive (the Revised EU PLD—see Practice Note: The Revised EU Product Liability Directive). The Law Commission has since confirmed a formal review of the UK’s product liability regime within its 14th work programme. For now, the apparent emphasis of that review is on ‘emerging technologies’, with a particular spotlight on AI......

Original news Ms N ( CAS-74047- R0M5)—26 May 2025 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman found in favour of a complainant over a delayed pension transfer. She was awarded redress for significant distress and inconvenience. However, no payment was made for financial loss, as the Ombudsman was unconvinced about how she would have invested the proceeds, and because applying statutory interest to the transfer would have produced a figure below the actual transfer value. The outcome serves as a reminder that, in pension transfer delay cases, a member must demonstrate and quantify any financial loss... What were the facts? Ms N was a member of the BNLA ( Citibank) Unit Linked Executive Pension Plan (the ‘ Scheme’). Her former husband, Mr N, was a trustee director of the Scheme......

Barclays Bank received a penalty of £42m from the FCA in July 2025 after the lender allowed millions in criminal proceeds to be paid into the bank account of a company controlled by UK socialite James Stunt. The sanction also covered the regulator’s action over anti-money laundering shortcomings linked to Wealth Tek, a wealth manager owned by racehorse owner John Dance. Wealth Tek halted operations in April 2023 when the FCA uncovered 'serious regulatory issues'. Dance is due to stand trial on fraud and money laundering charges in September 2027. As part of the resolution, Barclays issued a 'voluntary payment' to clients of Wealth Tek......

Mergers The Commission approved the takeover, granting exclusive control over the UVEX WINTER HOLDING Gmb H & Co...

While contesting the validity of the patent covering the diabetes medicine dapagliflozin—a case Astra Zeneca ultimately failed to win—the pharmaceutical heavyweight applied for and obtained four temporary injunctions preventing rival generics producers from releasing their own formulations. When the final judgment went against it, at the trial's conclusion, the business also failed in contending that it should be spared liability for the expenses incurred in securing those injunctions......

The Transport Committee and the SLSC reviewed the following proposed negative SI and made no suggestion to upgrade yet: The Merchant Shipping ( Maritime Labour Convention and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025 Latest Commons select committee recommendations See the most recent report issued by the Transport Committee below: Votes and Proceedings, 16 September 2025 — Select Committees: Reports, Transport Committee Latest SLSC recommendations The latest SLSC report is: SLSC—36th Report of Session 2024–26 Sifting process for proposed negative procedure SIs introduced under REUL( RR) A 2023 REUL( RR) A 2023 provides a suite of delegated powers enabling the government and the devolved administrations to lay SIs to reshape REUL and assimilated legislation......

Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a complaint concerning entitlement to benefits. The Scheme had paid a contributions equivalent premium for one spell of employment, and it was implausible that a refund of the member’s contributions was not processed at the same time. Regarding a different employment period, there was no proof that the complainant was an active participant in the Scheme; this was consistent with him paying standard National Insurance contributions rather than the reduced rate ordinarily associated with membership of a contracted-out arrangement. The decision serves as a reminder that the burden rests with the individual to evidence scheme membership. What were the facts? Mr Y was a member of the NHS Pension Scheme (the Scheme). The Scheme was operated on a contracted-out basis......

The Public Office ( Accountability) Bill The Public Office ( Accountability) Bill, brought before Parliament by Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy on 15 September 2025, would impose a statutory obligation on public officials to co-operate candidly and comprehensively with inquests and inquiries into fatal incidents and major scandals. Its measures would place a duty on public bodies to be truthful, requiring officials to hand over information and evidence even where doing so may not serve their own interests. The Bill further creates criminal liability for officials who do not conduct themselves with honesty and integrity at all times, with prosecutions for 'especially egregious breaches' carrying sentences of up to two years in prison. Yet lawyers caution that uncertainties remain over how these provisions will operate in practice. Authorities must step forward with information, but they will still need to examine material,...

High Court judge Clive Sheldon, in a written ruling dated 16 September 2025, concluded that the legislation bars unqualified law firm staff from having conduct of litigation. He said this conflicted with guidance from the Solicitors Regulation Authority ( SRA), which had advised a firm that an unqualified employee could manage a case under a solicitor’s supervision. He explained that mere employment by someone authorised to conduct litigation does not permit the employee to do so, even if supervised. The individual actually conducting the litigation must be authorised in their own right, or fall within an exempt category. In his view, that is the correct interpretation of the act. According to the judgment, the issue arose from a dispute between Charles Russell Speechlys LLP and two clients, Julia Mazur and Jerome Stuart. When the clients failed to pay a £54,000 invoice, the firm...

What are the practical implications of this case? The central question on this appeal was whether the pension drawdowns were ‘paid in consideration of employment’. HMRC argued that moving occupational pension entitlements to a SIPP, essentially an investment product that does not require employment as a condition, severed the necessary link to the original employment and meant the pension could be taxed in the UK. As many of the UK’s DTCs with other jurisdictions include wording similar to the UK– Portugal DTC, the outcome may have significant consequences for expats whose situations resemble that of the appellant. The First-tier Tribunal Tax ( FTT) offers helpful clarification of the principles to be applied when deciding whether there is a sufficiently strong connection between an expat’s pension withdrawals and their former employment in such cases......

Mergers CMA publishes final remittal report on Spreadex/ Sporting Index deal; completed deal now fully reversed The CMA has released its remittal final report and related determinations arising from its phase 2 review of Spreadex Limited’s ( Spreadex) completed purchase of the B2C business of Sporting Index Limited ( Sporting Index). Both Spreadex and Sporting Index offer UK customers fixed-odds betting and sports spread betting. Spreadex additionally operates in financial spread betting and in casino betting. They remain the sole providers of licensed online sports spread betting in the market, and the CMA concluded that residual competitive pressure on the parties post-merger outside that market segment—whether from unlicensed sports spread betting operators, financial spread betting firms, or fixed-odds sports betting providers)—are weak according to its assessment......

Pensions UK issued its reply to the Business and Trade Committee’s inquiry into Financing the Real Economy on 12 September 2025, stating that a shortage of viable opportunities, delays in planning, and inadequate financial incentives constrain the sector’s ability to act as an investor in domestic growth assets. The parliamentary Business and Trade Committee launched an inquiry on 4 August 2025 to consider how to attract additional investment to the UK......

Harbour’s counsel, acting for the litigation funder, asked the High Court to bar Nicholas Thomas from representing himself in the case, alleging he was covertly acting to advance the interests of his associate, Gerald Smith. In 2021, Judge David Foxton held that the Serious Fraud Office ( SFO) and other creditors were entitled to retrieve tens of millions of pounds from Smith, jailed for stealing £35m from a software company. The SFO was among multiple parties asserting claims over his realisable assets. Those claimants included beneficiaries of a 2016 settlement arising from litigation between Smith and his former business partner, Andy Ruhan. Harbour led the action on behalf of the settlement group in the proceedings before the High Court. Daniel Saoul KC of 4 New Square Chambers, for Harbour, told Judge Andrew Henshaw that Thomas had 'acted in league' with Smith to...