Legal News

On 8 May 2025, Rain Newton- Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry, argued that the narrow trade agreement should open the door to closer collaboration so both economies can thrive. The US and UK confirmed a tariff reduction covering more than US$400bn in goods and services, unveiled the same day by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Newton- Smith added that, once the immediate reaction subsides, it will be vital to assess the consequences and join forces with partners to broaden its scope, and urged ministers to engage with business to clarify how best to capitalise on the opportunities the deal offers. Announced on television following a phone call between Trump and Starmer, the arrangement trims duties on British cars from 25% to 10% and lifts tariffs on selected metals, according to the two leaders. A 10%...

LNB News 12/05/2025 14 What is the background to the publication of the Law Society Practice Note on climate change and property transactions? In April 2023, the Law Society of England and Wales released guidance on solicitors’ duties when advising on climate change. At that point, it was signalled that additional materials would follow for distinct areas of practice. The first of these has now been issued as a Practice Note on climate change and property (the Note), dated 12 May 2025. From the outset, it should be emphasised that the Note does not suggest that lawyers must, or ought to, become experts on the prospective effects of climate change. Instead, it alerts real estate professionals to categories of climate-related risk that may influence the property sector, and indicates how such risks may intersect with the advice they give and the deals they conduct for...

TPT has become the inaugural pension provider to pledge the rollout of a UK multi-employer CDC scheme, widely championed by industry and policy makers alike as the next stage of private sector pension saving in the UK. This follows Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, stating on 29 April 2025 that he intends to bring forward new legislation towards the end of the calendar year to widen the rules for CDC schemes. ' The pensions industry is at a point where innovation is critical', said David Lane, Chief Executive of TPT Retirement Solutions......

Anti-suit injunctions and third parties— Manta Penyez Shipping Inc & others v Zuhoor Alsaeed Foodstuff Company Manta Penyez Shipping Inc and another v Zuhoor Alsaeed Foodstuff Company [2025] EWHC 353 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of the case? What are the practical ramifications of this decision? They can be grouped into three points. When advisers prepare releases, guarantees and/or settlements, they should ensure the relevant provisions are wide enough to stop a party abandoning ongoing proceedings and then starting fresh proceedings to evade a non‑prosecution clause. Although, as a matter of construction or implication, the court is unlikely to allow that tactic, it is better to eliminate any doubt through careful wording of the clause. Litigators should keep in mind the often‑overlooked Contracts ( Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. Although it is commonly excluded in contracts, where it is not, it may...

Jonathan Russen KC, sitting as a High Court judge, ruled in favour of American International Group Ltd, holding that the insurer is not obliged to indemnify Carbis Bay Hotel Ltd and Atlantic Bay Hotel Ltd because COVID-19 fell outside the infectious diseases extension to their business interruption cover. Judge Russen concluded the insurers’ reading of the extension was correct. On a proper construction of the policy, the term “disease” is restricted to the specific illnesses listed in the business interruption section’s definition, which does not include COVID-19. The judgment records that Carbis Bay Hotel operates a portfolio of hospitality businesses in the Cornish resort of St Ives, including the Carbis Bay Hotel and the Gannet Inn. The second claimant owns and runs the Atlantic Bay Hotel, which is likewise in St Ives......

The Fulham Shore Ltd, the owner of The Real Greek restaurant group, has reached a settlement with the Malta-based insurer, as set out in a Tomlin Order dated 1 May 2025 from the High Court. The order disclosed no full terms of the deal, and spokespeople for the dining businesses could not be reached for immediate comment following the order. In December 2024, the restaurant group maintained its cover should have protected it from the losses it suffered when Britain entered extensive, government-ordered lockdowns during that period......

High Court Judge Pushpinder Saini threw out a legal challenge by a subsidiary of Caterpillar to decisions by the Trade Remedies Authority ( TRA) and the Department for Business and Trade concerning an investigation into alleged dumping of Chinese-made excavators in the UK market at unrealistically low prices. Judge Saini dismissed the Caterpillar affiliate’s claim, ruling it should not have progressed because the decisions under attack had been superseded, so the dispute would yield no practical outcome. The company had taken aim at the TRA’s ‘provisional affirmative determination’ that various excavators produced in China by Caterpillar ( Xuzhou) Ltd were being dumped in the UK, alongside a recommendation that government apply an additional rate of import duty to those machines. That determination sits within the authority’s ongoing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into the excavator market......

As it evolves, the Wales Pension Partnership—created as a new investment vehicle—will pool the assets of 22 Local Authorities, representing 412,000 members, to form the largest pension fund ever seen in Wales. This step directly supports government plans to promote consolidation across LGPS funds. The ambition is for Canadian-style 'megafunds' to emerge from the LGPS, better positioned to channel greater investment into both infrastructure and start-ups in the UK......

What are the key proposals for replacing stamp duty and SDRT with a single, self-assessed, tax on securities? The core government proposal is to replace the existing split between stamp duty on paper instruments and SDRT on electronic transfers with a compulsory, single, self-assessed tax on securities. Crucially, the present framework is complicated by the fact that SDRT is not confined to electronic movements; as a result, there is a relatively intricate interplay between SDRT and stamp duty where paper transfers are concerned. By contrast, a single charge would apply uniformly to securities transactions, removing that interaction and the related ambiguity seen under the dual system. From a practical standpoint, a persistent problem with the stamp duty rules—originating at least as far back as the Stamp Act 1891, which still has effect—is the delay imposed on company registrars. After a share transfer, they must wait for a...

A17 V B17 and others; and A18 V B18 and another [2025] ADGMCFI 0001 What are the practical implications of this case? This decision offers welcome certainty on the ADGM Courts’ jurisdiction to issue worldwide freezing orders ( WFOs). Justice Sir Andrew Smith maps the distinctive features of the ADGM legal framework, clarifying the scope of the Court’s injunctive powers and why the direct transposition of certain English law principles is not always appropriate for the ADGM Courts. Against that background, his wholesale endorsement of the DIFC Court of Appeal’s reasoning in Carmon, and his emphasis on the principle of comity between the DIFC and ADGM Courts, will reassure practitioners who practise across these two free zone jurisdictions. At the same time, parties assessing where to enforce an arbitral award will be heartened by the ADGM Courts’ willingness to grant a WFO...

AI healthcare in Europe AI is transforming healthcare by sharpening diagnostic accuracy, forecasting patient risk, and speeding up drug discovery and development, thereby streamlining development pipelines. Predictive AI models can be trained on extensive historical clinical data to deliver reliable predictions and estimations that support a wide range of healthcare tasks. For example, by training an AI system on archives of medical images linked to specific diseases, the model can then analyse a patient’s scan to judge whether the patient has a condition in practice. Contemporary models can detect disease with high precision and, with improved confidence, uncover abnormalities that might otherwise be overlooked by human reviewers. The rapid advance of AI technologies in healthcare also opens new and attractive opportunities to secure intellectual property. While obtaining patent protection for AI-led innovations may involve navigating intricate legal and technical issues, these obstacles can be...

Nigeria LNG Ltd v Taleveras Petroleum Trading DMCC; Taleveras Petroleum Trading DMCC v Nigeria LNG Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 457 What are the practical implications of this case? The Court of Appeal’s ruling offers significant direction on how to read arbitral awards that include both dispositive and non-dispositive parts. It emphasised that the dispositive portion is ordinarily where the tribunal’s binding orders reside, even if other sections—such as the reasons, analysis, or conclusion—allude to further duties or directions. The judgment underscores the need to frame awards so the reasoning is clearly distinguished from the operative components. Although form alone is not decisive, a lucid structure is essential for enforceability. The decision cautions against placing weight on wording beyond the dispositive section unless it is expressly folded into the tribunal’s ultimate orders. The court also reaffirmed that awards are to be construed in a...

Julie Johnson v Choice Support [2025] EWHC 1020 ( SCCO) What are the practical implications of this case? If claimants opt to proceed outside the Pre- Action Protocols, they must articulate, in the letter of claim, a detailed and complete justification for treating the matter as inappropriate for the relevant Protocol. There can be several bases on which a claim may not fit a particular Protocol, and these should be spelt out clearly at the outset. In Johnson, the claimant relied on two matters: overall value and a specific exception. However, the Costs Judge noted at paragraph 8 that the letter of claim did not mention the exception at paragraph 4.3(8) of the EL/ PL Protocol, and the point was determined against the claimant. Accordingly, claimants should make explicit any reliance on exceptions within the applicable Protocol and explain why those provisions apply to their facts. For...

Methanex Trinidad ( Titan) Unlimited v The Board of Inland Revenue ( Trinidad and Tobago) [2025] UKPC 20 What are the practical implications of this case? The Privy Council’s ruling underscores the primacy of correctly identifying the legal character of routine commercial payments and intra‑group transactions, and how that legal characterisation interfaces with the application of tax treaties. It dismissed the suggestion that the supposed ‘substance’ of the dealings in question departed from their legal form; rather, the transactions were to be treated as they stood in law. As the payments were neither ‘artificial’ nor ‘fictitious’, the tax authority was required to apply the CARICOM Tax Treaty to the transactions as it found them, and was not permitted to re‑label or recast them as anything else at law. In this way, the decision confirms that ordinary corporate arrangements, where genuine, must be respected for treaty...

State aid Commission amends State aid rules to provide public access to justice in environmental matters The Commission has confirmed the adoption of changes to the State aid Implementing Regulation 794/2004 and the State aid Best Practices Code ( BPC), introducing new access-to-justice provisions following the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee’s 2021 conclusion that the EU was not fulfilling its obligations by preventing the public from challenging State aid decisions alleged to breach EU environmental law. The EU and its Member States are parties to the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters. Acknowledging the need to ensure compliance, the Commission recognised that updates to the existing State aid legal framework are required. It therefore launched a call for evidence and a targeted consultation during 2024, and in February 2025 it consulted on draft legal texts. These...

The Court of Appeal On 8 May 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA) said the Court of Appeal had restored private equity group Cinven’s liability to £51.9m, reversing the cut to £37.1m that the company persuaded the Competition Appeal Tribunal to impose in 2023. CMA head Sarah Cardell welcomed the outcome as a clear, decisive victory for the CMA and an endorsement of its mission to defend consumers and curb unlawful conduct. Cardell added that charges levied on the NHS — and therefore on taxpayers — must be fair at all times too......

Kington Sarl v Thames Water Utilities Holdings Ltd [2025] EWHC 84 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? Kington v Thames Water establishes that, even if expert material is not absolutely required to decide the issues yet could still assist, the court will weigh its relevance against the effect its admission would have on case management, and will permit it only where that course is proportionate. That balancing exercise looks at how helpful the evidence is, set against the disruption its inclusion may cause to the conduct and timetable of the proceedings, before deciding whether it should be adduced. On accelerated timetables—frequent in insolvency and restructuring—the imperative is to seek permission to rely on experts without delay, so that reports and replies can be built into the schedule without unnecessary disturbance. Parties should put forward robust,...

JSC DTEK Krymenergo v The Russian Federation [2025] EWHC 1060 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling offers significant direction on how section 103(5) of the Act operates, empowering the English courts to pause enforcement of a foreign arbitral award while set-aside proceedings are on foot at the seat at the time. It underscores that the court’s discretion is broad and will be exercised by reference to the particular facts, striking a measured balance that scrutinises both the strength of the annulment challenge and any prejudice to the claimant that delay might cause in the circumstances of the case. For those practising in arbitration, the court made clear that a stay is not a given. A party opposing enforcement must demonstrate—consistently with the approach identified by Gross J in IPCO v NNPC—that the annulment bid is bona fide rather than...

Why is defining performance metrics and customer requirements more challenging for AI systems? AI’s intricacy and dependence on extensive datasets make it tougher to pin down clear success measures than in traditional IT projects. Key reasons include: non-deterministic behaviour. Numerous AI models, especially those built on machine learning or deep learning, may return different answers to the same inputs at different times. Whereas conventional software tends to be consistent, shifting model parameters blur simple pass/fail judgements. One test run can vary in outcome, so it’s wiser to define performance thresholds than fixed, single-shot checks. dynamic training data. Many AI solutions continue learning after deployment, risking ‘model drift’. As data or the surrounding context changes, accuracy and reliability can move unexpectedly. Contracts should recognise this and call for periodic evaluations or ‘recalibration’ to remedy any slide in...

Practice Note: Creditors’ decision-making in bankruptcy For a summary of creditor communications and decision processes, refer to Creditor communication and decision procedures—overview......