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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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
Banking & Finance— February 2026 case round-up CR Construction ( UK) Co Ltd v Barclays Bank Plc ( Northern Gateway ( FEC) No 7 Ltd, intervening) [2026] EWHC 202 ( TCC) Performance bond—injunction to restrain payment This matter concerned a contractor’s bid for an interim injunction preventing a bank from honouring the employer’s call under a performance bond that secured the contractor’s payment liabilities under a construction contract. The employer brought the contract to an end for alleged breaches by the contractor. The contractor disputed those breaches, treated the termination as repudiatory, and accepted that repudiation. The High Court refused the application, restating that an injunction restraining a paying bank will only be granted where there is clear evidence of fraud, which was not advanced in this case. The court also rejected the argument that the employer’s repudiatory breach discharged the bond, finding that the bond’s...
Wiltshire Council v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and another [2026] EWHC 463 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling clarifies that occurrences arising after a valid planning determination cannot later be used to undo that lawful decision. Although case law allows fresh material to be deployed in challenges to show an error of fact, that strand is confined to misapprehensions of a settled and relevant fact. Here, nothing new established any factual error by the inspector when deciding: the fire damage was not present on the date of decision. The blaze occurred afterwards; accordingly, the inspector’s decision was not rendered unfair. The judgment also underlines that the current statutory planning regime supplies suitable tools to address altered circumstances, whether by applications under section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ( TCPA 1990) or by...
Financial services developments FCA webpage sets out possible changes to proposed motor finance compensation scheme The Financial Conduct Authority has issued a webpage outlining a proposed compensation scheme for motor finance customers who may have been impacted by poor disclosure of commission arrangements between lenders and brokers. Should the scheme go ahead, the FCA expects to finalise rules in late March 2026, incorporating several revisions to its initial plans. The webpage explains how the FCA aims to simplify the customer journey and ease operational demands for firms, including the likely introduction of a three-month implementation window, extended to up to five months for older agreements. It also highlights potential adjustments such as: People who complained before the scheme begins would no longer be asked to opt out. Instead, within three months of the implementation period ending, their lender would confirm whether...
The US administration has warned against applying ‘ Made in Europe’ rules in the European Competitiveness Fund The US administration has cautioned the EU against imposing ‘ Made in Europe’ requirements within the European Competitiveness Fund — a pillar of the bloc’s long-term budget for strategic industry — arguing such conditions would constrain international firms, fracture supply chains and dilute strong trade ties, a document seen by MLex indicates. The EU’s preference provisions, intended to direct public funds to companies operating inside the union and to bolster local supply networks, would, the paper adds, impose undue burdens on EU businesses and institutions that collaborate with the US and other international partners. It emphasises that the US and the EU together form the world’s largest trade and investment relationship and have a track record of driving innovation and mutual...
See Q& A: Is a Will revoked by marriage, including in respect of property in another jurisdiction? The Will was prepared in England. It is assumed that it was executed by a testator domiciled in England and Wales and that it covers their worldwide estate. Section 18 of the Will Act 1837 ( WA 1837) provides that, on the testator’s marriage, a Will is revoked unless certain exceptions apply......
Competition policy CMA publishes blog on AI and collusion The CMA has released a blog titled ' AI and collusion: frontiers, opportunities and challenges', setting out its latest thinking on the competitive implications of ever more advanced algorithmic pricing and predictive AI. The CMA observed that it has been scrutinising algorithmic pricing for a number of years; however, the emergence of low-cost, high-powered AI tools that can guide or even automate pricing decisions has intensified both the opportunities and the risks for competition. It recognised that such tools can create efficiencies, including swifter decision-making, reduced costs and more personalised prices, yet also cautioned that they may enable anti-competitive outcomes......
Next Era Energy Global & another v Kingdom of Spain [2026] SGHC 43 What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling carries concrete takeaways for arbitration and public international law practitioners. It clarifies that joining the ICSID Convention constitutes a submission to jurisdiction for award enforcement in Singapore. Practitioners can assuredly tell investor clients that Singapore remains a dependable venue to register and enforce ICSID awards. Spain’s efforts to block enforcement on sovereign immunity grounds failed across the board: under the Submission Exception, the Arbitration Exception, and on interests of justice. In practice, immunity-based resistance to ICSID enforcement by States in Singapore is almost entirely foreclosed. The judgment also continues Singapore’s consistent rejection of the Intra‑ EU Objection. Leaning heavily on DNZ v DOA [2026] SGHC( I) 1, a recent Singapore International Commercial Court ( SICC) decision, the court dismissed Spain’s...
Taylor v Crabb and Crabb; Crabb v (1) Crabb and (2) Taylor and Czerwinke as joint liquidators of Courtside Recycling Limited (in liquidation) [2025] EWHC 3512 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling underscores need to balance judgment creditors’ entitlements to execute on judgments they had secured with protections due to third parties caught by enforcement steps. Here, the court observed that the judgment creditor’s spouse, because enforcement was pursued against the couple’s joint matrimonial home, moved from financial security to a position where she was financially exposed to her husband’s creditors. The case illustrates the real-world consequences of routine enforcement for non-debtor family members in domestic property contexts......
The Kingdom of Spain v Infrastructure Services Luxembourg S.À. R. L. and another; Republic of Zimbabwe v Border Timbers Ltd and another [2026] UKSC 9 Background These linked appeals examined whether Spain and Zimbabwe, each subject to arbitral awards made under the 1965 Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the ICSID Convention), could invoke sovereign immunity to undo the High Court’s registration of those awards pursuant to the Arbitration ( International Investment Disputes) Act 1966 ( A( IID) A 1966). Section 1 of the State Immunity Act 1978 ( SIA 1978) confers immunity on foreign states from the jurisdiction of UK courts, save as qualified by sections 2 to 11 of the SIA 1978. In that framework, only sections 2 and 9 were said to be pertinent in these matters here. By section 2(2), a state is not...
Re Y ( Experts and Alienating Behaviour: The Modern Approach) [2026] EWFC 38 What are the practical implications of this case? The President made it plain in this judgment at para [72] that he was sufficiently troubled by what had occurred in Re C [2023] EWHC 345 ( Fam), by the subsequent cases already mentioned, and by Re Y itself, that he would go further and set out firm guidance on the instruction of expert psychological witnesses in children proceedings. In future, when scrutinising psychologists’ CVs, practitioners must take particular care to confirm that the proposed expert is duly registered with the Health and Care Professions Council ( HCPC) or is chartered by the British Psychological Society ( BPS), thereby ensuring that the expert is suitably qualified and subject to professional regulation. Thorough familiarity with Re C, P v M [2023] EWFC 254, O v C...
Although the indicators do not materially alter the foreign bribery offence and will be well known to many legal and compliance practitioners, they mark a further move towards the global harmonisation of the criteria used to assess corruption risk. This piece reviews the IFBT’s newest guidance, considers what it means for multinational businesses, and notes developments in other recent cross-border anti-corruption efforts. International Foreign Bribery Taskforce The International Foreign Bribery Taskforce ( IFBT) brings together law enforcement bodies from the so-called Five Eyes: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US, to share intelligence and tackle bribery and related crime. Its members comprise specialists in foreign bribery from the Australian Federal Police; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; the New Zealand Police and the New Zealand Serious Fraud Office; the UK Serious Fraud Office ( SFO) and the National Crime Agency; and the US Federal Bureau of...
Businesses spearheaded by wine importer VOS Selections urged the Court of Appeal to issue its mandate without delay, enabling the Trade Court to determine the most appropriate remedy for importers implicated in the suit, according to their motion placed before the court. The mandate, which the US Supreme Court fully upheld in its ruling of 27 February 2026, found tariffs authorised under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( IEEPA) unlawful, yet vacated and remitted the question of a permanent injunction to the Trade Court for additional consideration there. ' Issuing the mandate at once not only accords with this Court's stay, it will also expedite a fair and efficient resolution of this matter and more than 900 related challenges to the tariffs presently pending before the Court of International Trade ( CIT),' the companies stated, and easing the Court's...
What are tihe practical implications of the case? This ruling firmly reaffirms the UAE courts’ pro‑arbitration approach and sets out clear, practical pointers for those in construction and arbitration. Article 8(1) will be enforced strictly. A prompt jurisdictional challenge grounded in an arbitration agreement will usually prevail unless that agreement is null, void, or incapable of performance. Non‑signatory tactics will be closely examined. The court looks to the real legal and factual matrix, not the pleaded cause. If the entitlement arises from subcontract works, recasting it via employer acknowledgements will not bypass the arbitration clause unless those documents create a genuinely independent, unconditional duty to pay. Conditional guarantees and comfort letters may not trigger direct liability. Where payment undertakings are contingent on the main contractor’s non‑payment or tied to the main...
Medway Council v The Father and another [2026] EWHC 236 ( Fam) What are the practical implications of the case? The practical implications of this case are as follows: a prompt to practitioners that a parent with parental responsibility for a child under 16 can agree to that child being deprived of liberty, ‘provided that said parental consent does not leave that child without safeguards’ in evaluating the ‘zone of parental responsibility’, age is pertinent but not conclusive. Ms Justice Henke stated the ‘zone of parental responsibility’ is fact-specific and ‘it is more appropriate to consider the characteristics of the individual child in question than to compare them to a hypothetical child of the same age’. Henke J further confirmed that the ‘zone of parental responsibility constricts as the child is able to make decisions for themselves’ and that ‘what falls within the zone of...
Direct Investments Ltd (a company in receivership incorporated in the British Virgin Islands) v Mittal- Goenka [2026] EWHC 460 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling illustrates that a party cannot sidestep an earlier case management direction by claiming circumstances have shifted, or by repackaging the order of issues, simply by altering its stance at all. Where the court has ordered particularisation of foreign law, that requirement stands unless successfully appealed or varied. A litigant who pleads foreign law but does not pinpoint the precise principles relied on risks being barred from pursuing the argument at all. The court further made clear that FS Cairo ( Nile Plaza) LLC v Brownlie [2021] UKSC 45 neither dispenses with proper pleadings nor permits postponement of particularisation. In practical terms, once foreign law is put in play, it must be stated with...
Lawless v The Secretary of State for Business and Trade and others [2026] EWHC 48 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? Although strictly obiter, the decision confirmed—in relation to an application under section 6 CDDA 1986 and to Part 8 CPR—that a party can seek specific disclosure at any point in the litigation. That remains the position even if the defendant has yet to serve any evidence in answer, and even if the court has not invoked its PD 57AD powers to direct extended disclosure in Part 8 proceedings. Accordingly, timing and the procedural posture offer no automatic barrier to such requests. However, a defendant contemplating such a course should make sure their putative defence is articulated with adequate clarity, because the relevance of any disclosure sought—be it specific or from a non‑party—will be assessed by reference to that pleaded case. The onus...
What is the background? Revisions to the Family Procedure Rules 2010 ( FPR 2010), most notably Practice Direction 27A concerning court bundles, take effect from 2 March 2026. There are no transitional measures, so the changes govern all family proceedings from that date, regardless of when they were issued. See News Analysis: New FPR 2010, PD 27A on bundles—what are the main changes? FPR 2010, PD 27A prescribes the standard practice for hearings in the Family Court and the Family Division of the High Court. It applies to every hearing before a judge sitting in the Family Division of the High Court, as well as all hearings in the Family Court......
Outram and another v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 248 ( TC) In 2005–06, the appellants participated in a Montpelier tax avoidance arrangement engineered to create trading losses to set against other income, without any corresponding economic loss at all. HMRC issued discovery assessments in 2015. In making those assessments, HMRC relied upon the extended time limit for tax lost through deliberate conduct (section 36(1A) of the Taxes Management Act 1970). The taxpayers appealed. Before the FTT, the appellants accepted the scheme had failed and that trading loss relief was unavailable, yet they contested the assessments on the footing that their behaviour had not been deliberate. On that basis, the extended time limit did not apply, and the assessments were, they said, out of time. The FTT, finding the appellants 'less than compelling witnesses', determined that their behaviour was deliberate. The Upper......
Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman upheld a complaint concerning the settlement of an enhanced early retirement pension. Because the member was entitled to take an unreduced pension without consent at age 60, a late‑retirement uplift had to be applied to benefits taken at age 62 in order to satisfy the preservation requirements, and those requirements trumped the Scheme’s rules. The determination serves as a clear reminder that pension preservation legislation is overriding and therefore takes precedence over any conflicting scheme provisions. What were the facts? Professor N was a deferred member of the TPS Benefits Scheme (the Scheme). Having transferred his benefits across from a government scheme, he held special rights within the Scheme and could draw an unreduced pension at 60 without needing consent. Under Rule 6.3, a late retirement uplift was provided where a member had reached the normal retirement date (age 65) whilst...
The publication signals the FCA’s wider move towards greater openness under the revised Enforcement Guide introduced in June 2025. For the first time, the regulator has brought together its early‑stage enforcement work in a format that shows, in near real time, how the updated publicity policy is being applied. For firms and practitioners, the newsletter clarifies which cases are being launched, the types of behaviour drawing scrutiny, and how the FCA is handling early communications around enforcement. In this article, Hamilton sets out what the inaugural Enforcement Watch reveals about the FCA’s current enforcement activity, how the revised publicity policy is operating in practice, and the practical takeaways firms and advisers should draw from the regulator’s approach. Enforcement pipeline The newsletter records that, between June and December 2025, the FCA commenced 23 enforcement matters. That headline number is revealing. Following the...
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
