Legal News

See Q& A: A vendor of a home owned as joint tenants dies post-exchange yet prior to completion. For inheritance tax purposes, should one report the deceased’s half interest in the property, or the entitlement to receive a half share of the sale proceeds (which then ultimately pass to the surviving co-owner by survivorship)?......

The government published its AI regulation white paper in March 2023, outlining five principles for UK regulators. Yet the FCA has not sufficiently mapped these to its own rules, even after a 14‑month window and an AI update that could have addressed the issue. Samantha Paul, senior knowledge lawyer at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, rated the FCA’s AI update a C+, noting it is a solid beginning but fails to explain how the government’s AI compliance principles translate into the UK’s existing regulatory regime, or what this means in practice for firms. Lawyers warn the FCA is leaving banks with insufficient clarity on how its rules apply to the AI‑driven systems embedded in their businesses. Banks could, for instance, mis‑sell financial services to consumers or lack adequate systems and controls to repel an AI‑generated cyber attack. Clearer, upfront application of the rules from the...

This is a near-term concern flagged by several arbitration specialists. Deepfakes— AI-made videos that fabricate persuasive audio and visual deceptions—are not easily spotted by an untrained observer. They can be so lifelike that a person’s accent, speech patterns and mannerisms are copied with quite uncanny accuracy. And, experts note, the expense of producing them is lower than many would expect. ‘ The difficulty here is that, to the naked eye, [deepfakes] are virtually impossible to detect’, said Orlando F. Cabrera C., a senior associate with Hogan Lovells who served on a Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center task force that released guidelines for AI in arbitration last month. ‘ And this is only the beginning. Imagine five or ten years from now—[deepfakes] will be indistinguishable.’ For now, the question of deepfakes seems to have slipped into a broader thicket over how the legal...

Corporate insiders could be spurred to blow the whistle on fraud, corruption and bribery if the financial incentives matched the potential reputational damage caused by informing on their company, SFO Director Nick Ephgrave said in his first hearing before the House of Commons' Justice Committee. In his inaugural appearance before the House of Commons’ Justice Committee, SFO Director Nick Ephgrave suggested that employees might be more willing to report bribery, corruption and fraud if rewards reflected the reputational risks of exposing their employer. He framed it as aligning payments with the potential reputational harm that can follow naming one’s own company, especially where the conduct involves fraud, corruption or bribery. He noted many would-be whistleblowers feel 'caught' between principle and practicality, worrying that careers and livelihoods could be derailed; balancing the wish to reveal wrongdoing with such practical concerns is, he said, a...

Gillian Graham t/a Skin Science v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 352 ( TC) Item 1 of Group 7 of Schedule 9 to the Value Added Tax Act 1994 ( VATA 1994) grants exemption for supplies of medical care made by persons who are registered or enrolled in the relevant registers. The appellant, being a registered general nurse, appeared on a suitable register and thus fulfilled one of the criteria for exemption. HMRC, however, took the position that the skin treatments supplied were overwhelmingly cosmetic in nature rather than supplies of medical care. It therefore registered the appellant for VAT and issued an assessment. Convinced that all her treatments were exempt, the appellant filed a nil VAT return, which led to the assessment being cancelled. HMRC then raised a further assessment, said to cover a slightly different period and for a different amount. The key...

Effective immediately Taking effect now, JAMS’ notice confirms that new rules target the surge in AI and smart contracts, which operate as automated market‑makers on crypto exchanges to set investor pay‑outs. In his statement, CEO Chris Poole explained that the framework is designed to confront the explosive growth of artificial intelligence systems and the nexus between AI technologies and dispute resolution. Poole added that JAMS is determined to stay at the leading edge of evolving tech and to deliver robust, forward‑looking solutions for the legal professionals and parties it serves......

WTW stated that the scheme, fronted by Lloyd’s of London syndicate Markel, delivers ‘peace of mind’ to participants engaged in Ukraine’s reconstruction. The cover is the London market’s first for inland cargo within the war‑ravaged nation and comes on the heels of a 2023 initiative undertaken by Western insurers, including Marsh & Mc Lennan Cos Inc, to underwrite sea shipments moving grain from Black Sea ports......

Taxation: Council agrees on new rules for withholding tax procedures ( FASTER) On 4 May 2024, the Council adopted a general approach on quicker and more secure processes to obtain relief from double taxation, designed to stimulate cross-border investment and combat tax abuse. The Council Directive on Faster and Safer Relief of Excess Withholding Taxes ( FASTER) aims to make EU withholding tax procedures safer, more efficient and more reliable for cross-border investors, national tax authorities and financial intermediaries, such as banks or investment platforms. Aligning tax relief processes is crucial to improve how the capital markets union functions. I am pleased we have reached agreement on this significant proposal, which will also enable a much more effective fight against tax fraud. It will make investing abroad simpler and, we hope, prompt retail investors in particular to participate in European financial markets,...

In addition to the stories covered in full in the Financial Services news feed on 15 May 2024, Subscribers may wish to note the following further developments: ECB: The growth of artificial intelligence: gains and threats to financial stability ECB: Progress in stress-testing methods for financial stability applications Council of EU: Capital Markets Union: Council endorses conclusions on financial......

The circuit court’s three-judge bench dismissed Romania’s contention that the Court of Justice of the EU’s 2022 rulings retroactively nullified the country’s consent to arbitrate with two Swedish investors under their pre‑existing bilateral investment treaty. According to the decision, the district court’s authority likewise did not depend on a 2019 judgment from a lower European court that was subsequently overturned. Romania’s further claim that the CJEU decisions extinguished the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ( ICSID) tribunal’s award met the same fate. The court noted that Romania identifies no passage in either 2022 CJEU judgment purporting to invalidate the arbitral award. Under the ICSID Convention, the sole mechanism for setting aside an ICSID tribunal’s award is the annulment process—an avenue Romania pursued without success, the opinion explains. Courts of contracting states must recognise awards rendered under the Convention as binding and are not...

Mergers The Commission has given clearance for: the set-up of a joint venture by E. ON SE and OHB SE ( M.11491) following a phase I investigation—see also, Midday Express the establishment of a joint venture between Baywa Global Produce Gmb H and Nufri Agricultural Transformation Society ( M.11492) after a phase I investigation—see also, Midday Express the formation of a joint venture, Net Zero North Sea Storage Limited, by BP CCUS UK NEP Limited and Equinor Low Carbon UK Limited ( M.11213) subsequent to a phase I investigation—see also, Midday Express NOTE— For all ongoing merger investigations before the Commission, see also, EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker Russia’s war against Ukraine The Commission approved, under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, a Spanish measure (valued at €120m) to back investments in strategic sectors in the region of Asturia, advancing the shift to a...

Bayer Intellectual Property Gmb H & others v Aspire Pharma Ltd & others [2024] EWHC 711 ( Pat) and Sandoz Ag and other companies v Bayer Intellectual Property Gmb H and other companies [2024] EWHC 796 ( Pat) What was the background? Xarelto® (rivaroxaban) is an anticoagulant and Bayer’s top-selling medicine. Patent disputes have been ongoing in the UK and elsewhere for years, though in the UK the conclusion may now be approaching. Bayer’s compound patent ( EP 1 261 606) lapsed in December 2020, but a supplementary protection certificate ( SPC) kept rivaroxaban under protection until it ended on 1 April this year. Bayer also owns a patent with Swiss-form claims that broadly concern using rivaroxaban in tablets for once-daily oral dosing, expiring in January 2026 ( EP 1 845 961, the ‘ Once- Daily’ patent). Starting in 2022, multiple generic companies launched...

Bellini ( N/ E) Ltd trading as Bellini v Brit UW Ltd (the Corporate Capital Provider of Lloyd’s Syndicate 2987 for the 2019 Year of Account) [2024] EWCA Civ 435. What are the practical implications of this case? A run of rulings, beginning with Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance ( UK) Ltd [2020] EWHC 2448 ( Comm); [2021] UKSC 1, seemed to indicate insureds enjoyed a favourable tide in coronavirus business interruption disputes. This judgment cuts against that. The policy contained a ‘disease’ extension within the business interruption cover, yet the wording required physical damage, as defined by the policy, to be present. The insured’s principal case was that the clause was meant to answer non-damage perils—disease within 25 miles of the premises, murder at the premises, food poisoning, and similar events—so making damage a prerequisite would empty the apparent promise of sense. They...

How does the EU AI Act define AI systems? Are all AI systems subject to the EU AI Act? The EU AI Act uses the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development ( OECD)’s description of an AI system. It covers machine‑based systems designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy, which may exhibit adaptiveness after deployment, and which, to meet explicit or implicit aims and purposes, infer from the input they receive how to generate outputs—predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions—that can influence physical or virtual environments. The term ‘artificial intelligence ( AI) system’ does not extend to AI models, including so‑called general‑purpose AI ( GPAI) models. In other words, AI models fall outside this definition. ......

The EU's General Court decided on 8 May 2024 that The Not Co Sp A could not obtain a trade mark for its line of nondairy beverages because it didn't take much mental effort for consumers to understand that 'not milk' meant that the drinks lacked dairy products. The court explained that the English-speaking public would instantly and unambiguously take the sign as an informative statement about the drink’s composition and, echoing the board of appeal, concluded that the phrase 'not milk' is descriptive. Not Co had filed for registration in July 2021 covering vegetable drinks and milk substitutes. The mark’s wording appeared vertically, with 'not' in black lettering and 'milk' shown in a light blue shade......

For alleged victims, a defendant’s apology can offer acknowledgement and emotional comfort, helping to lessen the personal strain of litigation. For the accused organisation, it is a fraught yet potentially reputation‑preserving step. The notion of apologising without accepting liability was introduced by the Compensation Act 2006 ( Com A 2006). On 8 April 2024, the Ministry of Justice opened a consultation on legal reforms to make it easier for organisations to apologise. Com A 2006 was intended, in part, to confirm that an apology or an offer of treatment or remediation does not, by itself, amount to admitting liability. In principle, that safeguard should embolden organisations to apologise without fearing legal repercussions. In practice, however, the Act has not materially advanced this shift. The chief obstacle remains the public relations challenge that accompanies such statements. To the public, apologies are often read as...

On 8 May 2024, TPR said it was open to a ‘voluntary supervision’ model for professional trustees, mirroring the approach it already applies to administrators. Its remarks, set out in a letter to the parliamentary Work and Pensions Committee ( WPC), follow a government‑backed review urging a broader role for TPR over administrators. ‘ TPR is presently in dialogue with [the Department for Work and Pensions] about our remit concerning pension scheme administrators’, the regulator told the committee. ‘ In the interim, TPR has worked closely and jointly with the biggest administrators to develop a’......

Industry experts will give evidence to the parliamentary Treasury Committee on 14 May 2024 as the Committee continue their broader probe into the effectiveness of the sanctions imposed by Britain on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Among those due to appear are Emma Hardaker from the Lloyd's insurance market and Bill Browder, the financier and political activist. On 8 May 2024, European diplomats and ambassadors signalled agreement in principle to direct profits derived from seized Russian assets to support Ukraine's war effort. A report issued by the European Parliament in February 2024 indicated that about US$300bn of Russian Central Bank holdings are currently frozen across various jurisdictions......

Ireland postpones referendum on joining the Unified Patent Court In April 2024, the government confirmed that the constitutional referendum slated for 7 June 2024 to allow Ireland to accede to the Unified Patent Court ( UPC) would not go ahead, further delaying the necessary vote a year on from the court’s official launch. The proposed ballot sought approval to amend article 29 of the constitution to permit the transfer of jurisdiction to the UPC—an essential step for entry to the court and the broader unitary patent regime. Peter Burke, Minister for Enterprise, cited low levels of public engagement and understanding as the basis for withdrawing the vote. Patent specialists called the move disappointing but reasonable in light of the prevailing political landscape. The choice to drop the June poll—intended to coincide with European and local elections—came two weeks after the unexpected...

The City watchdog warned on 9 May 2024 that some companies have been using faulty surveillance systems that are intended to detect market abuse. It further noted that governance around these processes is not always adequate. In Market Watch 79, the FCA stated that not all firms have directed sufficient attention and resources to governance arrangements, and advised firms to question whether greater intricacy and volume in governance genuinely result in timely, efficient and effective outcomes. Under UK rules, businesses are obliged to identify and report suspected market abuse. This can include: Trading in shares based on insider dealing Creating a false impression of the share price The FCA also observed that some companies operate complex governance structures that take substantial time to work through. According to the regulator, surveillance that employs artificial intelligence will require governance that keeps pace with the...