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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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
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In this issue: Employment Tribunals Status and worker categories Tax Protected characteristics Data protection and employee information Industrial action ESG and sustainability: employment issues Financial services and banking: employment issues Immigration Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers New Q& As Employment Tribunals What enquiries should be made by a tribunal before it makes a deposit order? In Carryl v Governing Body of Manford Primary School [2023] EAT 167, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that, when determining the level of a deposit order, an employment judge should establish the payer’s income and expenditure to understand their disposable income over the relevant timeframe. The judge should make targeted enquiries about the person’s actual weekly or monthly net pay, factoring in deductions such as tax, National Insurance, pensions and other regular...
In this issue: Key DR developments Claims and remedies Costs and funding Cross-border disputes Case management Settlement Civil appeals New content Dates for your diary Useful information Collaborate and network with a community of expert lawyers Daily and weekly news alerts Key DR developments Announcements Government response to consultation on reforming UKSC fees: The Ministry of Justice ( Mo J) has issued its post-consultation reply on proposed changes to fees in the UK Supreme Court ( UKSC). The document sets out the context to the paper, distils the feedback received, addresses in depth the particular questions put forward, and outlines the intended actions following the consultation. It also restates the report’s background, condenses the submissions, responds comprehensively to discrete queries, and sets out the immediate next steps. Respondents highlighted three principal worries: whether a 40% uplift in fees can be justified, the potential consequences of higher fees on access to justice, and how fee increases might alter the funding...
In this issue: e Privacy Data protection Cybersecurity Reputation management Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content e Privacy Following its review of period and fertility apps, the Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) has urged all app developers to safeguard users’ privacy. Although the review did not uncover serious compliance failures, the ICO emphasises the need for continuing transparency about the use of personal information, securing genuine and informed consent, confirming a valid lawful basis for processing, and demonstrating accountability for the data they hold. Developers are reminded to ensure their practices clearly explain how personal data is used and to keep robust records that evidence consent and lawful processing. See: LNB News 08/02/2024 85. The IAB Technology Laboratory ( Tech Lab) has published its assessment of Google’s intention to retire third-party cookie tracking in Chrome and replace it with the...
In this issue: Probate Court of Protection UK taxes for Private Client HMRC Manuals updates Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Budgets and Finance Bills Contentious trusts and estates Pensions, insurance and tax efficient investments International Question of the week Additional Private Client updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk®Private Client: a Lexis®PSL community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& A Useful information Probate Law Society responds to Ho C Justice Committee’s probate inquiry The Law Society of England and Wales has submitted evidence to the House of Commons ( Ho C) Justice Committee on the probate service’s performance. Since 2018, practitioners have experienced ongoing, serious difficulties, with current reports indicating waits of over 30 weeks and, in some cases, more than a...
In this issue: Competition and state aid Corporate Data protection and cybersecurity Environment Financial services Free movement, immigration and employment Insurance and reinsurance IP Life sciences Regulatory TMT Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Competition and state aid DMA- Bytedance can’t pause Tik Tok’s EU ‘gatekeeper’ designation Law360 reports that a European court has dismissed Byte Dance’s bid to halt Tik Tok’s ‘gatekeeper’ designation, ahead of the March 2024 cut-off to meet fresh duties under the EU Digital Markets Act intended to expand user choice. See: Bytedance can’t pause Tik Tok’s EU ‘gatekeeper’ designation. DMA- European Commission closes investigations on Apple and Microsoft services The European Commission has taken decisions to end four market probes opened on 5 September 2023 under the EU DMA. It concluded that Apple and...
In this issue: Trade marks/passing off Patents Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Trade marks/passing off IPEC rejects trade mark and passing off action in lemon cider dispute ( Thatchers v Aldi) The Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court ( IPEC) in Thatchers Cider Company Ltd v Aldi Stores Ltd [2024] EWHC 88 ( IPEC) dismissed claims of trade mark infringement and passing off brought by Thatchers against Aldi regarding the packaging of a cloudy lemon cider. While the court recognised Thatchers’ goodwill and reputation in its mark and product, it concluded that Aldi’s use of a similar sign neither generated a likelihood of confusion nor took unfair advantage of, or caused detriment to, Thatchers’ trade mark. The ruling reinforces the close examination of evidence in lookalike matters and the rising bar for...
In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Lex Talk®Energy: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Ofgem launches consultation on So LR Levy Offset Ofgem has opened a consultation on a proposed Supplier of Last Resort ( So LR) Levy Offset intended to cut costs for consumers when an energy supplier exits the market. The So LR safety net keeps customers supplied if a supplier fails, and the suggested levy would recoup part of the expenditure linked to this arrangement. Ofgem is inviting input from consumer organisations and charities, energy suppliers, electricity and gas distribution networks, and professionals working in insolvency. This consultation closes on 5 April 2024. See: LNB News 09/02/2024 74. Ofgem opens consultation on amendments to the...
BVCA Despite being Europe’s largest and worth £2.5trn, the UK pensions market trails other nations, according to industry body the BVCA. The association said its panel’s purpose is to help UK savers make more from their investments. It intends to lift performance by removing the obstacles that stop pension schemes backing fast‑growing businesses. It will review international examples to inform its approach. The group will also examine how to channel additional capital into those companies. “ We will carefully assess how pension funds in other countries have managed to invest successfully in UK funds,” said Kerry Baldwin, managing partner at IQ Capital Partners LLP and chairing the panel. Baldwin added that the panel will “get to the root of the technical and structural barriers that restrain investment by UK pension funds”......
Re the estate of Mc Kay (deceased); Pead v Prostate Cancer UK and others [2023] EWHC 3224 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? When defective Will drafting triggers a dispute, rather than immediately bringing a negligence action, the litigants can, following judgment in the substantive claim, seek to join the Will-drafter to obtain a third-party costs order under Part 46.2 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. That course is open whether or not the underlying claim was successful. In this matter, although rectification was refused, the Court accepted the claim had been reasonably advanced. While the claimant should shoulder a portion of the costs, there were significant failings in the manner in which the testator’s instructions were obtained, noted and confirmed, which could properly be said to have precipitated the proceedings and led to the claims. The drafting...
In a Federal Register notice scheduled for publication on Tuesday 13 February 2024, the patent office outlined guidance intended to provide clearer direction to applicants and USPTO personnel, as AI systems assume a larger role in innovation. The notice stated that, while AI-assisted inventions are not automatically unpatentable, the inventorship inquiry should prioritise human contributions, because patents exist to incentivise and reward human ingenuity. When several individuals create an invention jointly, each must have made a ‘significant contribution’ to the claimed invention to be named as an inventor under existing case law. The office added that the same legal standards apply where a human generates an invention with assistance from AI. In a blog post, USPTO Director Kathi Vidal said the correct balance must be found between granting patent protection to promote human ingenuity and investment in AI-assisted inventions, while not...
The change, due to take effect in April, is designed to reflect ‘historic inflation’ accumulated since fees were last increased in 2011, the department stated publicly on 12 February 2024 following its wide-ranging consultation. The measure is forecast to generate somewhere between £170,000 and £210,000 annually. ‘ These uplifts aim to remedy the sharp erosion in the real-terms value of fees and to deliver extra funding for the Supreme Court’s administration,’ the ministry also added. In addition to introducing a new charge for applying for permission to appeal within the proposed framework, the amount payable to lodge a notice objecting to an appeal is set to rise from......
Labour’s long‑trailed blueprint for financial services, released earlier this month, set out pension proposals that lean heavily on the incumbent Conservative government’s so‑called productive finance programme, with its emphasis on boosting growth. The publication eased concerns that a fresh administration might raid pension savings to plug yawning budget shortfalls. Yet sector watchers are not braced for upheaval; instead, they are scrutinising nuanced shifts in Labour’s wording for signs of future movement. They want to gauge the likely direction of travel over time. One focus is how Labour interprets the term 'productive investment' across its policy notes. David Brooks, head of policy at pensions consultancy Broadstone, notes that Labour appears intent on further steering capital into long‑term illiquid assets associated with productive finance, adding that continuity in pensions policy, even with a possible change of government, will reassure the industry and is...
Miller v Irwin Mitchell LLP [2024] EWCA Civ 53 What are the practical implications of this case? Where, in the onboarding of a prospective client, solicitors expressly state that no advice is being provided and that there is no duty to advise, they will not incur liability for the absence of advice, even if it later emerges that the omission could gravely disadvantage the client’s case when they are subsequently accepted as a client. It remains vital that this is communicated to the prospective client during the period before any retainer is concluded. That clarification should be repeated in early communications before any formal instructions are finally agreed. What was the background? Mrs Miller arranged an all-inclusive holiday in Turkey via an agency called Lowcostholidays Spain SLU. An entity referred to as LTS acted as the intermediary between the hotel owners and Lowcost, and LTS supplied a...
According to the PPF, the combined surplus across the nation's 5,050 defined benefit ( DB) pension schemes stood at £425.4bn at end- January 2024, a modest dip from £428.2bn recorded at end- December 2023, signalling a small month-on-month decline. A surplus in a pension scheme means its assets exceed its liabilities. These plans hold substantial allocations to government bonds, commonly called gilts. Over the past year, rising gilt yields have supported scheme funding levels across the sector in recent months. ' The slight movements in the overall surplus and......
Mark Kubulus and Clare Rose informed the High Court that Energy, Safety and Risk Consultants ( UK) Ltd breached their contracts by failing to provide them with an early full pension and a lump sum after their roles were removed in 2015 by the company, per a 22 January 2024 claim publicly disclosed on 9 February 2024. They argued that their benefits under 1980s employment contracts with the UK's state-owned electricity supplier persisted through a succession of employment transfers. Those rights included an early pension and lump sum if their employer made them redundant once over 50, the claim document states. Accordingly, Kubulus and Rose have brought formal legal proceedings against their former employer seeking £293,000 and £152,000, respectively, before interest......
Court of Appeal reviews developments in matter with multiple contempt findings ( ADM International v Grain House International and another) ADM International SARL v Grain House International, Elhachimi Boutgueray [2024] EWCA Civ 33 What are the practical implications of this case? Although Lord Justice Popplewell’s conclusions on Contempts 1, 2 and 4 mostly restated orthodox propositions of English law, his treatment of the evolution of the principles underpinning Contempts 3 and 5 is notably thorough and particularly careful. As to Cockerill J’s determination that the appellants ought to have revealed the equity in the company’s properties (and on that issue alone), Popplewell LJ held that the judge fell into legal error. Where an Asset Disclosure Order, or comparable order, is unclear as to whether it concerns a property’s market value or its equity, the default assumption should be that it addresses market value....
Representation of Zedra Trust Company ( Suisse) SA re C and D Trusts [2023] JRC 213 What are the practical implications of this case Although resolved on its own facts, the court offered broadly useful guidance for trustees managing dynastic trusts intended to support multiple generations. As a family’s philosophy evolves, trustees should assess whether the trust still embodies that shift and, if not, consider whether substantive modifications are required. The ruling will interest practitioners as it confronts public policy and human rights considerations within the framework of trust deed provisions and settlors’ expressed wishes. It underlines that letters of wishes are not binding on trustees, and certainly not on the court, and demonstrates judicial backing for a trustee departing from a settlor’s clear wishes to prevent family discord, here arising from the exclusion of the female line from...
GDPR— European Parliament position misses the mark, with enforcement becoming even more complicated 14 February 2024 Brussels, BELGIUM: On 15 February 2024, the European Parliament’s leading Civil Liberties ( LIBE) Committee is poised to adopt its position on a proposal setting out additional procedural rules for the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR). Yet, rather than enhancing the primary EU privacy framework, LIBE seems ready to do precisely the reverse. The Commission’s original aim was to streamline cross‑border data protection procedures. By contrast, the LIBE Committee now proposes granting complainants significantly broader powers to intervene in cases, whilst narrowing those afforded to parties that are subject to investigation and regulatory scrutiny in such proceedings instead, as originally intended......
Just Group plc’s research shows that 38% had not reviewed their forecast, even though, in total, 1.2 million UK households nationwide depend on the state pension as their main source of income in retirement. Among people who left work earlier than planned, this climbed to 46%. The survey questioned more than 1,000 over-55s who were currently retired or semi-retired. Roughly 17% reported their actual state pension was at least £250 a year lower than expected, while 9% found it was at least £250 higher per annum than anticipated. Stephen Lowe, group communications director at Just Group, called the state pension the cornerstone of retirement income for millions of retired households indeed and said it’s easy to understand why many quite reasonably might assume they’ll......
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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 ]...
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