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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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: Air emissions and climate change Energy efficiency and buildings Energy efficiency of products Environmental disputes and proceedings Environmental enforcement and prosecutions ESG and sustainability Environmental taxes, reliefs and incentives Hazardous substances and chemicals Marine Nature, biodiversity and habitat conservation Sources of environmental law Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Useful information Air emissions and climate change DESNZ publishes UK greenhouse gas emissions national statistics The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero ( DESNZ) has released the definitive official UK greenhouse gas emissions estimates covering the years from 1990 to 2022. For ease of reporting, DESNZ has grouped emissions within the Territorial Emissions Statistics into these sectors: electricity supply, fuel supply, domestic transport, buildings and product uses, industry, agriculture, waste, and land use, land use...
PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights—8 February 2024 In this issue: Evidence and disclosure Road traffic accidents Abuse and criminal injuries CPR updates Costs Court and the legal profession Daily and weekly news alerts New Q& A Useful information Evidence and disclosure The Court of Appeal has distinguished between late attempts to introduce factual material and delayed bids to rely on expert opinion. The first requires relief from sanctions and is judged by the Denton principles; the second does not, and is determined by applying the overriding objective. Authored by Phillip Patterson, barrister, Gatehouse Chambers. See News Analysis: Late application to rely on expert evidence is not an application for relief from sanctions ( Yesss ( A) Ltd v Warren). Road traffic accidents Approved settlement in brain injury from RTA claim. In GJC (a protected party by PKR, his father and litigation friend) v Walker [2024] EWHC 182 ( KB), the King’s Bench Division approved the...
In this issue: Ethnicity pay gap Working Time Employment Tribunals Status and worker categories Prohibited conduct (discrimination etc) Tax Pensions Data protection and employee information Daily and weekly news alerts IRLR Highlights— March 2024 Dates for your diary Trackers New Q& A Ethnicity pay gap The Market Standards Trend Report— Ethnicity pay gap 2023, produced by the Lexis Nexis Market Insights team with the Lexis+® UK Employment team, Lewis Silkin, Spktral, and Marriott Statistical Consulting, reviews how FTSE 250 organisations tackled voluntary ethnicity pay gap disclosures and flags recurring traps and obstacles in ethnicity pay gap reporting. See News Analysis: Market Standards Trend Report— Ethnicity pay gap 2023. Working Time Video analysis— Irregular hours and part-year workers: what is changing for holiday entitlement and pay? In the concluding, third part of our series on the grey...
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association's ( PLSA) updated research on retirement living standards for 2023–24 The PLSA’s review for 2023–24 reports a widespread rise in outgoings for British pensioners and examines three lifestyle categories. Minimum: a single person’s essential spend rises from £12,800 to £14,400; for a couple it climbs from £19,900 to £22,400. Moderate: costs increase from £23,300 to £31,300 for an individual and from £34,000 to £43,100 for a pair. More luxurious: allowing for treats such as routine beauty appointments or theatre outings, the figure reaches £43,100 for one person and £59,000 for a two-person household. These sums reflect what the public believe pensioners require to meet their needs—not merely to get by but to live with......
Mergers CMA provisionally clears Arçelik/ Whirlpool EMEA merger The CMA set out its provisional view as part of its phase 2 investigation into the planned joint venture between Arçelik A.Ş. (through Ardutch B. V.) and Whirlpool Corporation (through Whirlpool EMEA Holdings LLC). The two companies are among the largest suppliers of major domestic appliances ( MDAs) in the UK, including washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers and cooking appliances. Arçelik mainly sells MDAs under the Beko, Blomberg and Grundig brands, while Whirlpool supplies MDAs chiefly under the Indesit and Hotpoint brands. The CMA has provisionally cleared the deal, concluding overall the transaction is not expected to give rise to an SLC concerning the supply of MDA products in the UK......
In this issue: Transferring property Leasing property Easements, rights and covenants Property development Residential property Statutory compliance Environment, energy and buildings Agricultural property Property in Scotland Additional property updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers Transferring property TOLATA 1996—court can take account of wishes of minority beneficiaries In Savage v Savage [2024] EWCA Civ 49, the Court of Appeal, in line with Bagum v Hafiz [2015] EWCA Civ 801, [2015] All ER ( D) 249 ( Jul), reaffirmed that section 15 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 ( TOLATA 1996) identifies the considerations the court must address when making an order under section 14 concerning how trustees exercise their functions, or the nature or scope of a person’s interest in the trust land. The Court of Appeal also...
Alongside the items reported in full in the Financial Services news feed on 8 February 2024, subscribers may wish to note the following further developments: FCA: Cryptoasset AML/ CTF regime: feedback on high- and low-quality applications FCA: Credit reporting: Interim Working Group ( IWG) FCA: Final Notice 2024: Nicholas Andrew ......
R (on the application of Willott) v Eastbourne Borough Council [2024] EWHC 113 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The authority’s lettings scheme, and its adverse decision against the claimant under that framework, ultimately survived scrutiny; nonetheless, the judgment is essential reading for any council operating a Part VI Housing Act 1996 ( HA 1996) allocations policy that permits applicants to be barred, particularly on the basis of anti-social behaviour ( ASB) or misconduct. It is equally pertinent to the entitlements of disabled housing applicants where conduct may have been shaped by the disability itself. Of broader relevance is the analysis of whether a scheme must contain a mechanism for residual discretion, enabling the authority to take exceptional decisions in suitable cases. The court surveys the case law on this topic in depth (para [98]). The judge...
In this issue: Tax treatment Employment issues Useful Information Weekly highlights from other practice areas Tax treatment HMRC publishes Employment Related Securities Bulletin 54 and updated guidance HMRC has released its Employment Related Securities ( ERS) Bulletin 54, setting out updates as follows: Guidance and technical notes now mirror the revised company share option plan ( CSOP) share options limit, which rose from £30,000 to £60,000 on 6 April 2023. Confirmation that the end of year template and the submission checking service will be updated from 6 April 2024. A reminder to file the annual ERS return, with penalties applying where submission is late. A reminder that, for enterprise management incentives ( EMI) options granted on or after 6 April 2024, the deadline to notify HMRC of the grant will be extended from 92 days after grant to 6 July...
A Ltd v B Pte Ltd , 4A_172/2023 dated 11 January 2024 What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment marks a pivotal pronouncement by Switzerland’s highest court on the ambit and reach of the Singapore– China BIT, and on how the Supreme Court reads the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties ( VCLT) when assessing the BIT’s jurisdictional functioning and operation, particularly the extent to which the treaty empowers tribunals in this specific context... What was the background? On 11 January 2024 (published 30 January 2024), the Swiss Supreme Court delivered a German-language ruling earmarked for inclusion in the official court reports, signalling its importance. The dispute involved two Singaporean investors with phosphate mining operations in China. Invoking the 1985 Singapore– China BIT, they alleged China had effected unlawful indirect expropriation. The treaty’s dispute resolution clause conferred jurisdiction on an arbitral tribunal solely for...
A study by the campaign group Spotlight on Corruption says regulators and prosecutors routinely fall short of making top executives at large corporates personally answer for misconduct. By contrast, the report labels directors of small and medium-sized firms as ‘low-hanging fruit’, far more prone to convictions, bans or fines... Spotlight’s executive director, Susan Hawley, said that after each corporate scandal—from the financial crash to the Post Office—there are rightful calls for senior leaders to be held to account, yet it seldom happens. Citing Airbus’s worldwide bribery operation and Nat West’s money laundering, she said senior executives continue to dodge responsibility. This failure of accountability, she argued, harms British business, damages the UK economy and hurts the British public... Spotlight’s research shows the Serious Fraud Office ( SFO) obtained roughly £2.1bn in penalties from eight convictions and 12 deferred prosecution agreements against 20 companies between 2013 and 2023, but...
In this issue: Investigating criminal conduct Legal privilege in criminal cases Criminal procedure and evidence Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences International Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As Useful information Investigating criminal conduct UK fraud agency's independence is safe despite new tasking power, Parliament told The UK's Serious Fraud Office ( SFO) will not forfeit its independence under a legal change that could oblige it to pursue specified inquiries, as any such powers would be kept in the 'back pocket', Parliament has heard. The government plans to enable the National Crime Agency ( NCA) to 'direct' the SFO to take on fraud,...
In this issue Sustainable finance and ESG round–up UK and international sanctions Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 Lending Aviation finance Shipping finance Real estate finance Sustainable finance Debt capital markets Derivatives Technology in banking & finance transactions Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Useful information Sustainable finance and ESG round–up Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round–up: For a summary of this week’s Sustainable finance and ESG developments, see: Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round–up—8 February 2024. UK and international sanctions The House of Lords European Affairs Committee advises that UK sanctions brought in after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are ‘broadly effective’ and well co-ordinated with the EU and the US, though doubts persist around the rigour of enforcement. For further insight, see News Analysis: UK sanctions on Russia are ‘broadly effective’ but questions remain over enforcement, EAC say......
In this issue: Social housing Children's social care Public procurement Governance Education Social care Planning Environmental law and climate change Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q& A Social housing Housing allocation and exclusions—discretion and disability ( R ( Willott) v Eastbourne BC) A carefully reasoned and intricate Judicial Review judgment addresses the defendant local authority’s decision to exclude the claimant from its housing allocation scheme owing to her record of anti-social behaviour. The ruling scrutinises the scheme’s exclusion provisions, considers whether the authority’s treatment contravened the Equality Act 2010 ( Eq A 2010), and assesses the extent to which any allocation scheme must preserve a residual discretion. Of broader relevance is the exploration of whether a scheme must contain a clause enabling residual discretion so that a local...
Competition policy Commission adopts revised Market Definition Notice for competition cases The Commission has adopted an updated version of its notice on market definition for the purposes of EU competition law (the Market Definition Notice). The new Market Definition Notice replaces the text issued in 1997. After assessing the 1997 Notice, the Commission determined that it no longer adequately reflected developments in best practice on market definition that have occurred over time since 1997, including the most recent strands of EU case law, changes in market conditions—which today are increasingly digital, global and interconnected—and refinements to the techniques applied. The Commission consulted on a draft revised Notice in November 2022. The final revised Market Definition Notice is designed to deliver guidance that is more accessible, up-to-date and expanded, including practical examples......
UK banks Lloyds and Santander have been contacted by the FCA following allegations that they were used by Iranian companies to move money around the world in breach of sanctions rules. According to a Financial Times article dated 4 February 2024, the two major lenders provided accounts to UK shell companies secretly controlled by the sanctioned Iranian petrochemicals group, Petrochemical Commercial Company. PCC and its subsidiary, PCC UK, have been under US sanctions since 2018, after claims they were used to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and for allegedly working with Russian intelligence agencies. On 5 February 2024, the FCA said it was in touch with both banks and the UK’s sanctions enforcer regarding the allegations. It noted it was aware of the reports and, as expected, was engaging with the firms and the Office of Financial Sanctions...
In this issue: Obtaining, amending and implementing planning permission Housing Heritage and natural environment Buildings and Building Regulations Planning policy Planning applications and decisions Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Related Documents Obtaining, amending and implementing planning permission Consideration of amended schemes at planning appeals ( Bramley Solar Farm Residents Group v SSLUHC) The High Court’s ruling in Bramley Solar Farm Residents Group v SSLUHC is pertinent to practitioners handling updated proposals at planning appeal. It sets out what inspectors must assess in relation to the modified scheme and the consequences for applicants concerning consultation on the changes. The judgment also offers practical guidance on the approach to valued landscapes under the National Planning Policy Framework ( NPPF), and on whether inspectors should examine potential alternative sites. For detailed commentary, see the News...
What are the practical implications of this case? This decision highlights the practical hurdles in pursuing summary judgment, particularly where opponents may produce additional evidence at the eleventh hour. Coupled with the burden of proof, the obligation to show no real prospect of success imposes a demanding threshold that applicants often struggle to satisfy. Although the court may scrutinise the respondent’s evidence, it does so with marked caution to avoid conducting a mini-trial. The case also serves as a further reminder of the realities of litigating against certain litigants in person. Here, despite the respondent seemingly failing to engage constructively with the liquidator ahead of the hearing, he was nevertheless permitted to put forward evidence that disrupted the summary judgment application. Those advising on the prospects of applications of this kind against litigants in person should factor in the added risk that fresh...
In this issue: Practice and procedure Gender recognition Financial provision Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk®Family: a Lexis®Nexis community New Q& As Updated content Useful information Practice and procedure UKSC publishes guidance on applying for help with fees The UK Supreme Court has issued guidance on applications for help with fees, covering applications made or fees paid from 27 November 2023. It explains eligibility, timing, and provides step-by-step notes for each question in the ‘help with fees’ form. See: LNB News 02/02/2024 64. Official Solicitor publishes new standard instructions for solicitors The Official Solicitor and Public Trustee has released standard instructions to support solicitors where the Official Solicitor acts as litigation friend for P, a protected party, or a child. The document outlines the solicitor’s responsibilities, the Official Solicitor’s approach, costs, expectations for hearings and...
Flexible provisions in the EU's flagship digital law AI’s rapid rise won’t slip through the regulatory net thanks to adaptable clauses in the EU’s flagship digital law, according to the bloc’s top competition official, Olivier Guersent. The Commission may treat emerging AI features as elements of search services where they are embedded, or alternatively rely on legal mechanisms to broaden the rulebook to encompass the technology. From 6 March 2024, the Digital Markets Act ( DMA) will bite for companies including Apple, Microsoft and Google, requiring them to open their platforms to give business users a fairer shot at competing. Guersent, director‑general of DG Competition, said platforms are devoting substantial resources to compliance, with some adjustments expected swiftly after the deadline. He highlighted the obligation to host competing app stores on smartphones — known as side‑loading — as an area where customers could notice...
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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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