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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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A Lewes Crown Court judge in East Sussex has ordered 45-year-old Christopher Bilmes to hand over £3,300 in criminal proceedings, following claims by the former clients of the ex-solicitor that £3.9m was owed, a Crown Prosecution Service ( CPS) spokesperson confirmed. The CPS said Bilmes, jailed during April 2023 for four years and eight months, has three months to pay up......
As the sector anticipates the coming year, a cluster of nascent technology arbitration themes is taking shape, spanning digital assets and smart-contract arbitration, proceedings in the metaverse, and role of artificial intelligence. Digital assets are by nature intangible and frequently transnational, since transaction counterparties can be unknown or untraceable within particular jurisdictions. Public venues for their trading, such as cryptocurrency or non-fungible exchanges, often provide scant or no terms and conditions. Overall, determining which fora possess jurisdiction to hear a digital-asset dispute, and which conflict-of-laws principles and substantive legal standards govern, can be challenging in practice for parties involved. Growing debate and attention within the legal community centres on arbitration tied to digital assets, encompassing cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, non-fungible tokens, artificial intelligence, technology and innovation, and the ways they seek to reduce the risks that accompany embracing novel technology across emerging...
R (on the application of Elliott Associates LP and others) v London Metal Exchange and another [2023] EWHC 2969 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment serves as a strong reminder of the generous leeway the courts will grant to regulators and decision‑makers. The court acknowledged that the Defendants reached their decision quickly and in conditions of significant pressure. It further restated what a Claimant must show to pursue judicial review, namely that there is a clear divide between criticising the merits of decisions made under pressure and alleging that such decisions are unlawful. Where urgent steps are taken by decision‑makers relying on informed expertise and a detailed understanding of niche areas of commercial activity, the court will not second‑guess those choices. So long as decision‑makers can demonstrate the evidential basis upon which they acted, and the decision reached is...
European Data Act enters into force, putting in place new rules for a fair and innovative data economy Today, the European Data Act takes effect. The framework sets out who may access and use data produced within the EU across all sectors of the economy, and will simplify sharing, notably of industrial data. The Act brings greater fairness to the digital ecosystem by spelling out who is entitled to derive value from data and under what terms. By clarifying roles and benefits, it sets fair conditions for value creation EU-wide. It will also boost a dynamic, innovative data marketplace by opening up industrial data and offering legal certainty on data use. Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice- President for a Europe fit for the Digital Age, said: ‘ This is a significant step on our path to digital transformation. With clear rules on data, we give users...
Subsidy control The Subsidy Advice Unit has agreed to a request from the Department of Business and Trade for Energy Security to prepare a report on its proposed restructuring subsidy relating to the Post Office Process Review compensation—see further, case page. NOTE— For every decision referred to the Subsidy Advice Unit under the Subsidy Control Act 2022, see further, UK subsidy control—cases tracker. Private actions Following its 10 November 2023 judgment dismissing all damages claims pursued by Phones 4 U Limited ( P4U) arising from the termination of its agreements with mobile network operators, the High Court has now issued a ruling in Phones 4U Ltd ( In Administration) v EE Ltd & others. The Court has refused P4U permission to appeal that judgment—see further, ruling. NOTE— For all live private actions in the UK that have been made public, see...
The Court of Appeal decided that aerospace trader Mitsui Bussan Aerospace Co Ltd’s contractual claim against French jet maker Dassault Aviation SA could be passed to Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd, restoring an arbitration award made in 2021. Dassault maintained that its agreement to supply maritime surveillance aircraft to Mitsui Bussan Aerospace ( MBA) included a term barring MBA from assigning its rights to any third party without Dassault’s approval, the judgment simply records. Justice Geoffrey Vos found that when the contract was automatically moved to Mitsui Sumitomo under Japanese law, the non‑assignment clause was not breached (despite the absence of Dassault’s consent) because MBA was not ‘voluntarily causing or agreeing’ to the transfer. He wrote that the proper issue was whether the transfer was effected by MBA, rather than whether it occurred as a result of particular steps MBA had taken. MBA (which...
Enforcement against Google over its use of location data proposed by the Irish data protection authority has been subject to objections by other EU watchdogs Plans by Ireland’s data protection authority to take enforcement action over Google’s use of location data have met with objections raised by other EU regulators. In October 2023, the Irish DPC shared a provisional decision with fellow EU data authorities for review, in line with the procedure used for cross-border GDPR cases. Helen Dixon, the head of the Irish watchdog, told MLex today that a total of four objections had been filed against that draft......
The DMA As the EU’s flagship rule for digital platforms, the DMA seeks to curb the influence of giants such as Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft. It lays down obligations around interoperability, default choices and the sharing of data, designed to let business users challenge digital marketplaces. The regime starts on 6 March 2024; and on 15 January 2024, Google adjusted its services to meet the prohibition on merging personal data between distinct platforms......
Mergers After a phase I review, the Commission cleared Total Energies’ exclusive acquisition of Quadra Energy—see Midday Express. Notification received in MC/ Dthag/ MMC/ JV ( M.11424) under the simplified procedure. Public version of the Deutsche Telekom/ Orange/ Telefónica/ Vodafone/ JV decision ( M.10815) published—see decision. Note— See EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker. Antitrust An appeal in Case C‑14/24 P ( Commission v Bulgarian Energy Holding and Others) challenges the General Court’s ruling in T‑136/19 annulling the Commission’s gas case decision AT.39849. Note— See Court of Justice appeals—ongoing cases tracker. State aid The Commission cleared, under EU State aid rules, an Italian €120m scheme for new air routes to and from Calabria—see Midday Express. Publication in Case C‑653/22 TOODE: a Latvian reference asks whether Article 107 TFEU deems aid ‘granted’ when a wrongful refusal, later confirmed by a court, occurs after the grant...
Why is the EU PTD 2015 being revised? The Commission launched its reassessment of the EU PTD 2015 five years after it took effect, and in the wake of widespread cancellations, liquidity pressures, and hurdles in reimbursing travellers during the coronavirus ( COVID-19) crisis. Its review concluded the EU PTD 2015 has not entirely achieved its aims or met the needs of travellers and organisers, leaving scope for enhancement and simplification. The Commission now intends to tackle the identified gaps, remove legal uncertainty, and reduce unnecessary complexity that creates difficulties for both travellers and organisers. It also aims to ensure stronger consistency between the EU PTD 2015 and EU passenger rights—protecting travellers more effectively, including in crisis situations—while improving business functionality in the package-travel sector. What are the key changes? The changes broadly fall into three main...
Summary The GDPR stands as the principal EU legislation securing the fundamental right to personal data protection...
A consultation has been opened by Intellectual Property Office ( IPO), inviting views on revising how foreign nationals qualify for broadcasting and performance rights under UK copyright law......
HMRC v The Taxpayer [2024] UKUT 12 ( TCC) The taxpayer appealed to the FTT against HMRC’s refusal to permit deductions for income tax. The deductions asserted were said to stem from arrangements already contested by HMRC and which were the focus of two other lead cases. He also asked the FTT to have his appeal heard in private and for the judgment to be anonymised. He contended that these steps were required to protect his private life, preserve the confidentiality of sensitive material and prevent prejudice to the interests of justice. The FTT directed that preliminary stages of the appeal would be held in private ( Direction 3) and that, shortly before the substantive hearing, both parties should provide representations on whether the decision from that hearing ought to be published anonymously ( Direction 4). There was some doubt as to whether...
Financial Services news feed – 15 January 2024 Beyond the full articles featured in the Financial Services news feed on 15 January 2024, subscribers might wish to note the following further developments: HM Treasury notice relating to ISIL ( Da'esh) and Al- Qaida, 15/01/2024 HM ......
SRA’s £500k fine on Clyde & Co is sign of things to come Clyde & Co has been hit with a £500,000 sanction by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ( SDT) for failing to satisfy itself that a client was not engaged in money laundering — the heaviest penalty to date for an anti-money laundering ( AML) lapse. An SRA spokesperson told Law360 on 12 January 2024 that neither the regulator nor the SDT, which deals with the gravest matters, has ever imposed a larger financial penalty, whether for AML breaches or any other misconduct. ‘ Both the SRA and SDT are starting to apply more substantial fines and this signals what lies ahead,’ said Rebecca Atkinson, general counsel and compliance officer for legal practice at Howard Kennedy LLP, speaking to Law360. The tribunal has only once before reached the £500,000 mark: in 2017, when Locke Lord LLP...
At Southwark Crown Court, Judge Christopher Hehir sentenced the man for bribing former Metropolitan Police sergeant Frank Partridge from 2014 to 2015, using dinners in Soho, central London, and a paid resort holiday to Morocco. Hehir J further directed the man, who cannot be named and was absent from the hearing, to meet £40,000 of the prosecution’s legal costs. Partridge had been jailed by the same judge in July 2023 for seven and a half years. He was castigated for his ‘wholesale corruption’ after taking inducements, among them tickets to see the heavy metal band Metallica and bespoke tailoredclaims. Calling the bribery network a ‘stramash’—a Scottish expression for a disturbance, Hehir J noted that Partridge had already been accepting bribes before he encountered the man; yet that did not render the conduct any less grave, he said. This was, he...
The acquisitions of dividends did not amount to trading in financial instruments and, consequently, were refused by the Revenue Commissioners as deductible business expenses, as they were intrinsically loss-making and not conducted as market transactions, as stated in the appellate court’s judgment of 21 December 2023. Two principal appellants, Brendan Thornton and Paul Mc Dermott, contested the High Court’s July 2022 judgment and the Tax Appeals Commission’s December 2022 ruling that affirmed the decision, according to the judgment. Seventeen individuals are bound by the ruling, while roughly the same number chose not to appeal the High Court’s judgment. The judgment records that the syndicate’s arrangement mirrored a common pattern involving several companies in the BVI. First, a BVI parent company......
' Dear CEO' letter outlines PRA priorities for supervising insurers On 11 January 2024, the PRA told chief executives of insurers overseen by the authority that economic, regulatory and technological shifts over the past year have introduced fresh risks, and firms must show how they are managing them. In their ' Dear CEO' letter, Charlotte Gerken, PRA’s executive director for insurance supervision, and Shoib Khan, insurance supervision director, set out the supervisor’s priorities for overseeing insurers during the year ahead. According to the letter, these priorities are framed by a difficult backdrop that presents the insurance market with both threats and openings for the insurance sector overall......
Helen Dixon, the departing head of Ireland’s Data Protection Commission ( DPC), said in an interview with MLex conducted today that Meta delivered its views to her office late last night. The submission responds to a draft report from Dixon’s regulator, together with views sent by other EU data protection authorities, regarding Meta’s decision to offer paid, ad-free versions of both Facebook and Instagram alike......
This year, Brazil's data protection regulator plans to initiate steps for Brazil and the EU to align with each other's data transfer requirements, and to formalise Brazil's accession pathway to the Council of Europe's Convention 108+, said agency Director Arthur Sabbat. Convention 108 is a multilateral instrument that steers the processing of personal data, with particular focus on the cross-border movement and handling of information......
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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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