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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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Disclosure of confidential arbitration documents to facilitate policing of an undertaking ( Bourlakova & others v Edelweiss Investments Inv) (1) Loudmila Bourlakova (2) Hermitage One Limited (3) Greenbay Invest Holdings Limited (4) Veronica Bourlakova claimants-and-(1) The Estate of Oleg Bourlakov & others (12) Edelweiss Investments Inc defendants [2025] EWHC 3085 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision underscores (i) the English court’s clear readiness to issue directions that give practical and effective effect to freezing relief or agreed undertakings, even where doing so requires disclosure that encroaches on arbitral confidentiality; and (ii) that, where a party seeks to rely on confidentiality to oppose a disclosure application, it is essential to put forward cogent and specific evidence addressing whether there is a genuine risk of criminal prosecution. What was the...
The Executors of the Estate of Kenneth Collins v The Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police [2026] EWHC 117 ( SCCO) What are the practical implications of this case? Costs Judge Whalan’s decision that wrongful interference with goods may amount to an intentional tort will interest practitioners bringing claims against the police, particularly where disputes over fixed recoverable costs might arise in that arena. Of broader significance are the conclusions on how the fixed costs transitional provisions in the Civil Procedure ( Amendment No 2) Rules 2023, SI 2023/572, should operate. The court received an extensive and wide‑ranging submission from the claimants on those provisions. That submission relied on the Minutes of the Civil Procedure Rules Committee from November 2023, which suggested that fixed costs were not engaged where the only live proceeding was a costs‑only Part 8 claim. The court has...
Background and purpose of the proposal The existing CSA reinforced the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (‘ ENISA’) and established the European Cybersecurity Certification Framework (‘ ECCF’) to enable voluntary, EU-wide cybersecurity certification. After NIS2 was adopted in 2022, the EU legislator introduced compulsory cyber risk management and incident reporting duties for critical sectors. In light of escalating cyber threats and geopolitical shifts, the new Cybersecurity Package proposes updates to the CSA and NIS2 to: strengthen the protection of critical Information and Communication Technologies (‘ ICT’) supply chains within NIS2 sectors streamline use of EU cybersecurity certifications under the ECCF make NIS2 compliance easier while bolstering ENISA’s cross-border supervision support What are key changes in the EU Cybersecurity Act 2? The proposed Revised EU Cybersecurity Act, or EU Cybersecurity Act 2 (‘ CSA2’), would fully replace the CSA and introduces the following new...
With political and legal backdrops across key jurisdictions in flux, parties to international arbitration are choosing their seats with ever greater care, while calibrating risk accordingly. As these shifts recast procedural expectations, both parties and practitioners sensibly regard the seat named in arbitration clauses as a pivotal choice, shaped by evolving political conditions and factors such as legal certainty and stability, and perceived neutrality. Indeed, selecting the arbitral seat is among the most consequential decisions when drafting agreements, given its far‑reaching effects for the process and outcome. Chief among those effects are identifying the applicable lex arbitri (which governs procedure) and determining which courts of the chosen seat will aid enforcement of the arbitration agreement and hear any annulment, or set‑aside, proceedings once an award has issued. Several global developments are poised to influence selections of arbitral seats in 2026, including Mexico’s...
Mac Donald J upheld an appeal challenging the rejection of a mother’s bid to secure a child maintenance determination pursuant to Council Regulation ( EC) No 4/2009 of 18 December 2008 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and co-operation in matters concerning maintenance obligations (the EU Maintenance Regulation). The court found the Family Court’s jurisdiction persisted notwithstanding the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and that the application was wrongly dismissed for purported non-compliance. The judgment further highlights the grave practical obstacles encountered by parties in cross-border maintenance matters, and how such impediments can frustrate the aims of international child maintenance frameworks. MM v FF ( Maintenance: Scope of EU Withdrawal Agreement) [2026] EWFC 1 What are the practical implications of this case? The judgment contains unusually detailed and pointed observations about the experience of litigants in cross-border maintenance cases and the...
James Hall v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 124 ( TC) H asked the FTT to revoke case management directions that obliged him to file his witness evidence and skeleton arguments in advance of HMRC. He contended that a JSLN amounts to a criminal charge, thereby triggering the presumption of innocence, with the consequence that HMRC carries the evidential burden and ought to serve first. The FTT accepted that submission and varied the directions accordingly (paras [75], [78]). The tribunal’s finding that JSLNs are a criminal charge, and thus the presumption applies, derived from applying the Bendenoun ( Application 12547/86) criteria to assess their character and gravity. In doing so, it held that: JSLNs have broad reach across the populace and are comparable to VAT penalties—each operates upon a community within scope of the rule, regardless of that group’s size (para [71]); taken as a scheme, JSLNs are...
Conway v Conway and another [2025] EWHC 33314 ( Ch) What was the background? In March 2019, the parties reached a verbal understanding for the respondents to purchase the appellant’s barn for £150,000 sterling. Solicitors were engaged to formalise the transfer, but talks collapsed over a contentious provision—whether the appellant retained a call option to re-purchase the barn from the respondents. It was accepted by both sides that the price was never paid to the appellant, and that the respondents had gone into occupation and undertaken substantial renovation and refurbishment works. Following the collapse of negotiations, the appellant sought declaratory relief that the respondents held no proprietary interest in the barn and also an injunction restraining further access. The respondents, relying solely and entirely on proprietary estoppel, issued a counterclaim seeking an order compelling transfer of the barn to them on the terms of the...
Local Government Finance Settlement Westminster council is set to face some of the steepest reductions in grant funding among upper-tier authorities. The government is delivering on its promise to shift resources towards areas with the greatest need, writes Stuart Hoddinott. That inevitably means some councils will receive less than they might have expected, and, with a limited pot, ministers have had to make hard choices over where the losses fall. The announcement this week on council allocations—the Local Government Finance Settlement—runs to considerable detail, yet one headline stands out. Crucially, the most deprived authorities will gain most from rising local government budgets across this parliament. From 2024/25 to 2028/29, core spending power (the funding councils have available to provide services) will rise by 24.6% in real terms for the most deprived decile of local authorities. By comparison, the 10% least deprived councils will see only a 3.4%...
Mergers The Commission has been notified of OP/ Yanfeng/ OP Target Companies/ Yanfeng Target Companies ( M.12323) under the simplified merger procedure. NOTE— For all ongoing merger enquiries before the Commission, see further, EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker Upcoming dates For dates of forthcoming EU competition developments, see further, EU Competition calendar......
Trustee removal following breakdown in relations with beneficiaries ( Smith & others v Campbell & others) Smith & others v Campbell & others [2025] EWHC 3011 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The judgment delivers a close review of the governing authorities and the material before the court concerning several prospective grounds for displacing trustees. Of note for practitioners are the following: Hostility, tension, or a collapse in relationships that reasonably prompts doubt about whether the trust will be administered properly for the beneficiaries as a whole can justify removing trustees (the judge referred to Hudman v Morris [2021] EWHC 1400 ( Ch)). Allegations that trustees failed to follow an appropriate process when removing company directors do not, by themselves, warrant the trustees’ removal. The court will not determine whether the director removal is commercially justified. The selection of trustees by the person who created the trust is a...
Financial services developments FCA and PSR’s David Geale discusses UK payments landscape The Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) has released a speech from David Geale, the FCA’s executive director for payments and digital finance and managing director of the Payment Systems Regulator ( PSR). In it, he set out views on the National Payments Vision, the PSR’s integration within the FCA, Open Banking, and the influence of new technologies on the payments industry. Geale emphasised that the UK’s payment infrastructure and systems must be efficient, innovative and accessible, while reliably meeting customers’ expectations. He also noted that bringing the FCA and PSR under one roof improves their ability to weigh the requirements of firms, consumers and the broader system......
Financial services developments FCA announces application window for cryptoasset regulation The Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) has refreshed its webpage on the forthcoming cryptoasset regulatory regime, confirming that firms seeking to carry on the new regulated activities may submit applications between 30 September 2026 and 28 February 2027. The regime itself is slated to begin on 25 October 2027. Any business intending to perform these new cryptoasset activities must hold FCA authorisation, under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ( Cryptoassets) Regulations 2025, with the requisite permissions in place as the regime goes live. Source: A new regime for cryptoasset regulation Sheldon Mills outlines background to the FCA’s AI review The FCA has released a speech from its executive director for consumers and competition, Sheldon Mills, who is leading the regulator’s multi-year examination of AI in retail financial services, alongside insights from its AI Live Testing...
EU financial services developments EU Benchmarks Regulation: Amendments to RTS regarding the recognition of non- EU benchmark administrators and RTS regarding the application for authorisation or registration by EU benchmark administrators RTS published in the OJ: the Official Journal features Commission Delegated Regulation ( EU) 2026/264 of 27 October 2025, which updates the regulatory technical standards in Delegated Regulation ( EU) 2018/1645 on the format and content of applications for recognition submitted to the European Securities and Markets Authority, and in Delegated Regulation ( EU) 2018/1646 on the information that must accompany applications for authorisation and registration by EU benchmark administrators. The Regulation becomes effective on 19 February 2026, which is the twentieth day following its publication in the OJ. Source: Commission Delegated Regulation ( EU) 2026/264 of 27 October 2025 amending the regulatory technical standards laid down in Delegated Regulation ( EU) 2018/1645 as regards the form and...
Dorothy House and another v Helme and another [2026] EWHC 75 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? One particularly notable issue is the court’s analysis of whether executors bear a positive duty to notify beneficiaries of their interest (see paras [40]–[49]). In practice, if beneficiaries are kept in the dark, they cannot effectively press for their own rights or compel an executor to perform the tasks required of them at all. The decision further clearly demonstrates how very far the court may go when making findings and drawing inferences on a removal application resolved purely on written material and documents, without the testing effect of cross‑examination. Operating under an evident conflict of interest and aware that the claimants’ application to restrain dissipation of the Estate’s assets was listed for Monday, 15 December 2025 (the start of the week in which they had said...
Mergers The CMA has opened an invitation to submit comments in relation to the planned joint venture between Suzano International B. V and Kimberly- Clark Corporation—see further the case page. NOTE— For all live mergers before the CMA, see further the UK mergers—ongoing cases tracker. Subsidy control The Subsidy Advice Unit has issued its final report offering advice to Innovate UK regarding its proposed UK SHORE subsidy scheme—see further the final report. NOTE— For all decisions referred under the Subsidy Advice Unit under the Subsidy Control Act 2022, see further the UK subsidy control—ongoing cases tracker. Upcoming dates For dates of upcoming UK competition developments, please see further the UK Competition calendar......
Rehman v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and others [2026] EWHC 6 ( KB) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment reinforces judicial hesitation to let COVID-19 infection claims advance. In contrast to Edwards v 2 Sisters Food Group Ltd [2025] EWHC 1312 ( KB), the claimants framed causation purely by alleging a material contribution to injury and a material increase in risk. However, the real-world evidential difficulties in identifying the route of infection were sufficient to bar reliance on material contribution. The Master also held that the same evidential gaps prevented the claims from fitting within the Fairchild exception of a material increase in risk of injury, drawing a clear line between COVID-19 and mesothelioma. Policy considerations plainly influenced the outcome. The Master observed that permitting a Fairchild-based claim here would open the...
Mergers The Commission cleared: the takeover giving sole control of Teck Resources Limited by Anglo American plc ( M.12180), after a phase I investigation—see further, Midday Express the acquisition conferring joint control of Mobilise Limited of Jersey, holding company of the Totalmobile Group, on Five Arrows Managers LLP and Deutsche Beteiligungs AG ( M.12243), after a phase I investigation—see further, Midday Express the deal for joint control of Citrosuco S. A.......
For a comparable summary and forward look produced last year, consult News Analysis: Key energy law developments—end of year review 2024 and what to expect in 2025. We host a portfolio of energy law trackers monitoring significant legal and policy shifts, both sector-wide and within discrete subject areas (many of which are cited in this News Analysis). For fuller information on these tools, see: Energy law trackers—overview. Additional updates and commentary are delivered through our current awareness alerts and highlights. Select ‘ Create Alert’ within your ‘ Alerts’ tab on Lexis+® and adjust your personal preferences to subscribe. Authored by Ben Pearson and Ruth Jaun, PSL Energy. Overarching energy policy What were the key developments in 2025? Since July 2024, one of the UK government’s primary missions has been to establish the UK as a clean energy superpower. Against that backdrop, and as the UK moves...
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and another v AB (by his litigation friend, the Official Solicitor) and others [2025] EWCOP 45 ( T3) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment shows that the Court of Protection possesses the necessary mechanisms to ensure its best interests decisions are carried into effect. For lawyers advising NHS Trusts, it offers guidance on planning how such best interests outcomes can be realised. It clarifies routes to implementation and reinforces practical steps towards compliance for trusts and advisers alike. It equips those practitioners to support their clients and the court by explaining how the court may exercise its powers to secure compliance, the provenance of those powers, and the possible extent to which a court may go in compelling adherence. It is noteworthy that Williams J described the orders as ‘rare’ and...
For more on the principal developments in public law, consult: Public Law trackers—overview. Additional updates and commentary are available through our current awareness alerts and weekly highlights. Select ‘ Create Alert’ within your ‘ Alerts’ tab and adjust your preferences to subscribe. Constitutional and administrative law What were the standout developments in 2025? In October 2025, Lord Sales was named Deputy President of the UK Supreme Court, assuming office in January 2026 and succeeding Lord Hodge, who retired at December 2025’s end. For details, see: LNB News 24/10/2025 9 and LNB News 12/01/2026 27. Lord Sales is a distinguished public lawyer and commentator on modern public law challenges, previously serving as First Treasury Counsel prior to joining the judiciary, as reflected in his speeches and judgments. See: LNB News 24/11/2025 37, LNB News 07/11/2025 6, LNB News 12/08/2025 31 and LNB News...
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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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