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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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Morley (trading as Morley Estates) v Royal Bank of Scotland plc [2021] EWCA Civ 338 What are the practical implications of this case? This decision clarifies the boundaries of a bank’s obligations to its client and demonstrates how those responsibilities shift over the course of their dealings. Where a borrower has taken out a secured lending facility, the bank’s duty to deliver banking services with reasonable skill and care ceases when the contractual loan period ends. After that point, the bank is only bound by the express provisions of the mortgage and the equitable duties inherent in that security relationship (for example, the recognised obligation to exercise reasonable care to realise a proper price for the collateral). It is not correct to read into the mortgage an implied contractual duty of reasonable skill and care. In addition, the Court of Appeal endorsed RBS’s...
Howe and another v Gossop and another [2021] EWHC 637 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling highlights the adaptable scope of equitable relief under proprietary estoppel and offers further direction on how that sits alongside contractual requirements. It also helps reconcile an apparent conflict in commentary and clarifies observations from the House of Lords and the Court of Appeal in other cases. Those advising on claims or defences founded on proprietary estoppel, or on disputes arising after unfinished negotiations concerning interests in land, now have an additional analytical approach to deploy. Attention must be paid to the precise nature of the right being asserted, the remedy sought, and the parties’ background and experience. In short, where parties have been working towards a property contract, that fact alone does not bar an equity from arising on grounds of...
Westfields Homes Ltd and another v Keay Homes ( Windrush) Ltd [2020] EWHC 3368 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling applies settled doctrines within a well‑known commercial setting. Two points merit attention. First, duties to act in good faith and in the spirit of the bargain derive their content from the other express provisions of the contract. As Lady Justice Arden explained in Re Coroin Ltd ( No 2) [2013] EWCA Civ 781, [2013] 2 BCLC 583 (at [50]–[53]), such duties cannot widen a party’s commitments because, absent explicit direction in the agreement, the court lacks any standard by which to police the obligation. The practical effect of a clause of this kind is to demand performance aligned with the parties’ common objectives when they entered the deal; it is ‘no more than a reflection of the...
Rowland v Blades [2021] EWHC 426 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? Common intention vs resulting trust The judge concluded the property was not a business venture, albeit there was an investment aspect. It was therefore handled in line with dwelling house/family home authorities. The starting presumption from Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17, [2007] 2 All ER 929—affirmed in Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53, [2012] 1 All ER 1265—that equity tracks the legal title so the parties are beneficial joint tenants in equal proportions, applied. The Privy Council decision in Marr v Collie [2017] UKPC 17 did not dislodge this, as the acquisition arose in a domestic rather than commercial setting. Evidence This ruling underscores the evidential weight of contemporaneous documents, particularly where witness accounts directly conflict. Compensation under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 ( TOLATA 1996) vs...
The European Parliament has backed a legislative initiative report obliging companies operating within the EU internal market to identify and remedy their effects on human rights and the environment. It also endorses sanctions for non-compliance and the provision of legal support for third-country victims of corporate misconduct. Adopted by 504 votes in favour, 79 against and 112 abstentions, the report presses for a binding EU law to ensure businesses are held to account and made liable where they cause—or contribute to causing—harm to the environment, human rights and good governance... Who would fall within the scope of the proposed law? In short, both EU and non- EU businesses. The proposed law would apply to: large undertakings governed by the law of an EU Member State or established in the territory of the EU, regardless of sector and irrespective of public ownership or control ...
Glenn v Kline [2021] EWHC 468 ( QB) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling illustrates, in a straightforward way, how damages are assessed in online harassment and defamation disputes, and sets recent awards in comparable matters side by side. It further confirms that where defamation and harassment claims intersect, and the defamatory publications are themselves the harassing conduct, a single, composite sum for damages is the correct approach. As a result, claimants may sensibly question issuing both causes of action unless they relate to different timeframes. Here, the harassment claim encompassed posts that were out of time for defamation (ie before May 2019), together with publications that also featured in the defamation claim. The court also offered guidance on the likely form of relief under section 12 of the Defamation Act 2013 ( DA 2013), which obliges a...
Iddon v Warner [2021] Lexis Citation 39 What are the practical implications of this case? There is no definition in the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 ( CJCA 2015) of what amounts to ‘substantial injustice’ in s 57(2). In LOCOG v Sinfield [2018] EWHC 51 ( QB) at [65], Mr Justice Knowles observed that it must denote more than the claimant merely losing damages for those heads not tainted by dishonesty (see also Recorder Hatfield QC in Stanton v Hunter [2017] Lexis Citation 989). A further difficulty for the defendant here was Mrs Iddon’s determination to proceed to trial, clinging to the hope of avoiding her claim’s dismissal. His Honour Judge Sephton QC’s conclusion that a change of position brought about by an interim payment does not, by itself, activate the substantial injustice jurisdiction provides welcome clarity on statutory...
Security Trustee Services Ltd v Seabrooke Road Ltd [2021] EWHC 436 ( Ch), [2021] All ER ( D) 105 ( Jan) Delivering judgment, Miles J determined that the omission to serve the QFCH not only breached para 26 but also constituted an abuse of process, warranting the No Is’ removal from the court record in accordance with the Court of Appeal’s guidance in JCAM Commercial Real Estate Property XV Ltd v Davis Haulage Ltd [2017] EWCA Civ 267. This signifies a departure from the recent authorities of Re Tokenhouse VB Ltd; Strategic Advantage SPC v Rutter and others [2020] EWHC 3171 ( Ch), and Re NMUL Realisations Ltd; Causer and others v NMUL Realisations Ltd (in administration) [2021] EWHC 94 ( Ch), where Insolvency and Companies Court Judges ( ICCJs) treated the non-service of a QFCH with a No I (under para 15 or para 26) as a...
Re Anthony Leslie Hancock; Promontoria ( Pine) Designated Activity Co v Hancock [2021] EWHC 259 ( Ch), [2021] All ER ( D) 86 ( Feb) What are the practical implications of this case? The court’s observations on the use of redacted material offer clearer guidance to other lenders about how far documents may properly be obscured on security or confidentiality grounds. More broadly, the decision aids lenders when preparing deeds of assignment, underscoring that confidential material ought to be segregated from the operative mechanics so that no working provisions need be blanked out for confidentiality reasons. Together, these points give lenders practical direction on presenting evidence and structuring assignments while preserving confidentiality without undermining enforceable terms of deal overall. Notably, the court affirmed that extensive redaction must be comprehensively explained and justified, a requirement of particular importance in opposed statutory demand...
HM Courts and Tribunals Service ( HMCTS) has issued guidance outlining the steps to remove a Will or codicil held by the service. To action a withdrawal, individuals are required to complete form PA7A......
Rockliffe Hall Ltd v Travelers Insurance Company Ltd [2021] EWHC 412 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? The widely reported Supreme Court “test case” on business interruption insurance examined whether policies responded to the COVID‑19 pandemic under various disease clauses, where indemnity was triggered by the incidence or presence of a notifiable disease within a specified radius of the insured’s premises. The Supreme Court concluded that cover would attach where governmental action—such as a nationwide lockdown—was taken in reaction to cases of COVID‑19 that included at least one instance within the policy’s defined area. Consequently, even a solitary local case of COVID‑19 could be treated as the proximate cause of a policyholder’s pandemic losses. Importantly, though, the wordings analysed in the “test case” were tied to “notifiable” disease, thereby bringing COVID‑19 within scope from 5 March 2020, when it was...
How to operate ethically Suppliers should review the Data Ethics Framework and adhere to its principles. The Framework is available here Suppliers are accountable for clearly informing people why and when their data is shared, so they can be confident it is used lawfully, fairly and in an equitable way The core principles of the Data Ethics Framework are: respect for persons respect for human rights participation accounting for decision Have a clear value proposition Suppliers must make sure the product is designed to deliver a clear outcome for users or the system To secure a clear value proposition, thoroughly research and define user needs, and involve users across the...
Pearce v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2021] EWHC 326 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? While the facts are specific to this matter, multiple offshore schemes along England’s east coast are moving through consent, and each must robustly account for cumulative effects. The case also underlines mounting pushback from local communities against sizeable onshore infrastructure in the area, coinciding with BEIS’s programme reviewing offshore transmission and different approaches to linking offshore wind schemes and landing renewable power. The court further made clear that, even where a proposal aligns with government policy and helps deliver low‑carbon, renewable generation consistent with legal duties towards ‘net zero’ and tackling climate change, that alignment does not displace the requirement for any application to evaluate every impact properly and in accordance with the law. All such proposals therefore need to...
Nirro Holdings SA v Patrick O’ Brien [2021] EWHC 279 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision illustrates how the court approaches construing contracts, and in particular how guarantees are read. The judge reviewed the general authorities on interpretation, examined the precise language of the guarantee signed by the surety, and assessed the situations that would engage an obligation to discharge the company’s liabilities as though the guarantor were the primary debtor. In Kookmin Bank v Rainy Sky SA [2011] UKSC 50 (at para [21]), Lord Clarke explained that construction is a single, integrated exercise: the court considers the words chosen and determines what a reasonable person — equipped with the background knowledge reasonably available to the parties at the time — would have taken them to mean. The court must take account of all relevant context. Where two...
Software Solutions Ltd and others v 365 Health and Wellbeing Ltd and another [2021] EWHC 237 ( IPEC) What are the practical implications of this case? For practitioners advising on software, this judgment carries weight for several reasons, notably its treatment of copyright and database right in relation to XML. It clarifies that while XML schemas can attract literary copyright, they will not qualify as a ‘database’ under the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 (the Database Regulations) unless they amount to a ‘collection of independent data’. The decision also offers useful guidance on the courts’ approach to awarding additional damages for copyright infringement under section 97(2) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and under Regulation 3 of the Intellectual Property ( Enforcement, etc) Regulations 2006 ( SI 2006/1028), which implements Article 13 of the Enforcement Directive. It includes a...
The complete paper is available here. An engaging seminar on the report, hosted with the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, can also be accessed here. A proposed UK HRDD law The HRDD law could place the following duties on subjected organisations (broadly): to prevent negative human rights and environmental impacts arising from their domestic and overseas operations, including within their supply and value chains to devise and apply appropriate due diligence procedures to avert such impacts to publish a forward-looking plan for future procedures to be adopted, together with an assessment of the effectiveness of past procedures The report also proposes liability......
Clin v Walter Lilly & Co Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 136 What are the practical implications of this case? The judgment addresses the correct method for assessing if building operations within a conservation area designated under P( LBCA) A 1990, s 69 amount to ‘demolition’, thereby triggering the need for conservation area consent under P( LBCA) A 1990, s 74. The court confirmed that s 74 poses two distinct issues. First, is a building in a conservation area to be ‘demolished’ such that conservation area consent is necessary? Secondly, if the works do constitute demolition, should conservation area consent be granted? As to the first issue, the ruling makes plain that it is a quantitative assessment, answered by the scale of demolition, and excludes any qualitative appraisal of the effect on the character and appearance of the conservation area. The outcome will aid owners (and their...
The objections centre on well-known long-standing concerns over data retention, access for law enforcement, and immigration policy; moreover, lawmakers went further, drawing attention to serious earlier issues with the UK’s use of the Schengen Information System ( SIS) database and to both potentially conflicting commitments under other international agreements. Under EU data protection rules, sending personal data to countries beyond the EEA is strictly lawful only where protection is judged ‘adequate’, where extra safeguards are adopted, or where one of a small set of derogations applies. At present, ongoing data flows between the EU and the UK run under an interim framework embedded in the broader EU– UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement of December 2020, which will lapse by June 2021 at the latest. The Commission must determine whether the UK, which officially departed the 27‑nation EU last year, affords...
Merritt v Thurrock Council and Midos Management Co Ltd [2021] EW Misc 2 ( CC) What are the practical implications of this case for the foreseeable future in light of the pandemic? The judgment reinforces the effect of the Supreme Court’s ruling in R( N) v Lewisham London Borough Council [2015] AC 1259, confirming that where a local authority grants accommodation under temporary homelessness duties or powers, it may, when the tenancy or licence ends, recover possession without issuing possession proceedings. The same assurance matters to private accommodation providers, who often shoulder the practical step of retaking premises at the conclusion of the let and must be confident that doing so complies with the law. What was the background? In October 2018, the claimant sought homelessness assistance from Thurrock Council. The council accepted the main housing duty owed to them under section 193 of the Housing Act 1996 ( HA...
Introduction On 31 December 2020, the Withdrawal Agreement’s transition phase (discussed here) concluded. From 1 January 2021, relations between the UK and EU are currently regulated partly by the remaining Withdrawal Agreement (as further discussed in this Twitter thread) and partly by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement ( TCA) formally agreed between the EU and the UK themselves. ( There are also two other agreed treaties, on security information and nuclear cooperation, as well). Basic legal issues The EU and UK have agreed to apply the TCA provisionally and temporarily (a common practice in international law). This arrangement runs until 28 February 2021, though the parties may change that date via the Partnership Council (composed of representatives of both contracting parties). This is intended to give the European Parliament sufficient time to examine the treaty in detail before deciding whether to give its consent. By...
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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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