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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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: Pay, benefits and tax Prohibited conduct Industrial action TUPE and asset purchases Unfair dismissal Practice, procedure and settlement New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Employment resources on Lexis+® Lex Talk®Employment: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Pay, benefits and tax Social Security ( Contributions) ( Rates, Limits and Thresholds Amendments, National Insurance Funds Payments and Extension of Veteran’s Relief) Regulations 2026 SI 2026/ Draft: This draft instrument has been laid to implement the yearly uprating of the various National Insurance contributions ( NICs) rates, limits and thresholds used when determining liability (or voluntary contributions) for Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 and Class 4 NICs for the tax year commencing on 6 April 2026. It also continues the zero-rate relief on secondary Class 1...
In this issue: Equity capital markets Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Directors and company secretaries Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Equity capital markets AFME publishes updated equity selling restriction wording for EEA and UK offerings The Association for Financial Markets in Europe ( AFME) has issued an updated set of equity selling restrictions to align with the UK’s new prospectus framework under the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024 ( POATRs) and the FCA Prospectus Rules: Admission to Trading on a Regulated Market ( PRM), which took effect on 19 January 2026. See: LNB News 27/01/2026 14. Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ( Commencement No 7) Regulations 2026 SI 2026/57: These Regulations bring into operation provisions of ECCTA 2023 that remove the...
Abbott Diabetes Care Inc and others v Dexcom Inc and others [2025] EWCA Civ 1633 What are the practical implications of this case? This decision adds little to the law on inventive step, yet it does spotlight several best‑practice lessons. The court applied the orthodox Pozzoli framework. The appeal succeeded because the judge did not apply their own construction of the claims, and there was no evidence showing that a specific embodiment could render the invention obvious. Taken together, these points emphasise that parties should: Settle claim construction carefully at the outset Advance alternative obviousness lines where appropriate Avoid blending distinct embodiments within a prior art disclosure Secondly, although the dispute had settled, Abbott still pursued an appeal against revocation of its patent. With the CGM market valued at many billions of pounds, safeguarding and enforcing its rights—and weighing whether to...
Financial services developments FCA signs contract with bond consolidated tape provider The Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) has confirmed it has signed a contract with Etrading Software ( ETS) to deliver the UK bond consolidated tape. After the High Court lifted a freeze on the award in December 2025, the FCA can press ahead with implementation while it continues to face a legal challenge. The FCA says it will keep supporting ETS and market participants ahead of go-live, which ETS is aiming to achieve in June 2026. ETS has also launched a website that outlines key milestones and supplies technical information for data contributors and users. Source: Next steps for establishing a bond consolidated tape provider OFSI, FCA and other UK bodies announce clamp down on abuse of cryptoassets The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation ( OFSI) is working in close partnership with UK law...
See Q& A: Amendments made to the International Tax Compliance Regulations 2015 (2015 regs) by the International Tax Compliance ( Amendment) Regulations 2025 have introduced a new mandatory AEOI registration requirement for certain trusts which are 'specified non-reporting financial institutions' Following changes to the International Tax Compliance Regulations 2015 (2015 regs) by the International Tax Compliance ( Amendment) Regulations 2025, a compulsory AEOI registration obligation now applies to particular trusts treated as ‘specified non-reporting financial institutions’. Is AEOI registration now required in these cases? Trusts with a trust corporation as trustee where less than 50% of trust income derives from investments Trustee‑documented trusts without at least 50% of investments managed by a Discretionary Fund Manager Trusts with individual lay trustees holding shares in a private company that pays substantial...
Dorant v Dorant [2025] EWHC 3360 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? With little contemporary authority on kin inquiries, Master Mc Quail’s ruling is essential reading for lawyers acting in succession disputes where biological relationships are in issue. The decision explains the court’s ordering of documentary material and witness testimony in such cases. It also provides a thorough examination of the various forms of DNA evidence and testing pertinent to kin inquiries, and flags the traps practitioners should note about the dependability of forensic DNA analysis in complex familial connections. What was the background? What was the factual background to the dispute? Mc Donald Peter Noel (“ Mc Donald”) was born in Trinidad on 13 December 1934 to Neutrice Noel and Stanley O’ Brien Dorant (“ Stanley”). Mc Donald moved to London in 1960 and died in April 2018, intestate, unmarried and with no...
EU financial services developments EBA updates its list of indicators for risk assessment and risk analysis tools The European Banking Authority ( EBA) has released a refreshed catalogue of indicators used for risk assessment and risk analysis tools, together with an updated methodological handbook. In line with the EBA reporting framework version 4.1, the package spans a wide range of measures, including institutions’ profitability, solvency and operational risk. It also brings in new groups of risk indicators connected to the Markets in Crypto- Assets Regulation ( Mi CA), as well as to investment firms. While the revision does not add any reporting obligations for institutions or competent authorities, it is intended to set out more clearly how risk indicators are derived in EBA publications, helping users to read and compare essential banking figures in a consistent way when performing risk assessments and...
Original news Sources: Blog: Pensions Dashboard Programme: Reporting standards: latest update and consultation News: Pensions Dashboard Programme: Reporting standards: draft version 2.1 Pensions Dashboards Programme: Reporting standards draft version 2.1 consultation News summary The Draft Reporting Standards outline plans requiring occupational pension schemes and pension providers linked to the pensions dashboards ecosystem to send most reporting information to Ma PS every day. This would replace the current arrangement in Reporting Standards version 2.0, under which data on coverage, service availability and view responses must be created, retained and provided to Ma PS upon request. The consultation does not change which information must be created, recorded and reported, and applies to trustees and scheme managers of occupational pension schemes, managers of personal and stakeholder pension schemes, and third parties delivering reporting on their behalf. Views are invited on...
For more on key TMT developments, consult these Practice Notes: UK artificial intelligence—tracker Media and digital tracker and telecoms— UK Online Safety Act 2023—tracker Adtech and programmatic advertising—tracker UK automated vehicles—tracker DABUS AI patent proceedings—tracker UK drones—tracker Further insights and analysis are available via our current awareness alerts and highlights. Select ' Create Alert' in your ' Alerts' tab and adjust your personal settings to subscribe. Artificial intelligence ( AI) What were the key developments in 2025? No movement on an AI Bill in the UK Despite earlier indications that the UK government would bring forward a targeted AI Bill in 2025, no overarching legislative framework emerged (although Lord Holmes of Richmond reintroduced his private AI ( Regulation) Bill in the House of Lords—see: LNB News 05/03/2025 28). Instead, the government largely retained its...
Olam Global Agri Pte Ltd v Holbud Ltd [2025] EWHC 3187 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling serves as a practical touchstone for advisers handling commodity sale claims and GAFTA arbitrations. It underscores strict observance of the GAFTA 49 machinery, with particular focus on vessel nomination and any swap under Clause 6. The court applied a narrow reading to substitution, tied to the contractual ETA and the agreed delivery period, and dismissed the contention that a replacement ship might be put forward at will beyond the Contract’s parameters. Accordingly, any attempted nomination outside the ETA or delivery period fell foul of the bargain. For arbitration specialists, the message is to advance your entire legal and evidential case before the tribunal, and seek explicit determinations on all material issues. In this matter, Holbud sought to invoke...
Digital Markets CMA launches consultation on conduct requirements relating to Google’s general search and search advertising services Following Google’s October 2025 designation as having strategic market status, the CMA has opened a consultation on conduct requirements ( CRs) for Google’s general search and search advertising services......
Mergers EC Investments a.s. received approval from the Commission to purchase exclusive control of FAST ČR, a.s....
In a letter dated 23 January 2026, the FCA refused the regulatory steps sought by Stewarts Law LLP and a number of industry bodies, declining to issue guidance to insurers that would allow extra time to lodge claims. In December 2025, Stewarts, alongside groups including UK Hospitality and the Music Venue Trust, urged the FCA to restore its previous 'stop the clock' directions to insurers regarding coronavirus business interruption claims, as most will become time-barred from March 2026, without further guidance in place for such claims. The firm and the associations pressed the FCA to push back the business interruption claims deadline to 2028. However, the......
For detailed updates on key IP developments, see these Practice Notes: Patents tracker— UK Trade marks tracker— UK Designs tracker— UK Copyright and databases tracker— UK ‘ One IPO’ transformation programme—tracker DABUS AI patent proceedings—tracker Copyright and AI training—international tracker For EU developments, refer to News Analysis: EU Law—key developments in 2025 and horizon scanning for 2026. Ongoing updates and commentary are available via our current awareness alerts and highlights. Select ‘ Create Alert’ in your ‘ Alerts’ tab and adjust your personal preferences to subscribe. Copyright What were the key developments in 2025? Getty Images v Stability AI On 4 November 2025, the High Court handed down its decision in Getty Images ( US) Inc and others v Stability AI [2025] EWHC 2863 ( Ch), the first English judgment addressing generative AI. Getty Images, a major online...
In a 17 January 2026 post on Truth Social, Trump declared he would levy the duty on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland, lifting it to 25% from 1 June 2026, according to his statement. He said the tariffs would stay in force until “a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland”. Arguing that acquiring Greenland is essential to US defence interests, he asserted that the US “has been trying to do this transaction for over 150 years”. He added that, despite the new tariffs, the US is “immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these countries that have put so much at risk, despite all that we have done for them, including maximum protection, over so many decades”......
In this issue: Clinical trials Medical devices Pharmaceutical legislation Pricing and reimbursement AI and digital health Intellectual property Competition in life sciences Data protection and life sciences Other key developments This News Analysis summarises significant UK life sciences developments from 2025 and anticipates what lies ahead in 2026, offering a concise overview across the sector. The edition spotlights a range of clinical trials, medical devices, the pharmaceutical regulatory regime, AI and digital health, pricing and reimbursement, notable life sciences disputes in IP and competition law, plus data protection and life sciences, alongside other updates of note......
Statement follows in full. US creators launch ‘ Stealing Isn’t Innovation’ campaign targeting tech companies’ sweeping theft of copyrighted works. The effort spotlights harm to American creators and US jobs, economic growth, and the country’s international standing. Washington, DC (22 January 2026) — The Human Artistry Campaign has unveiled an advocacy initiative representing a wide cross-section of the American creative community to challenge Big Tech’s unlawful mass harvesting of copyrighted material to build and fuel their Gen AI platforms. In the scramble to lead the new Gen AI frontier, profit-seeking technology firms — from some of the richest companies on the planet to private equity–backed ventures — have copied vast amounts of creative content online without authorisation or paying the people who made it. This large-scale rip-off endangers US employment, stifles growth, and weakens the global ‘soft power’ long underpinned by the US...
Delphi Derivatives Ltd (in liquidation) v HMRC [2026] UKUT 21 ( TCC) The company participated in an employee benefit trust ( EBT) arrangement known as the Clavis scheme, designed to obtain immediate corporation tax relief for sums paid into the trust whilst delivering income tax-free benefits to its directors. Contributions were made in 2008 and 2009, with no PAYE or National Insurance accounted for. Prior to joining the arrangement, the company asked its own accountants to review it. That review advised seeking a separate opinion from tax counsel; nonetheless, the company chose to proceed without taking counsel’s advice. It was common ground that the planning failed, yet the company challenged HMRC’s penalties arising from inaccuracies in its P35 returns for 2008–09 and 2009–10. The first penalty proceeded on the footing of a careless error, and the second on the footing of a...
HMRC v Med Pro Healthcare Ltd and others [2026] EWCA Civ 14 The Court of Appeal faced a single issue: to what extent may the UT lay down guidance for the FTT’s exercise of discretion when considering whether to admit late appeals. In Medpro ( Medpro Healthcare Ltd [2025] UKUT 255 ( TCC)), the UT questioned the stance taken by the UT in Martland ( Martland [2018] UKUT 178 ( TCC)) and Katib ( Katib [2019] UKUT 189 ( TCC)), which had set out general principles for the FTT to follow. It also challenged the particular emphasis those decisions placed, at the stage three “in all the circumstances” assessment described in Martland, on the need for litigation to proceed efficiently, at proportionate cost, and for statutory deadlines to be observed. This was raised against the background that Medpro concerned a VAT appeal governed by...
Digital Markets Act Commission launches proceedings to support Google’s compliance with interoperability and data sharing obligations under the Digital Markets Act The Commission has opened two specification proceedings under the Digital Markets Act ( DMA) to help Google fulfil its duties as a named gatekeeper. This step formalises the Commission’s supervisory dialogue with Google on targeted compliance issues and comes after Google’s designation in September 2023, which mandated full DMA compliance by 7 March 2024. One proceeding addresses Google’s duty under Article 6(7) DMA to guarantee free, effective interoperability for third-party developers with hardware and software capabilities governed by the Android operating system. These proceedings support implementation of DMA obligations......
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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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