Legal News

What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling has meaningful consequences for advisers working on intra‑ EU investment disputes and on enforcement tactics. Strategic seat selection: The judgment confirms that choosing a seat outside the EU—most notably Singapore—can shield ECT arbitrations from intra‑ EU objections grounded in Achmea and Komstroy. Although those CJEU authorities expose intra‑ EU awards to challenge within the Union, they do not impugn the validity of such awards in jurisdictions beyond the EU framework. Seat selection is therefore a critical strategic choice from the outset of any intra‑ EU investor‑ State dispute. Enforcement planning: Award creditors should look to enforce in non‑ EU courts that are not bound by EU law doctrines. The SICC’s firm rejection of the intra‑ EU objection outlines a clear path to enforcement outside the EU, offering a practical...

Nimbus: The Disability Consultancy Service Limited v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 38 ( TC) The Appellant created and rolled out an ‘ Access Card’ to assist disabled people in communicating their access needs to venues and service providers, and to act as recognised proof of those needs. To apply for an Access Card (or a Digital Access Pass), a customer uploads evidence of disability such as confirmation of disability living allowance, personal independence payments, or particular medical information. They also upload photographic identification, for example a driving licence or passport. The Appellant then examines this material to determine access requirements. If the application is approved, an Access Card (or Digital Access Pass) is issued to the successful applicant. The card carries printed symbols indicating the holder’s specific access requirements......

The Practice Note outlines the impact of EU financial sanctions—especially asset-freezing measures—on operations and compliance duties of banks, payment service providers and other financial institutions, covering sanctions screening processes and controls over transactions......

MS Amlin v King Trader [2025] EWCA Civ 1387 What are the practical implications of this case? Pay first clauses. Under TP( RAI) A 2010, s 9(5), the default position is that ‘pay first’ provisions are to be ignored for third-party claims against insurers under the Act. By contrast, s 9(6) preserves their effect in marine insurance, save where the claim concerns death or personal injury. The result is that, where a marine policy validly incorporates a pay first term and the insured is insolvent, the 2010 Act offers limited practical benefit. In MS Amlin, the Court of Appeal rejected interpretative challenges to a pay first clause, confirming it does not undermine the insured’s primary right to an indemnity under liability insurance. Contractual consistency and hierarchy clauses. The Court of Appeal reaffirmed that policies are to be construed coherently, not with an eye to finding...

Lewis- Ranwell ( Respondent) v G4S Health Services ( UK) Ltd and others ( Appellants) [2026] UKSC 2 Background The claimant, Alexander Lewis- Ranwell, faced charges for the murders of three men but was acquitted on the ground of insanity. He thereafter commenced civil proceedings against the defendants seeking compensation for the aftermath of the killings. The question on this appeal was whether the doctrine of illegality prevented him from advancing a negligence claim. He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. On 10 February 2019, during a grave psychotic episode, the claimant attacked and killed three elderly men, Mr Anthony Payne, Mr Richard Carter and Mr Roger Carter, within their own homes. He acted under a delusional belief that they were paedophiles. He was arrested the next day following a further assault. At his criminal trial, he was found not guilty of murder by reason of...

O’ Neil and others v HMRC [2026] UKUT 13 ( TCC) The appellants were members of a Scottish firm that operated as a hotelier and as a travel agency. In 2007, as a prerequisite to securing borrowing, the firm entered into an interest rate hedging arrangement (the swap) with RBS. In 2014, RBS paid redress directly in relation to that swap to the appellants. By the date of payment, the firm had transferred its trade to Blackpool, a company that was a wholly owned subsidiary of Lythe, itself entirely owned by the appellants, and separately had disposed of its hotels to Lythe. The firm had entirely ceased trading. The appellants omitted the redress from their personal self-assessment returns and no notice to deliver any partnership return was issued for the period in question. The payment likewise did not appear in...

Shifts in policy, supervisory strategies and priorities, newly regulated activities drawing more firms within the regulatory perimeter, further rewrites of EU‑derived rules after Brexit, and sector‑specific adjustments—we’ve witnessed the lot. The job for firms now is to map how to handle the changes and challenges that 2026 will deliver. In this piece, we set out the detail of five changes already scheduled for fixed dates in 2026, and we also flag five others that remain in development, but which we expect to move forward significantly during 2026... Targeted support: April 2026 In July 2025, HM Treasury outlined a new regime for targeted support. This service would become a stand‑alone regulated activity under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ( FSMA), made possible by amendments to the FSMA ( Regulated Activities) Order 2001. Providing investment advice is a...

As noted in our recent pieces, employees are increasingly deploying AI during grievance processes and in litigation. This presents tangible difficulties for employers, who find themselves disentangling lengthy, repetitive and quasi-legal complaints. Predictably, redundancy exercises are also affected by this shift. Here, we outline the key principles employers should keep in view in both the UK and Ireland... How is AI influencing consultation processes? AI-related challenges are emerging in the following areas: Selection pools and criteria — Employees are leveraging AI’s analytical capability to interrogate selection pools and criteria, producing extensive challenges. These may claim to reveal bias or other unfair patterns. Employers must then assess and address these reports (many of which contain inaccuracies), demanding considerable time and resources. Detailed requests and questions — AI is an excellent brainstorming aid. However, when used by employees during...

Parliament was told by DCMS that the UK government will run a pilot of its Creative Content Exchange from January 2026, offering creators a route to licence their material for AI training. The broader consultation on AI and copyright will add further sessions, yet there remains no practical solution in sight for the government’s favoured model, which it believes would strike a balance between creators’ rights and the needs of AI developers seeking up-to-date datasets. Ruth Hannant, DCMS’ Director General for Policy, told the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee that the exchange, trailed in summer 2025, will operate for 12 months from January 2026 with a review halfway through. She said the initiative is experimental, with a test-and-learn approach, and stressed that the state-backed platform is not intended to supplant existing marketplaces. However, growing worries suggest it could dampen...

The Court of Justice The Court of Justice stated that EU rules do not bar Member States from obliging retailers of storage media to pay equitable remuneration to copyright holders. That position applies even when those retailers supply devices to commercial customers, the court noted. However, the Court of Justice also indicated that retailers may avoid such levies by proving that private users will not obtain a device to copy protected material for purposes that are neither directly nor indirectly commercial. Retailers could further demonstrate that any use would be solely at a level regarded as causing no more than minimal harm to right-holders......

City of London Corp v John Bussandra [2025] EWCA Civ 1580 What are the practical implications of this case? Under section 191(1) of the Housing Act 1996, a person is regarded as intentionally homeless where, through a deliberate act or a failure to act, they cause themselves to stop occupying accommodation that was available to them and which it would have been reasonable for them to remain in. Devenport v Salford City Council (1983) 8 HLR 54 clarified in the Court of Appeal that it is the act or omission that must be intentional; there is no requirement to show the applicant deliberately set out to become homeless. When a local authority considers whether an applicant acted, or failed to act, deliberately, it is common for the applicant to have been experiencing mental health difficulties at the relevant time. This case indicates how an...

Counsel for Nigeria told the Court of Appeal that a group of companies and individuals associated with the alternative asset manager VR Capital Group backed the efforts of Process & Industrial Developments Ltd ( P& ID) to enforce an US$11bn award obtained by fraud. Tom Ford of Essex Court Chambers argued the earlier judge erred in pausing Nigeria’s third-party costs bid against the VR Capital parties until P& ID failed to pay after a final assessment of the bill. He said P& ID has to date settled only £23.7m of the sums owed, and that came only following delays and threats that it would be debarred from defending the case. He added P& ID lacks assets to satisfy any ultimate costs order, and ‘there is every likelihood here of non-payment at the end of detailed assessment’. Ford said the VR Capital parties could have...

The UK’s limited approach to whistleblowing Although the UK officially brought in whistleblower protections in 1998, it has, like many European jurisdictions, traditionally been hesitant to reward whistleblowers. Stakeholders have raised worries about malicious or bad-faith reports, the exposure of whistleblowers under cross-examination, the possibility of criminal investigation where they are implicated in the disclosed conduct and, more broadly, the belief that disclosures should rest on moral rather than monetary motives. In practice, the principal deterrents to reporting misconduct are the absence of financial incentives and certainty. Prospective whistleblowers in senior roles or specialist fields may fear enduring career harm and consequent financial hardship if they speak up, particularly where robust and adequate (financial) safeguards are lacking. Current UK legislation The cornerstone statute on whistleblowing is the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, which modified the Employment Rights Act 1996. Its purpose is to shield workers from...

Competition policy The Department for Business and Trade ( DEBT) is consulting on legislative adjustments to the UK competition regime, intended to enhance pace, predictability, proportionality and process (4Ps) whilst maintaining the CMA’s independence. Drawing on the government’s growth-focused Industrial Strategy, the 2025 Strategic Steer to the CMA, and the CMA’s 4Ps framework, these proposals are crafted to advance the CMA’s operational transformation and to ensure the UK continues to be a ‘best-in-class’ jurisdiction for competition enforcement and merger control......

Chinda v Cardiff & Vale University Health Board [2025] EWHC 2692 ( KB) The background The claimant claimed there was a delay in identifying spinal tuberculosis associated with neurological harm. The defendant conceded a breach of duty for not arranging an MRI scan when the claimant presented to A& E in August 2020. Consequently, because of his injuries, the claimant is functionally paraplegic. He experiences neuropathic pain, paraesthesia and burning sensations in his back, and legs, together with bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction. He was also found to have a syrinx which, according to the claimant’s neurosurgical expert, poses a small yet material risk of future deterioration in neurological function in his upper limbs, as well as a small risk of further decline affecting his bladder, bowels and sexual function. The defendant accepted several breaches and causation, and judgment was entered for the...

Financial services developments PRA publishes final rules for Basel 3.1, with 1 January 2027 start date The Prudential Regulation Authority has released its definitive policies, rules and supervisory guidance to implement Basel 3.1, determining the capital that banks and building societies are required to maintain. The framework will commence on 1 January 2027, in full. However, the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book ( FRTB) — in particular firms’ use of internal models to compute market risk capital — will start on 1 January 2028......

R (on the application of Peter Kadas) v HMRC [2025] EWHC 3322 ( Admin) In May 2024, the AEAT commenced an audit into whether the claimant, Mr Peter Kadas, met the necessary criteria to qualify for the ‘impatriate’ regime, often dubbed ‘ Beckham’s Law’, under which new arrivals in Spain are taxed as non-residents even if they remain resident in Spain. The AEAT’s principal concern was whether Mr Kadas’s employment contract was a sham arrangement devised to enable him to claim the benefits of the impatriate tax rules. During that review, and after Mr Kadas refused to supply particular details directly, the AEAT sent formal enquiries to HMRC in October 2024, relying on Article 26 ( Exchange of Information) of the UK– Spain double tax treaty ( DTT), requesting financial data from two separate UK banks. Having received...

CMA launches consultation on market remedies across a range of sectors The CMA has launched a strategic review of 33 market remedies, covering undertakings and orders under the Fair Trading Act 1973 and the Enterprise Act 2002. It will judge whether these measures remain suitable or should be removed or revised, in whole or part, reflecting shifts in market conditions and the regulatory landscape. The CMA has a statutory duty to carry out periodic reviews of remedies arising from its market and merger investigations......

UKIPO SEARCH (patent examiner search tool) The UKIPO’s in-house patent searching platform is called SEARCH. The UKIPO describes it as using ‘ AI-driven concepts’ to order results by similarity and, for the first time, by relevance. The tool is designed to help examiners analyse and progressively refine their searches as they proceed. In essence, it supports examiners in more efficiently identifying prior art, while the detailed, critical assessment of the documents remains with the examiner. Consequently, it should free patent examiners to devote more time to substantive analysis. AI allocation tool (internal case allocation/routing to examiners) The UKIPO has also revealed a ‘new AI allocation tool’ within its digital services, which automatically assigns patent applications to examiners with the appropriate technical expertise. The UKIPO states that this task is now completed instantly, whereas it previously took 14 days. Automated case allocation is regarded as a...

What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling confirms that councils enjoy extensive latitude when crafting and operating housing allocation schemes under HA 1996, Pt 6. The court emphasised it would not step into policy territory unless a decision was unlawful or irrational in practice. For advisers, the takeaway is that any attack on an allocation outcome must rest on a demonstrable breach of HA 1996, not on a sense of unfairness alone. The judgment also underscores the need for openness and effective communication when policies are updated or revised. While the council was criticised for not setting out the effects of rebanding with sufficient clarity, that omission did not make the scheme unlawful in itself. The decision may well encourage authorities to reassess how they explain policy changes, particularly where vulnerable applicants are involved. It further reiterates that judicial review targets...