Legal News

Two years on from the Commission initiating its probe into X, previously Twitter, under its flagship content‑moderation regime, the EU DSA, Brussels has issued its long‑awaited first sanction: a €120m fine. The step is expected to herald a more forceful enforcement phase, with pressure rising from EU capitals to adopt a harder stance towards major Big Tech platforms. Simultaneously, the US government and technology firms are urging Brussels to scale back, threatening to link advances in steel and aluminium trade negotiations to concessions on EU digital rules, and arguing they are wrongly applied to American companies. As the EU DSA moves into its third year, it is evident that 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal testing year for the law. It will be the first year with full Commission enforcement teams in place, procedures already tried once, and several...

The case for reform The To R begin by asserting that the existing framework under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (the CPA) ‘…is no longer fit for purpose…’. This is expressed more emphatically than earlier communications from the Law Commission. At this preliminary stage, its stance appears to be that the issue is not ‘if’ reform is required, but ‘how’ it should be achieved. Clear echoes to the EU reforms The To R carry unmistakeable parallels with the recent EU overhaul set out in the new Product Liability Directive ( EU) 2024/2853 (currently in the implementation phase across EU Member States—read more here): Of particular note, the Law Commission indicates it will consider whether: the ‘burden of proof for claimants to bring a successful claim is too onerous’—might the Law Commission also be contemplating introducing ‘rebuttable presumptions’ regarding defect and/or causation?......

The Court of Justice has delivered an order on an Italian preliminary reference, finding that Article 101 TFEU, read in the light of Directive ( EU) 2019/1 and the principle of effectiveness, rules out national provisions that impose deadlines for initiating antitrust inquiries where missing them would strip the authority of its power to sanction. Relying on Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure, the Court made an order in Case C‑491/24 21 v 11/2025, originating from Italy, which sought clarification on whether Article 101 TFEU precludes legislation compelling a national competition authority to begin the formal investigation phase within a set period (90 or 360 days) from learning of a suspected antitrust breach, failing which it loses the ability to impose fines. Background Under Italian law, as construed by the national courts, the Italian Competition Authority must launch an antitrust...

Micro Focus v Mildenhall [2025] EAT 188 What are the practical implications of the case? There have long been question marks over the CJEU’s decision in UQ v Marclean. Article 2 of Directive 98/59/ EC (the Collective Redundancies Directive, CRD) requires employers to provide specified information and to consult with employees when they are ‘contemplating redundancies’. Section 188 of TULR( C) A 1992 implements that limb in the UK and states that the duty arises where ‘an employer is proposing to dismiss’. Both instruments are therefore forward‑looking, which has consistently seemed to jar with Marclean’s insistence on assessing the 90‑day period before and after the dismissal. Brexit further complicated matters: the ruling was handed down before IP completion day and has been drawn into UK law as part of assimilated law. In its judgment in Mildenhall, the EAT confirmed that Marclean turned on Article 1 of the CRD...

Other developments Here is a round-up of further developments not explored in full by the Lexis+ Financial Services practical guidance team but which may still be of interest: CP25/31: The framework for a UK equity consolidated tape [ Update] Note on the Construction of CP25/31 Cost Benefit Analysis ( CBA) Minutes of the UK Money Markets Code Sub- Committee – December 2025 CCR009 return – relevant ancillary credit firm [ Update] Report on Marketing requirements and marketing communications under the regulation on cross-border distribution of funds ESAs’ Joint Board of Appeal rules on reimbursement of costs in an appeal brought by NOVIS Insurance Company against the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority ( EIOPA) ......

The Court of Appeal agreed The Court of Appeal confirmed that an earlier arrangement Peter Cushing made before his death, granting Tyburn Film Productions the right to digitally ‘resurrect’ him after 1994 to finish a different film, had no impact on the Cushing estate’s deal with Lucasfilm. As the judges could find no right transferred between Tyburn and Lucasfilm, there was no basis for saying Lucasfilm was ‘unjustly enriched’ at Tyburn’s expense, the court ruled. The judgment observed that the point at which a defendant’s enrichment is at a claimant’s expense remains uncertain, and that drawing the boundary between sound and defective claims is often difficult; this was not the moment to attempt to resolve it. At most, the estate may have breached an earlier contract with Tyburn concerning use of Cushing’s likeness, but Tyburn did not plead any such case, the judges held. Tyburn...

Riyadh International Disputes Week 2026 ( RIDW26) takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between 1 and 5 February 2026. The event will be...

Original news Source: Hansard Ho L: Pension Schemes Bill Volume 851: debated on Thursday 18 December 2025. News summary The Pension Schemes Bill reached the Ho L as a sweeping structural overhaul designed to modernise the UK pensions landscape. It was presented as a cornerstone reform effort. Ministers said the legislation seeks to deliver better outcomes for savers by bringing together dispersed schemes, tightening governance, boosting value for money and unlocking pension capital to back UK economic growth, while tackling a series of matters affecting defined benefit ( DB) and defined contribution ( DC) arrangements, the Local Government Pension Scheme ( LGPS) and the Pension Protection Fund ( PPF). The government further underlined to the Ho L that the Bill targets market design and efficiency rather than pension adequacy, a question they have parked with the newly re-established Pensions Commission. Although peers largely endorsed the Bill’s aims, the...

Historical and constitutional foundations of jury trial Clause 39 of Magna Carta [1215] stated that no free person could be jailed, deprived of possessions, or ruined ‘except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land’, planting the central principle that liberty cannot be removed without collective adjudication. Modern writers interpret this as the seed of the jury ideal—the phrase ‘of his peers’ maturing into the belief that grave criminal culpability should be assessed not solely by the Crown’s judiciary but by ordinary citizens. The jury is thus seen as the institutional heir to Magna Carta’s assurance that the King and his agents stand subject to the law. This ancestry underpins the view that limiting jury trial is not simply a procedural tweak but a possible intrusion upon a centuries‑old balance of authority between individual and state. As Lord Devlin...

Private actions The CAT has issued an order (dated 23 December 2025) in Morethan AV Ltd v Bang & Olufsen A/ S, a damages action brought under section 47 of the Competition Act 1998 by Morethan AV Ltd against Bang & Olufsen, alleging infringement of the Chapter I prohibition of the Competition Act 1998 and Article 101(1) TFEU. The order stays the claims for injunctive relief and damages so the parties can meet, confidentially and on a without prejudice basis, to seek a resolution of the issues in dispute—see further, the order. Note—for all live private actions in the UK that are publicly available, see the UK private actions—ongoing cases tracker. Upcoming dates—for details of forthcoming UK competition developments, see the UK Competition calendar......

Mergers The Commission has acknowledged filings in the following matters: Domidep/ Vitanaas ( M.12216), under the simplified merger procedure ECI/ Fast Group ( M.12219), under the simplified merger procedure Note— For information on active merger inquiries before the Commission, please consult the EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker Upcoming dates For the timetable of forthcoming EU competition developments, see the EU Competition calendar......

State aid Commission amends Emissions Trading System State aid guidelines The Commission has approved changes to the EU Emissions Trading System ( ETS) State aid guidelines, refreshing the regime first introduced in 2020 to account for persistent rises in emission prices and the consequent greater threat of carbon leakage. The Guidelines still pursue the objective of averting the shift of industrial production to countries with weaker climate ambitions, by permitting member states to reimburse qualifying sectors for higher indirect electricity costs associated with the ETS. The updated Guidelines markedly widen who can benefit, with 20 additional industrial sectors and two extra subsectors now covered, among them organic chemicals and selected activities across ceramics, glass, and battery-related activities......

Article 8 and adults—doubling down on dependency In the Immigration White Paper and other recent policy announcements, the Government has indicated it intends to enshrine in primary legislation a definition of family life for the purposes of Article 8 ECHR. In IA & others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 1516 (26 November 2025), a senior Court of Appeal panel has stepped in, giving guidance on the proper approach to Article 8 family life between adult siblings. The appeal related to a six-strong family living in Gaza who had applied to join the sponsor in the UK. The sponsor was the lead appellant’s younger brother. It was accepted that the appellants could not satisfy the Immigration Rules. The Upper Tribunal ( Immigration and Asylum Chamber) upheld the First-tier Tribunal’s finding that family life existed and, after...

EU financial services developments EU Green Bond Regulation ITS published in Official Journal Commission Implementing Regulation ( EU) 2025/2179 of 12 September 2025 sets implementing technical standards for Regulation ( EU) 2023/2631, detailing standardised forms, templates and procedures for supplying information when applying to register as an external reviewer of European Green Bonds. It was published in the Official Journal on 30 December 2025 and takes effect on 19 January 2026. ESMA launches OTC CTP application process ESMA has opened the first selection for a consolidated tape provider for OTC derivatives. Interested entities must submit requests to participate by 11 February 2026, and ESMA plans a reasoned decision on the chosen applicant by early July 2026. The CTP will merge post-trade data from contributors, including trading venues, into a single continuous electronic stream to boost transparency, enable timely and accurate information, and improve price...

Antitrust Department for Business and Trade launches consultation on Transfer Agreements Block Exemption Order The Department for Business and Trade ( DBT) has opened a consultation on the proposed Competition Act 1998 ( Technology Transfer Agreements Block Exemption) Order 2026, referred to as the TTBEO. This draft order is intended to replace the assimilated EU Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation, which is currently set to expire on 30 April 2026, and follows a recommendation from the CMA that the Secretary of State has formally accepted, accordingly, in this regard......

Re Argentex ( Conway v Plass and others) [2025] EWHC 3125 ( Ch), [2025] EWHC 3125 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? On the Expense Question, the decision offers clear direction on when administrators may create liabilities ranking as an expense of the administration while closing out a trading book. The court confirmed that simply taking no action does not generate an expense liability. As for close out, although it required Argentex to take an affirmative step under the contractual terms (an election to close out), that act did not give rise to an expense liability. Turning to the Termination Question, the judgment addresses a significant point of contractual interpretation in the context of foreign exchange contracts, namely the circumstances in which a provider of foreign exchange services may close out a position for ‘its own...

Financial services developments Berne Financial Services Agreement enters into force The Berne Financial Services Agreement ( BFSA) between the UK and Switzerland took effect on 1 January 2026. It applies outcomes‑based mutual recognition of domestic rules and regulations to facilitate cross‑border provision of financial services to wholesale and sophisticated clients. These arrangements are aimed at wholesale and sophisticated clients. UK firms can offer certain wholesale insurance services into Switzerland without supervisory authorisation from Swiss supervisory authorities. For investment services, Swiss firms may access the UK to provide certain wholesale investment services without authorisation. The Prudential Regulation Authority ( PRA) has released a webpage on the BFSA, alongside details of the associated notification process. Further details are on the PRA page. An insurer authorised in the UK may deliver covered services to Swiss clients without establishing a local presence or obtaining local...

The Welsh Regulations, SI 2025/1321, implement the detailed procedural framework that governs the design, construction and completion of higher-risk buildings in Wales. They give procedural effect in Wales to the higher-risk buildings ( HRB) regime created by BSA 2022, Pt 3, adapted for the Welsh building control system. What is the purpose of the Welsh Regulations? This article outlines, in practical terms, what the Welsh Regulations introduce, including: a mandatory gateway approval process heightened information and declaration obligations controls on changes to design and construction bans on commencing works or occupying an HRB without regulatory consent It concentrates on how the Welsh Regulations operate, upon whom obligations are placed, when they apply, and the legal consequences of non-compliance. The Welsh Regulations take effect on 1 July 2026 and apply to applicable building work that either begins after that date or is sufficiently advanced to trigger the...

Aside from a £1m pledge to hire additional personnel for its Fair Work Agency, the government has made no fresh allocation to deliver the reforms at present, despite its own modelling anticipating a 15% increase in employment claims. A plan to revive fees for lodging a claim emerged via a leak, and Labour swiftly shelved the idea after resistance from unions and cautions that the measure might end up costing more than it brought in overall. Further employment judges are set to be appointed, yet each and every one would need to handle roughly 1,000 cases per annum on an annual basis simply to keep pace with the existing queue of 50,000 claims. The Department for Business and Trade did not challenge numbers released by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in early October 2025. The outlet’s figures indicated that over 7,000 workers remain unpaid a...

Antitrust • An appeal has been submitted to the Court of Justice in Case C-865/25 P, Red Bull v Commission, challenging the General Court’s ruling in Case T-306/23, which rejected an action seeking annulment of Commission Decision C(2023) 16689 authorising unannounced inspections under Article 20(4) of Regulation ( EC) No 1/2003. For all live antitrust appeals before the Court of Justice, see the Court of Justice appeals—ongoing cases tracker. Upcoming dates: for forthcoming EU competition developments, refer to the EU Competition calendar. ......