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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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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American multinational technology and pharmaceutical companies operating in Ireland generate over 75% of Ireland’s corporation tax receipts, which in turn represent around a quarter of the nation’s tax income, according to a report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. Although businesses in these sectors have mostly escaped direct tariff rises under measures pursued by President Donald Trump, he has lately signalled that duties aimed at those industries are forthcoming......
See Precedents: Application notice seeking the setting aside of a floating charge under section 245 of the Insolvency Act 1986 Witness statement in support of an application to set aside a floating charge under section 245 of the Insolvency Act 1986 Draft order concerning an application to set aside a floating charge under section 245 of the Insolvency Act 1986 For an overview on claims by an insolvent estate or its insolvency office-holder, see: Claims by an insolvent estate or its insolvency office-holder—overview......
This article reviews the FCA’s recent statements, honing in on the principal reforms tabled, the reasoning behind them, and what they could mean for firms in the UK financial services market. We set out our perspective on the FCA’s direction of travel for the consumer duty and highlight the main practical points businesses should weigh up. Evolution of consumer duty Brought in by the FCA in 2023, the consumer duty represented a major change in the UK’s stance on consumer protection in financial services. It introduced a fresh, outcomes-led and higher benchmark of care, obliging firms to secure good outcomes for retail customers throughout the life cycle of their products and services. Since going live, the duty has prompted wide industry discussion, with worries voiced about its expansive scope, the compliance load placed on firms, and the chance of knock‑on effects – especially for...
China Railway 18th Bureau ( Group) Co Ltd v Tumo Technical Services Ltd , Miscellaneous Cause No 72 of 2025) [2025] UGComm C 393 (23 October 2025) What are the practical implications of this case? Beyond restating that prior arbitral awards carry res judicata consequences for later arbitrations, the ruling makes two key points. First, for arbitration seated in Uganda, the operative res judicata standard mirrors that used in ordinary court proceedings. Secondly, where a setting-aside application targets the tribunal’s ruling on a res judicata objection, that ruling will only be overturned if shown to be perverse or anchored on incorrect propositions of law. Practitioners should keep this firmly in mind and evaluate the res judicata reach of any earlier awards using the proper test: demonstrating that the claim or issue has already been heard and conclusively determined by a competent court or...
Original news Source: SAB response to Pension Regulator’s consultation on new enforcement policy News summary In its formal reply to TPR’s consultation on a new enforcement strategy, the SAB backed TPR’s aim to bolster governance and compliance across pension schemes. Nonetheless, the SAB warned that any updated TPR enforcement framework must recognise the LGPS’s distinctive structure and public service role. It further urged clearer lines of communication, more substantive feedback on reported breaches, and tighter alignment between enforcement activity and the LGPS’s already high governance standards. What has happened? TPR launched a consultation to reshape its enforcement policy, seeking a more strategic, risk-based and transparent approach across UK pension schemes......
Open AI said it is weighing its options after a German court held its models infringed copyright by retaining, memorising and reproducing song lyrics, a move that could potentially become a landmark for European creators challenging generative AI systems. The Munich Regional Court found the US company's AI had stored and echoed nine sets of lyrics by German artists contained within the repertoire of GEMA, the German music rights organisation that filed the claim in court (see here). An Open AI spokesperson said the company disagreed with the judgment and was reviewing its next steps and options, adding that it concerned only a narrow tranche of lyrics and would not affect the millions of people, businesses and developers in Germany who use its technology every day. GEMA said this marked the first instance in Europe where the use of...
SMBC has settled its claims with AXA XL, bringing an end to the lessor's claim against the insurer, according to a High Court order dated 10 November 2025. The settlement terms have not been disclosed. On 14 November 2025, AXA XL and SMBC’s representatives did not promptly reply to any requests for public comment. In March 2024, Judge Andrew Henshaw rejected an application to pause 78 connected actions by aircraft lessors so they could proceed in Moscow. Those claims, initially estimated at roughly US$13.5bn, had been reduced to about US$9.7bn following earlier settlements at the point of that ruling. The court declined a stay amid worries that the claimants were unlikely to receive a fair hearing in Russia. The lessors are pursuing insurers, among them Allianz, AXA and Liberty Mutual, over aircraft remaining in Russia after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The...
Mergers The Commission approved a transaction granting sole controlling ownership of Iveco Group N. V....
The mining group that owned and ran the Fundão Dam through a joint venture faced proceedings in England over the 2015 torrent of toxic sludge and mud that devastated communities in Brazil. Judge Finola O’ Farrell ruled that BHP bore strict liability for harm to the environment and to third parties arising from the dam’s failure. The structure belonged to Samarco, a joint enterprise between Vale and BHP, and contained mining waste known as tailings. According to the 222-page judgment, BHP ought not to have persisted in raising the dam’s height before the collapse, a measure deemed a direct and immediate cause of the catastrophe. The ruling states the company should have known by 2014 that the dam had structural defects. As Judge O’ Farrell observed, it was inconceivable that a decision would have been taken to continue increasing the height in those...
Participants in the drafting round examined a proposed section designed to set commitments on harmful tax practices under the UN framework convention on international tax co-operation. Governments have convened in Nairobi, Kenya, for the third of nine public drafting meetings planned up to 2027, with this round running until 19 November 2025, as part of the broader process. The text was tabled by the co-leaders of the convention’s drafting working group—among them Ghanaian tax official Daniel Nuer—who steered the 12 November 2025 discussion. The draft provides that tax incentives should be substance-based, linked to investment or performance, and not simply profit-driven. It also pledges collaboration on developing concrete policies, such as country-by-country reporting, and on introducing relevant measures, including minimum taxes on business activities, to ensure consistency. Speaking for the 54-member African Group, Zambia’s representative said the section requires a...
From 18 November 2025, under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ( ECCTA 2023), compulsory identity checks will apply to all new individual directors and persons with significant control ( PSCs). There will also be a twelve‑month transition window for existing directors and PSCs to verify identity via the annual confirmation statement submission. What are the main implications for lenders? As these reforms take effect, lenders should revisit and, where necessary, update their due diligence procedures, while building additional provisions into loan and security documentation. Crucially, Companies House filings will become more complex, and any failure to comply could result in security not being validly registered at Companies House within the applicable deadline. This News Analysis examines the timetable and steps individuals must follow to verify at Companies House, the consequences of non‑compliance with the new...
FCA to centralise UK AML oversight Ministers plan to remove anti‑money laundering supervision from the Solicitors Regulation Authority ( SRA) and other professional bodies, consolidating it within the Financial Conduct Authority to simplify the regime and plug gaps exploited by dirty money. Colette Best, Kingsley Napley LLP’s director of AML, said aligning legal, accountancy and financial services under a single FCA supervisor — replacing 22 professional body supervisors — could make the UK a far harsher environment for laundering. A consultation on the proposals opened on 13 November 2025. The package, which would require legislation, envisages a wholesale reset of how law firms interact with their AML supervisor, with stiffer penalties and more onerous compliance duties. The FCA would gain sweeping enforcement powers over the legal sector for AML and counter‑terrorism requirements, including the ability to levy fines and impose bans in line with...
Dr Rach a el Kent v Apple Inc and Apple Distribution International Limited [2025] CAT 67 What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling marks a significant win for claimants, following the dismissal of the first two collective actions to reach trial— Justin Le Patourel v BT Group Plc and Another [2024] CAT 76 and Justin Gutmann v First MTR South Western Trains Ltd and Others [2025] CAT 64. More generally, it engages with a number of key questions in competition law and procedure. The decision also makes notable findings on how a company’s interconnected product suite—here, Apple’s wider digital ‘ecosystem’—should be considered when evaluating market definition, dominance and abuse. The assessment is framed within Apple’s holistic digital ‘ecosystem’, which brings together: (1) the hardware (ie the i Phone or i Pad); (2) the i OS operating system; (3) i OS...
According to the Bridge Group, eight firms, among them Allen Overy Shearman Sterling, Clifford Chance LLP and Norton Rose Fulbright, submitted figures covering in excess of 11,500 lawyers, the report said. The data indicates that those within the sector from low socio-economic backgrounds appear at trainee and partner tiers, yet are less visible across the middle levels, the not-for-profit said, the organisation added. Senior interviews and focus groups point to firm-level commitment at senior level to socio-economic inclusion, while priorities still lean towards outreach and hiring rather than keeping and advancing talent, the Bridge Group noted. Discussions across the eight firms also notably showed patchy delivery of policies, with individual partners exerting considerable sway over the culture of teams within firms. Participants further included lawyers from Ashurst LLP, Freshfields LLP, KPMG Law,......
Standish v Hill [2025] EWHC 2954 ( Ch) What was the background? Mr Hill entered bankruptcy on 24 July 2018. The Trustees contended that a chain of dealings had diverted the value of assets away from Mr Hill to a series of entities and vehicles, and that those transfers are amenable to challenge under section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986. They also alleged that three trusts established by Mr Hill, or for him, were all shams. The claim form was filed on 23 July 2024, right at the very close of the six‑year limitation window. On 2 January 2025, the Trustees made a without‑notice application seeking the court’s permission to serve out of the jurisdiction and a further extension of time for serving the claim form. On 8 January 2025, Deputy Master Linwood granted permission to serve out and also extended the period for...
Mr Stephen Luck v Bracknell Forest Borough Council [2025] EWHC 2984 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling confirms that a disqualifying event for self-build relief can occur at any stage up to the end of the three-year clawback window, including prior to completion. A sale that brings the self-build intention to an end is a disqualifying event under the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, SI 2010/948, reg 54D(2)(a), with the result that the relief is lost and the full CIL becomes due. Accordingly, developers and self-builders should manage CIL actively when schemes evolve or land is disposed of: use the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, SI 2010/948, reg 32 to transfer liability; and rely on the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, SI 2010/948, reg 74B to obtain abatement before the new permission is...
The Crown Prosecution Service ( CPS) has obtained a civil recovery order compelling Twitter hacker Joseph James O’ Connor to return £4.1 million in cryptocurrency derived from his crimes. In 2023, O’ Connor, 26, received a five-year prison sentence in the United States after admitting guilt to multiple offences, including conspiring to carry out computer intrusions, wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, stalking, and issuing threatening communications......
Antitrust Commission consults on commitments offered by SAP in maintenance and support services investigation The Commission has initiated a market consultation on SAP’s proposed commitments, seeking to remedy identified concerns regarding its maintenance and support services for on-premises Enterprise Resource Planning ( ERP) software ( AT.40823). These commitments arise after the Commission opened a formal probe in September 2025, where its initial findings suggested SAP might have exploited a dominant position within the relevant market therein......
Private actions CAT issues judgment granting CPO in collective damages action brought against mobile network operators for an alleged abuse of dominance over ‘loyalty payments’ The CAT has delivered its judgment in Mr Justin Gutmann v Vodafone Limited and Vodafone Group Plc; Mr Justin Gutmann v EE Limited and BT Group PLC; Mr Justin Gutmann v Hutchison 3G UK Limited; and Mr Justin Gutmann v Telefonica UK Limited. The ruling addresses four applications for collective proceedings orders ( CPOs) made, under section 47B of the Competition Act 1998, by Mr Justin Gutmann, acting as the proposed class representative ( PCR), against Vodafone Limited and Vodafone Group PLC, EE Limited and BT Group PLC, Hutchison 3G UK Limited ( Three), and Telefonica UK Limited ( O2). Each mobile network operator ( MNO) is alleged to have infringed the Chapter II prohibition of the...
In this issue: Probate Trusts Powers of attorney and advance decisions Court of Protection Elderly and vulnerable clients UK taxes for Private Client HMRC Manuals updates Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Contentious trusts and estates Pensions, insurance and tax efficient investments International Question of the week Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk®Private Client: a Lexis+® community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Probate Testamentary capacity, undue influence, and a missing Will ( Burgess v Whittle) This ruling considers core probate dispute themes: testamentary capacity, undue influence, and a lost original. The High Court validated a 2014 Will excluding one child, dismissing challenges on capacity, knowledge and approval, and coercion. Three principles were reiterated: (1) a condition impacting capacity does not, by itself,...
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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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