Legal Practice Notes

Pension commencement lump sum ( PCLS) When a member of a pension scheme becomes eligible to take their benefits, they can usually withdraw part of it as a tax-free lump sum, which HMRC terms a ‘pension commencement lump sum’ ( PCLS). Opting for a lump sum is generally the member’s choice, and they must elect how much to take; however, the scheme rules should be consulted for any procedural or other requirements. Under current legislation, a PCLS is tax free, making it a popular option. Because of its tax-free nature, HMRC sets strict conditions for a lump sum to qualify. This Practice Note first examines HMRC’s general conditions and then the special conditions that apply in particular cases. Defined contribution ( DC) schemes: a portion of the member’s pension pot is paid directly to the member in cash. Defined benefit ( DB) schemes: the position is more...

In an arbitration, the parties may seek an order from the arbitral tribunal for an award on a particular issue that forms part of the claim, to be made in advance of the final award that will ultimately deal with all matters in dispute. An award addressing only a subset of the issues is commonly described as a ‘partial award’. Such relief is not confined to a party’s application; as master of its own procedure, the tribunal can also elect to determine questions by issuing a partial award, or a series of partial awards. A partial award is definitive and final in relation to the claims or issues it determines, notwithstanding that other elements of the dispute remain to be decided in the final award. By way of illustration, in Emirates Trading Agency v Sociedade de Fomento Industrial Private, the respondent was prevented from...

This Practice Note sets out guidance on Part 36 offers where there are multiple parties or multiple proceedings. It highlights relevant authorities and gives practical direction on the key considerations to bear in mind in these kinds of cases. Multiple parties and proceedings complicate Part 36 Part 36 offers can be used in litigation involving numerous parties and/or more than one set of proceedings. Yet, when several parties are engaged, deciding whether to put forward such an offer, and in what terms, is more complex. For details of the specific points to address when making a Part 36 offer in a matter with multiple parties, see Practice Note: Part 36 offers—how to make a valid Part 36 offer— Making a Part 36 offer in cases involving multiple parties. In Zagora Management v Zurich Insurance (2019), the court determined the costs payable in a...

This Practice Note sets out the routes by which a step-parent can obtain parental responsibility for a child under section 4A(1) of the Children Act 1989 ( Ch A 1989). It summarises parental responsibility agreements and orders, including how long they last in practice for those involved. It also outlines ways non-parents and non-step-parents can secure parental responsibility, for example through appointment as a child’s guardian or special guardian, by obtaining a child arrangements order ( CAO), or by securing an emergency protection order. Step-parents A step-parent who is married to, or the civil partner of, a parent who already holds parental responsibility may either apply to the court for a parental responsibility order, as appropriate, or enter into a parental responsibility agreement, if preferred. Explanatory notes to the Adoption and Children Act 2002 ( ACA 2002), which introduced Ch A 1989, s 4A(1),...

Parent company liability Being a parent does not, by itself, make a company answerable for a subsidiary’s acts or omissions. Each subsidiary bears its own corporate obligations, and any move to lift the corporate veil must be set out clearly and unambiguously in statute. That said, a parent may incur liability where its knowledge and capacity to step in are sufficient to impose a duty of care towards those harmed by the subsidiary’s conduct. In particular, if the parent holds ‘superior knowledge’ of the nature and control of specific risks, and knows of a ‘systemic failure’ within the subsidiary, a court may recognise such a duty. This is more likely where the subsidiary: has been dissolved has limited financial strength, and/or lacks insurance cover for the relevant category of damage or injury Those conditions may exist where the parent company: has assumed direct...

The legal framework This Practice Note outlines the rules of trade mark law governing parallel trade. Parallel imports—often called ‘grey market’ products—are authentic items put on sale by, or with the approval of, the rights holder, but later brought into a specific market for resale without that holder’s permission. They are distinct from counterfeits or ‘black market’ items. For guidance on counterfeit goods, see: Anti-counterfeiting—overview. Key rules derive from the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ( TFEU) and Directive ( EU) 2015/2436, which regulates national trade mark registrations across Member States and is given effect in the UK through the Trade Marks Act 1994 ( TMA 1994). This Practice Note details how UK trade mark law addresses parallel imports. It examines the circumstances in which a trade mark proprietor’s rights are exhausted and when the rights holder can block grey market goods from...

NOTE—to check whether notification thresholds in Paraguay and worldwide are reached, please refer to: Where to Notify. 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the Paraguayan merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in Paraguay? Since achieving full staffing in 2016, the National Competition Commission ( CONACOM) has assessed more than 101 merger filings, with only one rejected and at least eight approvals subject to remedies. Key regulatory progress includes CONACOM’s Merger Guidelines published in March 2021, which set out detailed merger control standards—such as thresholds for mergers, acquisitions of control, and joint ventures. Even so, CONACOM still advises undertaking pre-filing consultations as good practice. In May 2025, CONACOM adopted a new resolution revising and updating the Merger Guidelines and the information required for merger...

Professional Arbitration on Court Terms ( PACT) Professional Arbitration on Court Terms ( PACT) is a collaboration between the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors ( RICS) and the Law Society, providing an alternative dispute resolution ( ADR) mechanism for lease renewal disputes under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 ( LTA 1954) (see: PACT— Lease renewal disputes for a link to the joint Law Society and PACT guidance note: Surveyors And Lawyers Involved In Tenancy Renewals Under PACT). This Practice Note outlines PACT’s objectives, how the process functions, which variant of PACT is most appropriate and the choice between appointing an arbitrator or an independent expert, alongside fee considerations, as well as the key advantages and disadvantages. PACT offers landlords and tenants a route to settle unresolved issues on a renewal lease without resorting to court. For additional guidance on lease renewals and the relevant...

Practice Note This Practice Note outlines the distinct regimes applying to overseas companies in relation to registering security at Companies House. The relevant regime depends on when the security came into being. In brief, from 1 October 2011 onwards, overseas companies have not been obliged to register security over UK assets at Companies House; however, they must keep an internal register of charges and mortgages as part of their books and records. Overseas companies are, nonetheless, required to be recorded in the Register of Overseas Entities and to supply particulars of their beneficial owners and managing officers where they acquired land in the UK on or after 1 January 1999. Acquisitions and specified dispositions, including granting security, will not be entered at the Land Registry if the Overseas entity is not listed in the Register of Overseas Entities. For further...

Why have an oversail licence on a construction project? Under English law, a freeholder will in most cases own the column of air above their plot unless the instrument that vested title in them specifically carves it out. A lease does not automatically confer rights to the airspace above the premises; whether it does turns on the wording of the particular lease. That said, it is not invariably obvious if the demised premises include or exclude the airspace (see Can an oversail licence protect a tenant? below). Whether the airspace forms part of the demise is therefore a matter of construction. When a contractor proposes to install a tower crane to execute the works, it should, at the outset of the scheme, assess whether the jib (the horizontal arm) will have to pass over—i.e. oversail—any neighbouring land that is not within the...

Out-of-court appointments—background Before the Insolvency ( England and Wales) Rules 2016 ( IR 2016), SI 2016/1024, a ‘ Notice of Appointment’ for an administrator did not have to state the precise date and time of the appointment. IR 2016 altered that position. Under r 3.24 ‘ Notice of appointment after notice of intention to appoint’ and r 3.25 ‘ Notice of appointment without prior notice of intention to appoint’, the notice must include a statement that, as applicable, the company or the directors have appointed the named individual as administrator of the company, and it must also set out the date and time at which the appointment is made. This is distinct from the date and time recorded by the court upon the filing of the appointment documents, as contemplated by IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, r 3.26(3). In consequence,...

Control of development Pursuant to section 57 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ( TCPA 1990), planning permission is needed for the carrying out of any development of land. Under the TCPA 1990, section 336(1), “land” means any corporeal hereditament, including a building. The courts have determined that, in coastal locations, the ambit of planning control under the TCPA 1990 reaches only to the mean low-water mark, so the sea bed beyond that line is outside planning control and thus not regulated. “ Development” is defined in TCPA 1990, s 55(1) as: the execution of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or beneath land, or the undertaking of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land Accordingly, the TCPA 1990 regulates two separate categories of development: operational development and material changes of use in...

The terminology surrounding on demand guarantees and bonds can be confusing. On demand guarantees and on demand bonds broadly fulfil the same role and exhibit similar features. They are also known as 'first demand guarantees' or 'first demand bonds'. For simplicity, this Practice Note groups them together as 'on demand guarantees/bonds'. These instruments operate as a type of quasi-security, most commonly supporting contractual duties. In general, security (eg mortgages and charges) and quasi-security (eg guarantees) are granted in favour of a lender, usually a bank, as collateral for a loan. By contrast, an on demand guarantee or bond is issued by a bank in connection with a contract its customer has entered into with a third party, and it serves as collateral for that customer's obligations to that third party. Banks issue on demand guarantees/bonds for their clients as part of the wider suite of...

This Practice Note deals with on demand guarantees and bonds. ( It does not address conditional guarantees and bonds, which are generally issued by insurance companies and fall outside the scope of this Practice Note.) On demand guarantees and bonds are ordinarily issued by banks at their customers’ request as a form of quasi‑security for contractual obligations that the bank’s customer has undertaken with a third party. This Practice Note outlines: the purpose and common applications of on demand guarantees and bonds the distinction between: on demand guarantees and bonds, and guarantees in the traditional sense of the term the structure and parties involved in on demand guarantee and bond transactions the principal...

For comprehensive analysis of the regulation, consenting and incentivisation of the net zero energy transition under the laws of England and Wales, refer to: Collinson and Hockman on Energy Law: Regulating, Consenting and Incentivising the Energy Transition. The textbook offers thorough treatment of matters addressed in this Practice Note. What is the ‘ Supplier of Last Resort’ ( So LR) regime? Where the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets ( Ofgem) withdraws a supply licence (typically due to insolvency), it may designate a ‘supplier of last resort’ ( So LR) on an individual basis to assume the supply of gas and/or electricity to the failed supplier’s customers. The objective is to safeguard those customers by maintaining uninterrupted continuity of supply and services. This framework is chiefly embedded in the Standard Conditions of the supply licences held by Great Britain’s ( GB’s)...

A trust is a legal arrangement created either during life by gift or on death, where an individual (the settlor) passes assets to one or more people (the trustees) to hold for beneficiaries or for a defined purpose. Depending on the terms of the trust deed, the trustees may simply retain the assets until a future event occurs, or they may invest them so that the beneficiaries can receive value from the fund, typically as distributions of capital or as income generated by the investments. Benefits may arise on the happening of a condition or over time, according to the instrument. A trust therefore involves three roles: settlor, trustees and beneficiaries. It rests on equitable principles under which legal title to property is distinct from beneficial ownership, and the trustee owes a duty of care to the...

Maritime contracts in the offshore oil & gas industry—an introduction For further practical guidance on the financing of energy, power and resources projects across a range of sectors, including those referenced in this Practice Note, see also the textbook titled Energy and Resources Financing: A Practical Handbook. What types of maritime contracts are used in the offshore oil & gas industry? Vessels are central to offshore oil and gas operations throughout the sector. Types commonly employed include the following: platform supply and offshore utility vessels, safety vessels, cable laying ships and ice breakers, supply vessels, drill ships, offshore barges (for example fitted with heavy lifting cranes and/or accommodation modules). There is also a broader class of exploration, production, storage and/or offloading units, such as floating production, storage and offloading ( FPSO) vessels, floating storage and offloading ( FSO) units, and...

This Practice Note looks at the liability issues that frequently arise when dealing with a stress at work claim including foreseeability, the circumstances in which breach of duty can be established, the impact of statutory regulations, causation and the apportionment of damages. Many psychiatric injury claims stem from a single incident or a brief sequence of related incidents. By contrast, work-related stress actions typically flow from matters unfolding across an extended span of time. In such situations, claimants are generally primary victims and, as a result, they are generally not required to satisfy the control mechanisms applied in secondary victim claims. In Hatton v Sutherland, the Court of Appeal considered four appeals concerning psychiatric illness arising from workplace stress, and Hale LJ issued guidance for the handling of these types of disputes. One of those matters proceeded to the House of Lords, where it is...

Obscene publication offence The Obscene Publications Act 1959 ( OPA 1959) outlaws the publication and circulation of obscene material. The Act was introduced: to revise the law concerning the issue of publishing obscene content to safeguard literature to reinforce the law around pornography A two-year limitation applies, meaning proceedings cannot be commenced more than two years after the offence was committed. Under OPA 1959, any individual who publishes an obscene article, whether for financial gain or otherwise, commits an offence. The ban also captures anyone who holds an obscene article with a view to publishing it for profit, whether for their own benefit or for someone else’s. Prosecutorial decisions should have regard to the CPS Legal Guidance on Obscene publication; straying from those guidelines may constitute an actionable abuse. Test of obscenity “ Publishes” is interpreted broadly and includes distributing, circulating, selling, letting or hiring, giving or...

When moving into a care home, the relationship between the incoming resident and the home’s administrators should be defined by a contract between them. This is particularly crucial where the resident is self‑funded. If they are not self‑funded and rely on local authority‑funded accommodation, they will not be a contracting party, though they remain entitled to view a statement of the terms and conditions. There are two elements the practitioner should assess: whether the contract addresses all relevant matters whether any term might be considered unfair The contract After years of concern about the quality of care homes, the Care Standards Act 2000 ( CSA 2000) modernised the regulatory framework for care services and independent health care. Notably, National Minimum Standards, applicable to all care homes providing accommodation and nursing or personal care, were introduced under the CSA 2000 by the...