Legal Q&A

Clause 2.27.1 of the JCT Standard Building Contract 2011 ( SBC) Clause 2.27.1 provides that where it becomes reasonably clear that progress of the Works, or any Section, is delayed or likely to be delayed, the Contractor must at once notify the Architect/ Contract Administrator, explaining the material circumstances, including the reasons for the delay, and in that notice point out any occurrence he regards as a Relevant Event... Lexis+® UK practical point: the same wording appears in the Standard Building Contract 2016 (cl 2.27.1) and in the JCT Design and Build Contract 2011/2016 (cl 2.24.1), save that in the design and build forms the addressee ‘ Architect/ Contract Administrator’ is replaced by the ‘ Employer’... Two principal questions arise when deciding whether a notification clause such as SBC clause 2.27.1 has been properly observed: what does the obligation to give notice...

LPA’s obligations when imposing financial contributions Developers are frequently obliged to make monetary payments to the local planning authority ( LPA) to fund defined projects, helping to offset the harmful effects of a scheme and thereby enable the grant of planning permission. This Q& A addresses circumstances where the section 106 agreement contains no specific express clawback mechanism. When a planning obligation (a section 106 obligation) is proposed to secure a financial contribution at the determination stage of a planning application, that contribution must satisfy the stringent legal tests in regulation 122 of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, SI 2010/948 ( SI 2010/948, reg 122) (as amended). Only by meeting those tests can any such payment lawfully and ultimately underpin the grant of planning permission......

Tenancy deposits must be safeguarded, irrespective of whether the landlord is a corporate entity or a private individual...

Who can be the guardian of a Child Student? The Immigration Rules, Introduction, para 6.2 ( Immigration Rules, Introduction, para 6.2(b)) sets out definitions for key terms such as ‘legal guardian’, ‘parent’ and ‘private foster care arrangement’. A ‘legal guardian’ is defined as ‘a person appointed according to local laws to take care of a child’. In the UK, questions of a child’s legal guardianship are typically decided by the family courts, or arise where parents have named a guardian to act if they die. That said, legal systems in other countries follow different procedures. Whether an individual has been duly appointed as a legal guardian ‘according to local laws’ in another jurisdiction is a matter of foreign law. Foreign law is treated as evidence and will usually need to be established by expert evidence ( Hussein ( Status of passports: foreign law) [2020] UKUT 00250 (...

Rule 5.1.7 of the Financial Conduct Authority’s ( FCA) Client Assets Sourcebook ( CASS) ( CASS 5.1.7) confirms that the provisions within CASS 5.1 to CASS 5.6 also give effect, as required, to article 4.4 of the ( EU) Insurance Mediation Directive ( Directive 2002/92/ EC), requiring that all necessary measures be taken to protect clients against the inability of an insurance intermediary to transfer premiums to an insurance undertaking, or to transfer the proceeds of a claim or a premium refund to the insured......

Brexit— Commercial For help with your query, please refer to the following: Brexit—contract clauses and resources—checklist [ Archived] Clause: Brexit—warranty for commercial contracts clause [ Archived] Clause: Territory definition For additional guidance, see: Brexit collection......

Pre- Action Protocol for Debt Claims The Pre- Action Protocol for Debt Claims (the Protocol) took effect on 1 October 2017. When the Protocol applies, the court expects parties to adhere to its requirements before issuing a claim, and will factor in any failure when setting directions for the conduct of any later proceedings (see paragraph 7 of the Protocol). There are no transitional arrangements within the Protocol. Refer to: Precedent: Letter of claim—contractual debt claim—in compliance with the Pre- Action Protocol for Debt Claims; and Practice Notes: The pre-action protocols and when they apply, and Debt claims and pre-action conduct......

We proceed on the basis that the default legacy will take the form of a discretionary trust in favour of the testator’s grandchildren and does not create an immediate post-death interest ( IPDI) trust under section 49A of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 ( IHTA 1984). We further assume that it is not a disabled trust within IHTA 1984, s 89......

Q& A For this Q& A, we take 'email journaling' to mean a method whereby messages entering or leaving a server are duplicated and sent to a single designated mailbox, creating a record of every message in and out, arranged in a user-selected order (typically by date/time). We have limited this response to circumstances that fit those assumptions, and to cases where the journal mailbox cannot be changed or interfered with by any server user holding normal privileges......

This Q& A raises the issue of the extent to which a person who takes an assignment of the reversion to a residential lease is able to recover rent which fell due before the date upon which it takes effect Upon serving the tenant with notice of assignment of the reversion, the assignee’s rights depend on when the residential lease was granted: Leases granted before 1 January 1996: under section 141 of the Law of Property Act 1925, the assignee is entitled to rent falling due in the future. In addition, as established in Re King, the assignee may pursue arrears that accrued before the assignment, and once the transfer takes effect, the outgoing landlord’s ability to recover those sums is lost. Leases granted on or after 1 January 1996: the Landlord and Tenant ( Covenants) Act 1995 applies. By virtue of LT( C) A...

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 ( CPUTR 2008), SI 2008/1277 The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 ( CPUTR 2008), SI 2008/1277, outlaws unfair commercial practices that harm consumers’ economic interests. Such practices cover areas like product labelling. For more detail, refer to Practice Note: The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (pre-6 April 2025) [ Archived]. Examples of prohibited behaviour include misleading actions, as specified in reg 5 of CPUTR 2008, SI 2008/1277......

The straightforward answer to this question is no, provided the security barrier is deemed safe for those on foot. A security barrier is generally a gate, featuring either a rising arm or a horizontal swing from a fixed hinge. Although it can be feasible for a barrier to be safe for both vehicles and pedestrians, they are commonly designed to suit only one of these two uses. A barrier intended to stop vehicles is not well suited to preventing pedestrians from passing through. Because cars and people differ markedly in scale and movement, it is usually simpler to install two different gate types. From a security standpoint, a basic vehicular gate will not exclude pedestrians. More importantly, a gate meant for vehicles can pose a significant risk to pedestrians......

Section 14 of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 ( CCBSA 2014) The statute requires that a Co-operative and Community Benefit Society’s rules set out how members are admitted. In a CCBS, individuals who hold shares (often described as ‘shareholders’) are not ‘appointed’; rather, they gain membership under the society’s own rules, which are established by its directors. While CCBSA 2014 imposes no statutory limits on admitting members, the society’s rulebook should be reviewed, as it typically contains specific provisions governing the process for bringing new members into the society. For more information, refer to Practice Note: Co-operative and community benefit societies. Those provisions are set by the board and are applied when assessing membership applications received......

Automatic renewal clauses Automatic renewal clauses may present in various formats to the following overall effect: open-ended contract subject to notice—“ This Agreement will remain in force for a term of [three] years from the commencement date...”...

Background A statutory declaration is a solemn, formal affirmation of fact made other than for judicial proceedings. In practical application, the making of a statutory declaration is a recognised means of proving or evidencing matters of fact, and it is employed in non‑litigious proceedings, where, for those purposes, it fulfils the same role as affidavits do in litigious proceedings. Making a declaration We have been unable to identify any authority suggesting that statute sets restrictions on the person who may make a declaration......

Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ( PCR 2015), SI 2015/102, reg 33(2) defines a framework agreement as: Regulation 33(2) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ( SI 2015/102) describes a framework agreement as an arrangement between one or more contracting authorities and one or more economic operators, intended to set the terms that will govern contracts awarded over a specified period, notably concerning price and, where appropriate, the quantities anticipated. The Crown Commercial Service ( CCS) guidance interprets a framework agreement as a broad term for arrangements with providers that lay down the terms and conditions under which agreements for specific purchases—referred to as call-off contracts—can be put in place throughout the life of the agreement......

Every medicinal product in the EU undergoes rigorous, systematic testing and evaluation of its quality, effectiveness and safety before it is authorised for use. After it reaches the market, continuous surveillance ensures that any factor which might influence a medicine’s safety profile is identified and evaluated carefully, and that appropriate actions are taken when needed. This ongoing monitoring is known as pharmacovigilance in the EU......

We have been unable to locate any case law on the exact matter raised in your query at this time. Nevertheless, please kindly consider the following further details, which you may find helpful. When the Pre- Action Protocol for Debt Claims (the Protocol) applies The Pre- Action Protocol for Debt Claims (effective from 1 October 2017) is engaged when a business—such as a sole trader or public body—seeks recovery of a debt from an individual, including a sole trader. It is inapplicable to business-to-business debts except where the debtor is a sole trader ( Pre- Action Protocol for Debt Claims, para 1.1)......

UK Within the UK, Defra leads the development of new regulations arising from initial studies that prioritise gains in energy efficiency. These rules are policed by the National Measurement Office ( NMO). EU Ecodesign and energy-using requirements The European Eu P Directive 2005/32/ EC acted as a framework, with precise performance benchmarks and test methods defined in accompanying implementing measures and regulations. It was later replaced by the Eco- Design Directive 2009/125/ EC. In the UK, the 2005 Directive was transposed via the Ecodesign for Energy- Using Products 2007, SI 2007/2037, which was in turn revoked by the Eco- Design for Energy- Related Products Regulations 2010, SI 2010/2617. The 2010 Regulations transpose Directive 2009/125/ EC into UK law, aiming to enhance product environmental performance across the whole life cycle by embedding environmental considerations at the earliest stages of design. The EU is setting minimum energy and...

We direct you to Practice Note: Regulation of consumer buy-to-let lending in the UK...