Latest Legal News

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Following changes announced in the UK's Spring Budget Statement, the VAT registration threshold for small businesses is set to be increased. Secondary legislation will amend the Value Added Tax Act 1994 to increase the VAT registration and deregistration...
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The division of matrimonial assets is often the cause of protracted legal proceedings, where parties differ on what is due to whom. In a recent Family Court case , the question of whether or not a £2 million diamond formed part of such assets was the...
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New legislation aimed at stamping out unfair practices and promoting competition in digital markets is set to come into effect later this year, after moving to committee stage in the House of Lords. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, which...
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Failing to comply with court orders to bring children back to the UK, in instances where one parent has taken them abroad without the permission of the other, can come at a heavy cost. This point was underlined in a recent contempt hearing at the High Court...
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The likelihood of 'actual confusion' occurring between two trade marks was put under the spotlight recently in a case coming before the High Court . The case centred on two pet insurers. The claimant alleged that their registered trade mark –...
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The concept of unlawful eviction may bring to mind a picture of a malign landlord changing the locks and throwing a vulnerable tenant onto the street. However, a case in which a serving prisoner's protected tenancy was wrongfully terminated during his...
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Reducing asbestos exposure in the workplace is a major thrust of a new awareness campaign launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Asbestos: Your Duty aims to improve understanding of what the legal duty to manage asbestos involves. Asbestos...
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Misdescribing goods consigned to the UK with a view to evading import duties is a very serious matter. An American company trading in second-hand luxury watches found that out to its cost when five Rolex time pieces, valued at $59,000, were seized at...
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Divorce proceedings are rarely cut and dry, especially where the passage of time adds complexity to matters. This was certainly so in a recent case that required a Family Court judge to rule on the validity of a decree nisi . The case centred on the...
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A legal amendment that was made during the COVID-19 pandemic allowing the witnessing of wills to take place via videoconferencing has officially expired. As of 31 January 2024, the Wills Act 1837 (Electronic Communications) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Order...
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Where commercial agreements have been operating for many years, one party or another may well feel that they have become hopelessly out of date and unfit for purpose. However, as a High Court ruling showed , even very old bargains will be upheld if they are...
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Wherever possible, the courts will do what they can to support contact between parents and children but, in some instances, that contact comes with conditions attached. The nature of such conditions was the cause of contention in recent appeal proceedings...
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In a world first, the UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has published a Code of Practice on Transparency in Music Streaming. The voluntary Code has been developed and agreed by 12 music industry bodies representing music creators, record labels,...
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Every householder should understand the dire risks involved in opening their doors to those promising to carry out cut-price building work. A Court of Appeal decision provided distressing examples of almost the worst that can happen . A householder...
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As the employment landscape continues to shift in the post-pandemic era, employees and employers can find themselves at odds when it comes to expectations of flexible and remote working. The issue was brought to light at Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings...
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The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has launched a consultation on the storage and retention of original will documents by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). The consultation is intended as a means to challenge the current system of will storage and look at...
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New post-Brexit border controls introduced by the government have now come into effect for animals, plants and plant products imported to Great Britain from the EU. The controls – known as the Border Target Operating Model – apply to products...
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The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary has announced the extension of a groundbreaking Family Court reporting pilot. The Transparency Implementation Group Reporting Pilot is being extended to 16 more courts across the country, after an initial run at the family...
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Even in long-term or married relationships, couples very often operate separate bank accounts and keep their personal finances private from one another. However, as a case concerning the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) showed , such confidentiality...
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Financial institutions are entitled to expect their staff to display a high level of probity. An Employment Tribunal (ET) made that point in denying compensation to a bank employee despite having found that his dismissal was unfair ( Johnson v Santander UK...
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One of the positive effects of the green revolution is that biodiversity is now a vital factor in many planning decisions. As a High Court case showed , however, it is perfectly possible for an otherwise inappropriate commercial or industrial development to...
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Many grieving families have sadly been torn apart by a loved one's failure to make a professionally drafted will. Exactly that happened in a High Court case concerning two brothers who fell out bitterly over which of them should take charge of...
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In a ruling of particular importance to the motor sales industry, the reasonableness of exclusion clauses in hire purchase contracts which seek to avoid liability in respect of goods that are not of satisfactory quality has been thrown into doubt by a Court...
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Loving parents often allow their adult children to remain living in the family home for as long as they wish, in the expectation that they will, in due course, fly the nest. In a case that will ring a bell with thousands of families, the High Court...
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A fair redundancy process requires consultation of affected employees at a formative stage when there is at least the potential for them to influence the outcome. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) succinctly made that point in finding that a recruitment...

Pre-Nuptial Agreements