Latest Legal News

A wealthy Omani man who failed to pay to his ex-wife the financial settlement ordered by the court, or to cooperate with disclosure orders, faces arrest if he attempts to return to the UK. When the couple's marriage broke up, they were divorced under Omani...

Businesses that have websites will be aware of the regulations that govern the use of 'cookies'. Recently, an opinion of the Advocate General of the European Union on questions referred to the Court of Justice by the Federal Court of Justice in Germany on...

It is very common for tenants who run up rent arrears to effectively be given a second chance by the courts when facing an application by the landlord to repossess the premises. Often, such applications are stayed subject to compliance with a revised payment...

Insolvencies are seldom happy periods for any of those involved and great care must be taken by those who deal with the insolvency proceedings to ensure they do their work in a way that correctly balances the interests of the creditors and the insolvent...

A recent survey by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) shows that only one in four UK businesses are aware of the penalties they could face under the Criminal Finances Act 2017 if they fail to prevent the criminal facilitation of tax evasion by any person or...

Whether land is or is not within the curtilage of a building can be a decisive factor in many planning cases. The High Court considered the meaning of the word in ruling that a large hardstanding used for storing fencing materials did not fall within the...

The legal ownership of property is not always the same as the beneficial ownership and disputes can arise when no documentation is executed to show the two are different. Such was the case in a recent dispute which occurred after a couple who had two...

On 25 May 2018, the Data Protection Act 2018 came into force, incorporating the EU General Data Protection Regulation, ushering in a new era of personal data regulation in the UK. At the same time, the Data Protection (Charges and Information)...

Companies understandably may wish to provide financial as well as moral support to their directors if they are facing litigation. However, the issue of whether such contributions are tax deductible is far from straightforward and exercised the minds of...

Is the purchaser of a product sold under a trade mark entitled to take it apart and sell its component parts under the trade mark? The High Court considered that issue in resolving a dispute between rival manufacturers of bracelet charms. An Italian...

Landlords have a legal duty to keep the premises they let to tenants in a safe condition and if they fail to do so can be held liable for any injury or loss that results. Recently, a local authority was ordered to pay compensation to a council tenant who...

The process of divorce in the UK has for many years been seen as rather long-winded and tending to produce more conflict than need be. One of the reasons for this is that the grounds which demonstrate an 'irretrievable breakdown' of a marriage – the...

Judgments for debt would hardly be worth having if there were no bailiffs to enforce them. However, as a High Court ruling made clear , they have to abide by stringent rules and do not have carte blanche to trample on debtors' rights. The case concerned a...

Directors of struggling companies all too often place payment of tax at the bottom of their priority lists, with the result that it is the public purse that frequently suffers most in the event of insolvency. However, as a High Court decision showed , such...

One of the key requirements for a patent for a technical process innovation to be successfully defended is that there must be something genuinely innovative about the subject matter of the patent. There has to be 'novelty' and an inventive step. On...

The quality of British justice is respected around the world – but there are inevitably occasions when judges overstep the mark. In a family case on point, a mother had her two young children taken into care after a judge dismissed out of hand...

Payments under building contracts can be a touchy issue and have led to numerous disputes. Adjudication proceedings are intended to make the process of resolving building disputes simpler, but they themselves are replete with legal challenges on a whole...

Businesses that deal or hope to deal with one another often have to put security concerns to one side and share their confidential information. As a High Court case underlined, however, such exchanges should always be subject to a professionally drafted...

National boundaries pose little or no obstacle to tax evasion. The Court of Appeal made that point in an important ruling which has greatly boosted the ability of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to pursue inquiries beyond the borders of the UK. HMRC were...

The welfare of children is always top of the list of priorities of the Family Court when making arrangements following the break-up of a family. This can be especially difficult where the parents are from different countries, as shown by a recent case in...

The Government is duty-bound by European law to ensure that specified air quality standards are met as quickly as possible. However, the Court of Appeal has ruled in an important test case that that duty does not extend to a general obligation to refuse...

Large companies frequently engage outside contractors to assist with storage of the vast quantities of data they produce. However, as a High Court case showed , a breakdown of such commercial relationships can give rise to urgent privacy and data protection...

Divorcing couples can sometimes achieve savings of both time and money by opting for arbitration, rather than court proceedings, as a means of resolving any financial disputes. However, as a guideline High Court case underlined , arbitration has its...

A limited company has a legal personality all of its own, but an unincorporated firm does not. As a High Court ruling in respect of a domestic building dispute showed , that distinction can in some cases be a crucial one. A couple who were to move into a...

Industrial processes can be noisy and those responsible for them frequently worry that complaints from neighbouring residents will affect their businesses. However, as a High Court case showed , such concerns and the needs of commerce in general do carry...