Opinion

The UK's data protection regime has been given a pass by the EU, for now. Paul Motion explains the details. The European Commission has adopted two data “adequacy decisions” for the UK. This action resolves a major concern after Brexit, that whilst personal data flowing from the UK to th

Iskander Fernandez, partner at law firm BLM, discusses HMRC's role in leading over 12,000 interventions into the use of UK government Covid support schemes. Research by BLM into the various coronavirus-related fiscal support schemes revealed that at the close of Q1 2021, HM Revenue & Customs (HM

Bob McIntosh, the Tenant Farming Commissioner, spoke at a conference on agricultural law at the beginning of June and gave a useful update of his activities and a range of issues surrounding agricultural tenancies. Hamish Lean has the details. He had received 139 inquiries from agricultural landlord

As the Bribery Act 2010 approaches its 10th birthday on 1 July, Tom Stocker explains why it is widely recognised as an excellent piece of legislation which transformed the corporate compliance landscape. The Bribery Act simplified the law of bribery by making it clear that bribery arose when a perso

How much are you charged by your financial adviser? It seems a very simple question, doesn’t it? However, it is often avoided, dodged or circumvented by financial advisers. Fees should be simple. There are three main ways of charging as a financial adviser: charge a fixed fee per annum, charge

Louise Usher looks at the implication of the recent case of Maya Forstater, a woman who succeeded in an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal after losing her job for saying people cannot change their biological sex. The Employment Appeal Tribunal has concluded that gender-critical view

Since the beginning of the millennium, the USA and the EU Member States have created and implemented legislation intended to provide limited exceptions to hosts’ liability when illegal or infringing content has been uploaded by internet users, writes James McFarlane. This was an important prot

With 30 September signaling the termination of furlough support from the UK government, barring any change of heart, it is inevitable that many employers will be reducing headcount, writes Stuart Robertson. Before your business goes down the path of reducing staff numbers, there are important p

What is the CMA doing about 'greenwashing'? Scott Rodger explains all. The ethical consumer market in the UK has increased four-fold since 1999 and is now conservatively estimated at over £40 billion per annum. Consumers are actively changing their behaviours in favour of more sustainable

Elizabeth Denham, the UK Information Commissioner, expresses serious concern over facial recognition technology. Facial recognition technology brings benefits that can make aspects of our lives easier, more efficient and more secure. The technology allows us to unlock our mobile phones, set up

New rules have been introduced into Scottish courts that mean from 30 June, the majority of parties seeking damages for personal injuries or death will not be liable for the expenses of their opponent if their action fails, writes Bruce Craig. The rules represent a fundamental change in the way expe

Scott Styles suggests how reform of the offices of Lord Advocate and Solicitor General might be achieved. It is a long-standing but nevertheless unsatisfactory feature of Scots law that the Lord Advocate performs two quite incompatible roles. On the one hand, the Lord Advocate is the head of the Sco

Shirley Wyles reminds us of the delayed fire safety regime and its legal aspects. While the catastrophic blaze that ripped through Grenfell Tower in the early hours of 14 June 2017 with the loss of 72 lives is the subject of an ongoing public inquiry, there have already been legislative responses to

Karen Stachura writes about the pros and cons of the virtual court system that has emerged over the past year. “Only a crisis - actual or perceived - produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That, I believe, is our bas

In the final part of his medico-legal series, David J Black explores how Covid-19 has thrown into relief the maltreatment of ME/CFS victims. The boon to life sciences afforded by the pandemic and the huge sums invested in researching Long Covid have left the psychogenic hypothesis a sinking shi