The 2025 UN Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14): Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development (UNOC3) was co-hosted by France and Costa Rica and held in Nice, France, from 9 to 13 June 2025. UNOC3 aimed to accelerate progress towards SDG 14 and explore additional strategies to support its implementation. It brought together a wide range of stakeholders to assess the challenges, opportunities, and progress made in achieving SDG 14. UNOC3 builds on previous UN Ocean Conferences, most recently co-hosted by Portugal and Kenya in Lisbon in 2022. In addition to our round-up of the conference, Helen Mitcheson, Director at CET law, and Kirsty Schneeberger, CEO of Athena Blue, discuss key events from UNOC3.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer maintained. Name of parties and citation(s) Judgment date Subject Further reading Re Argo Blockchain PLC [2025] EWHC 3395 (Ch) 23 December 2025 Part 26A restructuring plans: Sanction—meeting, definition, retail advocate A meeting of one? Class meetings and restructuring plans (Argo Blockchain Plc, Re) Nexedge Markets Ltd v Trex Global Ltd [2025] EWHC 3425 (Comm) 19 December 2025 International R&I: Gibbs rule—no submission to the jurisdiction Taqa Bratani Ltd v Fujairah Oil and Gas UK Llc (formerly known as Rockrose UKCS8 LLC) [2025] EWCA Civ 1669 19 December 2025 The appeal was allowed as the defence in section 238(5) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) was not available. Directors beware—payment of dividend can contravene section 238 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (Taqa Bratani Ltd v Fujairah Oil and Gas UK LLC (formerly known as Rockrose UKCS8 LLC) Segulah Medical Acceleration AB and others v Signifier Medical Technologies Ltd [2026] EWHC 313 (Ch) 18 December 2025 Administration

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. It sets out the key dates for restructuring and insolvency professionals in 2025 and includes appeal court hearings, consultation deadlines, events and the coming into force of insolvency-related legislation. January 2025 Date Event 1 January 2025 The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Commencement No 4 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, SI 2023/1382 are made in exercise of legislative powers under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (FSMA 2023) in connection with Brexit. They bring into force on 1 January 2025 provisions of FSMA 2023 which require the Bank, Financial Conduct Authority, Prudential Regulation Authority and Payment Systems Regulator to have regard in exercising their functions to the need to contribute towards achieving compliance by the Secretary of State with section 5 of the Environment Act 2021.See: LNB News 15/12/2023 53. 6 January 2025 Chief ICC Judge Briggs has issued a practice note which comes into force outlining the court's updated criteria for the allocation and transfer

This Practice Note draws together content on the following fiscal events: • Spring Statement 2025, which took place on 26 March 2025 • Tax update spring 2025, which took place on 28 April 2025 • Spending Review 2025, which took place on 11 June 2025 • Legislation Day 2025, which took place on 21 July 2025 • Budget 2025, which took place on 26 November 2025 • the introduction of Finance Bill 2026, also known as Finance Bill 2025–26 and Finance (No 2) Bill 2024–26 (FB 2026), to Parliament on 2 December 2025 and its enactment as Finance Act 2026 (FA 2026) on 18 March 2026, and • the introduction of the National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill to Parliament on 4 December 2025 For more information on the Budget and Finance Bill processes, as well as the fiscal timetable more generally, see Practice Note: The Budget and Finance Bill process. Spring Statement 2025 On 26 March 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP, presented the Spring Statement 2025 to Parliament. The government

This Practice Note draws together content on the fiscal events throughout the tax year 2025–26, starting with the Spring Statement 2025 on 26 March 2025. For more information on the Budget and Finance Bill processes, as well as the fiscal timetable more generally, see Practice Note: The Budget and Finance Bill process. Spring Statement 2025 On 26 March 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, presented the Spring Statement 2025 to Parliament. The government announced consultations and policy papers on substantive and administrative tax measures and other future developments. For more information on the announcements, see News Analyses: • Video analysis—Spring Statement 2025: Private Client perspective • Spring Statement 2025—Tax analysis Tax update spring 2025: simplification, administration and reform On 28 April 2025, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, issued a written ministerial statement announcing a package of measures aimed at simplifying and reforming the tax system and improving tax administration. HMRC and HM Treasury published a complementary suite of documents comprising

This Practice Note is a summary of the key legal developments that impacted immigration lawyers during the course of 2026. For upcoming key immigration law developments expected in the remainder of 2026, see: Immigration—horizon scanner. For key legal developments in previous years, see Practice Notes: • 2025 Immigration tracker [Archived], and • 2023–2024 Immigration tracker [Archived] Key dates Development Key date(s) Further reading English language proficiency standards for Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual and Scale-up route increased from Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) level B1 to level B2 For initial grants made on or after 8 January 2026 New Statement of Changes HC 1333 laid, LNB News 14/10/2025 2 Home Office stopped issuing vignettes for most Visitor visas 12 January 2026 Home Office confirms eVisas will replace all vignettes in 2026, LNB News 13/01/2026 6 Windrush compensation scheme reforms included advance payments and faster processing 15 January 2026 Home Office announces Windrush compensation scheme reforms effective 15 January 2026, LNB News 16/01/2026 26 Naoero (formerly Nauru) added to Visa National

Awards Time limits for rendering awards and forms of awards The formal requirements for awards are set out in Article 37 of the 2026 Rules. Pursuant to Article 37.1, all awards shall be in writing and, unless otherwise agreed, must state reasons. Awards must be dated and signed, and are deemed made at the place of arbitration (Article 37.3). Electronic signatures are permitted with party agreement (Article 37.4), and counterparts may be used unless the parties agree otherwise (Article 37.5). Each award is final and binding, and the parties undertake to comply without delay (Article 37.6). In practice, tribunals often issue separate awards on discrete issues where this supports procedural efficiency, which is expressly contemplated by Article 37.2. Time limits are governed principally by Article 39. Article 39.1 requires the tribunal, as soon as possible after the last hearing or receipt of final submissions, to inform the Secretariat and the parties of the date on which it

Request for arbitration A party may initiate an arbitration under the 2026 Rules by submitting its Request for Arbitration and supporting documents to the KCAB Secretariat (Article 8.1). The Request for Arbitration serves as the foundational document of the proceedings and must be drafted to include comprehensive details regarding the parties, such as their full contact information, place of incorporation for businesses, or the nationality and residence for individuals (Article 8.2(a), (b)). Furthermore, the Claimant is required to clearly articulate the nature and circumstances of the dispute, the specific relief being sought, and an estimate of the amounts claimed to ensure that the Secretariat can properly assess the scale of the matter (Article 8.2(c), (d)). Beyond the merits of the case, the Request for Arbitration must also address the procedural aspects of the arbitration. The Claimant must specify any existing written agreements or provide its own proposals regarding the place and language of the arbitration,

Evidence and document production The 2026 Rules largely preserve the evidentiary framework of the 2016 Rules. Under Article 27, the tribunal retains the authority to order the production of documents, exhibits or other evidence, and to order that property, sites or objects under a party’s control be made available for inspection (Article 27.1). Each party continues to bear the burden of proving the facts on which it relies (Article 27.2), and the tribunal retains the authority to determine the admissibility, relevance, materiality, and weight of evidence (Article 27.3). Notably, the requirement under the 2016 Rules for parties to submit a summary of intended evidence has been deleted in the 2026 Rules. Similar provisions were once found in earlier versions of other institutional rules, such as the 2008 ICDR International Arbitration Rules, but have likewise been deleted. This change aligns with international practice in favor of a more streamlined approach to evidence, reducing procedural

Expedited procedure Scope and applicability of the expedited procedure The Expedited Procedure under Chapter 6 of the 2026 Rules applies (i) where the amount in dispute does not exceed KRW 500,000,000 for arbitration agreements concluded before 1 January 2026; (ii) where the amount in dispute exceeds KRW 500,000,000 but does not exceed KRW 4,000,000,000 for arbitration agreements concluded on or after 1 January 2026; or (iii) where the parties agree to be subject to it (Article 45.1). The increase of the monetary threshold to KRW 4,000,000,000 represents a significant expansion over the 2016 Rules, which limited the Expedited Procedure to claims not exceeding KRW 500,000,000. The practical impact of this change is that the Expedited Procedure will apply to more disputes. Determination of applicability and institutional mechanism The 2026 Rules also introduce a structured mechanism for determining whether the Expedited Procedure applies. As an initial matter, the Expedited Procedure does not apply where

KCAB International The Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (‘KCAB’), established in 1966, is the sole arbitral institution that is statutorily authorised to administer commercial arbitration under the Korean Arbitration Act (the Arbitration Act). KCAB International, established in 2018, is an independent division of the KCAB that administers international arbitration cases as well as international mediation matters. KCAB International handles a broad range of cross-border commercial disputes, with parties from over 20 jurisdictions filing cases in 2024. According to the most recent available statistics, the KCAB reported 48 international arbitration cases out of a total caseload of 349 in 2024. Across the KCAB’s total caseload, construction (35%) and information technology (16.6%) disputes accounted for the largest proportion of cases filed. Adoption and applicability of the 2026 KCAB Rules The 2026 KCAB International Arbitration Rules (the ‘2026 Rules’) came into effect on 1 January 2026, marking the first revision of the KCAB International Arbitration Rules (the ‘Rules’) since 2016. The 2026

Joinder of additional parties The 2026 Rules introduce significant changes to the regime governing joinder of additional parties. Under the 2016 Rules, consent of the additional party to joinder was required in all cases and only the tribunal could determine whether an additional party could be joined (2016 Rules, Article 21.1). The 2026 Rules allow joinder of an additional party without the additional party’s consent in certain cases, provided the additional party is prima facie a party to the same arbitration agreement (Article 21.1(b)). The 2026 Rules also introduce a mechanism to request joinder before the tribunal is constituted and give the Court the power to determine the request for joinder before the tribunal is constituted. In this respect, unlike some institutional rules which only permit joinder before the constitution of the tribunal, the approach adopted by KCAB allows for joinder of an additional party after the constitution of the tribunal provided it is deemed