A high-powered satellite that transmits or retransmits signals which are intended for direct reception by the public. The signal is transmitted to a small earth station or dish mounted on homes or other buildings.

Direct concern is a condition for the admissibility of applications by non-privileged applicants in the Union courts for the review of Union acts and denotes the requirement of a direct link between the non-privileged applicant's legal situation and the challenged Union act.

A switchboard’s capability to route an incoming call to the extension dialled without the intervention of a communications provider.

This Practice Note examines direct discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010), ie treating a person less favourably because of a protected characteristic (ie less favourable treatment on discriminatory grounds). It considers the need to make a comparison, comparators (whether actual or hypothetical), what ‘because of’ means, knowledge of disability, the justification of direct age discrimination, direct sex discrimination by virtue of a contractual term and equality of terms. It looks at more favourable treatment with regard to: pregnancy, childbirth (must be proportionate), and disabled persons. It considers racial segregation. Finally it looks at third party characteristics: associative discrimination, perceived characteristics (discrimination on the basis of perceived characteristics) and absence from work due to gender reassignment. This Practice Note contains references to case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). For guidance on whether judgments of the CJEU are binding on UK courts, see Practice Note: Assimilated law—Assimilated case law. To the extent that it implemented UK obligations under EU law (such as the obligation to implement a Directive such as Directive 2000/78/EC,

The concept whereby a person treats another person less favourably on the grounds of one of the protected characteristics under discrimination law, for example, race, sex, or a disability.

See direct statutory demerger.

Direct effect is an EU law doctrine that allows individuals to invoke an EU law provision before a national court.

What is direct effect of EU law? The doctrine of direct effect is a fundamental principle of EU law developed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Van Gend en Loos. It is a mechanism through which individuals can enforce rights in Member States’ courts, based on EU law—a remedy against non-compliance with EU law. In Van Gend en Loos, the provision of EU law at issue was an article of an EU Treaty, ie primary law. The transport company Van Gend & Loos had imported goods from Germany into the Netherlands and had to pay customs duties which it considered incompatible with Article 12 EEC Treaty (now Article 30 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)), which prohibits increases in customs duties in trade between Member States. The preliminary ruling was focused on the conflict between national law and the provisions of the Treaty. The Court of Justice answered the question referred by a Netherlands court by establishing the principle of direct effect, thus conferring

EU Law analysis: The Court of Justice has clarified that offering a free user account may under certain conditions amount to a ‘sale’ of a service under Article 13(2) of the ePrivacy Directive, permitting companies to send direct marketing emails to such users under the so-called soft opt-in exception. The court held that indirect economic benefit, rather than direct payment, suffices for establishing a commercial relationship. Further, the court, in line with the Advocate General, found that Article 13(2) of the ePrivacy Directive is exhaustive, meaning that organisations meeting the soft opt-in criteria do not require a separate EU GDPR justification to send marketing emails. The decision is significant for practitioners advising on direct marketing compliance and demonstrates the precedence of ePrivacy rules over the EU GDPR where sector-specific provisions exist. Companies using freemium or similar models now have greater legal certainty, but must still ensure all conditions of the soft opt-in are rigorously met. Written by Wiebke Reuter, salary partner at Taylor Wessing, and Susan Hillert, associate at Taylor Wessing.

Direct inheritance describes a situation where a person takes assets straight from a deceased’s estate in their own name, rather than via an intermediary structure such as a trust, settlement, company or life policy. In practice, this usually arises where a will or the intestacy rules leave property to a beneficiary outright, giving them immediate legal and beneficial ownership once the estate is administered. The term “direct inheritance” is descriptive rather than a defined statutory concept in England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Ireland, but is widely used in private client, tax and succession planning practice. Key features include: the beneficiary’s direct exposure to inheritance tax (and, in Ireland, Capital Acquisitions Tax), creditors and family law claims; their full control over the inherited asset; and the absence of ongoing trustees’ powers or fiduciary oversight. Practitioners often contrast direct inheritance with discretionary or life-interest trusts, liferent arrangements (in Scotland), or other succession vehicles when advising on asset protection, tax planning and capacity issues. Usage and underlying principles are broadly consistent across the four jurisdictions, subject to differing domestic succession and tax regimes.

A type of ‘non-bank lender’ or ‘shadow bank’ structured typically as a closed-ended fund with a partnership'>limited partnership structure that provides loans to non-consumers including SMEs.

Law360, London: Direct Line Group has been ordered by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to review five years of claims records to help the regulator determine whether the insurer has been underpaying customers.