What are CCPs and what do they do? A central counterparty (CCP) is a type of financial institution (also known as a clearing house) which facilitates the clearing of both over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and exchange-traded derivatives (ETDs). CCPs are classed as financial market infrastructures (FMIs). A derivative is a type of financial instrument whose value is determined by reference to (and so derived from) an underlying asset, index, rate, reference point or risk (referred to as the underlying asset or underlying). Derivatives are bi-lateral contracts which involve the transfer of all or part of the risk and reward associated with the underlying from one party to another without the immediate transfer of the underlying itself. The terms of OTC derivatives are agreed directly between the parties (or in some cases arranged through a broker). OTC derivatives can be distinguished from derivatives (usually futures or options) which are traded on public exchanges (exchange traded derivatives or ETDs). The terms of ETDs are specified by the exchanges on which they are traded, not by the parties. ETDs are, generally,

This week's edition of PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights brings you key updates across personal injury and clinical negligence practice, including Court Funds Office interest rate reductions following the base rate cut and developments in online and digital procedure. We review the implications of the Mental Health Act 2025 for psychiatric injury and clinical negligence claims, alongside important employer’s liability decisions on COVID-19 causation and employment status in a mesothelioma case. We also cover interim payment rulings where causation remains in dispute, together with costs decisions highlighting the limitations of the fixed recoverable costs regime, including when standard costs may be recoverable following Part 8 and Part 7 procedural disputes. We also feature our specialised Quantum Database and case submission Portal. In addition, we have our usual round-up of other news, cases, webinars and New Law Journal articles of interest.

Key information Critical Raw Materials Act Title Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials and amending Regulation (EU) 168/2013, Regulation (EU) 2018/858, Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 and Regulation (EU) 2019/1020Note that corrections have been made to the Act on 3 June 2024 and 1 October 2024, as reflected in the consolidated version Publication in the OJEU 3 May 2024 Entry into force 23 May 2024, subject to the following exceptions:—Articles 40 and 41 (amending Regulation (EU) 168/2013 and Regulation (EU) 2018/858, both on vehicle market surveillance, respectively) will apply from 24 May 2028 Subject matter Critical raw materials; Net-zero technologies; Net-zero industry; Industrial decarbonisation Introduction and context Critical raw materials are of high economic importance for Europe while being also highly vulnerable to supply disruptions. A number of critical raw materials are closely linked to clean technologies and therefore critical to the green transition. For example,

This Practice Note covers the specific time periods for those personal injury cases which fall outside of the usual three-year limitation period. The guidance considers a variety of non-standard accident circumstances, including accidents abroad, accidents on aircraft, boat or international train, Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority claims, Motor Insurers’ Bureau claims, claims brought under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (FAA 1976) and claims by the armed forces and actions brought under the Human Rights Act 1998. For a helpful table setting out the different limitation periods, see Practice Note: Time limits under the Limitation Act 1980—personal injury claims—Exceptions to the general rule. Accidents abroad Pursuant to the Foreign Limitation Periods Act 1984 (FLPA 1984), where a court in England or Wales is applying the law of a foreign country, the relevant foreign limitation period will apply unless its application would conflict with public policy (FLPA 1984, s 2(1)). Pursuant to FLPA 1984, s 2(2), the application of a foreign limitation period will conflict with public policy to the extent that

This week's edition of Financial Services weekly highlights includes: FOS publishes plans and budget for 2026/27, as award limits rise; ESMA calls on firms to prepare for consolidated tapes go-live; WFE sets out areas of focus for 2026; plus dates for your diary.

This week's edition of Financial Services weekly highlights includes: PRA sends Dear CEO letters to UK deposit takers and international banks; EBA issues Opinion on interaction between output floor and Pillar 2 requirements; UNEP FI and WWF publish report mapping rise in nature-related banking regulations globally; plus dates for your diary over the coming week.

This week's edition of EU Law weekly highlights includes analyses on the Court of Justice’s decision, an appeal against the General Court’s judgment in Case T-74/21, imposing fines on Teva and Cephalon for entering into a pay-for-delay agreement, the European Commission considering changes to how products regulated under EU sectoral product safety laws are covered by the EU AI law, OpenAI’s ChatGPT surpassing the threshold for its designation as a ‘systemic risk’ search engine under the EU Digital Services Act (EU DSA) and the General Court heard Opera's challenge to the Commission over its refusal to designate Microsoft's Edge as a digital 'gatekeeper' under the EU Digital Markets Act. In addition this week, the Commission signed the UN Convention against Cybercrime on behalf of the EU, published preliminary findings against Meta, the provider of Facebook and Instagram, and against TikTok under the EU DSA, to assess whether both companies may have breached their transparency obligations, the Council of the EU has given final approval to a compulsory licensing regulation allowing certain intellectual property rights to be used without holders' consent during crises, adopted a revising directive on European Works Councils, the European Parliament adopted new measures to prevent microplastic pollution from plastic pellets losses throughout the supply chain and adopted the Commission’s proposed soil monitoring law to achieve healthy soils across the EU by 2050.

This week's edition of Financial Services weekly highlights includes: a News Analysis on proposals and next steps on the reform of the SM&CR, the PRA's reissue of 2024 O-SII buffer rates following the FPC framework update, and a judgment alert in the case of AXA France Iard S.A. v Santander Cards UK Ltd; plus dates for your diary over the coming week.

This week's edition of EU Law weekly highlights includes analyses on big tech companies starting to face private litigation to force compliance with the EU Digital Services Act and the enforcement of the EU AI Act proving a struggle for the bloc's Member States. In addition this week, the European Consumer Organisation reported that the European Parliament's Digital Omnibus on AI narrows consumer protections, the European Data Protection Board published a one-stop-shop case digest on the legal basis of 'legitimate interest', the Parliament voted to reject the European Commission's proposal to extend an interim derogation from ePrivacy Directive, the Council of the EU has given final approval to a regulation establishing an EU Talent Pool and the revised Package Travel Directive, the European Commission announced that the Entry/Exit System (EES) will become fully operational on 10 April 2026 and proposed an amendment to the Market Stability Reserve, the Parliament adopted new measures to reduce pollution in both groundwater and surface waters, the Council has given the final stamp to a new EU law harmonising key aspects of insolvency rules, the Commission announced that it has initiated an investigation into Snapchat’s compliance with child protection rules under the EU DSA and found that Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos are in breach of the EU DSA for failing to protect minors from exposure to pornographic content on their platforms.

This week's edition of EU Law weekly highlights includes analysis on the Court of Justice’s decision where the operator of an online marketplace on which an advertisement was placed was found not to have complied with its obligations under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, Myriad wins Unified Patent Court ruling as GXD-Bio breast cancer patent is revoked and the EU governments aim to reach a negotiating position by late March or early April 2026 on amendments to the EU’s AI Act following initial legislative discussions. In addition this week, the European Commission published a summary and the responses to the consultation on EU Digital Markets Act review, consults on the revisions to the EU REACH linked to restricted CMR substances, launched calls for evidence to inform the development of the European Ocean Act and on an initiative titled ‘Towards European open digital ecosystems’, seeking feedback on how to strengthen the EU open-source sector, announced that the new EU PFAS monitoring rules for drinking water have taken effect and the Parliament’s Transport and Tourism Committee voted to maintain and strengthen EU air passenger rights, rejecting Council of the EU’s proposals to weaken compensation rules.

This week's edition of EU Law weekly highlights includes analyses on the impact of the Revised EU Product Liability Directive on the automated vehicles sector, what legal teams need to know about Deepseek AI, the challenges to designate AI models ‘with systemic risk’ under the EU AI Act and the integration of revised Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech online into the framework of the Digital Services Act. In addition this week, the Commission published the first of its planned omnibus simplification packages, unveiled the Clean Industrial Deal and Affordable Energy Action Plan, launched calls for evidence evaluating the EU legislation on plant variety rights and the Cosmetic Products Regulation, and the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change published a report recommending actions to scale up carbon dioxide removals in the EU.

This edition of Employment weekly highlights includes: (1) draft regulations removing the statutory limit on unfair dismissal compensatory awards, (2) government consultations on employment status reform, and on reforming the whistleblowing framework and introducing a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) financial rewards scheme for reporting economic crime, (3) updated Home Office sponsor guidance, (4) EAT decisions addressing mental health in harassment claims, the need to avoid neurotypical assumptions when assessing an autistic claimant, HR involvement in dismissal decisions, and amendment of pleaded whistleblowing claims at preliminary hearings, (5) confirmation of the government commitment to legislate on non-compete clauses, (6) analysis by Matthew Banham and Sara Thomas Arano at Seyfarth Shaw LLP of the FCA’s approach to non-financial misconduct, (7) amended EAT rules for appeals concerning trade union workplace access, (8) publication of the November 2026 edition of Industrial Relations Law Reports (IRLR), (9) our updated content for the new duty to prevent third party harassment, and the expansion of the duty to prevent sexual harassment to take ‘all reasonable steps’, (10) what’s coming up in the employment law world within the next few weeks, and (11) other updates and resources of interest to employment practitioners.