For the purposes of the Local Government Act 1894 (LGA 1894), the expression 'ecclesiastical charity' includes a charity, the endowment of which is held for some one or more of the purposes set out in LGA 1894, s 75(2) thereof.

Ecclesiastical law describes the body of rules, courts and procedures governing the internal affairs of churches, especially the Church of England and other Christian denominations. In legal practice, it commonly arises in matters such as church governance, clergy discipline, doctrine and liturgy, parish reorganisation, and consecrated land and buildings (including churchyards and burial rights). In England and Wales, ecclesiastical law largely concerns the Church of England and is derived from a mix of statute, Measures of the General Synod (with parliamentary approval), canons and case law. Church courts exercise jurisdiction, for example in faculty proceedings relating to alterations to consecrated buildings and churchyards. In Scotland, ecclesiastical law mainly operates as denominational or internal church law (e.g. the Church of Scotland) and is generally treated as part of private law, distinct from state law. Northern Ireland follows a similar pattern to England and Wales for the Church of Ireland and other denominations, though without an established church. In Ireland, ecclesiastical law is predominantly the internal law of religious bodies, subject to the Constitution, statute and general principles such as public policy and employment, property and charity law.

STOP PRESS: This content is being updated in light of the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021, SI 2021/745. Brexit 11 pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 marked the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period entered into following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. At this point in time (referred to in UK law as ‘IP completion day’), key transitional arrangements came to an end and significant changes began to take effect across the UK’s legal regime. Recovery of testing costs The Office for Product Safety & Standards (Safety & Standards) is the market surveillance authority for the purposes of the Ecodesign regulations. The principal method for identifying breaches of applicable implementing measures

STOP PRESS: This content is being updated in light of the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021, SI 2021/745. Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products Regulations 2010 In Great Britain (GB) and Northern Ireland, the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products Regulations 2010 (the ‘Ecodesign Regulations 2010’) are the underpinning legislation for this regime. However, there are differences in how they apply in GB and Northern Ireland. The Ecodesign Regulations 2010 affect: • manufacturers of energy-related products and components • their authorised representatives, and • importers of energy-related products They prohibit placing on the market, or putting into service an energy-related product unless it: • complies with an applicable implementing measure • is the subject of a declaration of conformity, and • displays the appropriate conformity marking for the GB and/ or NI markets as appropriate The regulations establish a presumption that a product complies if it displays the relevant UK marking. Affixing a UK marking to an energy-related product is an offence if it could mislead a person to believe that an energy-related

STOP PRESS: This content is being updated in light of the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021, SI 2021/745. Brexit 11 pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 marked the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period entered into following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. At this point in time (referred to in UK law as ‘IP completion day’), key transitional arrangements came to an end and significant changes began to take effect

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy has announced that Commission Regulation EU/2024/1834, establishing ecodesign requirements for industrial fans, entered into application on 24 July 2026, replacing the previous 2011 regulation. The regulation sets revised energy efficiency thresholds for fans used in industrial processes and building heating, cooling and ventilation systems. It also introduces upgraded information requirements, including data on fan performance at partial operating capacity, alongside rules on spare parts availability and access to repair information for professional repairers. EU electricity consumption from industrial fans is estimated to be 31 TWh per year lower by 2030 compared to a scenario without ecodesign requirements, with annual savings for consumers and businesses estimated at €4 billion by 2030.

CASE HUB ARCHIVED—this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the judgment of 21 April 2020; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline and commentary. Case facts Outline An appeal by Ecolab Inc against the Competition and Markets Authority’s decision of 7 October prohibiting the completed acquisition by Ecolab Inc of The Holchem Group Limited and the complete divestment of The Holchem Group Limited (ie to unwind the transaction. Latest development On 21 April 2020, the CAT issued its judgment in which it dismissed the appeal in its entirety. Parties • Ecolab Inc. (Ecolab), headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a US-based global provider of water, hygiene and energy technologies and services to the food, energy, healthcare, industrial and hospitality markets.• Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Background The transaction On 30 November 2018, Ecolab acquired Holchem. The transaction was announced on 5 December 2018.The CMA’s investigation On 24 December 2018, the CMA served an initial enforcement order under section 72(2) of the Enterprise Act 2002 on Ecolab. The CMA then launched its phase 1

CASE HUB NOTE—appeal lodged by Ecolab before the CAT (1334/4/12/19) See further: timeline. Case facts Outline UK merger investigation into the completed acquisition by Ecolab Inc. of The Holchem Group Limited. The transaction involves horizontal overlaps in markets for cleaning chemicals for businesses that manufacture food, drink and dairy products. Latest developments On 7 October 2019, the CMA issued its final report in its phase 2 investigation, finding that the transaction has resulted, or may be expected to result, in an SLC in the market for cleaning products and services. To remedy the SLC, the CMA decided that the most effective remedy is the complete divestment of The Holchem Group Limited (ie, to unwind the transaction). Parties Ecolab Inc. (Ecolab), headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a US-based global provider of water, hygiene and energy technologies and services to the food, energy, healthcare, industrial and hospitality markets. The Holchem Group Limited (Holchem) is a UK-based supplier of hygiene and cleaning products and services for the food and beverage, foodservice and hospitality industries. Holchem is based

1. What is the applicable legislation? From a regional perspective, foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is governed by the ECOWAS Common Investment Code 2018 (Investment Code 2018) adopted by Supplementary Act in December 2018, as well as the investment laws and regulations of the ECOWAS Member States. The Investment Code 2018 aims to harmonise investment regimes across the ECOWAS Member States. It builds on the earlier ECOWAS Supplementary Act A/SA.3/12/08, which remains relevant as a foundational statute, which remains relevant as a foundational statute. The Investment Code 2018 establishes more specific procedures and provides more comprehensive guidelines. Still, the Investment Code 2018 does not itself have immediate legal effect for foreign investors. Instead, each ECOWAS Member State is responsible for implementing the provisions of the Investment Code 2018 in its respective jurisdiction by incorporating the provisions and principles of the Investment Code 2018 in its domestic laws.. In addition, existing multinational or bilateral investment treaties between individual ECOWAS Member States and non-ECOWAS

NOTE—to see whether notification thresholds in ECOWAS and throughout the world are met, see Where to Notify. 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the ECOWAS merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in ECOWAS? The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional body constituted by 12 member states (being, Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo). Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger withdrew from ECOWAS effective 29 January 2025. In May 2019, ECOWAS introduced a supra-national competition statute for its member states. The framework for the regional merger control regime was established by the Supplementary Act A/SA.1/12/08 on Community Competition Rules and the Modalities of Their Application within ECOWAS (Competition Rules Act 2008). In parallel, ECOWAS issued the Supplementary Act A/SA.2/12/08 on the Establishment, Functions and Operation of the Regional Competition Authority for ECOWAS (ERCA Act 2008), which

In recent years, there have been growing calls for the government to legislate further on economic crime in order to discourage criminals from laundering money in the UK. The conflict in Ukraine acted as a catalyst for the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (EC(TE)A 2022), which forms part of the UK government’s response to the conflict. The government fast-tracked the Bill through Parliament, with the Bill passing all stages in five Parliamentary sitting days. The objective of EC(TE)A 2022 is to prevent the UK’s property market from being used to safeguard, conceal or launder the proceeds of crime and wealth, to enable greater transparency of the ultimate owners of properties and assets held in the UK and to make it easier for enforcement authorities to strip owners of unlawfully obtained assets. This is complemented by discrete provisions making it easier for persons and organisations to be designated under sanctions under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA 2018) and the enforcement of financial sanctions breaches. For information

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. It explores the provisions of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA 2023) which strengthened the UK’s response to economic crime by facilitating the investigation and enforcement of economic crime in the UK. It highlights the changes to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002) relating to the seizure and forfeiture of cryptoassets, defences against money laundering offences and information orders, the expansion of the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) powers, the ability to impose director disqualification for those designated under sanctions regulations and the long-awaited creation of a corporate offence of failure to prevent fraud and expansion of corporate criminal liability for economic crimes. On 26 October 2023, ECCTA 2023 received Royal Assent. The Act aims to strengthen the UK’s fight against economic crime. The ECCTA 2023 is made up of six Parts: • Companies House reform—Part 1 of the Act contains a substantive package of proposals enhancing the role