The Decommissioning Relief Deed (DRD) is a contract between the UK government and a 'Qualifying Company' which operates in oil and gas exploration and production on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) or is associated with such a company. It aims to provide certainty on the tax relief a Qualifying Company will receive at the time offshore oil and gas decommissioning is undertaken and, in certain circumstances, may render a payment due from the UK government to the Qualifying Company. The DRD is in a prescribed format published by the UK government and cannot be amended. For more information on decommissioning in the oil and gas sector, see Practice Notes: • Decommissioning—legislative background • Decommissioning—International Law and UK Government Policy • Decommissioning—planning for decommissioning Why is a DRD required in relation to UKCS assets? The special tax regime specific to oil and gas has been subject to frequent changes to both the basis and rate of taxation. Currently, the industry pays special rates of corporation tax on profits derived from

Law360: The Eleventh Circuit on 4 April 2025 revived a defunct aircraft maintenance company's trade secret case against Boeing amid a long-running contract dispute and allowed the company to pursue damages for unjust enrichment after finding it wouldn't be duplicative of the US$2.1m jury award it won at trial in 2020 for its breach of contract claims.

Note: • this Practice Note gives specific guidance on matters proceeding in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) under the provisions set out in CPR 60, CPR PD 60 and the TCC Guide. As these provisions are additional to the general provisions set out elsewhere in the CPR, this Practice Note should be read in conjunction with general guidance on preparing for and attending trial including that in Trial—overview which, in turn, links through to detailed guidance on specific aspects of preparing for and attending trials • shorter and flexible trials schemes—claims started on or after 1 October 2015 in the TCC may be suitable for and/or be subject to one or both of the schemes operating under CPR PD 57AB, namely the shorter trials scheme and/or the flexible trials scheme. For more information on these schemes, see Practice Notes: Business and Property Division—shorter trials scheme and Business and Property Division—flexible trials scheme • electronic working—for information on electronic working in the TCC, see Practice Note: TCC—starting a claim—High Court or County Court?—Electronic working and filing of documents • multi-track—all TCC

This Practice Note is intended to provide advice to employers on how to spot problems with insolvent contractors and how the employer can take steps to protect itself in advance. For details on the steps to take in the event the contractor has become insolvent see: Employer steps to take if contractor becomes insolvent—checklist. Spotting the early symptoms of contractor insolvency • most importantly an employer needs to keep alert to the contractor's financial status • the employer should take heed of ongoing rumours about the contractor's financial position (either in the press or by word of mouth) • look out for official announcements to shareholders/the stock market (for example, profit warnings) • keep aware of non-payment or late payment of sub-contractors by the contractor • note any late or partial commitment to key supply contracts by the contractor • be aware of any redundancies or inexplicable removal of personnel from the project by the contractor • removal of materials or plant from the site • any reduced resourcing by the contractor on site • note

A no loss defence often arises due to the nature of the contractual matrix on construction projects. For example, a contract may be novated, the employer may not own the land on which the works are carried out, or the development may be sold after completion of the works before defects are discovered. These scenarios (and others) can all potentially provoke a no loss defence from a contractor or consultant, alleged to be in breach of its contract. What is the no loss defence? Damages for breach of contract are compensatory in nature and are intended to put the claimant into the position it would have been in had the contract been performed as intended. If no loss is incurred following a breach of contract, then there will be no damages awarded or only nominal damages awarded. See Practice Note: Contractual damages—general principles. If the contract breach does cause loss, but the loss is suffered by a third party, the defendant will not be liable to that third party under that contract, because of

Local Government analysis: Islington Council’s play and youth service has won a contract to run the six adventure playgrounds they manage, forming a not-for-profit community interest company (CIC) and breaking away from local authority control. But what are CICs, how are they connected with social enterprise, and what can they offer that charities can’t? Tom McNeil, associate at Bates Wells Braithwaite, takes a closer look.

These Training Materials provide an introduction to exemption clauses and cover the basic areas of relevance for commercial lawyers when drafting and reviewing clauses excluding and limiting liability. They include template PowerPoint slides and associated notes for use by a trainer when outlining the law relating to the limitation of liability in the context of the drafting and negotiating of business-to-business contracts by commercial lawyers. Topics covered include: exemption clauses, construction, types of breach, types of loss, statutory controls under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Misrepresentation Act 1967, methods of excluding and limiting liability, third parties and frequently asked questions. At the end of each section of the presentation there is a ‘Top tips’ slide and speaker notes which provide practical suggestions and recaps on the

When does the concept of apparent or ostensible authority arise? In the context of contract law, 'authority' is the power an agent has to affect the legal relations of its principal. Where such authority exists, the agent will have the power to bind the principal to contract. Where such authority is absent, or the relevant act is outside the scope of the relevant authority, the contract will not be binding upon the principal. A person (A) may be bound by a contract entered into by another (B) with a third party (C) if A, by words or conduct, has represented to C that B has authority to contract on A’s behalf. This is known as the doctrine of apparent or ostensible authority. In summary, Commentary: Authority to bind the company: Boyle and Birds' Company Law [6.13] explains that: ‘…to bind the company under the doctrine

Designating a period of work as an unpaid ‘trial’ does not mean that the individual is not entitled to be paid the national minimum wage; it will depend on whether, in principle, the individual qualifies for the national minimum wage, and whether any of the exclusions apply. A person qualifies for the national minimum wage if they: • are a worker • are working, or ordinarily works, in the UK under their contract, and • have ceased to be of compulsory school age A ‘worker’ is an individual who has entered into or works under (or, where the employment has ceased, worked under): • a contract of employment (limb a), or • any other contract, whether express or implied and (if it is express) whether oral or in writing, whereby the individual undertakes to do or perform personally any work or services for another party to the contract whose status is not by virtue of the contract

This Practice Note looks at where liability lies following an assignment of the term of a lease or the reversion. It considers the differing liabilities of tenants, landlords and guarantors in relation to both ‘old tenancies’ and ‘new tenancies’. Although it does not directly cover liability as between the assignor and assignee (eg the seller and buyer), the principles outlined in this Practice Note sit behind the drafting of any contract for the sale of property involving leases and govern how the parties should approach drafting and negotiating key topics such as apportionment of rents (including service charge), arrears of rents, outstanding rent reviews, etc—see: Buyer’s practical contract negotiation collection. Preliminary considerations When determining a party’s liability for lease covenants after the assignment of a lease or its reversion, there are two preliminary considerations: • is the liability personal to that party—if it is, then the liability will not bind that party’s successor(s) in title (see Personal covenants below) • if the liability is not personal, does it arise under a ‘new tenancy’

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the publication of the 2024 amendments to its Standard Professional Services Contract 2020 (SPSC 2020) and the Domestic Professional Services Contract 2020 (DPSC 2020). These contracts are available to purchase as paper copies, with digital versions expected to be published in October 2024.

For information on workplace issues in light of the fast-changing position in relation to coronavirus (COVID-19), see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—issues for employers [Archived]. For information on the doctrine of frustration generally, see: • Practice Note: Distinguishing dismissal from other forms of termination, in particular the section titled: Operation of law, including frustration • Harvey AII[402]–[406.02]: Frustration The doctrine of frustration is one instance of termination by operation of law: where, without the fault of either party, some supervening event occurs which was not reasonably foreseeable at the time when the contract was made, and which renders further performance of the contract either totally impossible or something radically different from what the parties bargained for, then the contract is forthwith discharged by operation of law. The superseding event must be one that was unforeseen and not catered for in the contract. The precise terms of each contract must therefore be considered in order to ascertain which circumstances were, or