An amended pleading is a statement of case that has been formally changed after it was first served or lodged, to correct errors or to update the facts, legal basis or remedies sought. It allows a party to refine or expand its case as matters develop, for example after disclosure, new evidence, or a change in legal strategy.In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, amendment of pleadings in civil proceedings is governed mainly by the Civil Procedure Rules, which set out when a party may amend without the court’s permission and when an application and draft amended pleading are required. Amendments may include adding or substituting parties or causes of action, subject to limitation rules.In Scotland, similar concepts apply to written pleadings, with amendments regulated by the Rules of the Court of Session and sheriff court rules, typically requiring leave of the court. In Ireland, the Rules of the Superior Courts and Circuit Court Rules perform a similar function.Across all four jurisdictions, the court controls amendments to prevent prejudice, delay or abuse of process, and may impose conditions or costs consequences when granting permission to amend.

Dispute Resolution analysis: the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is in the process of making significant amendments to a number of the pre-action protocols and will be introducing a new debt protocol. We understand that it is likely that the following protocols will come into force on 6 April 2015: Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols, professional negligence, judicial review, mortgage arrears, possession claims by social landlords (rent arrears), housing disrepair, personal injury and clinical disputes.

This Practice Note provides guidance on the procedure to be adopted to amend a matrimonial or civil partnership application, file a supplemental application or make a further application, in matrimonial or civil partnership proceedings issued on or after 6 April 2022 under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020). In this context, a distinction is drawn between nullity proceedings and matrimonial and civil partnership proceedings other than nullity proceedings. For the procedure in relation to proceedings issued prior to this date, see Practice Note: Amended, supplemental and further petitions (pre-DDSA 2020). Amendments have been made to Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt 7 as to the procedure for applications in matrimonial and civil partnership proceedings as a consequence of DDSA 2020, and to FPR 2010, PD 7A by the Practice Direction Update No 2 of 2022. For an introduction to the wider provisions of DDSA 2020, see Practice Note: Introduction to the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. The

The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020) came into force on 6 April 2022. Proceedings issued by the court on or after 6 April 2022 will be subject to the provisions of DDSA 2020 and the changes to procedure under the amended Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955. For further information, see Practice Note: Introduction to the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 and Amended, supplemental and further applications in proceedings issued on or after 6 April 2022 (post-DDSA 2020) Proceedings issued by the court on or before 5 April 2022 will continue to progress under the pre-DDSA 2020 law, whether submitted on the digital system or via paper forms. Such applications will not be impacted by the coming into force of DDSA 2020, nor the consequential changes to procedure. This document covers the position for proceedings issued prior to 6 April 2022. Legislative changes have been made as a consequence of DDSA 2020, including to FPR 2010, Pt 7. To view a historic version of FPR 2010, Pt 7, and

This Practice Note outlines the key significant amendments made to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) regime by Directive 2014/52/EU in 2014. Details on the full regime, as amended, are covered in Practice Note: EU Environmental Impact Assessment Directive—snapshot. Evolution of the EIA regime Environmental impact assessment was originally governed in the EU by Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 , which entered into force on 3 July 1985 with a transposition deadline of 3 July 1988. The 1985 EIA Directive was subject to a series of substantial successive amendments between 1997 and 2009. Following a review of the effectiveness of the regime in 2009, it was decided to codify and consolidate these changes, in the interests of clarity and rationality, into a single text by way of Directive 2011/92/EU (the EU EIA Directive). Directive 2014/52/EU (the 2014 Amending Directive) entered into force on 15 May 2014, and made a number of significant amendments to the EU EIA Directive. The 2014 Amending Directive aimed to: • improve environmental protection • simplify the rules for

Information Law analysis: In the context of a high value piece of litigation alleging deceitful inducement to buy a business, the defendant discovers that the claimant had allegedly forged a line of access to secret information about the defendant from the defendant’s accountants. To what extent is this an arguable case for breach of confidence, and when can such amendments to the defence and a new counter-claim be made? The court decided that the arguments had merit, they could be accommodated within the trial timetable, and the fact that the points were only discovered in the disclosure appear to have excused any issues to do with lateness. Written by Imran Benson, barrister, at Hailsham Chambers.

This Practice Note discusses the key issues involved in amending an existing facility agreement. It discusses: • common reasons for amending a facility agreement • key considerations when amending a facility agreement on a bilateral or syndicated transaction • issues to consider where there are guarantees or security • how to document an amendment, including when to use an amendment letter, amendment agreement or amendment and restatement agreement • common conditions precedent, and • issues relating to fees and expenses This Practice Note does not deal with one-off waivers and consents. For information on waivers and consents, see Practice Note: Waivers and consents. For information on amending security documents, see Practice Note: Amending security documents. For general contract law guidance relating to amending a contract, see Practice Note: Contract variation. Common reasons for amending a facility agreement After a facility agreement has been signed and funding has occurred, the borrower’s circumstances may change and trigger a request for an amendment to the terms of the facility agreement. For example: • the borrower may request

This Checklist sets out points for lawyers (external or in-house) acting for the lender(s) to consider when dealing with a borrower led amendment request. It focuses on requests for permanent amendments rather than one off waiver or consent requests. For information on these, see Practice Note: Waivers and consents. On a syndicated transaction, the borrower will normally make an amendment request in writing to the facility agent. This will typically contain the rationale for requesting the amendment and set out the clauses affected by the amendment, as well as consent thresholds and any snooze and lose provisions—the Loan Market Association (LMA) has published a helpful guide to the amendment process on a syndicated transaction. On a bilateral transaction, an amendment request from the borrower to the lender may be less formal. This Checklist makes reference to provisions in the Loan Market Association investment grade multicurrency term and revolving facilities agreement incorporating backward-looking compounded rates and forward-looking term rates (the LMA Investment Grade Facility Agreement) and Precedent: Facility agreement (term loan): single company borrower—bilateral—with

Ability to vary a planning permission once granted Once planning permission is granted, the development which it authorises must take place in accordance with the conditions it imposes, including any plans referred to in conditions, and any associated legal agreements. See Practice Note: Planning conditions—key points for more information. However, amendments to a consented development are often needed after planning permission is granted. This can be for a number of reasons, for example because unforeseen circumstances arise after grant of the permission, requiring a departure from what is consented, or simply because the process of designing a development is lengthy and usually evolves even after permission is granted, resulting in scheme changes. The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) permits local planning authorities (LPAs) to entertain a number of types of amendments to planning permissions: • applications for variations of conditions attached to a planning permission under TCPA 1990, s 73 • applications for non-material amendments under TCPA 1990, s 96A, and • in England only, once section

A limited company may buy back shares in itself, if certain conditions set out in the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) are met. This is known as a share buyback or a purchase of own shares. In addition to the provisions of CA 2006, there are other rules and guidelines that are relevant to a listed company or an AIM company. In particular, a listed company must have regard to the UK Listing Rules (UKLRs) and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules (DTRs). An AIM company must have regard to the AIM Rules for Companies (AIM Rules), but these do not specifically refer to share buybacks, so AIM Regulation has confirmed that compliance by an AIM company with the UKLRs in relation to share buybacks would represent best practice in most circumstances. An AIM company is also subject to DTR 5. In addition, both types of company may follow institutional investor guidance. The restrictions in CA 2006 relating to share buybacks do not apply to unlimited companies.

This Practice Note considers the costs position where a party amends its statement of case. It provides information on the usual position and the court’s discretion to make a different costs order, where appropriate. For general information on amending a statement of case, see Practice Notes: Amending a statement of case—introduction and Amending a statement of case—permission to amend. Amending a statement of case—usual order as to costs The top of CPR PD 17 provides that a party who applies to amend its statement of case will usually be responsible for the costs of and arising from the amendment. However, the court has the wide range of discretion as to costs and can therefore make a different costs order. The fact that any amendment may incur costs should not be a reason not to seek that amendment. However, a party seeking to amend its statement of case should do so as soon as possible and should therefore not leave doing so until the last minute. Where a party makes an application to amend its

This Practice Note should be considered in conjunction with Practice Notes: Amending a statement of case—introduction, Amending a statement of case—permission to amend and Amending a statement of case—costs recovery. This table focuses on illustrative decisions regarding the court’s general approach to applications to amend statements of case under CPR 17. For cases dealing specifically with the issue of ‘late’ and ‘very late’ amendments’, see Practice Notes: Late amendments to statements of case—the court's approach and Late amendments to statements of case—illustrative decisions. A balancing act Case details and analysis Issues considered Lloyds Development Ltd v Accor Hotelservices UK Ltd [2026] EWHC 2505 (TCC) The amendments considered in this judgment were the defendant’s response to the claimant’s case on causation and the quantum of its alleged loss from making loans to the defendant. The judge described it as a matter where the arguments for allowing or refusing to allow the defendant substantially to amend its defence and counterclaim a few months before trial were finely balanced. Even so, the defendant was allowed to include