A foreign divorce is a dissolution of marriage obtained outside the UK or Ireland, typically by court order or equivalent authority in another state. In legal practice, the issue is whether and when that overseas divorce is recognised so that the parties are treated as divorced for purposes such as remarriage, financial remedies, succession, pensions and immigration.In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, statutory rules on recognition are mainly found in the Family Law Act 1986, supplemented by common law and retained EU law for certain historic cases. In Scotland, recognition is governed by the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985 and related provisions. In Ireland, foreign divorces are dealt with principally under the Domicile and Recognition of Foreign Divorces Act 1986 and subsequent legislation.Core requirements typically concern: (i) the validity of the divorce in the country where it was granted; (ii) jurisdictional connection (e.g. domicile, habitual residence, nationality); and (iii) procedural fairness and public policy. Usage and concepts are broadly consistent across the four jurisdictions, but the detailed statutory tests and the impact of past EU instruments and international conventions differ and must be checked carefully in each jurisdiction.

What does this Practice Note cover? This Practice Note provides an overview of foreign exchange (FX) derivatives and their role in currency hedging. It examines the common types of FX derivatives—such as FX forwards, FX swaps, and FX options—highlighting their uses and the distinctions between deliverable and non-deliverable instruments. This Practice Note also outlines the documentation frameworks commonly used in FX derivatives markets, including the International Foreign Exchange Master Agreement (IFEMA), International Foreign Exchange and Currency Option (IFXCO), the International Currency Options Market (ICOM) and the Cross Product Master Agreement (CPMA) agreements. Additionally, it explores the regulatory landscape, the FX Global Code, and the emerging technologies in the FX derivatives markets. What is a FX derivative? A foreign exchange (FX) derivative is a type of derivative whose payoff depends on the FX rates of two or more currencies. The market for FX is measured in trillions of dollars, and includes a substantial amount of FX derivative contracts. Majority of all FX trades involve the US dollar, which is considered to be the world's premier reserve

CASE HUB NOTE—appeal lodged before the General Court in Case T- 84/22 ARCHIVED—this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the decision of 2 December 2021; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline, commentary, and related cases. Case facts Outline European Commission Article 101 TFEU investigation into three cartels in the Spot Foreign Exchange market for 11 markets (AT.40135). The cartels involved the sharing of confidential information and the occasional coordination of trading strategies. Latest development On 2 December 2021, the Commission issued a second infringement decision after Barclays, RBS and HSBC settled with the Commission and acknowledged their involvement in a third cartel (Commission’s 2021 decision). Fines totalling €261m were imposed. The Commission also imposed fines totalling €83m on Credit Suisse under the ordinary procedure. For the ‘Sterling Lads’ cartel, fines imposed on each bank were: • UBS–€0 (as a result of being granted immunity)• Barclays–€54,348,000 (including a 30% reduction for leniency and a 10% reduction for settling)• RBS–€32,472,000 (including a 50% reduction for leniency and a 10% reduction for settling)•

For information on the tax and estate planning regimes of other jurisdictions, see: International Q&A guides—Private Client—overview. Conflict of laws and tax The criteria which states use to levy taxes on individuals and assets can vary widely, and include common law domicile, deemed domicile, applicable law, civil law domicile, tax residence, habitual residence, nationality or situs of either the donor (or the deceased) on the one hand or the donee (or heir or beneficiary) on the other. These differences can create a misalignment between the tax systems of different jurisdictions, resulting in some assets not being taxed at all, while some assets are taxed twice or multiple times. For example: • the UK taxes all UK-situs assets and the worldwide assets of someone dying with the status of a long-term UK resident for the purposes of section 6A of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984)—see Practice Note: IHT—the charge on death • Ireland taxes Irish-situs assets and the worldwide assets of someone dying Irish resident or ordinarily resident because they die within three years of being

From 6 April 2025, all UK residents are taxed on the arising basis of assessment on their worldwide income and gains. For details of the remittance basis of assessment which was available to non-UK domiciled individuals prior to 6 April 2025, see Non-domiciliaries and the remittance basis—overview [Archived]. Foreign income and gains regime from 6 April 2025 From 6 April 2025, a new four-year regime will be available providing 100% relief on eligible foreign income and gains (FIG) for qualifying new residents in the UK in their first four years of tax residence. Individuals with foreign employment income who are eligible for the FIG regime may also be able to claim relief in respect of their foreign employment income under the revised rules for Overseas Workday Relief (OWR). For information on the OWR regime from 6 April, see Practice Note: Overseas Workday Relief from 6 April 2025. Claims must be made for the reliefs to be available and can be made for the 2025–26 tax year onwards. Individuals who do not

Corporate Crime analysis: On 8 July 2025, convictions were secured against the three men responsible for the March 2024 arson attack on an East London warehouse containing humanitarian aid and technology destined for Ukraine. The men were acting at the direction of the Wagner Group, a proxy for Russian state interests, and one of the three is understood to be the first person to be convicted of offences under the National Security Act 2023 (NSA 2023). The NSA 2023 has also made headlines by permitting for the introduction of polygraph evidence in relation to individuals who are subject to a Prevention and Investigation Measures notice. Gavin Irwin discusses the wide-ranging powers contained in the NSA 2023 and the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS).

Arbitration analysis: The English Court of Appeal held that a finding by the courts of the Netherlands that Russia had agreed in writing to submit the dispute to arbitration had created an issue estoppel. The fact that Russia had agreed in writing to submit the dispute to arbitration was established by the foreign judgment and it followed that the exception in section 9 of the State Immunity Act 1978 applied. Written by Jennifer Haywood, barrister at Serle Court.

This Checklist aims to provide practitioners with a route map through the issues that may arise and require consideration when dealing with foreign law in a dispute. In the form of a table, it examines some initial foreign law considerations for practitioners and then goes on to consider issues of foreign law which may arise during and after proceedings. Initial considerations Consideration Guidance Further information What is the definition of foreign law? Foreign law is regarded as the law of any country which is not the law of England and Wales. Note, whether Scotland and Ireland may be considered foreign law is dependent on the court in which proceedings are taking place. Foreign law—a guide for dispute resolution practitioners, specifically main section: What is foreign law? When will foreign law be relevant? When foreign law is relevant to a dispute will vary from case to case. Factors to watch out for may include:—references to foreign law in a contract—location of the dispute—location of event which gave rise to the dispute Foreign law—a guide for dispute

Dispute Resolution analysis: The court held that the defendants, having pleaded Swiss and UAE law, were required to particularise the specific foreign law principles relied upon before any expert evidence would be permitted. They had failed to comply with an earlier case management order requiring such particularisation and had not appealed or sought to vary it. The court rejected the argument that the claimant should instead plead foreign law first, holding that sequencing is a matter of case management and that the burden lies on the party seeking to displace the presumption of similarity. The Supreme Court’s decision in FS Cairo (Nile Plaza) LLC v Brownlie did not constrain that discretion. Although the court could have excluded reliance on Swiss and UAE law altogether, it granted the defendants a short, final opportunity to particularise, failing which the foreign law issues would fall away.

Law360, London: The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) said in a first-of-its-kind ruling released on 3 September 2026 that it has banned a registered foreign lawyer who repeatedly used artificial intelligence (AI) to generate inaccurate case citations.

This Practice Note considers the principles of foreign law when being applied by the courts of England and Wales (English courts) to determine a dispute. It explains what is meant by ‘foreign law’ and considers the relevance of foreign law in English court proceedings. Also considered are the date at which the foreign law is to be ascertained, that foreign law is a question of fact in the English courts, the requirement to plead any foreign law relied on, the impact of foreign law when dealing with disclosure, adducing evidence as to foreign law, the impact of foreign law when determining interest, the impact of foreign law when determining summary judgment or strike out applications and considerations during case management. Note, many of the issues addressed in this Practice Note will not be applicable in other countries. For example, the issue of foreign law may be regarded as a matter of law rather than a matter of fact or the foreign court may apply the foreign law without a party pleading it in

This Practice Note provides an insight into considerations and issues that may arise when dealing with evidence (documents) and disclosure in cross-border proceedings in which a foreign law will have an impact. For information on all aspects of foreign law, see: Applicable law—foreign law—overview. In addition to foreign law considerations, the general rules for disclosure will also be applicable. For guidance, see: • Disclosure—overview • Disclosure Scheme (Business & Property Division)—overview • Inspection—overview • Specific disclosure and specific inspection—overview • Privilege and without prejudice communications—overview Foreign laws and disclosure The issue of whether disclosure is required or whether inspection should be provided is one for the lex fori, ie the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were commenced. This is because the processes of disclosure and inspection are procedural, as explained by the Court of Appeal in Bank Mellat v HM Treasury (2019). For proceedings in the courts of England and Wales (English courts), the procedural laws of England and Wales will be applied. However, that does not obviate the need for understanding the local