Law360, London: Sanctioned Russian-Israeli banker Mikhail Fridman was not validly served at his London mansion with a claim in an US$11m dispute over a loan notes investment because he was banned from the UK, the Court of Appeal ruled on 19 February 2026.

Arbitration analysis: The French Cour de Cassation confirmed that the friendship between an arbitrator and the counsel of one of the parties, revealed in a eulogy written by the arbitrator in memory of the counsel, and in which the arbitrator emphasizes his friendly relationship with the deceased, is such as to raise a reasonable doubt as to the independence and impartiality of the arbitrator. Such friendly ties should have been disclosed by the arbitrator in his declaration of independence and impartiality at the outset of the proceedings. The discovery of a friendly relationship that went beyond the realm of academic sociability between the arbitrator and one of the parties' counsels which was not disclosed justifies setting aside the arbitral award for irregularity in the constitution of the arbitral tribunal pursuant to article 1520 2° of the French Code of Civil Procedure (the ‘CCP’). Written by Flore Poloni, partner at Signature Litigation.

A friendly witness is a witness who is expected to give evidence supportive of the case of the party calling them, and who is not treated as “hostile” or adverse in court. In practice across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, the label is descriptive only and not a defined statutory term. It is used in criminal and civil litigation, arbitration and tribunals.A friendly witness will usually co‑operate with the calling party’s legal team, provide a helpful witness statement or affidavit, and confirm that account in examination‑in‑chief. Counsel will use open, non‑leading questions and will not normally seek the court’s permission to cross‑examine their own witness.The concept is significant for evidential strategy: if a supposedly friendly witness departs materially from their statement or shows bias against the calling party, that party may ask the court to treat the witness as hostile or to permit leading questions. The underlying rules on hostile or adverse witnesses, leading questions and impeachment of credibility are found in evidence legislation and case law in each jurisdiction, but the expression “friendly witness” itself remains an informal, widely understood term among practitioners.

See NGO.

Friends of the Earth and two-co claimants, Doug Paulley and Kevin Jordan say the National Adaptation Programme breaches the Climate Change Act 2008 and unlawfully fails to protect people, property and infrastructure from the foreseeable impacts of climate change. A two-day hearing from 18—19 June 2024 will be held at the High Court.

Friends of the Earth has won a landmark case in the High Court against the government, finding the climate plan proposed by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to be unlawful. The court found the government’s adoption of its Carbon Budget Delivery Plan to be in breach of the Climate Change Act 2008.

The High Court challenge brought by Friends of the Earth (FoE) and two-co claimants, Doug Paulley and Kevin Jordan will be heard in a ‘rolled-up’ hearing on 23—24 July 2024.

A fringe benefit is a non-cash or non-salary benefit provided by an employer to an employee (or sometimes to office-holders, directors or workers) in addition to basic pay. In practice this covers benefits in kind such as company cars, private medical insurance, low‑interest loans, accommodation, share options and certain vouchers or allowances.The term “fringe benefit” is descriptive rather than a defined statutory term, but the underlying concept is regulated mainly through tax and social security legislation. In the UK, the key regime is the income tax and National Insurance treatment of “benefits in kind” under the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 and associated regulations. In Ireland, the comparable framework is the taxation of “benefits-in-kind” and “perquisites” under the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.Across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, usage is broadly consistent: the focus is on whether an employer‑provided benefit has a taxable value and triggers reporting, payroll and compliance obligations (for example P11D in the UK, Forms P11D / P35 in Ireland). Fringe benefits are also relevant in employment contracts, equal pay, discrimination and remuneration policy.

The HMRC Policy paper: Changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme from July 2021 to which you refer states that, from 1 July 2021, the level of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) grant will be reduced and employers will be asked to contribute towards the cost of their furloughed employees’ wages. To be eligible for the grant, the employer must continue to pay its furloughed employees 80% of their wages, up to a cap of £2,500 per month for the time they spend on furlough. As set out in the table in

Arbitration analysis: In Hulley Enterprises Ltd v The Russian Federation [2025] SGHC(I) 19 (Hulley), the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) held that Russia was precluded from asserting state immunity to resist enforcement of arbitral awards rendered by tribunals constituted under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). The court found that the doctrine of transnational issue estoppel applied—even in circumstances where a claim of state immunity had been made, given that the Dutch appellate courts (as the courts of the seat) had already conclusively determined the issues of jurisdiction now before the SICC. This judgment is significant for arbitration practitioners as it affirms the enforceability of investor-state arbitral awards in Singapore, even against sovereign states, where the underlying jurisdictional issues have been finally resolved by competent foreign courts. by Amanda Lees and Jack McNally, King & Wood Mallesons (Singapore and Sydney).

Information Law analysis: On 12 November 2025, the UK Government put the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (CSRB) to Parliament for its first reading. The CSRB is intended to improve the UK’s cyber defences and better protect services that the population of the UK relies on on a daily basis by introducing stronger security obligations and ensuring that critical infrastructure providers adopt proactive measures against evolving cyber threats. It will build on the existing rules in the UK Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 (NIS Regulations), SI 2018/506 expanding the scope to new categories of providers and creating a framework for supplementary legislation and codes of practice to create a layered and flexible approach to regulating cybersecurity in the future. Although the Bill has now had its first reading in Parliament, it still needs to undergo several additional stages until we see the final version that receives Royal Assent and becomes an Act of Parliament. Written by Matthew Buckwell, a senior associate at Bird & Bird LLP with expertise in cybersecurity, telecommunications and data protection.

Law360, London: Finance companies are enlisting white-collar lawyers to draw up plans for tapping back into Russia if the US breaks with its Western allies and eases sanctions, although experts warn that unpredictable political winds mean there are as many risks as opportunities.