This Practice Note provides an overview of the Court of Justice of the European Union, its organisation and powers. Judicial bodies of the Court of Justice of the EU The Court of Justice of the EU (sometimes referred to as the CJEU) consists of the Court of Justice and the General Court (it also included the Civil Service Tribunal until its closure in September 2016). These courts have different jurisdictions and follow slightly different procedures, as outlined below. The Court of Justice Jurisdiction The Court of Justice has jurisdiction to determine: • references for preliminary rulings under Article 267 TFEU. Regulation 2024/2019, amending Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the EU, which became applicable on 1 October 2024, set out provisions on the transfer from the Court of Justice to the General Court of part of the jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings (see The General Court below). All references for preliminary rulings are initially submitted to the Court of Justice which establishes whether they

This Practice Note provides an overview of the European Commission, its composition and powers. The Commission is the EU institution that has the right to submit legislative proposals (right of initiative) and important executive powers in policies such as competition and external trade. It is the main executive body of the EU, manages the EU budget and is formed by the College of Commissioners from the Member States. The Commission supervises the implementation of Union law and respect for the Treaties by the Member States; it also negotiates international agreements on behalf of the EU. Legal basis Articles 17 and 18 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), Articles 234, 244 to 250, 290 and 291 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and the Treaty Establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities (‘Merger Treaty’). Composition and legal status Composition The Treaty of Lisbon prescribes that the membership of the Commission, from 1 November 2014, must represent two-thirds of the number of Member States. In 2013,

This Practice Note provides an overview of the European Council, its composition and powers. Composition and work organisation The European Council, which was granted the EU institution status in 2009, is comprised by the heads of state or government of the EU Member States, the European Council President and the President of the Commission. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is also involved in its work. It convenes twice every six months by its President,

This Practice Note provides an overview of the European Parliament, its composition and powers. The European Parliament is one of the EU institutions, which exercises legislative, supervisory and budgetary powers. Composition and organisation The European Parliament is the only EU institution which is directly elected. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected every five years by EU citizens. The number of MEPs elected in each Member State depends on its population: for the 2024–2029 legislative term the MEPs are 720. The European Parliament is required to adopt its Rules of Procedures, which govern its organisation and operational rules, and the statute setting out the rules on the performance of MEPs’ duties. In the European Parliament, MEPs are grouped by political affiliation rather than by nationality. The President of the

Introduction The Supreme Court Rules 2024 (SCR) were enacted by the Supreme Court Rules 2024, SI 2024/949. They revoke and replace (with transitional provisions) the Supreme Court Rules 2009 (SCR 2009). This Practice Note highlights the principal changes effected by the SCR. For detailed guidance to the operation of the SCR, see the following Practice Notes: • Supreme Court—role, structure and powers—on or after 2 December 2024 • Supreme Court—the portal, filing and service—on or after 2 December 2024 • Supreme Court—how to apply for permission and how to respond—on or after 2 December 2024 • Supreme Court—permission to appeal—on or after 2 December 2024 • Supreme Court—starting and preparation for the appeal—on or after 2 December 2024 • Supreme Court—documents for appeal hearing—on or after 2 December 2024 • Supreme Court—the appeal hearing and decision—on or after 2 December 2024 • Supreme Court—costs, fees and funding—on or after 2 December 2024 Background The SCR were developed following a consultation exercise. For the background to the SCR, see: • Consultation on proposed revision of Supreme Court Rules (April 2024) (‘Consultation’) • Consultation

What is the budget? By 11 March each year, each Council must set an amount of council tax. Behind this, are a set of calculations laid down in legislation which boil down to the amount by which expenditure exceeds income in accordance with the required calculations and which then forms, in England, the authority’s ‘council tax requirement’ (whereas in Wales, it is still referred to as the ‘budget requirement’). For further information on council tax, see Practice Note: Council tax. Income will come from: • government grants (both general and ring-fenced) • business rates (national non-domestic rates (NNDR)), see Practice Note: National non-domestic rates—billing recovery, exemptions and reliefs • investments, and • fees or charges that the law may permit the Council to operate The Council may also make use of financial reserves it has for this purpose. Council tax itself is subject to certain strictures, not least of which is the capping regime, which then limits the amount of income that can be raised overall. Against this is the

This Checklist has been archived and is not maintained. This destination table, predominantly based on the version originally produced and published by the Insolvency Service on its website, indicates the destination of provisions in the Insolvency Rules 1986, SI 1986/1925 (IR 1986) in the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016, SI 2016/1024 (IR 2016). The IR 2016 broadly derive from the IR 1986. However there is rarely an exact match as the structure of the IR 2016 is different, the language has been modernised and there have been significant changes, in particular as a result of amendments to the primary legislation made by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (ERRA 2013), the Deregulation Act 2015 (DA 2015), and the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (SBEEA 2015). Furthermore the information requirements previously contained in prescribed forms have now been imported into the relevant rule as specified content. Finally the IR 2016 try to avoid copying provisions contained

This Practice Note discusses the statutory right (subject to statutory qualifying criteria) of qualifying tenants of long leases of flats to collectively acquire the freehold of the relevant premises containing the flats (collectively enfranchise) under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993), including guidance in respect of the qualifying criteria for premises and tenants, service of a section 13 notice and a section 21 counter-notice, applications to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) (or Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) in Wales), County Court procedure, valuation and calculation of the purchase price, and completion of the acquisition. For a table setting out common time limits involved in the collective enfranchisement procedure, see Practice Note: Quick guide to time limits for collective enfranchisement under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. The collective right to enfranchise Subject to various qualifying criteria, tenants who hold long leases of flats have a collective right under LRHUDA 1993, s 1 to have the freehold

This Practice Note discusses the statutory right (subject to statutory qualifying criteria) of qualifying tenants of long leases of houses to acquire the freehold (individual enfranchisement), or to buy a 50-year extension of the lease of the house under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (LRA 1967). It includes guidance in respect of the qualifying criteria for premises and tenants, service of a notice of tenant’s claim and landlord’s notice in reply, applications to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) (or Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) in Wales) and County Court procedure, valuation and calculation of the purchase price, and completion of the acquisition. Houses—the right to enfranchise A tenant of a leasehold house and any attendant premises (eg a garden, garage, yard etc) is entitled under the LRA 1967 to acquire: • the freehold if all the following conditions are fulfilled: ◦ the tenancy is a long tenancy (see Long tenancy below) (references to long tenancy do not include business tenancies

The automated unfair dismissal schedule of loss application is designed to make the preparation of a schedule more efficient, accurate and also easier to update. It: • can be used to create a schedule for a claimant or a counter-schedule for a respondent client for an unfair dismissal claim • carries out the statutory and mathematical calculations required to assess the value of a claim, and • produces a structured document setting out details of the loss claimed and how the total is reached The settings assume that: • the claimant’s dismissal was on or after 29 July 2013 • the claimant is entitled to make a claim for unfair dismissal (see Practice Notes: Entitlement to claim unfair dismissal and Qualifying period for unfair dismissal), and • the financial loss resulting from the dismissal (eg loss of earnings) exceeds any amounts which offset loss (eg enhanced redundancy payments or sums earned through mitigation) The application can be accessed here: LexisCalculate Employment: Schedule of Loss application. It should

This Practice Note considers the Guideline Hourly Rates (GHR) for civil and commercial matters. When determining the extent to which a party can recover its costs during summary assessment, the court will consider the solicitors’ charge out rates in conjunction with the GHR. The GHR were uplifted for inflation from 1 January 2026 in accordance with the Services Producer Price Index (SPPI), and will be uplifted annually in line with SPPI. In practice, GHR are also used by the courts to determine the reasonableness of costs during a detailed assessment. This Practice Note provides guidance on understanding the rates, which are set out in bands A–D and depend on the location, qualification and experience of the lawyer involved. A number of authorities show the extent to which an element of flexibility is applied by the courts in respect of GHR. The costs of preparing solicitor witness statements are also considered as well as the hourly rate which can be recovered by a litigant in person (LIP). Note: in respect of barristers’ fees, the Senior Courts Costs

ARCHIVED: This Checklist has been archived and is not maintained. Solicitors can charge any hourly rate they wish for their services. However, they will not necessarily recover those rates at a costs assessment. When looking at the hourly rates solicitors have charged, the court will consider them in conjunction with the Guideline Hourly Rates (GHR). The rates depend on: • the location of the lawyers carrying out the work • the level of qualification of the fee-earner (see below) For more information, see Practice Note: Guideline hourly rates. The current GHR have been in force since 1 April 2010 and are given