MLex: Güralp Systems lost a UK court bid on 13 January 2026 to block the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) from taking action over allegations that the seismic testing company breached a 2019 plea deal by failing to pay a £2m fine. It is understood that the SFO will now request that the case against the company be listed at London’s Southwark Crown Court to begin proceedings against it.

MLex: Güralp Systems has lost a bid to take its challenge against a ruling enforcing a UK bribery plea deal to the Supreme Court, and it now faces seeing the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ask judges to enforce the agreement. The seismic testing company had argued it was not liable as the SFO had failed to tell judges that it had not paid £2m by the time the agreement expired. Güralp Systems could now face criminal prosecution for the breach.

The trustees of the interest in possession trust may have the power to force a sale of the family home against the wife’s wishes, but this depends on the particular circumstance of the case, including the specific terms of the trust and the rights granted to W. Under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA 1996), TOLATA 1996, s 14 allows trustees (but not personal representatives) to apply to the court for an order for sale of jointly-owned

The term ‘mutual Wills’ is used to describe joint or separate Wills made as a result of an agreement between the parties to create irrevocable interests in favour of ascertainable beneficiaries. The court recognises that all Wills can be revoked but that, in the case of mutual Wills, equity will protect and enforce the interests created by the agreement for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

An attorney under a Lasting Power of Attorney (Property & Financial Affairs) may decide on all any matters concerning the donor’s property so may sell the donor’s property or the donor’s share and interest in a property, provided that the donor has not restricted the attorney’s powers in the lasting power of attorney (LPA). Under section 18(1)(b) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the Court of Protection may authorise the sale, exchange, charging, gift or other disposition of P’s property. If

Real property, whether registered or unregistered, is held in two ways; legally and beneficially. The legal ownership of the land (in whose name it is registered, or in respect of unregistered land in whose name title can be deduced) is held where there are co-owners as legal joint tenants, meaning that each owns the whole and on the death of one, the survivor becomes the sole legal owner. The legal owners hold the land on trust for the beneficial owners (who may be the same persons). Beneficial ownership can either be by way of joint tenancy or as tenants in common, the latter meaning

Real property in England and Wales devolves (post-1925) on PRs under sections 1–3 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (AEA 1925). For the purpose of the statutory provisions as to devolution, 'personal representative' means the executor, original or by representation, or administrator for the time being of the deceased. Accordingly, the real estate vests in all the executors named in the Will, whether they have proved the Will or not, with the exception of those who have survived the testator but have died without having taken out probate, or have renounced probate or have failed to appear to a citation to take probate. Note, however,

This Q&A assumes that: • the policy endorsement refers to section 11 of the Married Women’s Property Act 1882 • the endorsement was in favour of the assured’s wife, W, only • W had an absolute interest in the proceeds of the policy Our research is also restricted to considering whether the trustees of the policy can surrender it during

Section 1 of the Forfeiture Act 1982 (FoA 1982) provides that: 'the “forfeiture rule” means the rule of public policy which in certain circumstances precludes a person who has unlawfully killed another from acquiring a benefit in consequence of the killing.' FoA 1982, ss 2(1) and 2(4) refers to the concept of an 'interest in property' to which the rule applies. FoA 1982, 2(4) provides that: …The interests in property referred to in subsection (1) above are— (a) any beneficial interest in property which (apart from the forfeiture rule) the offender would have acquired— (i) under the deceased’s will (including, as respects Scotland, any writing having testamentary

Where a property is held as tenants in common, it passes by will or intestacy rather than automatically by survivorship to the co-owner. However, there is flexibility as to succession, in that a tenancy in common enables the first co-owner to die to leave his or her share to someone other than their surviving co-owner, ie a child of the deceased. It is important to consider the tax implications in advance of implementing any trust or succession planning. Relevant property for inheritance tax The term 'relevant property' defines a category of trust property which is subject to a special regime for IHT. When taking into consideration the IHT treatment of trust, the property will fall into two broad categories: • beneficial entitlement—trust property is subject to IHT as if it belonged outright to the beneficiary • relevant property—has an independent tax life. Once

An umbrella Recommendation from ITU‑T, that defines the protocols to provide audio-visual communication sessions on any packet network.

Intermediary stage in the vitrification process at Sellafield. Strict limits are imposed on the amounts of HAL which can be stored. HAL consists of components of spent fuel other than uranium (i.e. radioactive byproducts) dissolved in concentrated Nitric Acid after separation by the PUREX process.