Law360, London: The Court of Appeal ruled on 16 April 2025 that litigation-funders backing a £853m collective action against Apple over iPhone batteries could be paid in advance of class members, concluding there was 'nothing wrong' with a financing agreement that states this.

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note provides information on the data protection regime before 25 May 2018 and reflects the position under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 1998). This Practice Note is for background information only and is not maintained. This Practice Note concerns the applicability and territorial scope of the DPA 1998. When considering the applicability of the DPA 1998, look at the following: • the type of data being processed—the DPA 1998 applies only to the processing of personal data, other data (eg statistical or other data which does not relate to an identifiable individual) is not covered • where the data controller is established—the DPA 1998 applies only to data controllers who are established in the UK and who process personal data in the context of that establishment. This covers UK based data controllers who process data connected to a UK business even if technically the processing takes place overseas (eg using servers located in another country) • the equipment/location of processing—where a non-UK, non-EEA data controller processes personal

MLex: With core parts of the European Artificial Intelligence Act now not far off starting to apply, industry players and legal practitioners are grappling with questions about whether, when and how the EU rulebook will apply to their AI models and systems. For example: What is the AI Act’s applicability during the development phase, what extraterritorial effects might there be, how are key legal concepts to be interpreted, and what’s the scope of the scientific research and development exemption?

Arbitration analysis: The High Court of Australia has held that a statutory proportionate liability regime applies to arbitrations that are subject to the substantive law of the state, unless excluded by party agreement. The regime (common to all Australian jurisdictions) limits a respondent’s liability for tortious, contractual, and statutory damages to that respondent’s contribution to the loss, and leaves the claimant to sue other contributors. The claimant in this case argued unsuccessfully that the regime could not be applied to arbitration because it could not join the other contributors to the arbitration. Written by Dr Cameron Ford OAM, barrister at William Forster Chambers.

Arbitration analysis: The Supreme Court of India’s judgment in Cox and Kings Ltd v SAP India Pvt Ltd and another (‘Cox and Kings’) marks a significant development in Indian arbitration jurisprudence. The decision clarifies the applicability of the Group of Companies doctrine in arbitration in India, in multi-party and multi-contract arbitrations. This decision addresses the complexities of consent and the possibility that arbitration agreements may bind non-signatory entities within a group of companies and is therefore important for arbitration practitioners and transactions lawyers to note. Written by Anuradha Agnihotri, of counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills and Didon Misri, associate (India) at Herbert Smith Freehills.

Companies other than small companies or medium-sized companies must state in their accounts whether or not they have been prepared in accordance with ‘applicable accounting standards’. The FRC considers that the Statements of Standard Accounting Practice (SSAPs), Financial Reporting Standards (FRS), Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (FRSSE), and FRC Abstracts issued by the FRC are 'accounting standards' for the purposes of the CA 2006.

This Practice Note sets out the limits imposed on pre-charge bail, when pre-charge bail can be extended and the procedure for doing so. For more information on police bail see Practice Note: Police bail. For guidance on making representations for bail, see Practice Note: How to make representations for bail at the police station. Pre-charge bail (conditional or unconditional) is subject to time limit restrictions. This is known as the applicable bail period (ABP). The ABP is the window during which an officer, or the court, may set and vary bail. Once the ABP has expired there is no power to extend pre-charge bail. The ABP is governed by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE 1984) and there is statutory guidance that custody officers must have regard to. See the government’s Pre-charge bail statutory guidance. Regardless of which prosecuting authority is conducting the investigation, the custody officer is always responsible for authorising the initial ABP. It’s important to remember that the ABP is different from a suspect’s bail return date. A custody officer

Governing law is the law stipulated in a contract to determine a dispute. Where there is no valid governing law clause, the law to be applied, the applicable law, will be determined in accordance with the relevant regulation, convention, legislation or common law rules.

This Practice Note considers applicable law clauses also known as governing law clauses, proper law clauses or choice of law clauses. It considers the rationale for agreeing an applicable law clause, as well as factors to take into account. It also provides an insight into situations in which parties may change the applicable law clause in their contract as well as whether floating applicable law clauses and stabilisation clauses (specific types of clauses) are valid. For an introduction to applicable law, see Practice Note: Applicable law—a guide for dispute resolution practitioners. Contracts may provide for a combined jurisdiction and applicable law clause. For guidance on jurisdiction clauses, see Practice Note: Jurisdiction agreements—introduction. What is an applicable law clause? An applicable law clause records the parties agreement, made during contract negotiations, as to which country’s laws are to be applied by the courts if a dispute arises between the parties to the contract and the proceedings are commenced requiring the courts to make a determination. The applicable law clause should provide for a national system of law to be applied

Arbitration analysis: Ben Love, international disputes partner, and Sagar Gupta, associate, at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP explore the applicable law in investor-state space arbitration, examining public international law, national law and private contracts.

This Practice Note sets out the different applicable law regimes that may be applied by the courts of England and Wales. The applicable regime depends on whether the dispute is contractual or non-contractual and the date that either the contract was entered into or the date of the harmful event (for a non-contractual claim). The regimes set out a series of complex rules to be applied by the courts when determining the relevant applicable law. In the majority of cases, it will be easy to determine whether the claim involves a contractual claim or a tortious claim. In cases in which it is not, it will be important to determine and characterise the obligations in dispute, ie whether they are ‘contractual’ or ‘non-contractual’. This will then determine the applicable law regime to be applied. This may potentially have a determinative effect on a claim if the applicable law under a contractual regime is different to that determined under a non-contractual regime. Note: what amounts to a ‘contract’ for the purposes of applicable law can be open to debate.

One of the significant differences between domestic arbitration and international arbitration is the need to consider which law applies to particular issues. In a domestic arbitration it is very likely that the law of only one jurisdiction will apply to all issues. In international arbitration the position can be very different. The types of applicable law to be considered include: • the law governing the parties’ capacity to enter into the arbitration agreement • the law applicable to the substantive dispute • the law applicable to the arbitration agreement • the law of the seat of the arbitration • the law and procedure of the courts of recognition and enforcement of an award In making their selection of applicable law, parties must be aware of the possibility of conflicts between the various applicable laws. For example, the question of whether a particular dispute is capable of being the subject matter of arbitration may be answered differently by the law governing the substantive dispute, the law governing the arbitration agreement, the law