Law360: The anti-scam safeguards proposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on new pension online portals could inadvertently hinder workers from taking action to improve their retirement savings, an insurer warned on 8 May 2024.

Infancy, in UK and Irish legal practice, refers to a person’s status as a minor (a child) before reaching the age of majority. It is not a technical term defined in modern core legislation, but is used descriptively, particularly in older case law, academic writing and some procedural contexts. In England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the relevant concepts are now generally expressed in terms of “child”, “young person” or “minor”, with majority at 18 (subject to specific statutory regimes). In Ireland, similar terminology applies, with the age of majority also generally 18. Historically, “infancy” was important in contract, tort, property and civil procedure, affecting capacity to contract, sue or be sued, and liability. Those principles now largely operate through statutory frameworks (for example, capacity and limitation statutes, and children’s legislation) and modern judicial doctrine, but older authorities often still use “infant” for a person under 21 or later 18. In current practice, lawyers may encounter “infancy” in: older conveyancing precedents; trust and probate materials; limitation provisions referring to disability during infancy; and historic criminal or family law cases distinguishing children from adults.

The Infected Blood Inquiry has published the final inquiry report. The report, which consists of seven volumes, has concluded that ‘most infections could and should have been avoided’, and describes the government’s reaction (after 1985) as ‘shameful’. The Inquiry has recommended that a compensation scheme be set up, that the scale of what happened is recognised and memorials are established in the UK, and that steps should be taken by the General Medical Council, NHS Education for Scotland, Health Education and Improvement Wales, Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency and NHS England to incorporate lessons from this report into clinical practice and training. The Inquiry has asked for a statutory duty of candour to be introduced in healthcare in Northern Ireland, that this duty of candour is reviewed in Scotland and Wales and that the review of the duty of candour in England is completed as soon as practicable. The Inquiry has asked for a culture change and a move away from ‘defensiveness, lack of openness, failure to be forthcoming and being dismissive of concerns about patient safety’. The Inquiry has also made further recommendations on defensive culture in the Civil Service and government, patient records, monitoring liver damage for those infected with Hepatitis C, patient safety in blood transfusions, finding those who are undiagnosed, safety in haemophilia care and giving patients a voice.

The recording of the appropriate deed in the Register of Sasines or, in the case of land registration, registration in the land register of the appropriate deed, giving the grantee a real right (ie a right enforceable against the world) to the property.

The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (CJPOA 1994) permits the court to draw an adverse inference from the failure of a defendant, following their arrest, to account for an object, substance or mark, or to account for their presence at a place at or about the time of an offence. Adverse inferences CJPOA 1994 provides that a court may draw such 'inferences as appear proper' from a person's failure to account for the relevant matter. It gives no further guidance on what this phrase means but the principles are the same as for inferences from silence under CJPOA 1994, s 34. See Practice Note: Inferences from silence: failure to mention facts. No adverse inferences can be drawn unless the jury is satisfied that a defendant has failed or refused to provide an explanation or where the explanation given is implausible. Difficulties may arise where a defendant has given a partial account. For example, in R v Compton the court held that the defendant did not account for the

The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (CJPOA 1994) permits a court to draw adverse inferences where a defendant relies on facts in their defence that they did not mention when being questioned under caution or at charge. For information on interviews conducted in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE 1984), see Practice Note: Interview under caution. What is an adverse inference? When summing up a case for a jury, a judge is obliged to identify any specific matters which the prosecution allege the defendant failed to mention, and thereby to alert the jury to any inference or inferences which they are being invited to draw from that failure. CJPOA 1994, s 34 provides that a court may draw such inferences 'as appear proper' from a failure to mention facts relied on at trial when determining whether to dismiss a charge, whether there is a case to answer and, most frequently, whether the defendant is guilty. The significance for the jury of a failure by the defendant when first

What inferences can be drawn from failure to testify? Inferences can be drawn where a defendant: • having been sworn in, refuses without good cause to answer a particular question or questions, or • chooses not to give evidence at all Where either of the above situations arise, the court or jury ‘in determining whether the accused is guilty…may draw such inferences as appear proper'. This means that a court or jury can be invited to infer guilt from the defendant's silence. When can an inference be drawn? Before an inference can be drawn under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (CJPOA 1994), the following conditions must be satisfied: • the defendant must fail to give evidence • having been sworn, refuses to answer questions • the failure to testify or answer questions is without ‘good cause’ • the defendant has: ◦ been warned by the court the effect of the failure to give evidence, or ◦ stated that they will give evidence and then fails to do so The

Corporate Crime analysis: A prosecution for theft arising from inflated overtime payments has tested the principles of whether the actus reus of appropriation can be satisfied where the defendant did not have control over the bank account from which the payments were made. Christiaan Moll of Blackfriars Chambers assesses key points for practitioners to watch out for, including the need to consider if such actions are best charged as fraud rather than theft offences.

A measure of the rate of increase in general prices, eg the movement over time in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).

Construction projects often by their nature can be affected by volatile economic conditions or events which impact the price and availability of the products, materials and labour necessary to carry out the works. This, in turn, can lead to delay or disruption, and cost overruns can be frequent, particularly on larger projects. For example, among the challenges faced by the UK construction industry in 2021 were shortages and soaring costs of key goods and materials, which adversely impacted productivity in several sectors. Increases in the global demand for construction products in the aftermath of the worst effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 which had a detrimental effect on manufacturing capacity throughout the world, combined with lowered distribution capacity and other conditions impacted supply chains at every point, leading to price rises, prolonged lead times and unavailability. Among the materials affected were timber, steel, cement, roof tiles, paints and electrical components. In 2022, these challenges were further exacerbated by the outbreak of war between Ukraine and Russia, which had the twin effect of

What does this Practice Note cover? Inflation derivatives perform an important risk management tool by providing participants with an effective hedge against the risk of changes in rates of inflation. The market for inflation derivatives is large and well established and has existed since its earliest forms, from the early 1980s. The size of the global non-cleared inflation derivatives market has historically been estimated by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) in 2014 at US$3tn. The last several years have seen considerable volatility and increases in inflation rates across several key geographies (including the UK) providing a focus on these instruments. This Practice Note provides a summary of: • what inflation derivatives are • who uses inflation derivatives • documentation • product types, and • future developments What are inflation derivatives? An inflation derivative is a financial instrument that is used to transfer the risk (or benefits) of changes in inflation rates from one counterparty to another. Inflation derivatives are traded on the over-the-counter

Government bonds whose payments are linked to inflation.