This Practice Note provides high-level information on the UK prudential regime for banks, building societies and systemically important investment firms. For information on key current developments in relation to the regime, see Key current developments below. The Basel Accords The UK prudential regime for banks, building societies and systemically important investment firms consists in large part of measures which implement the Basel Accords, the global standards for the prudential regulation of internationally active banks issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS). Basel III: Finalising post-crisis reforms and Minimum capital requirements for market risk(also known as the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book) are sometimes referred to together as Basel 3.1. For information on the schedule for implementing Basel 3.1 in the UK, see Key current developments below. For high-level information on the Basel Accords generally, see Practice Note: Introduction to the Basel Framework—Basel III and Basel 3.1. UK CRR The primary source for UK prudential requirements has been the onshored Capital

This Practice Note introduces the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism. It provides guidance on the dispute settlement body and its constituent parts, the scope of the dispute settlement understanding, the participants in a dispute, the legal basis for a dispute and the main stages of a dispute. Introduction Disputes arising from international trade have been subject to a legal regime prior to the inception of the WTO on 1 January 1995. Under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1947 there were two provisions dealing with disputes. These two provisions did not address dispute settlement in a comprehensive manner. The reason is that the GATT 1947 did not establish an international organisation but merely regulated trade in goods. As such, the GATT did not contain a complete set of rules on dispute settlement. Article XXII of the GATT 1947 provides that parties to the GATT 1947 must consult with each other if there was any matter affecting the operation of the GATT 1947. It did not allow for parties to

This Practice Note refers to the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation, Commission Regulation 2022/720 (VBER 2022), and the Commission’s 2022 Guidelines on Vertical Restraints (2022 Guidelines). What is a vertical agreement? A vertical agreement is an agreement entered into by separate undertakings operating at different levels in the supply chain—eg a manufacturer and its distributors. A supplier may wish to have one or multiple resellers for its goods or services, through one or more levels of the supply chain, such as an EU or country-specific importer and further resellers operating at the wholesale and retail levels. These activities will all constitute vertical agreements. Vertical agreements are generally agreements between non-competitors. This is in contrast to horizontal agreements, which are agreements between competitors. Vertical agreements can take many different forms. The key types include: (i) agency; (ii) exclusive distribution; (iii) selective distribution; (iv) ‘free’ or non-exclusive distribution; (v) franchising; and (vi) subcontracting. Each of these are discussed in more detail below. There are also various different types of restrictions which might

This Practice Note refers to Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 (CA 1998), The Competition Act 1998 (Vertical Agreements Block Exemption) Order 2022 (VABEO), the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) and the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) guidance on the VABEO (VABEO Guidance). What is a vertical agreement? A vertical agreement is an agreement entered into by separate undertakings operating at different levels in the supply chain, for example a manufacturer and its distributors. A supplier may wish to have one or multiple resellers for its goods or services, through one or more levels of the supply chain, such as a UK-wide or country/region-specific importer and further resellers operating at the wholesale and retail levels. These activities will all constitute vertical agreements. Vertical agreements are generally agreements between non-competitors. This is opposed to horizontal agreements, which are agreements between competitors. Vertical agreements can take many different forms. The key types include: (i) agency; (ii) exclusive distribution; (iii) selective distribution; (iv) ‘free’ or non-exclusive distribution; (v) franchising;

EU legal framework governing medicinal products A complex array of requirements and guidelines developed at EU and EU Member State national level govern the following aspects of medicinal products: • clinical testing (ie clinical trials) • placing on the market (ie marketing authorisation (MA) and regulatory procedure for approval of medicinal products and variations of those licensing MAs) • protection of the pre-clinical and clinical data developed for the purposes of obtaining an MA (ie regulatory data protection) • manufacture and importation • labelling and package leaflet • advertising and promotion • wholesale distribution and brokering • pharmacovigilance • pricing and reimbursement • falsified medicines • medicines for rare diseases (ie orphan medicinal products (OMPs)) • paediatric medicines • advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) • unlicensed medicines and off-label use of authorised medicines EU legal framework There has been a rapid expansion of law on these subjects at the EU level, with increased harmonisation in many areas. EU Member State requirements and guidelines still, however, remain essential parts of the EU regulatory picture.

STOP PRESS: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime Finance Act 2025 (FA 2025) which received Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, implements legislation to abolish the remittance basis of taxation and replace it with a residence-based regime, commencing on 6 April 2025. FA 2025 also replaces domicile as the key factor in establishing liability to inheritance tax. Other changes include amendment of the rules determining excluded property status, the abolition of protected settlements status of offshore trusts, and changes to overseas workday relief. This document has been archived and is not maintained. For information on these changes, see Practice Notes: The abolition of the remittance basis of taxation from 2025–26 and A new residence-based

Overview of the sales and/or commercial department The sales or commercial team is typically the most customer facing department within an organisation, generating new customers or leads within your organisation’s industry, managing existing key accounts and identifying new opportunities, perhaps in other sectors or markets, or new ways of developing existing sectors or markets. As the main driver of sales, they are at the forefront of any organisation. Sales will work very closely with the marketing department to ensure that the organisation’s product and service offerings are targeted at the right market for your business. They will also need to work closely with the product development team to ensure that they are aware of when any new products/services are expected to be launched to the market and can keep both existing and potential new clients updated. The sales team are also in the best position to be able to provide direct feedback from customers to the product development team as to any new or enhanced products or services, which the organisation should be

This Practice Note provides an introduction to trade marks, ie: • what is a trade mark? • registering a trade mark • dealing with trade marks in agreements • asserting trade marks • unregistered trade marks and the law of passing off • trade mark litigation For more information about the filing and prosecution of trade marks, portfolio management and transactions involving trade marks, see: Trade mark transactions and management—overview. For more information about disputes involving registered and unregistered trade marks, see: Trade mark and passing off disputes—overview. What is a trade mark? A trade mark is a sign used to distinguish the goods and services of one undertaking from those of another. In other words, a trade mark enables consumers to identify goods or services as originating from a particular company or relating to a certain product or service. Typically trade marks take the form of words or logos, though it is possible to protect more unusual forms of trade marks such as colours, slogans, shapes of products or packaging, sounds, motions and, potentially, even

This Practice Note considers the Transparency Review set up in 2020, the President of the Family Division’s Transparency in the Family Court report published in October 2021, the Transparency Implementation Group (TIG), the transparency reporting pilot in the Family Court announced in January 2023 and the transparency reporting pilot in the Financial Remedies Court (FRC) announced in December 2023, together with the associated guidance and transparency orders. The open reporting provisions that apply in all family courts in England and Wales from January 2025 are also set out. Open reporting provisions apply in all family courts in England and Wales. From 27 January 2025, journalists and legal bloggers are able to report on what they see and hear while attending a Family Court if a transparency order is granted. Journalists and legal bloggers can also request documents and speak to, and quote, people involved in proceedings. There is a presumption that a transparency order, protecting the anonymity of the children and their families, will be granted unless there is a legitimate reason not

Click the link below to download the training presentation. Contents • Key components of a trust • Classification of trusts • Express trusts • Interest in possession trusts • Discretionary trusts • Perpetuities • Accumulations • Trust drafting—overview • Trust drafting—Parties and Background • Trust drafting—definitions • Trust drafting—dispositive • Trust drafting—powers • Trust drafting—more essential causes • Trust

This Practice Note provides practical guidance on what a trust is and the treatment of trust assets in family financial remedy proceedings. It also considers relevant case law, the circumstances in which trust assets may be considered to be available to a party as a financial resource, and ‘judicious encouragement’ orders in relation to the trustees of a trust. The court has three main methods of approaching trusts within an application for a financial remedy: • treating trust income or assets as a resource available to either party (or declining to do so)—see: Trusts as a financial resource • exercising its power to vary a nuptial settlement under section 24(1)(c) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) or the equivalent provisions under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004)—see Practice Note: Trusts—variation of a nuptial settlement • determining issues of trusts or property law if the validity of the trust and/or transfers into it are challenged, or if it is alleged that the trust is a sham—see Practice Note: Trusts—using

This Practice Note provides an introduction to trade union recognition including what it is, the difference between voluntary and compulsory recognition, the procedure for a reference to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) for compulsory recognition, and the rights conferred by recognition. It also covers the procedure when there are changes to the bargaining unit that has been recognised and the procedure for derecognition. Labour’s General Election victory in 2024 shifted the political landscape significantly in favour of trade unions and their recognition in the workplace. In addition to making changes in respect of balloting and industrial action, Labour also introduced legislation to simplify the process of trade union recognition and provide a right for trade unions to access workplaces, in an attempt to assist unions seeking recognition. For more details, see Practice Note: Right of trade unions to access workplaces. What is trade union recognition? Trade union recognition is when an employer agrees to deal with an independent union that is representing an identifiable section of its workforce (known as a ‘bargaining unit’). For an employer, this may