ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note is not maintained and is for background information only. What is the background to the changes? The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and resulting lockdowns and social distancing measures introduced by the UK government have had a profound effect on businesses and the economy. On 20 March 2020, the government announced that businesses including restaurants, pubs and leisure centres must close, and on 23 March 2020 a full lockdown was introduced, sending huge parts of the private sector into hibernation. The forced closure of businesses has threatened the financial health of many previously successful companies, while for those already struggling it has proved to be the tipping point. In order to mitigate the economic consequences of coronavirus and keep the economy on life support, the government introduced a range of measures, from financial support initiatives to legislative reform. For further details of the financial support available, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—summary of government financial support to businesses. In order to protect

What is the background to the temporary changes to the wrongful trading regime? The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting lockdowns and social distancing measures introduced by the UK Government continue to have a crippling effect on many businesses and the economy overall. When the original national lockdown was announced in March 2020, the Government introduced a package of legislative and financial support measures designed to assist businesses and keep large parts of the private sector on life support. As part of the legislative reforms, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA 2020) received Royal Assent on 25 June 2020. For further information on coronavirus for restructuring and insolvency professionals, see: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—Restructuring & Insolvency—overview. Directors of companies in financial difficulties are presented with many practical and legal concerns, including the risk of personal liability. One of the key concerns for directors is usually the threat of liability for wrongful trading under section 246ZB of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) (in the context of insolvent

On 26 March 2021 Companies House announced that the automatic filing extensions granted by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act (CIGA) 2020 for filing deadlines between 27 June 2020 and 5 April 2021, to relieve the burden on companies during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, will come to an end for filing deadlines that fall after 5 April 2021. For confirmation statement filings, accounts filings and event-driven filings after 5 April 2021, there will be no further automatic extensions and any deadlines that fall after this date will go back to normal. For mortgage charges, while those with an interest in the charge created up to and including 4 April 2021 will continue to receive an automatic extension of ten additional days to file the particulars of a charge, those with an interest in the charge created after 4 April 2021 will need to file within 21 days as normal. Companies that are eligible and cite coronavirus issues in their application can still apply for a three-month extension for accounts filing

This Practice Note provides guidance on current rules and practice in the Scottish civil courts including in relation to electronic lodging of documents and virtual hearings. This Practice Note does not cover criminal business or specific procedure relating to the All Scotland Personal Injury Court. For guidance on key aspects of Scottish civil litigation, see: Scottish DR: courts and civil procedure—overview, Scottish DR: starting a claim—overview and Scottish DR: case management and evidence—overview, which, in turn, link through to detailed guidance on specific aspects of dispute resolution in Scotland. Electronic submission of documents in Scotland Since 1 December 2025, by virtue of Act of Sederunt (Electronic Signature and Electronic Transmission of Documents) 2025, SSI 2025/302: • electronic signature fulfils a requirement to sign or authenticate a document, and • electronic transmission (to a person or their solicitor) fulfils a requirement to send a document to that person Attendance at civil hearings in Scotland The innovative approach to hearings adopted during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was placed on

This archived tracker was focused on licensing and was intended to be used to track key developments, legislation, guidance, parliamentary briefing notes and other sources of interest relating to coronavirus (COVID-19), where relevant to local government lawyers up to so called ‘freedom day ‘ on 18 July 2021. It was designed to provide an easy reference point for relevant content for licensing lawyers working in or with local authorities during the coronavirus outbreak. For a navigational list of all local government archived coronavirus trackers, see Coronavirus (COVID-19)—local government tracker up to 18 July 2021 [Archived]. For recent guidance, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—local government tracker—post July 2021. Legislation—made statutory instruments Development When in force Find out more Alcohol Licensing (Coronavirus) (Regulatory Easements) (Amendment) Regulations 2021, SI 2021/Draft The day after the day on which these Regulations are made Government eases restrictions for hospitality industry These draft Regulations are laid to assist the recovery of the hospitality industry in response to the coronavirus pandemic, extend provisions in the Business and Planning Act 2020 to allow sales of alcohol

This Practice Note explains the solemn procedure in Scottish criminal proceedings. For an explanation of the criminal investigation and prosecution process in Scotland, see Practice Note: The investigation and prosecution of criminal offences in Scotland. For information on the procedure to be followed during trials under the solemn procedure, see Practice Note: Trials under the Scottish solemn procedure and Scottish solemn criminal procedure—flowchart. For guidance on appeal procedures in Scotland for solemn crime, see Practice Note: Scottish criminal appeals—solemn procedure. For an explanation of the summary procedure in Scotland, see Practice Notes: Summary procedure in Scottish criminal proceedings and Scottish solemn criminal procedure—flowchart. Solemn procedure is regulated by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (CP(S)A 1995). Modernisation of criminal court procedure Several permanent reforms were introduced by the Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Act 2025. These reforms replaced previous temporary measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Practitioners should ensure all procedural references in this Practice Note are read in light of these statutory changes. Electronic

This Practice Note examines the legal and practical issues for an employer to consider in relation to hybrid working, sometimes known as agile working, blended working or split working patterns or arrangements, where staff attend the workplace for part of their working time and work from home or elsewhere remotely for part of their working time. Hybrid working can be distinguished from pure home working, where the worker works entirely from home, although some employers have had partial homeworking arrangements in place for some time. The concept of hybrid working has emerged from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, during which many employees have been working entirely, or primarily, from home, and it is envisaged that employees will continue to work for part of the time at home, while returning to their workplaces for the remainder. The employer’s approach to hybrid working will vary depending on a number of factors, primarily the nature of the organisation and what it does. For example, it may be relatively straightforward for an office-based employer to offer hybrid working to nearly all of its

This Practice Note provides an introduction to the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. It provides an overview of the scope, the three categories of prohibited subsidies, the notification and transparency requirements and dispute resolution. It also provides an overview of the other provisions relevant to the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. Introduction The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) was agreed to during the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference held in June 2022 in Geneva. It forms part of the number of outcomes on a series of key trade initiatives termed the ‘Geneva Package’. Some of the other outcomes include: • Ministerial Decision on TRIPS Non-violation and Situation Complaints • Ministerial Declaration on Responding to modern Sanitary and Phytosanitary Challenges • Ministerial Declaration on the Emergency Response to Food Insecurity • Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement, and • Ministerial Declaration on the WTO Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Preparedness for Future Pandemics Negotiations on the AFS commenced in 2001 during the Doha Round of negotiations. It is only the second multilateral agreement to have been concluded

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note tracks the developments and updates on coronavirus (COVID-19) that relate to the life sciences sector in the UK. For coronavirus developments of interest to the life sciences sector in the EU, including those which may have applied to the UK until the end of the Brexit transition period, and internationally, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—EU life sciences tracker [Archived]. Jump to • Research and development of medicines and vaccines • IP waiver • Clinical trials • Regulation of medical devices • Regulation of vaccines, medicinal products and blood • Post-authorisation vigilance of medicines and vaccines • Supply of vaccines, medicines and medical products • Actions on falsified and unlicensed medicines, off-label use of medical devices • mHealth and data protection For a discussion on: • the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the UK and EU regulatory frameworks, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—regulatory implications for the UK and European life sciences industry [Archived] • what life sciences companies

This Practice Note considers the law and institutional investor guidance relating to the holding of entirely virtual or hybrid general meetings and annual general meetings (AGMs). The interest from shareholders and other company stakeholders in holding meetings via electronic modes of communication has notably increased in recent years. Holding electronic meetings—Companies Act 2006 Even before the coronavirus pandemic, a small number of FTSE 350 companies had begun experimenting with electronic meetings, ranging from online broadcasts (webcasts) of physical meetings, or hybrid meetings where shareholders could choose to participate in either a physical or virtual space. In 2016 Jimmy Choo plc held the first entirely virtual AGM which triggered significant debate about the fairness and effectiveness of virtual participation. Hybrid or wholly virtual electronic meetings and AGMs are likely to be attractive to some companies and shareholders given the perceived ease of access for members, as well as the potential cost savings from not holding a physical meeting on the same scale, or at all. A notable concern with electronic meetings is whether

In recent years, the annual bonus structures for executives have come under particularly close scrutiny, causing remuneration committees to rethink their approach. The abnormal economic conditions brought about through the coronavirus pandemic and cost-of-living crisis have raised the spectre of bonus payments to an even higher level of scrutiny. This Practice Note provides a practical analysis of the items that will need to be considered by companies as they review the nature and the structure of their executive annual cash bonus schemes. Does the cash bonus still have a role? With the dramatic escalation in share-based type rewards over the last 30 years or so, notably in the form of the long-term share incentive plan, does the executive cash bonus still have a role? The answer is that the short-term incentive, defined as the basis for rewarding the achievement of short-term goals after the end of a 12-month financial year, will usually include a substantial element of cash bonus. It would actually not be unusual for the whole amount of the short-term incentive to be

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: The Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 received Royal Assent on 30 January 2024, marking the first review of trusts law in Scotland in over 100 years since the principal legislation, the Trusts (Scotland) Act 1921, was passed. The trusts provisions will require secondary legislation from Scottish Ministers to be brought into force whereas the provisions relating to succession law came into effect on 30 April 2024. The main changes to modernise the law are summarised in News Analysis: Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Bill passed. Practice Notes on areas of Scottish trusts and succession law will be updated further to reflect this new legislation. CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): Some of the formal requirements for a valid Will in Scotland have been relaxed since the coronavirus pandemic. See News Analysis: Signing Wills in Scotland in times of social distancing. Making a Will When a person dies, it must be established whether they made a valid Will. If not, the deceased's estate will be administered in accordance with the law of intestacy