Law360, London: Centrica said on 14 August 2025 that it has jointly acquired Europe's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal from National Grid Plc together with a US infrastructure investor for an enterprise value of £1.5bn.

1. What is the applicable legislation? There is no single piece of legislation, or unified approach, to regulating foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latvia. However, certain areas are subject to investment restrictions. The primary piece of legislation is the National Security Law of the Republic of Latvia 2002 (as amended) (National Security Law 2002). In early 2017, the National Security Law 2002 was amended to introduce a regime requiring Government consent for certain changes affecting companies of national security significance. Requirements of the regime are further specified in the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 311 ‘Procedure for Preventing Threats to Commercial Companies, Societies and Foundations of Importance to National Security’. Another area where foreign investments are limited is the acquisition of land, particularly agricultural and forest land. These restrictions have been developed in various pieces of legislation, including the Law On Land Privatisation in Rural Areas 1993 (as amended) and the Law on Land Reform in the Cities of the Republic of Latvia 2005 (as amended). 2. Which government or other body (or bodies) reviews foreign investments? Latvia

This table summarises all completed investigations by Latvia’s competition authority (the Competition Council of the Republic of Latvia—the ‘Competition Council’) into alleged cartels, anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions (Articles 101/102 TFEU and national equivalents) since 2018. Note—only investigations that have been made public are included in this table. 2026 Investigations under Article 101 TFEU/Section 11 of the Competition Law Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Retail of JURA coffee machines• Rickman Trade OÜ• “EUGESTA” SIA• SIA “Innocent PRO” Restrictive agreements—RPM • Infringement decision announced—07/05/2026; fines totalling €512,100.17 imposed Investigations under Article 102 TFEU/Section 13 of the Competition Law Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Classified advertising services• SS Concerns SS SIA abused its dominant position by imposing restrictive terms and limiting access to its online advertising platform • Infringement decision announced—20/03/2026; fines totalling €186,780 imposed Speed camera licences• Burde B.V. Concerns Burder abused its dominant position through excessive pricing • Infringement decision announced—06/02/2026; fines totalling €24,199 imposed 2025 Investigations under Article 101 TFEU/Section 11 of the Competition Law

NOTE—to see whether notification thresholds in Latvia and throughout the world are met, see further: Where to Notify. 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the Latvian merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in Latvia? The merger control regulation in Latvia has not materially changed since 2016. Also, since last year (2025), there have not been any decisions of the Latvian Competition Council (Competition Council), which could be characterised as ‘landmark’ decisions in Latvian merger control. In addition, it is worth noting that the Competition Council has identified improvements to merger regulation among its priorities since 2025. As publicly announced in 2026, the Competition Council is continuing its work on the digitalisation of merger notification filings. The aim of this project is to simplify the merger notification submission process, enabling businesses to save both time and financial resources. The project is planned to be implemented from 2027 onwards. These improvements are intended to streamline the submission of merger notifications and broaden the scope of cases

means: (a) any legislation, regulation, by-law or subordinate legislation in force from time to time to which a party is subject and/or in any jurisdiction that the Services are provided to or in respect of; (b) the common law and laws of equity as applicable to the parties from time to time; (c) any binding court order, judgment or decree; (d) any applicable industry code, policy or standard; or (e) any applicable direction, policy, rule or order that is binding on a party and that is made or given by any regulatory body having jurisdiction over a party or any of that party’s assets, resources or business;

Dispute Resolution analysis: The High Court dismissed a professional negligence claim against Mary Ward Legal Centre and a barrister, finding no proof of negligence and endorsing the centre's reliance on specialist advice. The court emphasised that advisers acted appropriately given available information, and the claim was time-barred. This judgment reinforces the importance of clients providing and advisers probing for all relevant evidence; and it validates the practice of non-specialists seeking advice from expert counsel. It also underscores the challenges faced by legal aid providers in complex cases and the court's recognition of their crucial role in assisting vulnerable clients. Practical implications written by the Dispute Resolution team at LexisNexis.

The Law Commission has announced its recommendations to reform hate crime legislation to ensure that disabled and LGBT+ victim receive the same levels of protection as other victims with protected characteristics such as race and religion. Additionally, the Law Commission has recommended that more should be done to protect women and girls by extending the offence of stirring up hatred to cover sex or gender in an effort to criminalise extremist misogynist hate material. It has also made a number of recommendations to safeguard freedom of expression and ensure criminal law is focused on hate speech.

The Law Commission has published its Annual Report for 2023–2024. Amongst other matters, the report confirms that the Commission has been undertaking work to support the government in developing the enfranchisement and right to manage parts of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill. It further confirms that it still anticipates publishing a consultation paper on a review of the security of tenure provisions in Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 in Autumn 2024, subject to progress of its work on residential leasehold.

Law360, London: The Law Commission said the government should simplify legislation for the insurance mutuals sector, saying the rules concerning friendly societies are too complicated.

The Law Commission has launched a consultation on proposed reforms to the law governing land registration and chancel repair liability (CRL)—an obligation requiring landowners to pay for certain repairs to a local church. The proposals would amend the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002) to clarify that CRL only affects property buyers if it is registered against the property title. The consultation also explores the current scope of CRL in Wales, which appears to have been considerably reduced by the Welsh Church Act 1914. The consultation closes on 15 November 2025, after which the Law Commission intends to analyse responses and publish final recommendations in 2026.

The Law Commission is consulting on the law around autonomous flights to review existing legislation and identify any legislative blocks, gaps or uncertainties. With a focus on safety, vertical take off and landing aircrafts, drones, rules of the air and liability, the consultation explores how self-flying and remotely piloted aircraft can be regulated now and in the future. The Commission is inviting key stakeholders in the aviation industry to respond to the consultation by 27 May 2024.

The Law Commission has launched a consultation on its 14th programme of law reform, which includes a project on 'Modernising trust law for a Global Britain', rolled over from the previous programme, and also includes the restarting of the project to review and reform the law of Wills, which was put on hold in 2017. The consultation closes on 31 July 2021.​