The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has reported significant developments in two key international defence agreements. Amendments to the UK-US Mutual Defense Agreement (MDA) entered into force on 14 November 2024, following completion of US Congressional review and UK CRaG requirements. The government has committed to providing more regular updates on the MDA as part of its annual Defence Nuclear Enterprise report to Parliament. Regarding the AUKUS partnership, progress continues on the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Agreement (ANNPA), with nearly £10bn committed to the SSN-AUKUS programme since 2021. Australia is contributing £2.4bn over ten years to support UK nuclear reactor production. The UK and Australia have commenced negotiations on a bilateral treaty to establish a framework for cooperation on the AUKUS Optimal Pathway, marking a crucial step in the partnership's advancement.

Marine Off-Loading Facility: A jetty or harbour built at the site of a NPP for the delivery of materials and construction components.

Mobile Operating Interface

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have reported that waiting rooms for witnesses and victims in ten court buildings across England and Wales will undergo a revamp. The upgraded suites will improve wellbeing and help witnesses to participate fully in the legal process, with over £50,000 invested in the project. This follows the government's announcement of plans for a new Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill to put victims at the heart of every stage of the criminal justice system.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ), alongside The Rt Hon David Lammy MP, has announced additional funding to expedite justice for victims by increasing Crown Court sitting days. An extra 1,250 sitting days will be allocated this financial year, raising the total to 111,250 days—a 5,000-day increase compared to 2024. This enhancement is part of the government’s Plan for Change aimed at reducing the current backlog of over 78,000 cases and ensuring more timely hearings. The announcement follows the completion of the first phase of Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, with further considerations on comprehensive reform underway.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has initiated a Call for Evidence seeking stakeholder input on the current arrangements for bringing discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010 in civil courts in England and Wales. Opening on 27 November 2024 and closing on 19 February 2025, this consultation aims to gather data and evidence to determine whether costs protection should be extended to discrimination claims. The MOJ is exploring various models of costs protection and alternative dispute resolution options, with a focus on civil court cases rather than tribunal proceedings. While specific questions relate to disability claims, the government is considering impacts on all protected characteristics.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has published the latest employment tribunal (ET) quarterly statistics, along with annual statistics for the EAT. The single-claim ET backlog has reached a record high despite lower quarterly receipts. In April–June 2026 (Q1 2026/27), the ET received 25,000 claims and disposed of 10,000. 14,000 single claims were received, 28% more than in the same quarter in 2025, but only 6,100 were disposed of, a year-on-year fall of 6%. The open single-claim caseload consequently rose by 51% to 70,000—its highest level.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has published guidance on new pornography offences under the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which take effect in England and Wales on 6 November 2026. The offences cover the possession or publication of pornographic images that explicitly and realistically depict strangulation or suffocation, penetrative sexual activity between certain relatives or people pretending to be related, or sexual activity between at least two people where one appears to be, or is pretending to be, under 16 years old. Anyone possessing images covered by the offences must permanently delete or otherwise dispose of them before commencement. Anyone publishing such images must remove them and stop making them available before that date. Maximum prison sentences are two years for possession of material depicting strangulation, suffocation or penetrative sexual activity between certain relatives, three years for possession of material involving someone appearing to be, or pretending to be, under 16 years old, and five years for publication.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has published a report on the launch of an independent sentencing review 2024–2025 which will be chaired by former Lord Chancellor David Gauke. The review is aimed at ending the prison crisis. It seeks to ensure that the country always has the space required to keep dangerous criminals behind bars and that the most serious offenders can be sent to jail to protect the public. The report states that the review will be launched on the day that more inmates are released from custody as part of an emergency release plan due to overcrowding. The review states that its goal is to ensure that the country should not have more prisoners than prison space.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has reported that a temporary measure to manage pressures in prisons in the north of England has been reactivated, following longstanding capacity failures and recent outbreaks of far-right disorder. To manage these pressures, HM Prison and Probation Service has reactivated an existing contingency mechanism, 'Operation Early Dawn', providing extra oversight of prisoner transfers between the police, courts and custody.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has reported that around 1,800 rehabilitated offenders, who are still under indefinite probation oversight for abolished Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences despite having completed their prison terms, will have the supervision lifted from 1 November 2024. MOJ has said that these changes will provide a more clear path to rehabilitation for IPP offenders. Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, Lord Timpson, has said that IPP offenders who have completed their sentences should not be subjected to lifetime licences and this is a 'significant step' to address this. MOJ has reported further changes that will come to effect from 1 February 2025, including shortening the eligibility period for the Parole Board to consider ending licences from ten years after first release to three years.

CASE HUB ARCHIVED—this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the decision of 15 May 2023; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline. Case facts Outline European Commission merger investigation into the proposed acquisition of OMV Slovenija by MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Plc. The proposed transaction involves horizontal overlaps in the market for the supply of retail fuel. Latest developments On 17 May 2023, the Commission unconditionally cleared proposed transaction, subject to conditions. The Commission accepted MOL Hugarian Oil and Gas Plc's s proposal to divest 39 fuel stations in Slovenia to the Shell Group. Parties • MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Plc (MOL): MOL is headquartered in Hungary, is the parent company of the MOL Group, an integrated oil and gas group whose principal activities are the exploration, production and refining of crude oil, the distribution of refined oil products,. On the retail level, MOL Group has a network of ca. 2,000 fuel stations in nine countries (Hungary, Romania, Republic of Serbia, Montenegro,