This week's edition of Insurance & Reinsurance weekly highlights includes: UK broker WTW launches Ukraine land war insurance cover; MPs mull using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine recovery; taxpayers could face bill for 'shadow fleet' oil spill; Coronavirus (COVID-19) business interruption—Disease clauses revisited (Bellini v Brit); Amtrust loses cap costs dispute in Lloyd’s syndicate deal (Premia Reinsurance Ltd v AmTrust International Insurance Ltd); Court of Appeal rules on exclusion in W&I policy (Project Angel Bidco v Axis); insurer beats engineering companies new bid for US$10m payout (Medgulf); Lloyd's tightens cyberwar insurance cover; the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) publishes two new guides on brokers’ commissions and premium finance; experts see risks in FCA's soft-touch response to AI; the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) publishes May 2024 Insurance Risk Dashboard; cases & decisions; key dates for your diary; and other news highlights reported over the past week.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has reported that a businessman has been sentenced  for coronavirus (COVID-19) Bounce Back Loan fraud. Gerald Smith has been convicted of fraud and concealing criminal property or concealing the use of money. Smith submitted a false loan application, claiming that his business needed the funds, and secured a £50,000 loan through the government's system designed to support businesses during coronavirus. Instead of using the money for business purposes, Smith used it for personal use. Smith has been sentenced to 18 months in prison at Southwark Crown Court and has been ordered to pay an existing £22,000 costs order.

The Vice-President of the Court of Protection, Mr Justice Hayden, has issued guidance for judges and practitioners offering practical solutions to some of the issues being raised in connection with coronavirus, including this question. See Court of Protection: Guidance COVID-19. In

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note is a summary of the key legal developments of relevance to personal injury and clinical negligence practitioners as of 2 December 2021. For the most recent horizon scanner, reference should be made to PI and Clinical Negligence horizon scanning—overview. Coronavirus (COVID-19) To stay ahead of the fast-moving changes in the courts’ processes and procedures necessitated by the pandemic and for industry guidance on how to manage cases during the pandemic including medical examinations, service and limitation, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19) implications for PI and clinical negligence [Archived]. Pre-action CJC publishes interim report and launches consultation on pre-action protocols The Civil Justice Council (CJC) interim report on the subject of pre-action protocols (PAPs) was published on 15 November 2021. See: LNB News 16/11/2021 7. PI Subcommittee consider PI PAPs in interim report The CJC has published its Interim Report on the subject of PAPs and opened a consultation seeking views on the future

This week's edition of Insurance weekly highlights includes: racecourses lose early fight in £80m coronavirus (COVID-19) insurance dispute; AXA France IARD S.A. v Santander Cards UK Ltd; The Members of the Probitas Syndicate 1492 At Lloyd's for the 2022 Underwriting Year of Account v Pro 2 Care Ltd; Delos Shipholding S.A. v Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty S.E.; AXA wins £675m missold PPI payout dispute with Santander; European reinsurer fined £1.79m over post-brexit failings; Is the FCA’s cautious approach to insurance hurting UK consumers?; PRA finalises UK ISPV reforms with fast-track authorisation and updated prudential guidance; EIOPA publishes follow-up report on outsourcing under Solvency II plus dates for your diary and key recent cases.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. On 23 June 2016, the UK held a referendum on its membership of the EU, with a majority voting in favour of the UK leaving the EU. On 29 March 2017, the UK Prime Minister gave formal notification of the UK's intention to withdraw from the EU, commencing the withdrawal process under Article 50 TEU, see: Brexit: UK Article 50 TEU notification starts the clock—what happens now? On 31 January 2020, the UK’s formal withdrawal from the EU took effect and the UK ceased to be an EU Member State. Exit day marked the end of the withdrawal period under Article 50 TEU and the start of a time-limited transition/implementation period, during which the transitional arrangements provided in Part 4 of the Withdrawal Agreement applied. The transitional arrangements provided a standstill period during which the UK and EU worked to implement the Withdrawal Agreement and negotiate an agreement on the legal terms of their future relationship, to take effect after the implementation

The court cannot entertain proceedings for possession of a dwelling house let on an assured tenancy without the landlord having first served on the tenant a notice pursuant to section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) and the proceedings are commenced within the statutory time limits specified in the notice, or the court considers it just and equitable to dispense with the requirements of notice. Note that the notice period has been extended as a result of the Coronavirus Act 2020 and subsequent regulations. For further guidance, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—implications for property [Archived]. The notice must be in the prescribed form. HA 1988, s 8(3) provides that by the form the landlord must inform the tenant that they intend to bring proceedings for possession of the dwelling house on one or more of the grounds set out in the notice and that the proceedings will not begin earlier

This week's edition of Public Law weekly highlights includes key public procurement updates, with the publication of the Draft Procurement Regulations 2024, the first suite of Procurement Act 2023 guidance documents and the government response to the consultation on Procurement Act 2023 draft implementing regulations. Additionally featured are selected Brexit headlines, including the first vote of the Northern Ireland Assembly whether an EU measure should apply under the Windsor Framework, and the latest Brexit SIs. This edition further includes updates on coronavirus (COVID-19); constitutional and administrative law; equality and human rights; judicial review; information law; subsidy control and State aid; and public procurement. Cases this week include analysis of a case which considered the compatibility of the routine redaction of the names of junior civil servants with the Duty of Candour, and examination of the Law Society’s judicial review of the Ministry of Justice’s criminal legal aid reforms implementation.

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

This week's edition of Public Law weekly highlights includes coverage of the Spring Statement 2025. Also in this edition, updates on the Cabinet Office’s call for written feedback for the Independent Review of the Windsor Framework, publication of the EU Finances Statement 2024 which reports that £25bn of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Financial Settlement has been paid, a new inquiry examining accessibility of parliamentary procedures, plus a Public Accounts Committee report examining artificial intelligence adoption across government. Case updates include a Court of Appeal decision quashing a prison Governor's refusal to submit an early release application, a decision partially granting a judicial review claim challenging a prisoner’s security categorisation review without an oral hearing, a decision granting an extension of time for a statutory appeal, plus a decision upholding refusal of an out-of-time homelessness review request. The highlights include further updates on Brexit SIs, Post-Brexit transition guidance, Coronavirus, constitutional and administrative law, equality and human rights, state security and intelligence, information law, subsidy control and State aid.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note explains the key changes which were made to the Criminal Procedure Rules (CrimPR) on 5 October 2020 when the old version of the Criminal Procedure rules 2015, SI 2015/1490 were revoked and replaced by the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020, SI 2020/759. The CrimPR have since been amended. The CrimPR govern the practice and procedure to be followed in all criminal courts in England and Wales including magistrates' courts, Crown Courts, Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) and in extradition appeal cases before the High Court. For further analysis of CrimPR, SI 2020/759, see News Analysis: An overview of the new Criminal Procedure Rules 2020. Reissue of the CrimPR The CrimPR are typically amended twice a year and the changes come into force on the first Monday of April or October annually. Each revision is made by a statutory instrument amending the current consolidated set of rules. The Criminal Procedure Rules Committee (CPRC) consolidate the CrimPR at five yearly intervals