Introduction to overseas production orders The Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Act 2019 (C(OPO)A 2019) creates overseas production orders (OPOs) which enable UK investigators to compel the disclosure of electronic data stored outside of the UK. OPOs provide an alternative means of obtaining electronic data to the often laborious Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) regime. See Practice Note: Mutual legal assistance (MLA). OPOs remain in force post Brexit. This is because the operation of OPOs relies on international agreements and is not dependant on EU membership. OPOs can only be granted where permitted under an international co-operation arrangement (or treaty) between the UK and the country where the subject of the order is located, see: Designated co-operation agreements under C(OPO)A 2019. Procedural rules have been created providing the basis for making an application for an OPO in the UK, see: Procedure for OPO applications. Background to the C(OPO)A 2019 Electronic data is increasingly important in the investigation of criminal offences as UK investigators routinely require access to electronic data held on computers, laptops, tablets and phones in order

An overseas employer-financed retirement benefits scheme, but not necessarily within HMRC's definition of overseas pension scheme.

The tax charge of 25% of the value of a transfer to a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme requested on or after 9 March 2017 that is caught by the legislation in section 10, Schedule 4 to the Finance Act 2017.

Overseas workday relief (OWR) provides for a temporary tax relief in respect of overseas earned income, where an individual’s employment is partly undertaken in the UK and partly undertaken overseas. The relief is only available for a limited period following the individual’s arrival in the UK. Under the regime in force from 6 April 2025, the correct term for OWR is ‘foreign employment relief’; however, in its guidance HMRC refers to the new rules in effect from 6 April 2025 as ‘overseas workday relief’. For more information on OWR from 6 April 2025, see Practice Note: Overseas Workday Relief from 6 April 2025. How to establish eligibility for OWR UK residence status and qualifying new resident test • Has the client become UK resident under the statutory residence test (SRT) for the relevant tax year? • Was the client non-UK resident throughout each of the ten tax years immediately preceding the relevant year of UK residence? • Is the client within their first four years of UK residence following a qualifying period of ten consecutive non-UK resident tax years? • Has the client previously used

Corporate crime analysis: following the recent launch of the government’s consultation on the regulation of private prosecutors and reforms to the Single Justice Procedure (SJP), Rachel Cook of Peters & Peters Solicitors LLP provides an analysis of the consultation looking at what prompted it, the key issues it addresses, what changes might arise from it and how this might impact corporate crime lawyers.

A committee established under the Local Government Act 2000, s 21 to advise on policy formulation, hold the executive to account in relation to specific matters and review areas of council activity which are not the responsibility of the executive or matters of wider local concern, and as such are the main way by which the executive is held to account in public for the discharge of executive functions.

Arbitration analysis: This article provides an overview of the legal framework governing arbitration in mainland China, notable features distinguishing it from other jurisdictions, recent reforms, and the active role played by local arbitration institutions. Written by Dr. Minli Tang FCIArb, partner, Yixin Zhang, associate, and Zheng Gong, trainee, all at AllBright Law Offices.

Introduction Directive 2008/48/EC on credit agreements for consumers (Consumer Credit Directive) was adopted by the European Parliament on 23 April 2008 and EU Member States were required to transpose it into national law before 12 June 2010. The key purpose of the Consumer Credit Directive was 'to offer a high degree of consumer protection and thus to boost consumer confidence, enable free movement of credit across borders and remedy distortions of competition arising from differences in national laws regarding consumer credit'. On 15 November 2011, Directive 2011/90/EU amending Part II of Annex I to the Consumer Credit Directive was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ). Directive 2011/90/EU provides additional assumptions for the calculation of the annual percentage rate of charge (APR). EU Member States were required to bring into force the provisions of Directive 2011/90/EU by 31 December 2012. The Consumer Credit Directive was transposed into UK law by a number of statutory instruments

The criminal regulatory landscape How is criminal law relevant to the life sciences industry? There are various ways in which criminal law can interact with the life sciences sector. As well as offences against the person and controlled drugs offences, various ‘corporate’ or ‘white collar’ offences can be relevant for individuals and corporates, including counterfeiting, criminal cartel offences, money laundering and fraud, as well as bribery. Breaches of the sector’s regulatory regime (including on medical devices, and inducements and hospitality) can also result in criminal liability. Enforcement through criminal investigations and proceedings may (but will not necessarily) follow.  This Practice Note provides a summary of how criminal law may apply in the life sciences sector. It includes considerations on corporate crime liability, money laundering, fraud, anti-bribery, inducements and hospitality in the context of the promotion of medicinal products and medical devices as well as enforcement. It further discusses the impact on and obligations created for life sciences companies by the ‘failure to prevent fraud’ offence introduced

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. Note: This Practice Note is for historical reference, showing the changes to CPR 36 effective as at 6 April 2007, so as to distinguish the law from the pre 6 April 2007 position. Since then, there has been further amendment to CPR 36 which is not reflected in this practice note but are incorporated into our general practice notes on service Key changes to Part 36 In 2005 there were court cases in which the decisions suggested that defendants who were 'good for the money' did not need to make payments in to court. Following those decisions Part 36 of the CPR was re-written and the new rules went further than the DCA's consultation proposals. The rules provide: • it is no longer necessary for a defendant who wishes to make a Part 36 offer to make a payment into court. This applies to all categories of defendant not just those who might be considered good for

Introduction to the EU legal system The EU legal system is sui generis—there is no other legal system it can be compared to, though it draws elements from many. The key to understanding how it works is to avoid trying to subsume it into (or compare it to) a national system and observe its behaviour from different angles. From its inception, the EU (at the time, the EEC) was intended to grow and become more than an economic bloc, which is why the founding Member States agreed to transfer parcels of sovereignty to the newly 'supranational' institutions. Supranational as the word indicates is something placed over a national structure. The term is used to denote the opposite to intergovernmental where decisions are taken by consensus and linked to national government interests. Upon joining the EU, Member States are no longer able to adopt, independently, legislation in the areas delegated by the EU Treaties ie the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and their predecessors to the

Public Law analysis: On 22 September 2022, the government introduced the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill to Parliament. Previously referred to as the ‘Brexit Freedoms Bill’, the legislation is intended to ‘put the UK statute book on a more sustainable footing’ post-Brexit, by ending the special status of retained EU law under UK law. The Bill contains a complex mix of provisions and powers to revoke, amend, replace, restate or ‘assimilate’ retained EU law, with a sunset provision aimed at ensuring the process is completed by a fixed deadline. In this analysis, Eleonor Duhs, partner and head of Data Privacy at Bates Wells LLP, provides an overview of the Bill and its implications.