PI & Clinical Negligence analysis: Defence surveillance operatives can make serious errors in producing surveillance footage and later give untrue evidence, signed by statements of truth. Nevertheless, given the evidence was probative and these failures were not part of a deliberate and dishonest attempt to provide a misleading picture, and given that the claimant had a fair opportunity to deal with the surveillance evidence, it was not appropriate to exclude the evidence from the case. Further, where Expert B (Dr Jarman), had referred to Expert A’s draft report (Dr Mullin), and expert B had complied with his duty to set out the substance of his material instructions and there was no basis to conclude that expert B’s statement of instructions was inaccurate or incomplete, there was no basis for ordering disclosure of expert A’s draft report. Written by Rob Weir KC, barrister at Devereux Chambers.

TMT analysis: The High Court has overturned a decision by OFCOM that two broadcasts on GB News' programme ‘Jacob Rees-Mogg's State of the Nation’, breached Broadcasting Code rules on due impartiality and accuracy in news reporting. This is the first time that OFCOM has lost a judicial review of its decisions relating to the Broadcasting Code. The court held that the presentation of news by a politician in the context of a hybrid news and current affairs programme is not a breach of rule 5.3 prohibiting a politician from being used as a newsreader, interviewer or reporting in any news programme, although it could breach the more general rule requiring ‘news, in whatever form’ to be reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality under rule 5.1, but that would depend on a detailed contextual analysis of the particular broadcast. The decision has now been remitted back to OFCOM to undertake this more context-specific analysis. Written by Giles Crown, partner, and Charlotte Peach, senior associate, at Taylor Wessing LLP.

Corporate Crime analysis: This is the first time the courts in England and Wales have considered the relationship between financial sanctions and freedom of expression. The claimant was sanctioned by the UK in July 2022 for producing and publishing video content from the Donbas region of Ukraine which the Secretary of State contended amounted to propaganda in favour of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Mr Phillips applied for a court review of the decision to maintain his listing in January 2023 on the grounds that the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA 2018) does not give the government power to make regulations authorising the imposition of financial sanctions on a person because of their political views, and that his designation was a disproportionate restriction on his right to freedom of expression, property and family life. The court rejected the claimant’s application. Written by Malcolm Birdling, barrister at Brick Court Chambers.

Local Government analysis: How will the courts balance the article 8 rights of parents against the duty of local authorities to protect children? Ruth Cabeza, barrister at Field Court Chambers, examines Williams v London Borough of Hackney and argues that the proportionality test must inevitably address the tension between the necessity of child protection and the requirement of the state to refrain from interference with family life.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. Title Bali Road Map Location Bali, Indonesia Date 3–14 December 2007 Subject Implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol What is the Bali Road Map? The Bali Road Map was adopted at the Bali Climate Change Conference, the thirteenth conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 13) which also served as the third meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 3), in Indonesia in December 2007. The aim of the Parties had been to create an agreement that would replace the Kyoto Protocol from 2012. However, the Bali Road Map is not a binding commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It was the beginning of a two year process that ended in 2009 at the Conference's fifteenth session in Copenhagen. For more information, see Practice Note: Copenhagen Accord 2009—snapshot [Archived]. For the first time, developing countries agreed to consider taking ‘measurable, reportable and verifiable’

CASE HUB ARCHIVED–this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the decision of 15 January 2016; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline and commentary. Case facts Outline European Commission merger investigation into the proposed acquisition by Ball of Rexam (case number M.7567). There are horizontal overlaps in the market for the manufacture and supply of beverage cans and aluminium bottles in the EEA. Latest developments The Commission cleared the transaction subject to commitments on 15 January 2016. Under the commitments, Ball is to divest ten plants making can bodies and two plants making can ends to a suitable purchaser. The can body plants to be divested are: • Ball’s plants in the UK (Rugby and Wrexham) • Ball's plants in Germany (Weissenthurm, Hassloch and Hermsdorf) • Ball's plant in the Netherlands (Oss) • Ball's plant in Poland (Radomsko) • one of Ball’s two plants in France (La Ciotat) • Rexam’s plant in Austria (Enzesfeld) • one of Rexam’s two plants in Spain (Valdemarillo). Ball is also divesting two can end plants, one in Deeside (the UK) and another in Braunschweig (Germany). In addition,

An investment which is intended to give stability to a portfolio of investments and is less volatile than most.

A final payment on a debt that is much larger than the preceding payments due to holding back most of the debt and paying it only towards the end of the agreement. The name comes from the fact that the debt becomes inflated like a balloon as a result of the interest'>compound interest accumulating on the large sum. Balloon payments can also be called partially or amortised loans.

Where the final repayment of principal in a loan transaction is substantially larger than earlier repayment instalments.

The procedure whereby employees are entitled to vote (normally secretly) on a particular work matter, for example in relation to a Trade Union proposal to strike or for the election of employee representatives to act on their behalf in a redundancy process.

The Home Office has published a guidance webpage which announces the opening of the ballot process for Indian nationals applying under what is termed the ‘India Young Professionals Scheme visa’. The webpage confirms that the ballot will open on 28 February 2023 at 2.30pm India Standard Time and will close at the same time on 2 March 2023 (extended to 8.59pm due to initial technical difficulties). 2400 places will be available in this February ballot.

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: For industrial action to have the support of a ballot, at least 50% of those entitled to vote must take part in the ballot. Section 68 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 provides for removal of the 50% participation threshold but has not yet been commenced. The 50% participation threshold therefore continues to apply until section 68 comes into force, which is expected sometime in 2027. See Practice Note: Employment Rights Act 2025—tracker. This Practice Note explains the statutory balloting and notice requirements for a trade union to have immunity from tortious liability for industrial action (eg a strike or action short of a strike). It considers the need for a qualified independent scrutineer of ballots, the permissible means of voting including postal, electronic, hybrid and workplace voting, requirements relating to voting materials and the conduct of ballots, balloting thresholds and the need to inform members of the result. It also looks at the requirements for calling industrial action and for the notices which unions must serve on employers in order