Piercing the corporate veil describes the exceptional judicial step of disregarding a company’s separate legal personality to treat the acts or liabilities of the company as those of its controllers (typically shareholders or directors). It is not a statutory term in UK or Irish company law, but a case law‑based, descriptive expression used across multiple contexts, most often in insolvency, enforcement and fraud litigation.In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, following cases such as *Prest v Petrodel Resources Ltd*, courts will only pierce the veil in very narrow circumstances, usually where a company is used as a façade or sham to evade existing legal obligations or to perpetrate fraud. Similar principles apply in Scotland and Ireland, where courts also stress that incorporation and limited liability will be upheld unless there is abuse of the corporate structure.Piercing the corporate veil is distinct from other routes to personal liability (for example, wrongful trading, misfeasance, guarantees or statutory director liability). For practitioners, it is typically argued as a last resort, with a high evidential threshold and significant uncertainty as to outcome.

Family analysis: When are courts prepared to pierce the corporate veil? Graeme Fraser, a partner at Hunters, explores a Court of Appeal decision not to pierce the corporate veil in a cohabitation case.

This Practice Note considers the circumstances in which the court may treat the assets or benefit of a company as those of an individual defendant in confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002). It examines the limited doctrine of piercing the corporate veil in the criminal context, with particular focus on the principles established in R v Seager and Blatch and clarified by the Supreme Court in Prest v Petrodel Resources. The note also analyses how the concepts of concealment and evasion operate in confiscation cases, and reviews key appellate guidance, including R v Sale, R v Boyle and R v Powell, before outlining practical considerations for practitioners. The corporate veil A properly formed registered company is a separate legal entity from its shareholders and has separate rights and liabilities as a separate legal person. This is called the corporate veil. Thus, in the normal course of events, a company’s assets would not constitute the realisable property of any individual defendant. In order for the company’s

Property analysis: How effective are schemes widely adopted by property owners to avoid liability for business rates for properties? Edward Francis reports in light of a recent High Court ruling.

Family analysis: Emma Gill, director and head of divorce and family law at Vardags, Manchester, discusses the recent case of Akhmedova v Akhmedov, a high-profile divorce case which illustrates the actions courts will take to prevent disobedience in paying awards.

CASE HUB ARCHIVED—this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the final decision of 28 November 2024; it is no longer maintained. See further: timeline. Case facts Outline European Commission Article 101 TFEU investigation into restrictions on cross-border sales of Pierre Cardin licensed clothing (AT.40642). Latest development On 28 November 2024, the Commission issued its infringement decision in which it imposed fines totalling €5.7m on two underakings. The fines imposed on the two undertakings

A US colloquialism describing a container used to ship or store radioactive materials. The thick walls of this shielding device, which are usually made of lead or depleted uranium, protect the person handling the container from radiation. Large containers used for spent fuel storage are commonly called casks. Also an implement used for cleaning rust and alien substances from a piping system.

See Tag along rights.

A term that was used to describe the first nuclear reactors which consisted of "piles" of graphite and uranium blocks. See Windscale Piles.

Piling is often carried out as part of the construction of foundations of a building, and is usually performed by specialist sub-contractors. It involves inserting piles (which can be made of various materials) into the ground to form a strong support for the structure.

First, second and third elements of a holistic pension system. The first pillar is the state pension, the second pillar is workplace pensions and the third is private savings.

The pillars of Islam are mandatory foundations of Muslim life. The nature of the pillars and their number (and the number of ancillary or related practices) differs between different branches of Islam.