The European Commission has published a report reviewing the enforcement of EU antitrust and merger rules taken by the Commission and national competition authorities (NCAs) in the pharmaceutical sector between 2018 and 2022. The report found that the Commission adopted 26 decisions against anti-competitive practices in the supply of medicines by imposing fines of over €780m or making legally binding commitments offered by the companies to remedy their behaviour, 30 mergers in the pharmaceutical sectors have been reviewed, with concerns found in five cases where mergers could have led to price increases or patients and national healthcare systems being deprived of some medicines, and 60 market monitoring and advocacy activities were undertaken by the NCAs.

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has released a new report titled 'The Interaction between the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and General Principles with the Windsor Framework.' The report provides analysis on the relevance of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Northern Ireland in the aftermath of UK’s withdrawal from the EU. It is the latest report in the NIHRC's ongoing series exploring human rights obligations under Article 2 of the Windsor Framework. This Article provides that legal protections concerning human rights in Northern Ireland are not reduced after Brexit.

The Public Law Project has conducted research into the effectiveness of the Legal Aid Agency's immigration providers south-west support directory, implemented to address the acute shortage of legal aid providers in south-west England. The study, covering a six-month period, reveals a consistent trend of limited provider capacity, particularly for asylum appeals. On average, only 11% of listed providers had capacity including for asylum appeals, while 20% had capacity but not for asylum cases. The research highlights the ongoing challenges in addressing the legal aid crisis in the region, despite recent developments such as the Ministry of Justice's Review of Civil Legal Aid and the government's announcement of a consultation on increasing legal aid fees for immigration and housing sectors.

The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), Vaccines Europe and the IQVIA have released a report assessing the clinical trial ecosystem in Europe. The report shows the European Economic Area's (EEA) commercial trials has reduced from 22% in 2013, to 18% in 2018 to 12% in 2023, which means access to the latest medicines declined and the number of clinical trial places available for Europeans decreased by 60,000. The report also noted that the decrease in clinical research in Europe could be as a result of the 'less favourable regulatory and funding environments' and stressed the importance of regulatory reforms to streamline clinical trial processes and attract more research investment to Europe.

This is a Precedent report to notify anti-counterfeiting matters to a client or to another part of a business. This might include detentions by the customs authorities pursuant to the simplified procedure set out in Assimilated Regulation (EU) 608/2013, detentions by the Trading Standards or the police, or other discoveries of counterfeit goods. The purpose of the Precedent is to streamline the process of taking instructions on whether a detained or discovered good is counterfeit. It is often used to deal with fairly low value, time-critical

This Practice Note contains a spreadsheet, collating detailed data breach examples provided by UK and European regulators, ie: • ICO, Personal data breaches: a guide • EDPB, Guidelines 01/2021 on Examples regarding Personal Data Breach Notification You can consult the spreadsheet to determine whether certain types of data breach are considered to be reportable to the Information Commission’s Office (ICO) and/or affected data subjects, although you should always conduct your own assessment of any data breach that happens within your organisation. The threshold for reporting to the ICO is lower than the threshold for informing data subjects—this is explained below and also by way of notes added to the relevant columns of the spreadsheet. The examples take the form of detailed

From A-day, the scheme administrator must report certain events to HMRC.

This involves providing members with annual or quarterly updates on the performance of their chosen investment funds as well as an obligatory annual forecast on the value in today's terms of their accumulated benefits today and at retirement.

TMT analysis: The High Court has upheld the defence of qualified privilege under the Defamation Act 1996 (DeA 1996) in respect of articles published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) which reported on General Medical Council (GMC) proceedings. The court held that the proceedings fell within DeA 1996, Sch 1, Pt II, para 11(1)(e) in terms of both the nature of the proceedings and the fact it was a fair and accurate account of them.

The reporting accountant, which may or may not be the company’s auditor, refers to the financial advisor that prepares the required financial reports and submissions in relation to an admission to listing or other equity capital market transaction or requirement (such as a circular).

A firm of accountants appointed by an issuer in connection with an IPO, introduction or secondary offer. The reporting accountants will undertake financial due diligence on the issuer, prepare a number of financial reports and provide comfort on certain financial information.

This Practice Note provides guidance for in-house solicitors on their breach reporting obligations under the SRA Standards and Regulations. It is based on reporting requirements in the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs, RFLs and RSLs and the SRA’s enforcement strategy. It is not just solicitors in law firms who have a duty to report actual and potential breaches to the SRA. This duty applies equally to in-house solicitors, RELs, RFLs and RSLs and it is wider than you may expect. This Practice Note does not cover your responsibilities to report wrongdoing within your organisation or reporting issues to external authorities other than the SRA. For more information on the SRA’s expectations of in-house solicitors in this regard, see the SRA’s guidance on reporting concerns about wrongdoing when working in-house. This Practice Note also does not cover the operation of the SRA’s reporting obligations for solicitors, RELs, RFLs and RSLs working in firms authorised by the SRA. For more information on breach reporting in an SRA-authorised body, see Practice Note: Breach