The Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB), under commission from the Lord Chancellor in May 2025, has launched a Major Review of the Judicial Salary Structure to examine fundamental issues affecting judicial pay, including recruitment shortfalls, attractiveness of judicial offices, and organisation and leadership. The questionnaire, combining quantitative and qualitative questions, seeks insights into systemic challenges facing the judiciary and will inform Evidence Gathering Phase 1, which is underway from September 2025 to February 2026. The SSRB encourages individual responses from fee-paid and salaried judges in their personal capacities, rather than through judicial associations, which will provide separate written submissions. The SSRB also plans for stakeholders, including judicial appointment bodies, justice departments, and the heads of the UK judiciary, to submit written evidence by 27 February 2026 as part of this wide-ranging review. The call for evidence closes on 30 January 2026.

The Social Science Research Network (SSRN) has published an article titled International Arbitrators as a Profession by Professor, Catherine A. Rogers, offering a landmark analysis of how international arbitration has evolved into a fully-fledged transnational profession. Moving beyond state-based definitions of professional status, Rogers argues that arbitrators now constitute a cohesive global community, unified by specialised expertise, ethical norms, and reputational accountability.

The Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) has launched a consultation on proposed updates to the baseline profit rate (BPR) methodology for defence-related single source contracts. The updates respond to changes in the Nomenclature of Economic Activities (NACE) database and aim to align company size thresholds with new UK regulations. The consultation also seeks to resolve two outstanding proposals from the 2024 phase 2 consultation on the BPR methodology. The BPR methodology is used to determine initial profit rates for Ministry of Defence contracts let without competition, known as Qualifying Defence Contracts and Qualifying Sub-Contracts. The consultation closes on 11 August 2025.

The Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) has launched a consultation on its new and updated pricing guidance on non-competitive defence contracts. The consultation is aimed at obtaining feedback on the guidance which introduces alternative pricing methods for contracts, more flexibility and transparency through broadening the ability for a contract to be split into different components or parts and the rationalisation of how the contract profit rate is to be calculated. The guidance is due to come into force on 1 April 2024. The consultation closes on 17 April 2024.

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)’s Wills Working Group has submitted comments on testamentary capacity encouraging the Law Commission of England and Wales to reconsider the interaction of the test for testamentary capacity in Banks v Goodfellow (1870, LR 5 QB 549) with the test under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This is in light of recent caselaw and commentary illustrating the inconsistent application. STEP recommends implementing a single statutory test based on Banks v Goodfellow.

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) has announced that HMRC has published inheritance tax (IHT) liabilities statistics, showing liabilities of £7.03 billion in 2023–24—a 5% rise and the first time the figure has exceeded £7 billion. Taxpaying estates fell by 3.6% to 30,400, though the proportion of UK deaths incurring an IHT charge rose to 4.72%, the highest since 2006–07, as total UK deaths fell from 683,000 to 644,000. The average effective tax rate was 13%, well below the headline 40% marginal rate, reflecting the impact of exemptions and reliefs. The average tax bill per estate rose by 9% to £231,000. The spouse or civil partner exemption remained the largest relief, with £6.8 billion transferred to surviving spouses and civil partners, used by 5,560 estates above the nil-rate band. Combined agricultural and business property relief (APR and BPR) totalled £5.96 billion, with BPR accounting for £3.85 billion (up by 15%) and APR accounting for £2.11 billion (up by 9%). Charitable transfers exempted rose slightly to £1.94 billion. The residence nil-rate band was used by 31,000 estates, sheltering £7.79 billion from IHT. HMRC attributed the rise to higher wealth transfer volumes, rising asset values and the continued freeze on IHT thresholds at 2020–21 levels. London and the South East accounted for 46% of total UK IHT charged, with London's average taxpaying estate billed £297,000.

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) UK Technical Committee submitted an additional response to HMRC regarding the taxation changes for non-UK domiciled individuals on 18 September 2024. This follows STEP’s previous submissions submitted in May and August 2024. In this response, STEP addresses further points including the ending of the remittance of foreign income and gains, carried interest, transitional rules for trusts, estate tax treaties, and potential double taxation on trust assets. STEP sets out its proposals to address some of the practical issues and concerns it has identified.

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) UK Technical Committee has responded to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)'s policy paper on changes to the taxation of non-UK domiciled individuals (non-doms). STEP welcomes the consultation and agrees with the premise that if domicile is no longer to be treated as the primary connecting factor for inheritance tax then a test based on tax residency is preferable to, for example, one based on citizenship. STEP also suggests that the proposed regime for new residents is too short and not competitive in comparison to similar regimes and recommends that a longer period, with a fixed annual charge in respect of foreign income and gains, would offer a more competitive plan.

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Probate Inquiry Working Group has submitted its response to the House of Commons (HoC) Justice Committee’s inquiry into the performance of the probate service and concerns regarding delays and inaccuracies. Surveys of STEP members in England and Wales were conducted revealing that it is believed backlogs are largely caused by a lack of experienced staff and a lack of efficient lines of communication with the probate registry. STEP’s proposals include outsourcing complex cases to law firms or private practitioners being seconded to the probate registry.

ARCHIVED: This Checklist has been archived and is not maintained. STOP PRESS: On 1 November 2024, a new framework for securitisation came into force in the UK, revoking and replacing the onshored EU legislative regime While the new UK framework largely retains the substance of the previous onshored EU regime, the new UK regime diverges in certain key areas including, among other things, scope, risk retention, transparency, due diligence and STS designation. For a comparison of the STS criteria under both regimes, see Practice Note: UK and EU securitisation regimes—comparison. On 17 June 2025, the European Commission published its long-awaited review of the EU Securitisation Framework, accompanied by a comprehensive legislative proposal to amend the EU Securitisation Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/2402), the EU Capital Requirements Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 575/2013), the EU Solvency II Delegated Regulation (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/35) and the EU Liquidity Coverage Requirement Delegated Regulation (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/61). Amendments to the EU Securitisation Regulation relate to, among other things, risk retention, due diligence, transparency, STS

We refer you to Practice Note: Multiple principals and appointed representatives which states that SUP 12.4.5B R in the FCA Handbook requires principals

The Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Centre (SVAMC) has published the SVAMC Guidelines on the Use Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Arbitration. The Guidelines provide best practices and procedures on using AI in international arbitration and aim to address current and future use of AI. Dmitri Evseev, Member of the SVAMC AI Guidelines Drafting Subcommittee, Arbitrator at Arbitra International and Founder of ARBI.CITY provides comment on the Guidelines.