When deciding to enter into a joint venture, the parties will want to carefully consider the identity of the other proposed parties to the joint venture, and specifically the expertise, experience and resources that they will bring to the joint venture. In a private limited company, there is a considerable amount of flexibility in terms of the restrictions that may be imposed on the transfer of shares and included in the relevant contractual documentation relating to the company, provided that such provisions do not render the agreement void or illegal/unenforceable. However, in a joint venture, the admission of new shareholders to the joint venture company (JVC) is likely to have a significant impact on the control and management of the JVC. The parties are therefore likely to want to ensure that the shareholders remain involved in the joint venture (at least for a pre-agreed period of time). The joint venture agreement (also referred to as a shareholders’ agreement) (JVA) and/or the articles of association of the JVC will therefore typically contain some controls (whether

When deciding to enter into a joint venture, parties will want to consider carefully the identity of the other proposed parties to the joint venture and the experience and resources that they will bring to the joint venture. They are therefore likely to want to ensure that the parties remain involved in the joint venture (at least for a pre-agreed period of time) and have some controls over who they transfer their shares to. The types of share transfer restrictions that are included will additionally depend upon (among other things) the intended duration of the joint venture, how the parties intend to realise their investments, the cash-flow and fund raising requirements of the parties and any share transfer restrictions contained in other transaction documents, eg financing documents. Restrictions on transfer For this reason, most joint venture agreements (JVA) (also known as shareholders’ agreements) and/or articles of association will contain a number of restrictions on the transfer of shares by the joint venture parties. These restrictions could include: • permanent or temporary prohibitions on transfers of shares

Instrument entitling holders to exercise a call to substitute them for shares at a fixed price (or strike price).

Arises to account for the credit entry for share-based payment arrangements (eg issues of share options) charged to profit or loss. Not mandatory as the relevant accounting standards just require a credit to equity, but is commonly seen in practice. It is normally released to retained earnings as a reserve transfer when the options are either exercised or lapse.

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: The court rejected a spouse’s claim to a beneficial interest in a property where the other spouse was the sole registered owner. The judgment carries implications for those considering what evidence a claiming spouse must put forward in order to establish a beneficial interest in a property which is registered in the sole name of the other spouse. Written by Oberon Kwok, barrister at Selborne Chambers.

Family analysis: Richard Jones, barrister at 1 Garden Court Chambers, discusses the practical implications of the judgment in JAL v LSW, which concerns how the courts should approach relocation cases where care of the child has been shared.

Shared competence is one type of Union legislative competence; in the areas where it is used the Member States hold legislative competences together with the Union.

Shared custody describes arrangements where separated parents both play an active, ongoing role in the day‑to‑day care and decision‑making for their child, typically involving the child spending substantial, though not necessarily equal, time with each parent. In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, the term is not a formal statutory label; courts instead make “child arrangements orders” (residence/contact) determining where a child lives and with whom they spend time. In Scotland, the equivalent is “residence” and “contact” orders under parental responsibilities and rights. In Ireland, the concept arises through “guardianship”, “custody” and “access” orders. “Shared custody” is therefore a descriptive term used by practitioners and clients to refer to shared care or joint residence-type arrangements, rather than a distinct legal status. It may coexist with joint parental responsibility/guardianship, but equal legal responsibility does not automatically mean shared physical care. Key issues for family lawyers include the child’s welfare as the paramount consideration, practicality of a shared-care schedule, parental co‑operation, proximity of households, and impact on schooling and stability. The expression is used broadly consistently across the UK and Ireland, though underlying orders and terminology vary by jurisdiction.

This Practice Note provides an explanation of the shared parental leave regime that applies in relation to the adoption of a child under section 75G of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) and the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 (SPL Regs 2014), SI 2014/3050. It covers the eligibility criteria for an adopter and/or an adopter’s partner, the need for curtailment of adoption leave, notice and declaration requirements before leave may be taken, the rights and obligations in agreeing and varying periods of leave as well as contractual and other rights during leave. In essence, the right to shared parental leave allows, after adoption, the adopter of the child and a second person (who must be married to, or the civil partner of, or the partner of, that adopter) to share (if they wish) up to 50 weeks of leave to which the adopter would otherwise be entitled as adoption leave. It therefore does not increase the overall amount of leave that may be taken; rather, it allows that entitlement to be shared between those two people. The

This Practice Note explains the shared parental leave regime that applies in relation to the birth of a child under section 75E of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) and the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 (SPL Regs 2014), SI 2014/3050. In essence, the right to shared parental leave allows, after birth, the mother of the child and a second person (who must be the father of child, or married to, or the civil partner of, or the partner of, that mother) to share up to 50 of the 52 weeks of leave to which the mother would otherwise be entitled as maternity leave. It therefore does not increase the overall amount of leave that may be taken; rather, it allows that entitlement to be shared between those two people, if they wish. Overview of shared parental leave and pay on birth In brief, eligible parents who share responsibility for a child can get shared parental leave in the first year after: • the birth of their child • adopting a child (see Practice Note: Shared parental

Instructions: please read all of this before filling in the form If you have not already submitted a ‘a Notice of entitlement for shared parental leave and/or pay’ to the Company, you must submit such a notice at the same time as you submit this booking form in order for you to be entitled to take shared parental leave: • if you are the mother or expectant mother of the child in respect of whom shared parental leave is to be taken, you must submit the notice entitled ‘Notice of entitlement for shared parental leave and/or pay: mothers’; • if you are the father or expectant father of the child, and/or married to, the civil partner of, or the ‘partner’ of the mother, you must instead submit the notice entitled ‘Notice of entitlement for shared parental leave and/or pay: fathers and partners’ (‘partner’ in this context means a person who lives with the mother, and will live with the child, in an 'enduring family relationship', but is not the mother’s child, parent (including adoptive or former

Instructions: please read all of this before filling in the form If you have not already submitted a ‘a Notice of entitlement for shared parental leave and/or pay’ to the Company, you must submit such a notice at the same time as you submit this booking form in order for you to be entitled to take shared parental leave: • if you are the adopter or expected adopter of the child in respect of whom shared parental leave is to be taken, you must submit the notice entitled ‘Notice of entitlement for shared parental leave and/or pay: adopters’; • if you are married to, the civil partner of, or the ‘partner’ of the adopter, you must instead submit the notice entitled ‘Notice of entitlement for shared parental leave and/or pay: adopters’ partners’ (‘partner’ in this context means a person who lives with the adopter, and will live with the child, in an 'enduring family relationship', but is not the adopter’s child, parent (including adoptive or former adoptive parents), grandchild, grandparent, brother,