Law360: The British government said on 11 September 2024 that it has sanctioned a group of ten ships allegedly using illegal means to avoid Russian oil restrictions, preventing them from entering the country and refusing them permission to register with authorities.

Law360: The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) said on 17 April 2024 that thousands of UK savers have reported losing almost £2bn from pension schemes that went bankrupt since 2019.

Law360, London: Ratifying the New York Convention isn't enough to strip away a state's right to plead sovereign immunity in a later dispute over a contract that might be subject to the convention's rules, a London court has ruled.

A number of industry sectors in the UK have their own sector regulator—some of these sector regulators (but not all) also have concurrent competition powers, meaning that they have the power to enforce competition law within their regulated sector. The system for regulating specific industry sectors in the UK is complex owing to the interplay between the powers of the sector regulator to apply sector-specific regulation as well as competition law. This regulatory system has evolved following the privatisation of a number of specific sectors and the gradual evolution of regulation over time. Each regulated sector is subject to its own individual and detailed regulatory framework. Thus, while there are a number of issues and procedures that are common across all or most of the regulated sectors, in detail they tend to differ in often fundamental respects. Therefore, specific reference must be made to the individual frameworks as they apply in each sector. For details of ongoing competition cases and markets being investigated by sector regulators, see further, UK behavioural investigations—case

This timeline shows key developments relating to the UK securitisation regime from January 2024 onwards. For earlier developments, see: EU and UK Securitisation Regulations—timeline [Archived]. On 1 November 2024, Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 (the UK Securitisation Regulation) ceased to apply in the UK and new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) rules for securitisation came into force. For information on the new UK framework, see Practice Note: The UK securitisation regime—essentials. 2026 Date Source Document Description 22 May 2026 UK Government Securitisation (Overseas STS Equivalence) (European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/550 These Regulations designate the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway for the purposes of Securitisation Regulations 2024, SI 2024/102, reg 13 in relation to non-synthetic securitisations treated as simple, transparent and standardised under the relevant law and practice, so that those securitisations fall within the definition of ‘overseas STS securitisation’ and may be described as ‘STS’ or ‘simple, transparent and standardised’ for the purposes of those Regulations. They come into force on 30 June 2026. 18 May 2026 ICMA Response

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has announced that the UK has secured the final approval needed for its progression to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) by 15 December 2024. Over 99% of current UK goods exports to CPTPP members, which include Japan, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand and Vietnam, will be tariff-free once the UK accedes to the CPTPP agreement. This will help businesses export more to CPTPP markets and boost economic growth. The agreement is expected to boost the UK's economy by around £2bn per year by 2040.

UK Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, and Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information, Josephine Teo, have signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Emerging technologies and Data cooperation to improve research and regulatory cooperation on the government use of data and new technologies. The MoU build on the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement signed in February 2022, and the 2020 UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, and aim to boost services trade between the countries.

IP analysis: The UK has become the 15th signatory of the Riyadh Design Law Treaty, which aims to harmonise procedures and reduce administrative burdens for protecting designs across multiple countries. Such harmonisation would be greatly welcomed as there is currently wild variation between the procedures enforced by different countries. The fact that key players, such as the US and China, are not yet signatories leads to some uncertainty over whether the treaty will be effective in achieving its goals. However, by being the first country with a well-established IP office to sign the treaty, the UK has interestingly positioned itself to potentially act as a template for other countries to follow, which could be very beneficial to UK designers. Written by Jack Livsey and Jason Teng, both UK and European patent attorneys and design practitioners at Potter Clarkson LLP.

The UK has signed the first legally-binding international treaty addressing the risks of AI. The treaty aims to strengthen safeguards against potential threats to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law posed by AI. It commits parties to collective action to manage AI products and protect the public from potential misuse. It will ensure countries monitor AI development and that the technology is managed within strict parameters. The government will work with regulators, devolved administrations, and local authorities to implement the treaty's requirements once ratified. This could include strenghtening the Online Safety Act 2023.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced that the UK has signed the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention, sparing firms caught up in international legal disputes time and money. The MoJ has noted that this also increases the UK’s status as a ‘global centre for dispute resolution’ and that it will ensure international trade and investment growth.

For a UK taxpayer carrying on a real estate-related business in the UK, whether it be trading or investing in land, the tax treatment of their financing costs is of prime importance. After the purchase price for the land itself, the next major cost is likely to be the cost of financing that purchase. It is important to ensure that: • such financing costs are, to the maximum extent possible, tax deductible, and • interest may be paid free from withholding tax This Practice Note: • briefly considers the rules on the deductibility of interest payable by a UK taxpayer, and • looks in detail at the requirements to withhold tax on payments of interest in a typical real estate holding structure For the purposes of this Practice Note, references to CGT are to both capital gains tax and corporation tax on chargeable gains. Interest deductibility Corporation taxpayers For a company subject to corporation tax, interest payable on a loan is governed by the loan relationship rules. Since

FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to the modernisation of stamp taxes on shares framework: Stamp duty and SDRT will, in 2027, be replaced with a single, self-assessed tax on transfers of securities, the securities transfer tax (STT) (formerly referred to as the securities transfer charge or STC), that will be paid (and reported) through electronic transfer systems such as CREST or, where appropriate, a new online portal. Draft legislation for the STT was published on 13 July 2026, along with explanatory notes, a policy paper and the outcome of the higher rate 1.5% stamp tax consultation. Subject to exemptions, the STT draft legislation includes a main charge of 0.5% for agreements to transfer chargeable securities to another person for consideration in money or money’s worth and, for transfers to a clearance service (CS) or depositary receipt issuer (DRI), a higher-rate charge of 1.5%. The main charge arises when an agreement is made or, in the case of a conditional agreement, when the conditions are satisfied, although, where the agreement is not electronic, the STT charge arises when