The Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR) has announced Mr Justice Henshaw will give a talk on 'What’s next for London Arbitration?' on 16 April 2024. This talk is open to COMBAR members and pupils. The event will take place virtually and in rooms at the Ashworth Centre at Lincoln’s Inn from 5:45pm to 6:45pm.

The Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR) has published the annual lecture details for 2024. The event is set to take place on 22 October 2024. Lord Grabiner KC will deliver the lecture, sharing insights from his 56-year career at the Commercial Bar, drawing on his personal experiences of working with clients. This event is exclusively open to COMBAR and select Society for Behaviour Analysis (SBA) members and pupils, it will take place in-person. The lecture will be recorded.

The Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR) will host a lecture on 16 June 2025, examining the Arbitration Act 2025 and related developments in arbitration law. Sir Richard Aikens, Ricky Diwan KC, and Salim Moollan KC, will discuss the law applicable to arbitration agreements, jurisdictional re-hearings, and stays of court proceedings. The lecture will take place at the Inner Temple Lecture Theatre and is open to members of COMBAR, the Chancery Bar Association, and the Technology and Construction Bar Association.

The Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, together with the European Medicines Agency and participating Member States, has launched a pilot coordinated assessment procedure for multinational combined studies under the COMBINE programme. Initiated on 13 June 2025 as part of Project 1, the pilot allows sponsors to submit a single application for the simultaneous assessment of clinical trials involving medicinal products and performance studies of in vitro diagnostic medical devices. This ‘all-in-one’ process seeks to reduce administrative burdens, shorten authorisation timelines, and expedite patient access to innovative treatments. The pilot follows the May 2024 publication of the COMBINE analysis report, which identified regulatory challenges and proposed solutions. Expressions of interest for participation in the pilot must be submitted by 31 August 2025, with selection confirmations due by 31 October 2025.

The COMESA merger control regime came into force on 14 January 2013. COMESA is now comprised of 21 African member states, being Burundi, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, eSwatini (Swaziland), Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, the Federal Republic of Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe (collectively, the Member States). The COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission (Commission) enforces regional competition policy and a supra-national merger control regime, which has recently been overhauled by the COMESA Competition and Consumer Protection Regulations, 2025 (2025 Regulations) and the COMESA Competition and Consumer Protection Rules, 2025 (2025 Rules). NOTE—to see whether notification thresholds in COMESA and throughout the world are met, see further: Where to Notify. 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the COMESA merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any

money-purchase'>Contracted-out money purchase scheme.

The University of Oxford's Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) has published a report 'Understanding Migrant Destitution in the UK: Research Findings'. The report focuses on the effects of the No Recourse to Public Funds policy on migrant destitution, highlighting the scale of migrant destitution and the vital role of local authorities in supporting vulnerable people facing destitution. 142 local authorities were reported as providing financial support to 10,640 destitute migrant people who had No Recourse to Public Funds in 2021/2022. Many local authorities were unable to provide data, but using the baseline provided by the other local authorities, COMPAS estimates that support was provided to c.18,000 people in 2021/2022, including 5,400 families, 10,500 children, and 2,700 vulnerable adults, at an estimated cost of £102 million for local authorities. It is estimated that since 2012/2013, the number of families supported in England and Wales has risen by 150%, with estimated costs for local authorities supporting families increasing by almost 230%. Councils receive no dedicated funding for this support.

The resumed meeting of the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) concluded in Rome on 27 February 2025, resulting in three key outcomes. First, a new resource mobilisation agreement was reached, outlining a strategy for global collaboration and identifying various instruments, mechanisms, and institutions to mobilise the necessary funds for implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). Second, a Monitoring Framework for the KMGBF was finalised, which will enable UN CBD parties to consistently measure and report progress against its 23 targets and four goals, strengthening the international community's ability to monitor the global state of nature. Lastly, the Cali Fund was launched to facilitate the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources, allowing companies utilising genetic databases derived from nature to voluntarily direct funds to indigenous peoples and local communities who protect biodiversity. Agreements were also reached on the measurement and use of indicators, and decisions were made on the procedures for reviewing KMGBF implementation progress at COP17 as part of the planned global stocktake.

On 1 November 2024, the final day of the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), working groups continued to address draft decisions, and consultations were held on digital sequence information (DSI), resource mobilisation, and the budget. In addition, delegates agreed to establish a subsidiary body on Article 8(j) and provisions of the CBD related to Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs). They also adopted a decision on the operationalisation of the multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism for DSI use and the establishment of the Cali Fund.

The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) began on 21 October 2024 in Cali, Colombia, with talks scheduled to run until 1 November 2024. Under the theme ‘peace with nature’, world leaders, scientists, finance experts, indigenous groups and youth networks gathered to advance the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

On 22 October 2024, negotiations at the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) gained momentum as Working Group I continued deliberations on resource mobilisation and the financial mechanism, among other issues. Working Group II reviewed a comprehensive series of items related to the CBD and its Protocols. Contact group negotiations also progressed on various topics, including synthetic biology, marine and coastal biodiversity and island biodiversity, Article 8(j) of the CBD, resource mobilisation, biodiversity and health, digital sequence information on genetic resources, climate change, and capacity building.

The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) continued on 23 October 2024 with the conclusion of Working Group II’s first reading of all 26 agenda items for CBD, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CP), and the Nagoya Protocol (NP) on access and benefit-sharing (ABS). Delegates began their consideration of conference room papers, and text-based negotiations continued.