United Kingdom: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

HMRC has introduced anti-avoidance information notices (AAINs) under Part 6 of the Finance Act 2026, granting significantly broader powers to investigate tax avoidance promotion and facilitation. These notices can target a wide network of connected persons—including directors, advisers, and intermediaries—without requiring proof that tax was lost or that arrangements were ineffective. With substantial civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance, businesses and advisers must understand who ca

HMRC's new anti-avoidance information notice regime grants broad investigative powers to gather information from persons suspected of connection to tax avoidance arrangements. The guidance reveals an expansive "connected person" test that may extend beyond promoters and taxpayers to include advisers, accountants, insurers and other professional service providers involved in making arrangements available, organizing them, or deriving benefits from them.

The High Court has ruled that the Solicitors Regulation Authority cannot compel law firms to produce documents protected by legal professional privilege during regulatory investigations without client consent. This landmark decision challenges the SRA's longstanding enforcement strategy and raises critical questions about how effectively the regulator can investigate misconduct complaints, particularly from third parties, when clients refuse to waive privilege.

The English High Court has clarified when duties of good faith will be implied into commercial contracts, rejecting the notion that "relational contracts" automatically trigger such obligations. The decision establishes that courts must apply orthodox implication principles and confirms that settlement agreements are inherently unlikely to include implied good faith duties.

Discover how in-house legal teams are approaching litigation strategy in 2025, from viewing disputes as operational necessities to leveraging alternative funding and managing geopolitical risks. Our collaboration with The Lawyer reveals the priorities shaping the year ahead for general counsel navigating an increasingly complex legal landscape.

The Technology and Construction Court recently ruled that liabilities from a Pre-Construction Services Agreement can survive entry into a main JCT contract, even when the PCSA is "subsumed into and subject to" the subsequent agreement. This decision clarifies how pre-existing contractual breaches may continue to affect extension of time claims and contractor obligations under main construction contracts.

The English High Court has clarified when duties of good faith will be implied into commercial contracts, rejecting the notion that "relational contracts" automatically trigger such obligations. The decision establishes that courts must apply orthodox implication principles and confirms that settlement agreements are inherently unlikely to include implied good faith duties.

When a professional negligence claim approaches limitation and the proposed defendant has been dissolved, the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010 offers a potential route to pursue claims through professional indemnity insurers. However, a recent High Court decision demonstrates that this Act does not suspend limitation periods, leaving claimants vulnerable if they fail to take timely protective steps before the ordinary six-year deadline expires.

Independent Financial Advisers need comprehensive information about a protected party's background, current finances, and future care projections to provide effective advice in Court of Protection cases. Deputies who understand how to frame instructions properly—focusing on what the money needs to achieve rather than simply what's available to invest—receive better-targeted financial guidance and can more effectively manage family expectations through scenario modelling.

Eversheds Sutherland provides comprehensive legal services through a global network of separate and distinct legal entities. The firm's website offers access to legal professionals, insights on international arbitration, workplace technology deployment, and sovereign immunity cases, while maintaining clear disclaimers about the general information nature of its materials.

The UK Supreme Court's narrow 3-2 decision in The Kingdom of Bahrain v Shehabi denies state immunity to foreign governments accused of remotely hacking individuals within UK territory, establishing that cyber surveillance operations causing harm to UK residents fall outside traditional immunity protections. This landmark ruling clarifies the territorial tort exception under the State Immunity Act 1978 and may expose foreign states to liability for state-sponsored cyberattacks targeting UK-based individuals

The UK Supreme Court has ruled on whether sovereign states can invoke immunity to resist enforcement of adverse ICSID arbitration awards in English courts. Spain and Zimbabwe challenged the registration...