The decision in Robinson v Liverpool Hospitals NHS Trust v Mercier [2023] EWHC 21 (KB), handed down on 11 January, provides guidance on the circumstances in which cost orders may be granted against expert witnesses.

Introduction

In the technological era that we now live in, it is worth asking the question: what alternatives are there to serving court documents in hard copy? For instance, could proceedings be served by more unusual methods such as through blockchain or over social media?

On 4 October 2022, the CMA published its final recommendation to the Secretary of State on the retained EU Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (MVBER). The retained MVBER expires on 31 May 2023 and sets out automatic exemptions for certain categories of agreements related to the purchase, sale, and resale of spare parts for motor vehicles and the provision of repair and maintenance services for motor vehicles.

Introduction

Hydrogen represents a significant potential business opportunity. BEIS believe that up to 250-460TWh of hydrogen could be required by 2050, approximately 20-35% of final energy consumption. This compares to production of, at most, 27TWh a year at present. The current BEIS target is 10GW of clean hydrogen production by 2030, with at least half coming from electrolytic conversion.

The Technology and Construction Court has provided a recent qualification to the requirements for notices of dissatisfaction under New Engineering Contract (NEC) conditions following an adjudicator’s decision. The court found that ‘the validity of an adjudicator’s decision is of a fundamental[ly] different character from its merits’, meaning that jurisdictional issues and substantive merit issues should be covered separately in any notice of dissatisfaction under NEC. 

The UK Government published last month its annual report on the application of the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA). The NSIA came into force on 4 January 2022. The report covers the period commencing from that date to 31 March 2022, though future annual reports will cover a full calendar year.

The NSIA is already having a significant effect. As an example, the UK Government call in of the proposed acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab by Nexperia, a Netherlands company ultimately owned by a Chinese company, has attracted a lot of attention.