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BLOG: Time to rethink the UK’s approach to modern slavery? Parliamentary inquiry into forced labour in international supply chains On 21 January, the UK Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (“the Joint Committee”) launched an inquiry into the UK’s legal and voluntary frameworks that address forced labour in international supply chains. The Joint Committee's findings and conc... BLOG: Atomic Modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty: Incremental Change or Fundamental Reform? - Part I The Energy Charter Treaty (‘ECT’) has long served as a cornerstone of cross-border energy investments. However, it has also faced increasing scrutiny, particularly for shielding fossil fuel investments at a time when many states are accelerating their ene... BLOG: Climate Litigation: Scottish Court Quashes Consents For North Sea Oil And Gas Fields The Court of Session in Scotland (Scotland’s supreme civil court) has quashed decisions by the previous UK Government to grant consent for the development of the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North Sea. BLOG: The Commission Work Programme 2025: What’s Next for the Omnibus? Updates in relation to the EU’s proposed sustainability 'omnibus' package seem to be coming thick and fast, although distinguishing between what is rumour and what is actually being planned, whilst we await further details from the Commission, ... BLOG: Atomic Modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty: Incremental Change or Fundamental Reform? - Part II The amendments introduce several procedural refinements to increase legal certainty and procedural efficiency in investment disputes. The modernised ECT now introduces narrower definitions of an ‘investor’ and ‘investment’. This amendment aims to pre... BLOG: Clean Industrial Deal: the European Commission sets out new plans to reform competition policy Earlier this week, the European Commission (EC) published the Clean Industrial Deal (CID), which sets out a suite of measures designed to transform decarbonisation into a driver of growth for European industries. Ursula von der Leyen had previously p... BLOG: The Sustainability Omnibus - Streamlining Sustainability Regulation On 26 February 2025, the European Commission published its proposals for the first in a series of ‘omnibus’ packages, aimed at streamlining the EU’s sustainability and value chain due diligence legislation. The proposals hope to reduce sustainability repo... BLOG: Court of Appeal’s decision in Gunfleet Sands: a boost to the UK government’s infrastructure drive The Court of Appeal published their decision in Gunfleet Sands on 17 March 2025, upholding the taxpayers’ appeal on the availability of capital allowances for predevelopment expenditure on offshore windfarms. This case has previously been referred to as G... BLOG: The Employment Rights Bill: Seven Questions for Employers The Employment Rights Bill (ERB) has been hailed by the Prime Minister as “introducing the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”. It is the most significant piece of employment legislation in decades, and includes 28 different reforms f... BLOG: EU Clean Industrial Deal: Energy policy plays a leading role The EC recognises that high energy costs mean that existing industries may choose to relocate, or new investments may take place outside of the EU. The Action Plan on Affordable Energy (APAE) (adopted in February) is at the heart of CID proposals to addre...