Articles by author
Sinking The Siskina? The Privy Council on the jurisprudential nature of freezing orders
On 4 October 2021, the Privy Council delivered its 85-page judgment in Broad Idea International Ltd v Convoy Collateral Ltd [2021] UKPC 24, which considered the jurisprudential nature of freezing orders. The majority decided that it was necessary and appropriate to depart from the House of Lords’ decision in Siskina v Distos Cia Naviera (The Siskina) [1979] AC 210. They held that freezing orders are explained by the need to facilitate the enforcement of judgments; and that they can be granted even where there is no pending claim before any court and where the applicant’s cause of action is incomplete.
1 FEB 2022Reforms to Unexplained Wealth Orders: the sword and the shield
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (ECA) made swift passage onto the statute books. Part 2 reforms the regime governing Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs). The Act was heralded by the Home Secretary as “remov[ing] key barriers to the use of unexplained wealth orders”, “chang[ing] the entire way in which UWOs are operationalised”, and giving law enforcement agencies (LEAs), particularly the National Crime Agency (NCA), the “legal basis, legal powers and protections they need” (Hansard, 7.3.22). This article explores the reforms to UWOs, analyses whether they address shortcomings in the regime as initially implemented, and discusses whether the government’s intentions are likely to be fulfilled.
1 JUN 2022
