The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration Bill) has now been passed by both Houses of Parliament and received Royal Assent. The Government accepted only limited amendments to the legislation during its passage. Accordingly, the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 (“the Act”) makes a statutory declaration that Rwanda is a “safe” country, which is binding on all decision-makers notwithstanding any other provision of domestic law or international law. Startlingly the Act further provides that courts “must not consider” evidence about the general mistreatment of people that ..read more

Ethics washing, a term not too dissimilar from greenwashing, is used to describe the practice of when organisations share false or misleading information about themselves to paint their organisation in a better light, even if they have no way of backing up their claims. An example is having an excellent (public) diversity and inclusion policy, but then discriminating against applicants when recruiting. By making false claims, organisations may be deceiving their stakeholders into believing they are having a more positive impact on society than they really are. Being accused of ethics washing ..read more

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In recent years, we have seen a rise in strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) being used to intimidate and silence journalists, charities, and campaigners (SLAPPS claims usually centre on privacy or defamation). These aggressive legal proceedings misuse the litigation process to suppress freedom of expression and discourage public criticism. The introduction of the Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) Bill builds on the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and will block SLAPPs across all areas of litigation and establish a dismissal proces ..read more

Bates Wells has been working with Fair Game CIC to amend and improve the Football Governance Bill, which will introduce the Independent Football Regulator. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to craft a regulatory regime which puts the interests of fans, people and the planet at the heart of footballing governance. The original Bill was lacking in several respects. It did not: ensure a fairer financial flow in football, crystallising existing power structures; ensure that the regulator is free of vested interests, or deal with conflicts of interest properly; provide adequate support to ..read more

What are the key areas of concern being investigated by the Charity Commission at the moment? We have drawn out the top five from the Commission’s statutory inquiry reports for last year and shared some tips for avoiding those issues in your charity. Dominant trustees and CEOs There is nothing wrong with a charity having a leader with a dominant character. Indeed, many charities would not exist without them. Dominance only becomes a problem if the board of trustees does not exercise adequate supervision and control over the individual concerned. In the Charity Commission inquiry into Care4Cala ..read more

Do you have any burning questions about campaigning in the run up to the general election? You might be wondering: Do we need to register with the Electoral Commission to run our campaign? Charities have to be politically neutral – how do we navigate our staff standing for election? What about social media? How much responsibility do trustees and boards have to take for monitoring people’s personal accounts? If so, join us at our next Ask us anything webinar and bring your questions to ask our top-ranked Politics, Elections and Campaigning team who will provide practical tips for campaigning ..read more

Philip Kirkpatrick, Partner in our Charity & Social Enterprise team, has spoken with Pioneers Post about the positive impact that embedding social purpose into a company can have but the need for better accountability mechanisms to ensure the value of doing so in the long term. Anglian Water, a UK water utility company, amended its articles of association in July 2019 to embed public interest and social purpose into its constitution, however it has since come under scrutiny for its failure to uphold its social and environmental impact commitments following a report from the Environment Age ..read more

Bates Wells today announces that the firm has partnered with leading societal change charity, Making The Leap, on the provision of assessment centre preparation and support for aspiring solicitor apprentices. Candidates who have been invited to the firm’s competitive apprenticeship assessment centres have been offered the opportunity to join Making The Leap for two days of intensive preparation. These sessions will include mock interviews, communication skills training, and advice and guidance on executive presence and operating effectively in a professional environment. The offer of assessmen ..read more

Ethics washing, greenwashing, bluewashing, ethical laundering, eco washing… the list of terms continues to grow, and with it grows the risk of charities coming under scrutiny if what they do doesn’t align with their stated values. Simple mistakes, inaccuracies or misleading claims can have big consequences, risking lasting reputational damage among key stakeholders, loss of income and even regulatory intervention. We can help you protect your charity’s good name and avoid ethics washing based challenges, and have put together our top tips in this guide to help you minimise the risks. We can al ..read more