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The UK’s Public Authority Algorithmic and Automated Decision-Making Systems Bill: key takeaways

October 16, 2024

Lord Clement-Jones has introduced a Public Authority Algorithmic and Automated Decision-Making Systems Private Members' Bill (Bill) into the House of Lords. Currently at the second reading stage, the Bill addresses increasing reliance on AI and algorithmic systems by public authorities in the UK, and aims to mitigate the potential risks associated with their use. The Bill would establish significant new guidelines for the development, deployment, and monitoring of such systems.

The servant of two masters: ICO and OFCOM Joint Statement on Online Safety and Data Protection – coordination so service providers can comply with both

December 06, 2022

On 25 November 2022, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Office of Communications (OFCOM) (together, the Regulators) released a joint statement setting out their shared views on the interactions between online safety and data protection (the Statement).

Are NFTs a type of property under English law

June 06, 2022

An English court has reportedly recognised a non-fungible token (NFT) as a type of property in an as yet unreported High Court decision.

The UK's new NSI regime

December 06, 2021

The UK’s new, more extensive national security regime enters into force on January 4, 2022.

Laying the groundwork: Practical tips for managing supply chain disputes

November 18, 2021

Supply chains are increasingly complex. Globalisation of markets has led to supply chains which extend across multiple borders and consist of an ever growing number of links. As the pandemic has highlighted, businesses of all types need to take a cold, hard look at risks to their supply chain and to ensure that mechanisms are in place to initially assess and mitigate disputes risk, and to later manage disputes that do arise.

There have been numerous reports on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains. The WHO recently predicted that COVID-19 will extend into 2022 because of the ongoing exposure in emerging markets, and that’s going to keep pressure on supply chains. Equally, there is increasing awareness of the impact that climate-related risks – physical and transition – will have on supply chains. We are already seeing weather-related disruptions to supply chains. In November 2021, a new report by Moody’s warned that critical industries have substantial exposure to physical climate risks in part due to supply chain risks. Among the most exposed are manufacturing, particularly electronic and electrical product manufacturing, but also petroleum and coal, non-metallic mineral products, food and chemicals.

For many in the technology sector, significant portions of their revenue is in regions with high exposure to physical risks of climate change and their supply chains are dependent on resources and regions threatened by climate change. So the exposure is both within their markets and their supply chains. The risk is compounded by the impact climate change will have on international transportation, in particular sea level rise and more frequent and extreme weather events.

This means that the risks to supply chains and the risk of related disputes are not going to go away. Businesses need to prepare accordingly.

Careful advance management these risks is critical given disruption can reverberate throughout the supply chain with significant time, cost, operational and liability implications for all involved.

Accept that disputes are a fact of doing business. Like any argument, how the issue is resolved often has a longer-term impact than the issue itself. A few practical tips are below:

  1. Know where your biggest risks are. Consider a legal risk audit to identify areas of risk and analyse past disputes. Invariably, patterns can be observed which allows underlying issues to be identified and mitigation measures to be implemented (contractual or practical) to avoid similar disputes in the future;
  2. Choose the right dispute resolution mechanism and tailor the clause to the parties, your operations and supply chain – international arbitration is often an excellent choice for cross-border, multi-party disputes, especially where emerging markets are involved or where privacy or commercial sensitivity is an issue;
  3. Consider disputes at the outset – do not leave it to 11th hour negotiations or, worse, after a dispute has arisen;
  4. Be realistic and put plans in place to ensure that your supply chain can still function whilst the dispute is being resolved;
  5. Establish systems that escalate issues that might lead to disputes at an early stage – early intervention can often resolve issues prior to it becoming an active dispute;
  6. Consider having different employees managing the dispute to those responsible for the day-to-day management of the supply chain;
  7. Have staffed trained and protocols in place that set out what can and can’t be agreed, and who is leading any negotiation or dispute resolution process. Concessions, ‘horse-trading’ or inadvertent waivers of contractual rights pose real risks to a successful outcome;
  8. Implement robust dispute protocols to take contemporaneous records of what went wrong, where, how, what was discussed or agreed, and to preserve evidence – this is a surprisingly easy fix with big results as it very often leads to a more efficient and effective dispute resolution;
  9. Be prepared for the other party to be uncooperative – this could range from seeking urgent interim relief to securing alternative supply;
  10. Don’t take it personally – keep your eyes on the end game and what your commercial goals are;

This is just a brief overview. For further information on managing supply chain disputes, see our full article here or contact the authors.

Access our Future of Supply Chains Insights Hub for further resources and information.


New Immigration Routes in Innovation Strategy

August 16, 2021

The UK government has a vision to make the UK a global hub for innovation by 2035.

Ground-breaking arbitration rules for digital disputes released

August 09, 2021

The Digital Dispute Resolution Rules (the Rules) is a revolutionary set of arbitration rules designed to provide a framework to govern disputes relating to disruptive novel technologies.

Rise of the machines: Federal Court of Australia holds that artificial intelligence can be a patent ‘inventor’

August 08, 2021

This decision represents the first judicial step worldwide towards the recognition of AI machines as inventors of patents, and is significant as it may signal a divergence between Australian patent law on this issue and other jurisdictions who have recently taken a different approach, including the EU and the UK.

The Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021

July 26, 2021

This blog post examines the Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021 which provide for a new special administration regime for payment and electronic money institutions.

Artificial intelligence in UK financial services

July 22, 2021

The much anticipated report published by the Alan Turing Institute provides an articulate and succinct overview of the technical aspects of AI in three key areas of innovation relevant to the financial services sector (machine learning, non-traditional data and automation) and the consequential challenges in design and deployment.