Financial services – Financial Conduct Authority - Regulation. It was well established that when considering an application for a matter to be determined as a preliminary ruling, there were certain key principles to be considered. In the light of those principles, the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber)(the tribunal) dismissed the applicant's application for a direction that the determination as to whether the Financial Conduct Authority's (the FCA's) action against him was time-barred should be heard as a preliminary hearing in the course of a reference he had made to the tribunal regarding the Decision Notice (the DN) made against him. The tribunal further dismissed the applicant's applications for a direction that publication by the FCA of the DN should be prohibited.