Crown use meaning

This Checklist This Checklist sets out essential, hands-on advice for criminal practitioners who need to take part in hearings held via live audio or live video links. Read it alongside the Practice Note: Practical guide to remote hearings in the criminal courts, which contains fuller step-by-step assistance on, for example, preparation in advance, technology considerations, and participation in the hearing itself through platforms including the dedicated Cloud Video Platform (CVP) and the Video Hearings Service (VHS). Be aware that VHS is not yet fully rolled out across England and Wales. It was withdrawn from service in July 2024 to resolve stability problems, and HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) has stated it plans to reinstate it after completing a scheduled handover to a new service provider. When back in use, local courts will notify users of the start of VHS hearings, and access details will arrive from an ‘HMCTS.reform.net’ email address. The Lord Chief Justice has issued guidance on advocates’ remote attendance in the Crown Court, and every practitioner...

This Checklist should be read alongside Practice Note: Case management in the magistrates’ courts. Prior to getting to court Be aware that some criminal matters are managed through Common Platform (the magistrates’ court’s digital case management system). In such instances, the Initial Details of the Prosecution Case (IDPC) and other case material are served and retrieved online via Common Platform. Case progression—such as completing the Preparation for Effective Trial (PET) form and serving any applications—is also carried out through Common Platform. For further details, see Practice Note: How to use Common Platform and the Digital Case System. Requesting the Initial Details of the Prosecution Case Defence advocates should obtain the IDPC by contacting the relevant Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) contact through: emailing telephoning writing The contact details are available on the website for the relevant CPS district...

In this issue: Criminal procedure and evidence Proceeds of crime Appeal and judicial review Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Food safety and hygiene offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Local authority prosecutions Money laundering International LexTalk®Corporate Crime: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Criminal procedure and evidence Court delays soar as backlogs break records Between April and June 2025, the criminal courts in England and Wales amassed an unprecedented caseload of almost 440,000, with incoming matters exceeding disposals and a system hampered by long-standing funding shortfalls. In response, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), together with The Rt Hon David Lammy MP, confirmed extra resources to accelerate outcomes for...

In this issue: Investigating criminal conduct Decision to prosecute and alternatives to prosecution Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Food safety and hygiene offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Investigating criminal conduct Whistleblowing in the UK—Still a long road ahead Rahman Ravelli’s legal director, Dr Angelika Hellweger, together with associate, Tatiana Novikova, examine how the UK handles whistleblowing. They map out the present UK statutory position and other relevant mechanisms, assess the scope of the safeguards they afford, and set these against the options open to whistleblowers in the United States of America. They also describe the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) whistleblower reward initiative announced near the end of 2025,...

In this issue Criminal procedure and evidence Appeal and judicial review Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Consumer protection and cartels Environmental offences Food safety and hygiene offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Local authority prosecutions International Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Criminal procedure and evidence Challenging the decision not to prosecute (R (on the application of Hillary Smith) v DPP) The High Court’s judgment in R (on the application of Hillary Smith) v Director of Public Prosecutions delivers notable guidance on three fronts: the weight to be attached to inquest conclusions when the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) decides whether or not to bring a prosecution; the position the courts are likely to take in judicial review proceedings when scrutinising the reasonableness of the CPS’s application of the two-stage...

This Practice Note This Practice Note examines how standard essential patents (SEPs) and fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing feature in patent disputes before the Courts of England and Wales (the English Courts). It focuses, in particular, on the legal position following the UK Supreme Court’s ruling of 26 August 2020 in the combined Unwired Planet and Conversant appeals, and the practical consequences of that decision. For further information, see News Analysis: Supreme Court—English courts can determine terms of global licences for portfolios of standard essential patents (Unwired Planet v Huawei). Since then, two further significant rulings on FRAND rates have been issued in England and Wales and have been the subject of appeal judgments, as noted below: First, judgment was handed down on 16 March 2023 in the dispute between InterDigital and Lenovo following a High Court FRAND trial in January 2022. It offered additional guidance on several of the issues considered in Unwired Planet. The appeal judgment in InterDigital v Lenovo was handed...

Breach of planning control and enforcement action Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990), any breach of planning control can be met with enforcement measures. For these purposes, a breach of planning control is understood to mean: undertaking development without the requisite planning permission — this presumes that an unauthorised operation or a material change of use has occurred which amounts to development within TCPA 1990, s 55, that such development requires planning permission, and that no permission has been secured When determining whether a breach of planning control has arisen in this context, the applicable guidance and case law on the meaning of ‘development’ must be applied; see Overview: Is planning permission required?...

Context The compulsory purchase regime is founded on the premise that a proprietor of land, or of rights, that are compulsorily taken or disturbed is entitled to be compensated. Consequently, working out the compensation is a central part of the compulsory purchase process; see: Promoting a compulsory purchase order, covering preparation of the order, its supporting documents and the making of the order. This Practice Note sets out the core principles for assessing compensation arising from the compulsory acquisition of an interest in land. Compulsory acquisition must rest on specific statutory authority, whether for taking the land itself or rights in or over it. The Royal Prerogative is reserved to the Crown, and even the Crown typically prefers to expropriate or requisition land under statutory powers. Most acquisitions proceed under Public General Acts, for example the Highways Act 1980 (HiA 1980). The making and confirmation of a compulsory purchase order (CPO) is usually regulated by the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 (ALA 1981). See Practice Note: Sources and limits...

Dynamic Purchasing Systems A Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) enables a contracting authority to acquire goods, services and works needed on a recurring basis without running a full public procurement exercise for every individual purchase. It provides a route to buy regularly required items efficiently while remaining compliant. A DPS is intended for sourcing common-use items that are widely available on the market and satisfy the contracting authority’s specifications. Further reading Practice Notes: Introduction to public contracts procurement and Introduction to framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems Crown Commercial Service (CCS): Dynamic purchasing system guidance Under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102, any authority setting up a DPS must follow the rules specified and cross‑referred in PCR 2015, SI 2015/102, reg 34. In keeping with all procedures under PCR 2015, SI 2015/102, contracting authorities should also adhere to the core procurement principles, treating all DPS participants equally and without discrimination, and acting in a transparent and proportionate manner...

The General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 From 25 May 2018, the GDPR will supersede Directive 95/46/EC, the Data Protection Directive, and all corresponding implementing data protection laws in EU Member States, including the UK’s Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 1998). It will apply directly across all Member States, removing any requirement for additional national implementing legislation. See Practice Note: Introduction to the EU GDPR and UK GDPR. This Q&A examines the generic standard GDPR clauses set out in Annex A, Part 1 of the Procurement Policy Note—Changes to Data Protection Legislation & General Data Protection Regulation (PPN 03/17) issued by the Crown Commercial Service...