Evidence in chief 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 It was withdrawn from service in July 2024 to resolve stability problems, and HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) has stated it plans to reinstate it after completing a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...

In this issue: Decision to prosecute and alternatives to prosecution Criminal procedure and evidence Proceeds of crime Appeals and judicial review Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Cybercrime and data protection offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Other corporate crime updates LexTalk®Corporate Crime: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Decision to prosecute and alternatives to prosecution Deferred Prosecution Agreements—an ‘expiry date’ or a ‘best before’? (Guralp Systems Ltd v Serious Fraud Office) The statutory framework for Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) requires an expiry date within every DPA, mandates that any breach application is made while the DPA remains in force, and provides that where a DPA lasts until its expiry, the proceedings are to be discontinued. In this case, the DPA’s terms specified effectiveness for...

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...

Adjournment needed for medical expert to assess capacity of witness to give evidence ((1) Easton & Co (2) Justin Easton (on behalf of the estate of Leslie Easton deceased) v Donlon) (1) Leslie Easton & Co Ltd (2) Justin Easton (on behalf of the estate of Leslie Easton deceased) v Donlon [2024] EAT 126 What are the practical implications of this decision? Here, the respondents’ advocate faced a dire predicament when his client suddenly repudiated the document intended to be his evidence-in-chief. The client: disputed that he authored the letter in the bundle designated as his evidence-in-chief rejected having previously agreed with his representative (and the other director) that this letter would serve as his evidence-in-chief claimed he had never read it before taking the oath insisted the contents were untrue and that anyone asserting otherwise was lying Given the client’s age and a prior stroke affecting memory and cognitive function, the representative sought an adjournment so a medical expert...

This Practice Note offers guidance on the overall conduct of an arbitration under the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) Administered Arbitration Rules 2018 (the 2018 HKIAC Rules; HKIAC 2018). As outlined in Practice Note: HKIAC (2018)—the HKIAC Administered Arbitration Rules—application and key features, the 2018 HKIAC Rules generally govern HKIAC arbitrations begun on or after 1 November 2018, unless the parties agree otherwise; for arbitrations initiated before 1 November 2018, the 2013 HKIAC Rules will generally apply, again subject to party agreement. For an introduction to the HKIAC and its structure, see Practice Note: HKIAC—background to and structure of the institution. For guidance on commencing and answering proceedings, see Practice Notes: HKIAC (2018)—starting an arbitration and HKIAC (2018)—responding to a HKIAC arbitration. The overall approach to procedure in a HKIAC arbitration Each arbitration is unique, and a chief attraction of this form of dispute resolution is the ability to tailor the procedure to the requirements of the case. Nonetheless, most arbitrations follow a broadly similar procedural trajectory....

This Practice Note outlines the practical actions to be weighed by advisers dealing with the immediate consequences of a serious workplace health and safety accident in England, Wales and Scotland. In the moments after an incident, it is crucial that an incident management team is identified promptly and put in place from the outset and without delay. See Practice Notes: Health and Safety Executive prosecutions policy, Dealing with dawn raids by the Health and Safety Executive—key information, Health and safety investigations in Scotland and Corporate manslaughter—enforcement and prosecution. Which regulators will be involved? England and Wales In England and Wales, coordination of investigation and prosecution activity following a work-related death is governed by Work Related Deaths: A Protocol for Liaison (WRDP—England and Wales). The protocol is signed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) British Transport Police (BTP) Care Quality Commission (CQC) Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) the Health and...

This Practice Note outlines the Lord Chief Justice’s Protocol of 22 March 2005 on the Control and Management of Heavy Fraud and other Complex Criminal Cases (the Fraud Protocol) as it operates in heavy fraud and complex criminal cases. It addresses both the investigation of complex fraud and the case management framework set by the Protocol, and explains how disclosure issues and abuse of process applications should be handled. Fraud Protocol The conduct and oversight of fraud trials are governed by the Fraud Protocol together with the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (CrimPR 2025), SI 2025/909. The statutory architecture directing pre-trial and trial management in serious and complex fraud consists of the Criminal Justice Act 1987, the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996. Guidance on disclosure in these cases is provided by the Attorney General Guidelines on Disclosure. In London, case management in fraud matters is also informed by a Practice Note from Southwark Crown Court, which addresses management and disclosure in...

Hardship Hardship means [ , subject to clause [ 1.6 OR 1.7 ] , ] a [ fundamental OR material ] alteration in the equilibrium of a party’s benefits and obligations under this Agreement, brought about by a [ legal, technical, political, economic or financial ] event (or events) that arises [ or the impact of which becomes known to the affected party ] during the term of this Agreement and which: is not a [ insert (eg ‘Force Majeure Event’ or ‘circumstance to which clauses [X] or [Y] relate’) ]; [ except in the case of the circumstances referred to in [ insert reference eg to clause 1.6 or 1.7 if appropriate ], ] could not reasonably have been foreseen, mitigated or avoided by the Disadvantaged Party at the time of execution of this Agreement; is outside the control of [ the Disadvantaged Party ]; and the risk of which is not otherwise assumed [ (expressly or by implication) ] by [...