Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Abuse of process definition

What does Abuse of process mean? Abuse of process describes court intervention to prevent or control proceedings that misuse procedural rules, make a fair trial impossible, or undermine the integrity of justice. It is not defined by statute; it derives from courts’ inherent jurisdiction and case law across the UK and Ireland. Typical examples include: manipulation of procedure by a prosecutor or claimant; inordinate or oppressive delay that has prejudiced the defendant so a fair trial is no longer possible; using proceedings for a collateral or ulterior purpose; vexatious or duplicative claims; collateral attacks on earlier judgments; and state misconduct undermining the court’s process. Remedies,...

Abuse of Process: Two-Limb Test, Grounds, and Applications to Stay under CrimPR 2025 (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

This Practice Note examines Abuse of process within criminal proceedings. It sets out the two principal limbs of the doctrine and gives illustrative examples of circumstances in which an abuse might arise. For detailed guidance on how the principles below apply specifically in the sphere of private prosecutions, see Practice Note: Abuse of process in private prosecutions. The procedure for any Application to stay proceedings on the basis of abuse of process is governed by the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (CrimPR 2025), SI 2025/909, r 3.28. For additional information, refer to Practice Note: Abuse of process procedure and Application to stay on the grounds of delay—checklist.

Staying a prosecution for abuse of process

The abuse of process jurisdiction is grounded in the requirement that a trial be conducted in accordance with law, and in a manner that is fair to both the defendant and the prosecution. The courts have an overriding duty to promote justice and to prevent injustice. Flowing from that duty is an inherent power to stay an indictment—or to stop a prosecution in the magistrates’ court—where, in the court’s view, permitting the case to proceed would amount to an abuse of the court’s process...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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