Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Indictment definition

What does Indictment mean? An indictment is the formal document that sets out the offences for which a defendant will be tried in the higher criminal courts (trial on indictment), and it defines the basis for arraignment, the conduct of the trial and the verdict. It contains one or more counts (England & Wales and Northern Ireland) or charges (Scotland and Ireland), each stating the offence and the particulars of the alleged conduct. It may join multiple defendants and offences where the rules on joinder are met. After a case is sent or committed for trial, the prosecution prepares the indictment and it is...

Perverting the Course of Justice (England and Wales): Offence Elements, Illustrative Conduct, Charging Criteria and Sentencing Guidelines

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Practice notes

Elements of the offence of perverting the course of justice

Perverting the course of justice is a common law offence, triable only on Indictment in the Crown Court. The elements are:

a person performs acts or embarks upon a course of conduct
which has a tendency
and is intended
to pervert the course of public justice

Acts or embarks on a course of conduct

The offence calls for a positive act, or sequence of acts; mere omission or inaction is not enough (e.g. failing to point out an error). Conduct that tends (and is meant) to obstruct, deflect, or disturb criminal proceedings, or police investigations generally, may suffice—the wrongdoing need not relate to a specific trial or investigation.

Tendency to pervert

A failed attempt does not bar prosecution, so long as the accused’s behaviour, without any further step by them, created a risk that injustice would follow.

Intention

The prosecution must establish either an intention to pervert the course of justice, or an intention to do an act which, if brought about, would pervert the course of justice...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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