Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

ACT definition

What does ACT mean? In corporate and banking practice, ACT usually refers to the Association of Corporate Treasurers, the UK-based professional body for corporate treasury professionals, rather than a statutory “Act”. It is not defined in legislation or case law; the acronym is market terminology used in transaction documents and governance materials. The Association of Corporate Treasurers promotes professional standards in liquidity management, funding, cash and risk management, foreign exchange and derivatives. It publishes guidance and a code of ethics and awards recognised qualifications (including AMCT and FCT). In legal contexts, references to “ACT-qualified” personnel or to ACT good practice may appear in treasury policies,...

Crown Court trials in England and Wales: closing speeches, judicial summing up, jury directions and management, verdicts (including majority and alternative), challenges to summing up, and post‑conviction sentencing procedure

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note outlines the procedure to be followed in the closing phases of a Crown Court trial and at sentencing, in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (CrimPR 2025), SI 2025/909 and the Criminal Practice Directions. For guidance on the early stages of a Trial on indictment and the taking of evidence in the Crown Court, see Practice Note: Procedure during a Crown Court trial—arraignment, trial requirements and evidence.

Closing speeches at the end of the evidence: prosecution and defence

Once the evidence has concluded, the prosecutor may make a final address where:

the defendant is legally represented
the defendant has called at least one witness, other than the defendant, to give live factual evidence
or the court grants permission

A closing speech should aid the jury in comprehending the prosecution’s case and should not aim to entertain or otherwise dramatise it. In R v Solloway, prosecuting counsel, in closing, recounted the incident as though it were a theatrical performance, including giving the defendants nicknames. The Court of Appeal considered such an approach...

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Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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