Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Defendant definition

What does Defendant mean? In legal practice, “defendant” describes the party against whom court proceedings are brought, whether a civil claim or a criminal charge. In England and Wales the term is defined in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR 2.3) as a person against whom a claim is made; it is also used in the Criminal Procedure Rules. Northern Ireland follows similar usage. In Scotland, the civil counterpart is the “defender” (claimant is the pursuer), and in criminal cases the person is referred to as the “accused” (also the “panel” in solemn proceedings). In Ireland, civil procedure uses “defendant” under the Rules of...

Special reasons in road traffic sentencing: principles, procedure, case law and examples on avoiding or reducing disqualification and endorsement (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Practice notes

What are special reasons in driving sentencing?

Special reasons are a class of mitigating submissions that may:

prevent a Defendant from being disqualified from driving, or reduce the period of any Disqualification; or
prevent a defendant from receiving a Penalty points Endorsement

Such arguments are put forward after a conviction or following a guilty plea to driving offences. While the phrase ‘special reasons’ draws its authority from section 34(1) (disqualification) and section 44(2) (endorsement) of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (RTOA 1988), there is no statutory definition. Case law, however, provides assistance. A special reason is a mitigating or extenuating factor which does not amount in law to a defence to the allegation, is directly linked to the commission of the offence, and is one the court ought properly to take into account when passing sentence. A matter personal to the offender, as distinct from the characteristics of the offence, does not constitute a special reason...

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Alex McHugh

Pump Court Chambers

Alex McHugh joined Pump Court Chambers following successful completion of his pupillage. His key areas of practice are criminal defence, family, and landlord & tenant disputes. Prior to joining Chambers, Alex worked as a paralegal for a number of years at a Legal 500 firm in London. Two of those years were spent in crime under the stewardship of extremely experienced senior partners. Alex helped manage cases from beginning to end and represented all manner of clients in respect of a full range of alleged offences. As counsel, Alex defends his clients throughout every stage of proceedings. Alex accepts private and, where applicable, publicly funded briefs on road traffic offences, and has experience in representing clients in relation to speeding, drinking driving, “totting up”, and causing injury by dangerous driving offences. Alex predominantly works across the Western Circuit, London, and the South East. ...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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