Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

authorities definition

What does authorities mean? Authorities are the legal sources a lawyer relies on to justify a proposition of law in submissions, skeleton arguments and judgments. The term is descriptive and widely used across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, rather than being defined by statute. Authorities typically include: primary legislation and subordinate legislation; binding appellate case law within the relevant jurisdiction; and, as persuasive material, decisions from other UK or foreign courts, tribunal rulings, EU and ECHR jurisprudence where applicable, and reputable academic commentary. In Scotland, the writings of the institutional writers (e.g. Stair, Erskine, Bell) may carry particular weight. Textbooks and...

Offences, defences and penalties under the Licensing Act 2003: time limits, enforcement and sentencing (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Practice notes

Offences under the Licensing Act 2003

All offences created by the Licensing Act 2003 (LA 2003) are summary-only, meaning they are heard solely in the magistrates’ court. Ordinarily such matters must be brought within six months of commission (Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980, s 127), but LA 2003, s 186(3) provides that, for these offences, the deadline to lay an information runs to twelve months from the date of the offence. Proceedings are commonly commenced by postal requisition. Licensing authorities, the police, or the local Weights and Measures authority may prosecute any LA 2003 offence. In addition, the court may order the forfeiture of a personal licence or suspend it for up to six months, and can also direct the forfeiture of any goods involved (eg alcohol). Following conviction for a relevant offence within LA 2003, s 113(1), the police may object to any application for a personal licence, and the Licensing Authority must convene a hearing to determine whether the applicant should be granted a personal licence...

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Jonathan Smith

Poppleston Allen

Jonathan joined Poppleston Allen at the beginning of 1997. After being made Partner in 2002, he succeeded founder Jeremy Allen as Managing Partner in 2006, splitting his time between developing the firm and advising clients. In April 2018, Jonathan handed over the reins as Managing Partner to concentrate fully on helping licensed operators solve their alcohol licensing problems. Jonathan’s advice includes obtaining new premises licences, licence variations and licensing reviews, of which he is a veteran of over 250. To help understand the pressures that people working in the leisure sector face, Jonathan holds five licensing qualifications covering England, Wales and Scotland. Jonathan regularly speaks at conferences and seminars. He sat on the Institute of Licensing’s operational and development committee and has sat on various Home Office and Department of Culture, Media and Sport advisory groups. By request, he was called to give evidence as part of The...

Joe Harvey

Joe is a specialist licensing and regulatory solicitor at Poppleston Allen. Prior to moving into licensing, Joe amassed nearly 20 years’ experience in criminal defence dealing with a mixed practice of general and serious crime as well as regulatory offences. Joe holds both and LLM and LLB as well as being a qualified duty solicitor and holding Higher Rights of Audience (Criminal Proceedings). He also holds the APLH (Award for Personal Licence Holders) and SCPLH (Scottish Certificate for Personal Licence Holders). In Joe’s criminal defence practice, he has achieved numerous appearances in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) as well as Crown Courts and Magistrates’ Courts around the country. Joe’s regulatory work has included prosecutions by Fire Authorities, Local Authorities, Health and Safety Executive, DVSA and Department of Work and Pensions. Notably, he acted for a defendant in a £600,000 VAT fraud...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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