Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Code of practice definition

What does Code of practice mean? In legal practice, a code of practice is authoritative written guidance setting standards and procedures that organisations and individuals are expected to follow in a particular regulatory area. The term is descriptive rather than a single statutory definition; a code’s legal weight depends on the legislation under which it is made or approved and on case law. Across the UK and Ireland, many codes have statutory status: courts and tribunals may, or must, take them into account, and non-compliance is persuasive evidence of breach even though a code is not, by itself, law. Examples include: the ACAS Code of...

DPAs: co-operation, privilege and disclosure; prosecutors’ duties and CrimPR declarations; evidential use of negotiation material; SFO guidance expectations; and implications for disclosure in subsequent civil proceedings

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Practice notes

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Forthcoming change

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is currently revising its guidance on DPAs, with publication anticipated in 2025 (see Collection: Guidance for corporates). This Practice Note will be revised once the new DPA guidance is released, and will be refreshed promptly to reflect any changes announced upon publication.

Disclosure in the DPA negotiation process

Within the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) negotiation process, co-operation is a decisive factor that can affect a company’s prospects of avoiding prosecution. The DPA Code of practice (DPA Code) sets this out at paragraph 2.8.2 and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) reiterates it in its Corporate Guidance; see also Practice Notes: Corporate co-operation guidance for organisations seeking a DPA and DPA process. For further reading, see Practice Note: DPAs in practice—Co-operation—the most important factor? What amounts to ‘co-operation’ in this setting has attracted substantial commentary, from the judiciary and beyond; for example, see Practice Notes: DPAs in practice—What constitutes ‘co-operation’—examples from the DPAs to date? and Privilege in DPA negotiations...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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