Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Summons definition

What does Summons mean? A summons is a court notice requiring a person to attend at a specified time and place; in criminal cases it states the alleged offence(s) and warns of consequences for non-attendance. In England and Wales, a magistrates' court (justice of the peace) may issue a criminal summons under s.1 Magistrates' Courts Act 1980. Charging is now commonly by written charge and requisition or a single justice procedure notice. 'Witness summons' remains for compelling evidence (CPR 34; CrimPR 17). Civil use of summons is largely replaced by the claim form, but persists in some statutes (e.g. council tax). In Scotland, a 'summons' is...

Will construction: modern interpretative principles, key presumptions, uncertainty, misdescription and the Law Commission’s Modernising Wills proposals (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

Although a court may determine the construction of a Will, including its language and terms, the guiding principles do not encourage contentious proceedings. The prevailing method was illustrated in Re the trusts of the will of Harold John Goddard: Goddard (as trustees of the will dated 11 February 2008 of Harold John Goddard) v Hunter (as co‑trustee of the will dated 11 February 2008 of Harold John Goddard). In his introduction, Master Kaye noted that this was a Part 8 claim to construe a Will, issued after 18 months of correspondence between the parties. Despite aspects of that correspondence, the matter was not hostile litigation, but akin to what was formerly termed a construction summons. counsel for both sides treated their function as assisting the court, presenting arguments for and against the rival interpretations of the Will’s dispositions. Contested applications are both lengthy and costly. Accordingly, practitioners must recognise and apply the principles a court may adopt in a given case before they begin proceedings...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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