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This Practice Note outlines the law concerning criminal recklessness. The subjective test for recklessness Certain statutory and common law offences allow the prosecution to prove mens rea through ‘recklessness’. Put simply, recklessness is where the accused takes an unjustified risk that results in unlawful harm or damage. The House of Lords in R v G reaffirmed the subjective approach to recklessness. Before R v G, two distinct tests were used, depending on the offence charged: Subjective recklessness from R v Cunningham: the prosecution had to establish that the accused personally foresaw the risk. Objective recklessness from R v Caldwell: the prosecution only needed to show that the risk would have been obvious to a reasonable person, without proving the accused themselves foresaw it. In R v G, the House of Lords concluded that the objective test could operate unfairly where a defendant did not foresee the
This Practice Note examines the remedy of rescission, explaining when and in what manner a contract can be unwound (at common law, in equity and under statute) and thereby terminated and brought to an end. It covers the consequences and effects of rescission, the principal grounds for setting aside an agreement (misrepresentation, mistake, undue influence, duress, non‑disclosure, fiduciary misdealing and bribery) and the main obstacles to claiming rescission—affirmation, the intervention of third‑party rights and the impossibility of restitution. For further guidance on rescission in the context of misrepresentation, see Practice Note: Misrepresentation—rescission as a remedy. There are many ways in which a contract may reach its end; see: Terminating contracts—how and when a contract ends—overview for a brief and accessible summary, with links to the related further practical guidance, including Practice Note: Termination and expiry of contracts. For a table
What is a res judicata? A res judicata is a determination by a court or tribunal with jurisdiction over the cause of action and the parties, which finally disposes of the issues decided so they cannot be litigated again by those bound, save on appeal. Final judgments entered by default or by consent fall within this concept, whereas rulings on purely procedural points and any decision lacking finality do not. The doctrine’s aim is to bring litigation to an end and shield parties from being harassed by the same dispute twice. in personam—binds the parties and their privies in rem—binds all persons, privy or otherwise (ie a judgment binding the whole world) A party may rely on res judicata: as an estoppel to defeat an opponent’s claim or defence; and/or as the basis of their own claim or
The offence of causing grievous bodily harm with intent Wounding or causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent can be tried solely in the Crown Court on indictment. Elements of the offence Under the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (OATPA 1861), the prosecution must establish that the defendant unlawfully and maliciously: wounded with the intention of causing GBH, or caused GBH with that intention, or wounded intending to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person, or caused GBH intending to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person ‘Unlawfully’ and ‘maliciously’ Unlawfully The wounding or causing of GBH must be unlawful. Such conduct may be lawful if used: in self-defence in defence of another in defence of property for the prevention of crime where the victim gave express or implied consent For further information on these defences, see below:
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This Practice Note outlines the steps required at the outset of a Crown Court trial, through the presentation of evidence and advocates’ speeches, in line with Part 25 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025, SI 2025/909 ( Crim PR 2025) and the Criminal Practice Directions 2023 ( CPD). For guidance on later stages—judicial directions, taking verdicts, the judge’s summing up and sentence—see Practice Note: Procedure during a Crown Court trial—summing up and directing the jury. Arraignment in criminal cases In the Crown Court, a defendant must be arraigned (that is, their plea taken) within the timetable prescribed by Crim PR 2025, SI 2025/909, r 3.32. Arraignment must occur no earlier than ten business days after the case is sent to the Crown Court (unless the parties agree to an earlier date) and no later than 80 business days after sending (unless a Crown Court judge orders...
CPD and Crim PR The Lord Chief Justice is empowered by the Courts Act 2003 and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 to issue directions concerning the practice and procedure of the criminal courts. Those directions complement, and must be read alongside, the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025, SI 2025/909 ( Crim PR 2025). For guidance on Crim PR, see Practice Note: The Criminal Procedure Rules... Collectively, Crim PR and those directions—referred to as the CPD—set the framework for practice and procedure across all criminal courts, including magistrates’ courts, Crown Courts, the Court of Appeal ( Criminal Division), and extradition appeal matters before the High Court. It follows that all criminal practitioners should be fully acquainted with the requirements found in both the Crim PR and the CPD... Those directions ( CPD), together with the Practice Direction ( Costs in Criminal Proceedings), are amended when...
This Practice Note sets out the offences that may arise under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ( TCPA 1990) or the Planning ( Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 ( P( LBCA) A 1990) in relation to unauthorised development within a conservation area in England, the statutory defences available, and the penalties that may follow on conviction. It also outlines how a local planning authority ( LPA) can pursue enforcement against such unauthorised works. Issues of conservation area offences and enforcement most commonly result from the unauthorised demolition of buildings within these areas. From 4 November 2024, the legislative framework in Wales became distinct from that in England—see: Conservation area regime in Wales. Offences Undertaking (or causing or allowing) ‘relevant demolition’ without planning permission is an offence under TCPA 1990, s 196D(1). Breaching any condition or restriction attached to a...
This Practice Note This Practice Note sets out an overview and concise summary of prosecutions for health and safety breaches pursued by the Health and Safety Executive ( HSE), the Office of Rail and Road ( ORR) or local authorities that culminated in penalties exceeding £1m. The tracker is designed to help practitioners keep sight of when substantial sentences for health and safety infringements are handed down for contraventions of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 ( HSWA 1974) and subordinate health and safety regulations. It also supports practitioners in grasping how, in England and Wales, the relevant offence‑specific sentencing guidelines are being applied in practice for health and safety, corporate manslaughter, and food safety and hygiene offences. Entries are ordered by the date of sentence, namely: 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 ...
Intimidation of witnesses and jurors Intimidating witnesses and/or jurors in criminal proceedings is an offence under section 51 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 ( CJPOA 1994). A person commits this offence if they: carry out an act that intimidates, and is meant to intimidate, another person (the victim) do so knowing or believing that the victim is assisting in the investigation of an offence, or is a witness or potential witness, or a juror or potential juror in proceedings for an offence act with the intention of causing the investigation or the course of justice to be obstructed, perverted, or interfered with ‘ Investigation into an offence’ means an inquiry by the police or any other person charged with the duty of investigating offences or charging offenders. ‘ Offence’ includes an alleged or suspected offence. ‘...
Commissions Commissions amount to offering a financial benefit to another. They are not invariably bribes. Typically, a commission arises when a seller or buyer provides a benefit to a third party or fiduciary for arranging or mediating the supply of goods or services, or otherwise assisting with a transaction for goods or services. While normal in many industries and accepted practice, an anticipated advantage can create a tangible risk that functions are performed improperly. A commission can also be a facilitation payment, paid to secure the performance (or swifter performance) of an obligation already owed (see Practice Note: Facilitation payments under the Bribery Act 2010). Where a commission is a facilitation payment, it is unlawful. The Serious Fraud Office ( SFO) has indicated it will bring proceedings where the Code for Crown Prosecutors, Full Code Test is satisfied; namely, there is a...
A director of a company limited by shares faces a broad spectrum of possible liabilities arising from actions or failures to act undertaken in the course of the company’s business, in the ordinary running of the company. One method of shielding a director from such exposure is for the company to buy a directors’ and officers’ insurance policy ( D& O policy). This is an arrangement of cover. Companies Act provisions The Companies Act 2006 ( CA 2006) generally forbids relieving or indemnifying directors for liabilities as a general rule. Nevertheless, statutory carve-outs permit protection where directors are covered through: the company’s purchase and upkeep of insurance for its directors against liabilities the grant by the company of qualifying indemnities to its directors for specified liabilities These mechanisms are set out in statute. Before 2005, companies were not allowed to obtain insurance or give...
This Practice Note outlines counter-proliferation financing ( CPF). It highlights regulatory duties and explores the risks linked to proliferation financing. It is directed at businesses within scope of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds ( Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 ( MLR 2017), SI 2017/692—see Practice Note: Money Laundering Regulations 2017—scope and application, and for law firms Money Laundering Regulations 2017—scope and application—law firms. Organisations subject to the MLR 2017 must evaluate proliferation financing risks and establish policies, controls and procedures to manage and reduce those risks. What is proliferation financing? Proliferation financing is the provision of funds or financial services used, in whole or in part, for any of the following in relation to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear ( CBRN) weapons, in breach of a relevant financial sanctions obligation: manufacture acquisition ...
Part 3, Schedule 5 Parts 1–6 and Schedule 6 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 ( CRA 2015) establish a consolidated, generic suite of investigatory powers to be used across the catalogue of consumer protection legislation. These powers amount to a consolidation, refinement and amendment of those that previously stemmed from the fractured legislative framework that once governed consumer law. Enforcers with access to the generic set of investigatory powers under CRA 2015 Various regulatory bodies and enforcers are responsible for applying consumer law in the UK. Under the CRA 2015, an enforcer’s type is determined by the legislation or offences being addressed, and the powers available to them depend on that classification. The CRA 2015 provides for four categories of enforcer: domestic enforcers who have responsibility to enforce consumer law in the UK. In relation to England and Wales, this includes Trading...
Director disqualification for competition law breaches In the UK, where a company is found to have infringed competition law and a director was involved, or ought reasonably to have known, the court can order that person to be disqualified from acting as a director of any company for up to 15 years. Any infringement of competition law can result in a disqualification order, on top of penalties imposed on the company itself, such as fines, and criminal penalties for individuals. The Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA) has issued guidance on competition disqualification orders. In addition, the CMA, together with the Institute of Risk Management, has published updated guidance on competition law risk for managers, directors and their advisers. The update contains case studies, examples of best practice, and forewords highlighting the CMA’s refreshed approach to detecting and enforcing against competition...
The Bribery Act 2010 ( BA 2010) criminalises: offering or giving a bribe to another person (active bribery) requesting, agreeing to receive, or accepting a bribe (passive bribery) bribing a foreign public official for a business or commercial organisation only, failing to prevent bribery The purpose of this Practice Note is to present a general overview of the active and passive bribery offences in BA 2010, ss 1 and 2, together with the offence of bribing a foreign public official under BA 2010, s 6; in essence, the giving or receiving of bribes. It does not include a synopsis of the corporate offence of failing to prevent bribery, which is dealt with in Practice Note: Failure to prevent bribery—the offence. This Practice Note should be considered alongside Practice Note: The Bribery Act 2010—an introductory guide. BA 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011. Conduct occurring prior to...
Legal professional privilege ( LPP) safeguards the confidentiality of specified lawyer–client communications and is a fundamental right, subject only to tightly limited exceptions where it applies. A way to contest LPP is to argue that it never arose, often by invoking the crime–fraud, or iniquity, exception. This Practice Note explores that exception in greater depth. For guidance on what constitutes LPP and how it is preserved in criminal investigations, see the Practice Notes: Legal professional privilege in criminal proceedings and Maintaining privilege during criminal investigations. The crime-fraud exception When does it apply? Privilege cannot be claimed over communications made to facilitate the client’s commission of a crime or fraud, or that themselves form part of a fraudulent act. This is also referred to as the ‘iniquity exception’, a more precise term since, as stated in JSC BTA Bank v Abylasov, it is not limited to...
What amounts to the conclusion of criminal proceedings? Most criminal matters conclude either with an acquittal after trial, or with conviction and sentence following a trial or a guilty plea. There are, however, several other ways proceedings can end. They sit in the following categories: Without charge, at the end of a criminal investigation a no further action decision an alternative out-of-court disposal, for example a simple or conditional caution Without a verdict, after proceedings have begun discontinuance of proceedings by the DPP (magistrates’ court and Crown Court) or by another public prosecutor ( Crown Court) — available before a summary trial begins (magistrates’ court), or before the indictment is preferred ( Crown Court) withdrawal of a charge or summons by the prosecution (magistrates’ court only) — available any time before adjudication with the court’s leave dismissal of the...
Summary trial in the magistrates’ court This Practice Note outlines the sequence of a summary trial in the magistrates’ court. It considers the process under the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 ( Crim PR 2025), SI 2025/909, and the respective functions of the prosecution and the defence. Summary trials in the magistrates’ court are determined by either a bench of magistrates or a district judge. At the outset, the defendant must state whether the plea is guilty or not guilty, as mandated by Crim PR 2025, SI 2025/909. This forms the first stage in the summary trial process. Where a not guilty plea was entered earlier, the justices’ legal adviser or the court must ask the defendant to reaffirm that plea at the start of trial. Should the defendant change to a guilty plea on the trial date, the court may move directly to...
Initial details of the prosecution case Disclosure by the prosecution is a cornerstone of the adversarial criminal justice system, where investigative authority rests with the police and other enforcement bodies. In England and Wales, disclosure is governed by the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 ( CPIA 1996), with procedural obligations prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 ( Crim PR 2025), SI 2025/909, and the Criminal Practice Directions. This framework is reinforced by guidance such as the Attorney General's Guidelines on Disclosure and the CPIA 1996 Code of Practice, together with judicial protocols including the Better Case Management Revival Handbook and Control and management of heavy fraud and other complex criminal cases. Certain matters are administered via Common Platform, the digital case management system for the magistrates’ court, through which the Initial Details of the Prosecution Case ( IDPC) and other material are...
The elements of the offence of speeding Section 89 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 sets out the offence of driving above a prescribed speed limit. The essential components are that: an individual operates a motor vehicle on a road at a speed beyond a limit set by, or under, any enactment to which this section applies The applicable enactments include those within the RTRA 1984 itself and any other enactment made after 1 September 1960. This offence is summary only and so is dealt with in the magistrates’ court. Offences of exceeding the speed limit in the 1984 Act are divided into four classes: exceeding limits on roads restricted to 20, 30, 40 or 50 mph breaching temporary limits of 70, 60 and 50 mph on roads other than motorways exceeding, on any road, the limit...
The 'old' law and the current law The old framework divides into three eras, determined by the date of the alleged offence. Dates determine which statutory regime applies. 1 January 1957–21 December 1976: governed by section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 ( SOA 1956) 22 December 1976–2 November 1994: governed by section 1 of the Sexual Offences ( Amendment) Act 1976 ( SO( A) A 1976) 3 November 1994–30 April 2004: governed by SOA 1956, s 1 (as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) The current law applies as follows: From 1 May 2004 onwards: section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 ( SOA 2003) As historic sexual offences continue to be prosecuted under the previous legislation, this Practice Note outlines the earlier law together with the present position under SOA 2003, s...
Public nuisance The common law offence of public nuisance was abolished by section 78 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 ( PCSCA 2022) and supplanted by a statutory offence of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the public. That said, the common law offence still technically applies to conduct committed before PCSCA 2002, s 78 took effect, or which began prior to PCSCA 2022, s 78 coming into force and continued thereafter. It is, however, highly unlikely that prosecutions will proceed under the common law. See: Public nuisance under common law. Common law public nuisance endures as a tort in civil law, and PCSCA 2022, s 78(8) states the statutory offence does not affect liability for that tort. Statutory offence of intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance Although PCSCA 2022 does not expressly use the term ‘public nuisance’ in its wording, it...
The framework of the people with significant control ( PSC) regime The architecture of the people with significant control ( PSC) regime, first commencing on 6 April 2016, appears in Part 21A of the Companies Act 2006 ( CA 2006), as modified by sections 81–83 and Schedule 3 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, and by sections 44, 51 and Schedule 2 of the Economic Crime and Transparency Act 2023 ( ECCTA 2023). The PSC regime tackles opacity in corporate ownership, where historically records captured the legal holder but not always the beneficial holder of an entity’s shares. The PSC register supplies clearer, current details on who ultimately owns and controls companies and other bodies, and this data is publicly available via the central register maintained at Companies House. It aids prospective investors in evaluating whether to invest in a...
Who can prosecute criminal offences in England and how is the decision to prosecute made? The Crown Prosecution Service ( CPS) is the public prosecutor in the UK. It is overseen by the Director of Public Prosecutions ( DPP), who reports to the Attorney General ( AG). Acting as prosecutor, the DPP is mandated to assume responsibility for the conduct of all criminal proceedings begun by, or in the name of, a police force, except for certain ‘specified proceedings’. Specified proceedings refers to the schedule of matters designated by the AG in the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 ( Specified Proceedings) Order 1999, SI 1999/904 (as amended). That framework permits the police to take enforcement action without referring a case to the CPS, allowing them to issue fixed penalty notices or start proceedings for particular road traffic offences and other low-level offences. The DPP must also...
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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