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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 sets out when the court may issue directions about the proper treatment and questioning of a witness or defendant at a ground rules hearing, explains the procedural framework for such hearings, and outlines the directions that might be made in a particular case. Those directions form part of a wider suite of special measures intended to support the effective participation of a vulnerable witness or defendant in criminal proceedings, where necessary and proportionate. For detail on other special measures available in criminal cases, see Practice Notes: Special measures and Special measures for the accused. The procedural scheme for a ground rules hearing appears in Part 3 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 ( Crim PR 2025), SI 2025/909, with further guidance in Part 6 of the Criminal Practice Directions 2023 ( CPD 2023). Additional guidance is available in the Crown Court...
The Financial Services Enforcement Database The Financial Services Enforcement Database contains comprehensive details of every substantive FCA and PRA Final Notice and, when published, Decision Notices dating back to 2014. Users can search and refine the Database by rule breach, keyword, sector, date, seriousness, aggravating and mitigating factors, level of financial penalty, and further measures, including referrals to the Upper Tribunal. Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ( FSMA 2000), the Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority ( PRA) hold a range of powers to gather information for supervisory and enforcement purposes. This Practice Note outlines the FCA’s information‑gathering powers and the limits placed on the disclosure and use of material obtained. These include powers in FSMA 2000, ss 165–169, enabling the regulators to compel firms to supply information and reports, appoint...
Financial Conduct Authority interviews The Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) may hold interviews either on a voluntary basis or under compulsion, and it alone decides which route to take. As a matter of routine, set out in the FCA Handbook’s Enforcement Guide ( ENFG), the regulator invokes statutory powers to require questions to be answered in interview, promoting fairness, openness and efficiency. That framework is adopted for reasons of fairness, transparency and efficiency. Where the FCA suspects regulatory and/or criminal misconduct, it need not immediately determine whether any later proceedings will be criminal or regulatory. The FCA retains discretion to deploy whatever powers it considers suitable to carry out its statutory function of investigating the alleged misconduct. If there is a prospect of criminal prosecution, or in market abuse enquiries, the FCA may question suspects under caution. Ordinarily, an interviewee is...
This Practice Note sets out the principal fire safety duties and offences under the Regulatory Reform ( Fire Safety) Order 2005, SI 2005/1541 (the Regulatory Reform Order 2005), the Fire Safety Act 2021 ( FSA 2021) and the Building Safety Act 2022 ( BSA 2022). It also covers provisions contained in the Fire Safety ( England) Regulations 2022 ( FSR 2022), SI 2022/547. For information on fire safety offences and enforcement in Scotland, see Practice Note: Fire safety law and offences in Scotland. For workplace fire safety, see Practice Notes: Fire safety in the workplace—regulatory requirements and How to manage fire safety in the workplace. For information on fire safety in commercial and mixed use buildings, see the Practice Note: Fire safety in commercial and mixed-use...
Taking part in criminal hearings from a distance can be demanding and unfamiliar. Extended periods focused on a monitor or telephone require intense concentration, which is more exhausting than being in a courtroom with everyone present, and this can impair listening for many practitioners. This Practice Note offers corporate crime practitioners taking part in remote hearings via live link (audio or video link) in the criminal courts pragmatic guidance and information to assist preparation and delivery. It should be read alongside Practical tips for remote attendance at criminal hearings—checklist, which complements this guidance. Will my hearing go ahead remotely? Criminal courts in England and Wales may permit individuals to take part in hearings remotely through a live audio link or live video link, as appropriate. For details on when remote attendance might be authorised, and on the process for making, varying or revoking live link...
Practice Note: Criminal offences under the Data Protection Act 2018 ( DPA 2018) This Practice Note outlines the criminal offences set out in the Data Protection Act 2018 ( DPA 2018). Those provisions took effect on 25 May 2018. For details of the DPA 2018’s aims and coverage, see Practice Note: The Data Protection Act 2018. The DPA 2018 repealed the Data Protection Act 1998 ( DPA 1998) on 25 May 2018. However, data protection offences committed before 25 May 2018 may still be pursued under the DPA 1998 notwithstanding its repeal. For guidance on data protection and data handling offences under the DPA 1998, see Practice Notes: Unlawfully obtaining data under the Data Protection Act 1998 [ Archived] and Notification offences under the Data Protection Act 1998 [ Archived]. The DPA 2018 was later amended by the Data Protection, Privacy and...
This Practice Note examines the statutory bars to extradition from the UK contained in section 11 of the Extradition Act 2003 ( EA 2003). There are numerous specific grounds that an individual may rely upon to resist extradition under EA 2003. Some of these grounds apply across both categories of request, while others are confined to EA 2003, Pt 1 or EA 2003, Pt 2 requests only. For an overview of the statutory scheme under EA 2003, see Practice Note: Extradition and the statutory framework—an introduction to extradition. For further guidance on the procedure applicable to EA 2003, Pt 1 and EA 2003, Pt 2, see Practice Note: Extradition under Parts 1 and 2 of the Extradition Act 2003—procedure. Statutory bars At the extradition hearing, the district judge will assess whether the request relates to an extradition offence and whether any of the statutory bars to...
Traffic Commissioners In England, Wales and Scotland, operator licences are granted by the Traffic Commissioners. They oversee licensing and regulation of heavy goods vehicles ( HGVs), light goods vehicles ( LGVs) and passenger service vehicles ( PSVs), and register local bus services. For a general outline of the operator licensing system, see Practice Note: Goods vehicle licensing. The Commissioners are independent statutory licensing authorities, and may act against the vocational entitlement of bus, coach and lorry drivers who commit road or related offences. They operate under the direction of the Secretary of State. Compliance with licence standards and road transport law is enforced by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency ( DVSA) and the police. For information on those bodies’ powers and an overview of enforcement, see Practice Note: Goods vehicles—enforcing transport compliance. Although, in some areas, the DVSA and the local Traffic...
Practice Note This Practice Note sets out when pre-sentence reports should be obtained and how they are used to support sentencing decisions after conviction in England and Wales. A pre-sentence report ( PSR) is ordinarily prepared by the National Probation Service ( NPS); for youthful defendants it may instead be produced by a social worker or a youth offending team member. Its purpose is to assist the court in deciding the most appropriate way of dealing with a defendant at the point of sentence. A PSR is usually provided in writing. It can be delivered orally in court unless the defendant is under 18, or the court is contemplating the imposition of a custodial sentence under specific provisions concerning determinate sentences, extended sentences, and life sentences for young offenders; in those circumstances it must be in writing. Under the Sentencing Council’s guideline on the...
Public interest immunity and disclosure The right to a fair hearing rests on the equality of arms, a principle under which a vital component is access to material gathered by the prosecution during its investigation. Disclosure is governed by a single statutory test: any item that could reasonably be thought to weaken the prosecution’s case, or to aid the defence, ought to be revealed. That entitlement to disclosure is curtailed by the doctrine of public interest immunity ( PII), permitting the court to keep relevant information from the defence where it concludes that the public interest requires non-disclosure. The court must conduct a balancing exercise, weighing the defendant’s interest in receiving all information pertinent to their defence against the state’s interest in safeguarding sensitive material. See Practice Note: Obtaining disclosure of unused evidence. The doctrine originated in the civil courts, where it was held that...
Part 2 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 ( YJCEA 1999) sets out a range of directions the court may make to meet the needs of vulnerable or intimidated witnesses for the prosecution or the defence. These operate alongside the court’s general case management powers in the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 ( Crim PR 2025), SI 2025/909, Pt 3; see Practice Note: Pre-trial and case management hearings in the Crown Court. The defendant cannot benefit from these measures. For the position regarding steps available in respect of the accused, see Practice Note: for the accused. In brief, potential measures for witnesses are: shielding the witness from the defendant giving evidence via live link or permitting evidence to be heard in private directing that wigs and gowns be removed during the witness’s testimony ...
Under section 6 of the Fraud Act 2006 ( Fr A 2006), it is a criminal offence for any individual to possess, or to keep under their control, any item intended for use in the commission of, or linked to, fraud. The constituent elements require proof that the defendant: had possession of, or control over, an article, for use in carrying out, or in relation to, any fraud. For the purposes of Fr A 2006, s 6, ‘fraud’ includes fraud by false representation, fraud by failing to disclose information, and fraud by abuse of position under Fr A 2006, ss 2–4. See Practice Notes: Fraud by false representation and Fraud by failure to disclose and abuse of position. The Explanatory Notes to Fr A 2006 explain that the wording of this offence is drawn from the offence of ‘going equipped’ in section 25 of the...
The Online Safety Act 2023 ( OSA 2023) The OSA 2023 introduces a suite of offences designed to tackle unlawful and harmful material online. These capture the spread of deceptive and menacing communications, as well as messages that promote or aid serious self-harm. Further offences concern the Office of Communications’ ( Ofcom) ability to seek specified information for the purpose of safeguarding users online. The Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025 ( DUAA 2025), which gained Royal Assent on 19 June 2025, updates the OSA 2023 and the Sexual Offences Act 2003 ( SOA 2003). Among other changes, it places obligations on Ofcom to issue information retention notices to internet service providers where a coroner, or equivalent, is examining the death of a child, and creates offences linked to making and requesting purported intimate images. While the OSA 2023 sets out Ofcom’s oversight of certain...
Elements of the offence of misleading statements in relation to benchmarks Under the Financial Services Act 2012 ( FSA 2012), an offence is established in relation to deceptive statements and impressions concerning benchmarks......
This Practice Note examines in detail the failure to prevent fraud offence under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ( ECCTA 2023). ECCTA 2023 obtained Royal Assent on 26 October 2023 and came into force on 1 September 2025 via the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ( Commencement No 4) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/349 (see: LNB News 17/03/2025 1). It sets out the offence’s constituent elements and overall scope, and compares it with the other corporate ‘failure to prevent’ offences concerning bribery and the facilitation of tax evasion. The Note also addresses the defence of having reasonable procedures to prevent fraud, describing what companies must build into their fraud prevention framework in order to rely on that defence in practice. Government statutory guidance has been issued on the offence, offering large organisations clear direction on the...
This Practice Note outlines the principal routes for tackling the UK trade in counterfeit goods, weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each, and providing practical pointers for brand owners. It addresses action by the authorities—customs, Trading Standards ( TS) and the police—as well as civil proceedings and private criminal prosecutions pursued by right holders. While some jurisdictions permit administrative action against infringers, that avenue is not considered here. The focus is counterfeiting (trade mark-related offences), with brief reference to piracy (copyright-related offences) and offences concerning registered designs. Anti-counterfeiting measures are discussed across both online and offline channels. For broader guidance on online brand protection, see Practice Note: Brand protection online—strategy and Brand protection online—checklist. For tackling counterfeit goods at EU-level, see Practice Note: IP enforcement and the EU customs regime. Further reading is available from the UK Intellectual Property Office ( IPO): IP crime and...
The principle of transferred malice/transferred mens rea The Supreme Court has indicated that a more accurate label than 'transferred malice' is 'transferred mens rea'. Indeed, 'transferred malice' has been criticised as a misleading tag. Accordingly, this article will use 'transferred mens rea'. The doctrine is engaged when a criminal purpose produces an unintended result or injury. It operates so long as the result or injury is of the same character as that intended, even if the person harmed is not the person aimed at. Latimer illustrates the foundational rule. D attempted to strike V with his belt, missed, and unintentionally struck V2. D was convicted of assault notwithstanding the absence of an intention to hit V2. The same logic was applied in Mitchell, in which D assaulted V, causing V to topple into V2. V2 was elderly and suffered a fracture that led to her death in...
This Practice Note examines how the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds ( Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, SI 2017/692 ( MLRs) apply to financial services firms. It includes: a high-level outline of the legislation guidance and regulatory expectations linked to the MLRs the MLRs’ obligations relating to: risk assessments, policies, controls and procedures staff training customer due diligence ( CDD), including enhanced due diligence ( EDD) and simplified due diligence ( SDD) beneficial ownership information, the UK register of trusts, and reporting discrepancies in registers the statutory framework of the MLRs—background and reform Key points Key points to note: the MLRs span a broad range of...
Compulsory interviews under Criminal Justice Act 1987, s 2—section 2 interviews Compulsory interviews conducted under section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 ( CJA 1987) are an investigatory power bestowed on the Serious Fraud Office ( SFO) to probe any suspected offence that involves serious or complex fraud as part of its investigative remit. The section 2 interview power authorises the SFO to compel: the attendance of witnesses at interview answers to questions posed during such interviews the production of documents The procedure is set in motion by issuing a section 2 notice. The Director of the SFO may delegate investigative functions under CJA 1987, s 2 to members of the SFO, or to any competent investigator (other than a constable), for the purpose of investigating the affairs specified in the grant of the authority. Evidence of that authority must be produced to the person before they are bound to...
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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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