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:
ARCHIVED : This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. From January 2019, a compulsory two-year disclosure pilot will operate in the Business and Property Courts, directed by the provisions of the new CPR PD 51U, and will be mandatory. Practitioners should begin considering the pilot’s requirements now, and may need to take steps ahead of next year when managing live or threatened proceedings, including preparatory measures and planning. These FAQs highlight practical questions that may arise in the run-up to the disclosure pilot before January 2019, to assist with immediate considerations. For guidance on the disclosure pilot scheme, see: Disclosure pilot scheme—overview now. Will the disclosure pilot scheme apply to proceedings that are currently ongoing/were commenced before January 2019? Yes—the disclosure pilot scheme will extend to proceedings already on foot, and not merely newly issued. Accordingly, if your present matter falls within the pilot, the...
Stop press: Applications cannot be made under Part 68. This Practice Note outlines the CPR 68 provisions that were due to take effect on Tuesday, 1 October 2024, coinciding with commencement of The Civil Procedure ( Amendment No. 3) Rules 2024, SI 2024/839. The functioning of Part 68, however, was contingent on sections 6A, 6B and 6C of the European Union ( Withdrawal) Act 2018 also commencing on that date. Those sections did not commence because The Retained EU Law ( Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 ( Commencement No 2 and Saving Provisions) ( Revocation) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/976, published on 26 September 2024 and in force from 18 September 2024, revoked the regulations intended to bring the new sections 6A, 6B and 6C of the Withdrawal Act 2018 into force. The Government did not supply a reason at the time for revoking those...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is no longer maintained. It addresses the amendments to Part 52 that took effect in October 2016, and outlines the transitional arrangements operating thereafter and applicable beyond that point. It also signposts material which deals with the provisions in force before October 2012......
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is for historical purposes only. CPR provisions The rules for the summary assessment of costs are contained in CPR 44. These provisions were revised on 1 April 2013. The revisions were as follows: meaning — formerly in rule 43.3, now set out in CPR 44.1. It describes the process by which the judge who heard the case or application determines the costs general provisions — previously within CPR PD 44, paras 13.1 to 13.13 and para 14; these are now located in CPR PD 44, paras 9.1 to 9.10......
ARCHIVED : This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note maps the path to the April 2015 reform of Part 36. It is drawn from material created by Lexis Nexis® for January 2015 seminars on the new Part 36, delivered jointly alongside Ed Pepperall QC (chair of the CPRC sub-committee on Part 36) of St Philip’s Chambers. Note: links to CPR 36 in this Practice Note point to the version in force on 6 April 2015. Where we refer to the pre‑6 April 2015 provisions, we describe them as ‘ Old Rule 36’. For access to the pre‑6 April rules and practice directions, please click below for further details: Why so many changes to Part 36? Since its arrival within the Civil Procedure Rules in 1998, CPR 36 has seen a series of revisions in April 2007, April 2013 and, once more, April...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is no longer updated or maintained. It is kept for historical reference, outlining the changes to CPR 36 effective from 6 April 2007, to differentiate that law from the position before 6 April 2007. Later amendments to CPR 36 are not included in this note, but are covered within our general practice notes on service... Key changes to Part 36 In 2005, a number of decisions suggested that defendants who were ‘good for the money’ did not need to pay funds into court. In consequence, Part 36 of the CPR was rewritten, with the revised provisions going further than the DCA’s consultation proposals. The rules provide: it is no longer required for a defendant wishing to make a Part 36 offer to pay money into court......
This Practice Note This Practice Note sets out what an offeree should reflect upon when deciding whether to accept a Part 36 offer, including the implications of accepting before or after the lapse of the relevant period. It also covers payment on account of costs, Part 36 acceptance in split trial cases, and Part 36 acceptance where there are multiple defendants. Note that this Practice Note addresses the Part 36 costs consequences for civil matters outside the fixed costs regime. Nonetheless, many of the same principles apply in fixed costs cases when a party considers whether to accept a Part 36 offer. For details on the particular Part 36 costs consequences in fixed costs cases, see Practice Notes: Part 36 offers—fixed costs (position prior to 1 October 2023) and Part 36 offers—fixed costs (position on or after 1 October 2023). To reach an...
ARCHIVED : This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. It is kept for historical reference only and sets out CPR Part 36 as it operated before 6 April 2015, explaining the provisions as they were in force immediately prior to that date. For any Part 36 offer received or made on or after 6 April 2015, refer to the version of CPR 36 that is in force, together with our relevant Practice Notes and Precedents covering this area—see: Part 36 offers—overview. If you have made, or are in receipt of, a Part 36 offer predating 6 April 2015, the Part 36 rules in force before that date continue to apply. You can access a copy of the pre‑6 April 2015 Part 36 rules here: Where a Part 36 offer predates 6 April 2015 but a trial of any part of the...
ARCHIVED : This Practice Note is archived and no longer being maintained. It is retained purely for historical context, describing CPR Part 36 as it applied before 6 April 2015, when those provisions were previously in effect only. If you have received, or intend to make, a Part 36 offer on or after 6 April 2015, you must consult the CPR 36 currently in force and our accompanying Practice Notes and Precedents covering this; see: Part 36 offers—overview. If you have made, or been served with, a Part 36 offer predating 6 April 2015, the version of Part 36 that was operative before that date continues to govern. You may obtain a copy of the pre‑6 April 2015 Part 36 rules here: If you have made, or received, a Part 36 offer predating 6 April 2015, but a trial of any element of the claim, or any...
ARCHIVED : This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note explains the transitional arrangements for CPR 36 following its April 2015 re-write. It belongs to a collection of Practice Notes created for the joint Lexis Nexis and St Philips Commercial seminar series on the changes to Part 36 held in Leeds, Birmingham and London in January 2015. To obtain all supporting materials and the recording of the April 2015 London Part 36 session, please visit our Lexis Nexis Dispute Resolution blog and register. For additional Practice Notes in this suite on the updated CPR 36, refer to the related content links on the right-hand side. What is happening and when? The new CPR 36 took effect in full on 6 April 2015 and applies to every Part 36 offer made on or after 6 April 2015....
This Practice Note considers case management on the fast track of civil claims that are issued on or after 1 October 2023. The rules for case management and directions on the fast track differ depending upon whether proceedings were issued before or after 1 October 2023. The main provisions governing fast track case management are found in CPR 26, CPR PD 26, CPR 28 and CPR PD 28, and those provisions were amended with effect from 1 October 2023. This Practice Note deals only with the case management of fast track claims in civil proceedings issued on or after 1 October 2023. For information on how fast track claims issued before 1 October 2023 are managed, see Practice Note: Fast track—case management—position before 1 October 2023. Note, however, that for personal injury claims the applicable rules vary according to the date on which the cause of...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is based on provisions revoked on 1 April 2013. It is therefore for historical purposes only. What are they? Points of dispute set out the paying party’s challenges to the items in the bill of costs. They must be served on the receiving party and on every other party to the detailed assessment proceedings whose name and address for service appear on the statement included in the bill of costs of any person on whom the receiving party intends to serve the notice of commencement. Time limits The deadline for serving points of dispute is 21 days after service of the notice of commencement. See Detailed assessment: starting the process (prior to April 2013) [ Archived]. The 21 day period is extended if the notice of commencement is served outside England and...
ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note is not updated and is provided solely for background reference. Also, some hyperlinks may not take you to the provisions as they stood on the date the guidance in this Practice Note was issued. For details on earlier and/or later changes to the CPR, refer to: CPR updates—overview and Procedure Rule Committee minutes—overview. This Practice Note includes the agenda and minutes from the CPR Committee ( CPRC) meeting held on 7 July 2017, with supporting papers......
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived, not kept under review, and provided for background reference. Additionally, certain links might not lead you to the provisions as they stood on the date the guidance within this Practice Note was issued......
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is no longer updated and is provided for background reference. In addition, hyperlinks may not take you to the provisions as they existed on the date this Practice Note’s guidance was issued. For details on earlier and/or later amendments to the CPR, see: CPR updates—overview and Procedure Rule Committee minutes—overview. This Practice Note sets out the agenda and minutes of the CPR Committee ( CPRC) meeting held on 1 December 2017, with supporting material. At that meeting, the committee discussed the timescale for securing transcripts of judgments; revisions to the practice direction— Civil Recovery Proceeding; the transfer of matters from the Magistrates’ Court to the High Court, requiring amendment to CPR PD 8A to implement the Magistrates’ Courts ( Detention and Forfeiture of Terrorist Assets) Rules 2017; a proposal to broaden the Public Liability fixed recoverable costs ( FRC) regime to...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. It sets out the minutes of the CPR Committee ( CPRC) meeting held on 7 December 2018. During that session, the committee discussed several matters, including: proposed changes to the CPR to refine rules and practice directions for media and communication claims a planned consultation on enforcing possession orders an uplift to the small claims track limit for whiplash claims the launch of the Business and Property Courts— Capped Costs List pilot scheme CPR amendments to address Brexit an update on CPR changes arising from the open justice consultation ( CPR 39) Please note the CPR Committee ( CPRC) no longer circulates the supporting papers with the minutes; therefore, no documents explaining the issues discussed accompany this Practice Note. A copy of the minutes is available here: Media and communications ( MAC) list The media and...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived, no longer updated, and now serves background information only...
ARCHIVED This archived Practice Note is not maintained and is provided solely for background purposes. Please note that some links may no longer point to the provisions as they stood when this guidance was issued and originally published. For details of earlier and later amendments to the CPR, see: CPR updates—overview and Procedure Rule Committee minutes—overview. Agenda and minutes The draft agenda for the CPR Committee ( CPRC) open meeting on 11 May 2018 is available here: The agreed minutes can also be found here: The meeting was presided over by Mr Justice Coulson, while Sir Terence Etherton delivered the opening remarks, expressly noting the breadth of the CPRC’s work and the considerable success of its open meetings (which have been held since June 2006). Membership ( Agenda item 3) It was noted that: District Judge Lethem will continue to serve a further term on the CPRC a new...
ARCHIVED: this archived Practice Note is not maintained and is for background information purposes only. This Practice Note is archived, is no longer updated and is provided solely as background material. Please be aware that certain links might not take you to the provisions as they stood when this guidance was first issued. On 1 April 2013, the Jackson Reforms brought in, among other measures, revised case management rules. The principal changes are outlined below. Note This Practice Note addresses only the provisions commenced in April 2013. It does not give guidance on later procedural amendments (to the CPR or any other procedural rules or guides). Nor does it cover how the April 2013 (or any later) updates were implemented or interpreted. For guidance one year on from the Jackson Reforms and on the April 2014 CPR updates, see Practice Notes: Jackson Reforms—one year on [ Archived] and CPR...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived, not maintained, and provided solely for background information. In addition, certain links may no longer point to the provisions as they stood on the date this guidance was published. For details of previous and/or subsequent changes to the CPR, see: CPR updates—overview and Procedure Rule Committee minutes—overview. The new provisions take effect on 5 June 2014 as a result of the Civil Procedure ( Amendment No 5) Rules 2014 and the Practice Direction for the 73rd update. Costs budgeting Even before the amended CPR 3.12 provisions commenced on 22 April 2014, questions arose about how the new provisions should be interpreted. On 11 April 2014, the CPR Committee issued clarification. In short, the exemption in CPR 3.12 applies to the Admiralty and Commercial Court. For the explanation, see: The Civil Procedure ( Amendment No 5) Rules 2014 will come into force on 5 June,...
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 ]...