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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 breadth and categorisation of devices governed by Regulation ( EU) 2017/745, the Medical Devices Regulation ( MDR), and Regulation ( EU) 2017/746, the In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation ( IVDR) (together, the MD Regulations), along with conformity assessment routes and the designation and oversight of Notified Bodies... For information on: key provisions of the MDR and IVDR — see Practice Note: Introduction to the EU Medical Devices Regulation and In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation clinical evaluation and investigation of devices — see Practice Note: Clinical evaluation and performance evaluation of medical devices in the EU post-market surveillance — see Practice Note: Post-market surveillance of medical devices in the EU European database on medical devices ( EUDAMED) and the obligations of economic operators — see Practice Note: The EU Medical Devices...
This Practice Note explores the European database on medical devices ( EUDAMED) and the obligations on economic operators, including manufacturers, distributors and importers of medical devices, arising under Regulation ( EU) 2017/745, the Medical Devices Regulation ( MDR), and Regulation ( EU) 2017/746, the In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation ( IVDR). For guidance on: key provisions of the MDR and IVDR, refer to Practice Note: Introduction to the EU Medical Devices Regulation and In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation scope and classification of devices, conformity assessment procedures and Notified Bodies, see Practice Note: The EU Medical Devices Regulation and In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation—scope, classification of devices and Notified Bodies clinical evaluation and investigation of devices, consult Practice Note: Clinical evaluation and performance evaluation of medical devices in the EU post-market...
Practice Note: Marketing authorisations in the EU—regulatory procedures for approval of medicinal products As outlined in Practice Note: Marketing authorisations in the EU—regulatory procedures for approval of medicinal products, a medicinal product cannot lawfully be marketed unless prior approval, termed a marketing authorisation ( MA), has been secured in advance. An MA specifies the therapeutic indications, target patients and dosing for which the medicine is authorised, together with any obligations placed upon the marketing authorisation holder ( MAH) as part of the approval process. In the EU, an MA application may rely on several distinct legal bases. This Practice Note considers the available categories of marketing authorisation applications ( MAAs) in the EU and the underlying legal grounds, and also addresses practical aspects, including the required content and presentation of an application for an MA, the format of an...
STOP PRESS: On 14 November 2024, the EU Listing Act appeared in the Official Journal, introducing revisions to the EU Market Abuse Regulation ( EU MAR). The majority of its provisions, including the EU MAR updates, are scheduled to apply from July 2026, contingent on the Commission adopting level 2 delegated acts. Certain EU MAR amendments on market soundings and managers’ transactions, however, have applied since 4 December 2024 and are flagged in the relevant sections of this Practice Note. ESMA issued its technical advice to the Commission on 7 May 2025 covering, among other matters, EU MAR. On 8 April 2026, the Commission released the final texts of two delegated acts: one on disclosing inside information and another addressing, among other aspects, indicators of market manipulation. These delegated acts will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and will take effect unless the...
Practice Note This Practice Note sets out a high-level, practical summary of the objectives and scope of Regulation ( EU) 2023/1230 on machinery, commonly referred to as the EU Machinery Regulation ( EU MR). The EU MR obliges manufacturers and other market participants engaged in making machinery and related products to comply with a broad range of health and safety requirements. It outlines the principal legal duties of manufacturers, importers and distributors (together with other persons who may fall within scope) and analyses the key departures from Directive 2006/42/ EC on machinery, known as the EU Machinery Directive ( EU MD), in the context of emerging digital and technological concepts. The machinery industry records an annual turnover of €700 billion and supplies vital products and technology used across numerous manufacturing and services sectors, including mining, manufacturing and textile, as well as the...
Key information EU MAC Directive Official title: Directive 2006/40/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 concerning emissions from air-conditioning systems in motor vehicles and amending Council Directive 70/156/ EEC In force since: 4 July 2006 Transposition deadline: 4 January 2008 National transposition: See the Eur- Lex list of national transposition measures, as notified by Member States Subject: Greenhouse gases; fluorinated gases ( F-gases); transport; motor vehicles; transport emissions What are fluorinated gases ( F-gases)? Fluorinated gases ( F-gases) are a group of synthetic gases applied in numerous everyday products and industrial uses. This group covers: Hydrofluorocarbons ( HFCs) — widely used as refrigerants in refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump equipment (including vehicle air conditioning systems), as foam blowing agents, as solvents and in fire extinguishers and aerosols ...
ARCHIVED This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. It monitored EU cases pertinent to the life sciences sector during 2020–2022. To follow EU case progress from 2023 onwards, including live matters, see Practice Note: Life sciences cases tracker— EU. For current EU legislative proposals, consultations and developments relevant to life sciences, see Practice Note: Life sciences tracker— EU. For current UK legislative proposals, consultations and developments, as well as notable UK cases relevant to life sciences, see Practice Notes: Life sciences tracker— UK and Life sciences cases tracker— UK... Judgments— Supplementary protection certificates For archived supplementary protection certificate ( SPC) rulings, see Practice Note: Life sciences tracker [ Archived]— Judgments— Supplementary protection certificates... Court of Justice of the European Union Santen SAS v Directeur général de l’ Institut national de la propriété industrielle ( Case C-673/18, ECLI: EU: C:2020:531) — judgment delivered on 9 July...
Introduction to the EU legal system The EU legal order is sui generis—unmatched by any other legal system, even if it incorporates elements from many. To grasp its operation, resist folding it into a national template (or measuring it against one) and watch how it behaves from multiple perspectives. From the outset, the EU (then the EEC) was meant to evolve into more than a mere economic community, hence the founding Member States consented to cede slices of sovereignty to newly created 'supranational' institutions. Supranational, as the term suggests, describes authority set above a national framework. The label marks the contrast with intergovernmental arrangements, where choices are made by consensus and remain tied to the interests of national governments. Once inside the EU, Member States can no longer enact, on their own, laws within fields allocated by the EU Treaties, ie the Treaty on...
What is ‘carbon management’ and why is it necessary? Regulation ( EU) 2021/1119 of 30 June 2021 (the EU Climate Regulation) sets a binding legal duty on the EU to deliver a 55% cut in carbon emissions against 1990 levels by 2030, and to achieve full carbon neutrality—net zero—by 2050. Hitting these milestones will necessitate a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across the economy as a whole. At EU level, the downward trajectory is largely steered by the Fit for 55 climate package of legislation and measures, introduced pursuant to the 2019 European Green Deal. To sit alongside EU- and Member State-level actions and measures aimed at lowering emissions, the EU also recognises that carbon management must support the attainment of its climate objectives. This Practice Note sets out the EU initiatives associated and linked to carbon management, emphasising the key...
This starter guide introduces EU law for readers encountering the subject for the first time and is aimed at those new to EU law. It outlines the EU Law Practice Area, sets out fundamental themes and doctrines, and points to additional Lexis Nexis® materials and resources. It covers: An introduction to EU law Key topics in EU Law Further reading materials Key external links for EU law This guide is designed to help you get the best from the Lexis Nexis® EU Law content by showing where to locate it and how to subscribe to email updates and how to sign up for email alerts. If a topic is not addressed in this short guide, use the Topics tab or the Topics dropdown menu to explore more Practice Area material. To see starter guides for other Practice Areas, visit: New starter...
The EU glossary brings together and clarifies terms regularly used in EU law. Blue economy The European Union’s blue economy covers all activities and sectors linked to oceans, seas and coastlines, whether operating directly in the marine environment (eg shipping, seafood, energy production) or on land (eg ports, shipyards, coastal infrastructures). Circular Economy Action Plan In March 2020, under the European Green Deal, the European Commission adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan ( CEAP). The CEAP seeks to: make sustainable products the norm across the EU prioritise sectors likely to be highly affected by circularity, such as construction and buildings, batteries and vehicles, water, packaging, plastics, batteries, electronics empower consumers and public procurers cut waste For further details on the CEAP, see News Analysis: New circular economy action plan published, Sustainable products and supply chains ( EU Law)—overview and Practice Note: EU...
EU law The EU’s central aim of bringing Europe together rests solely on the rule of law. EU law forms a distinct, independent legal order, taking precedence (or supremacy) over domestic legal rules. Numerous principal actors are responsible for implementing, supervising and further developing this framework, to which a variety of procedures apply. In broad terms, EU law comprises three separate yet interlinked tiers of legislation: primary, secondary and tertiary. The EU’s body of law in its entirety is known as the ‘acquis communautaire’. Categories and areas of EU competence ‘ Competence’ denotes the EU’s authority to undertake specific action where that authority is granted by the Member States through the EU Treaties. The EU’s competences are set out in those Treaties, which provide the foundation for any action taken by EU institutions and define the scope of their measures. The Union may act only within the...
This Practice Note monitors the development of the European Commission’s plan to revise Directive 2011/7/ EU on tackling late payment in commercial transactions, the EU Late Payment Directive, published on 12 September 2023. Background On 12 September 2023, as part of a wider set of measures to meet the needs of Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs Relief package), the European Commission put forward a proposed Regulation on combating late payment in commercial transactions ( EU Late Payment Regulation). Among its aims is the enhancement of competitiveness and the overall business environment for SMEs across the EU. The proposed Regulation would repeal and replace the EU Late Payment Directive. Unlike a directive, a regulation takes direct effect in EU Member States. The EU Late Payment Directive is intended to improve the settlement of invoices in...
ARCHIVED: Revised Horizontal Guidelines were published in the Official Journal on 21 July 2023. This Practice Note was prepared with the earlier Horizontal Guidelines in mind and is not maintained. For the most up to date material, please refer to the relevant section in Practice Note: Analysing horizontal co-operation agreements under EU competition law. Joint purchasing agreements are arrangements through which two or more undertakings—often a considerable number—agree to buy together all or part of their product needs. These agreements can produce meaningful benefits for consumers and markets. They may secure cost efficiencies, such as lower purchase prices and reduced transaction, transport and storage costs, stemming from the parties’ greater purchasing power and economies of scale, with savings then passed on to customers. They can also provide qualitative advantages, for instance by encouraging suppliers to innovate and to introduce new or improved products into the...
Practice Note This Practice Note sets out the method to be adopted in practice when deciding whether the EU courts have jurisdiction to adjudicate an IP dispute, with principal reference to the scheme contained in Regulation ( EU) 1215/2012 ( Brussels I (recast)). It carefully examines the overall position across disputes about IP rights and then describes specific, practical questions for patents, trade marks, copyright and design rights, including the dedicated regimes for EU trade marks ( EUTMs) in Regulation ( EU) 2017/1001 and for EU designs in Regulation ( EC) 6/2002 (as amended by Regulation ( EU) 2024/2822). IP rights are secured on a national or regional territorial basis; however, the character of the subject matter (eg inventions, written works, etc) enables virtually immediate cross-border transmission, particularly in today’s modern digital age. Working out whether a given court has...
This Practice Note addresses the EU data protection and privacy ramifications of the internet of things ( Io T) and the information it generates. It considers the following principal areas: What is the internet of things? Data protection Key themes identified for concern Article 29 Working Party opinion on recent developments regarding the internet of things Cookies and equivalent tools Practical actions concerning data protection Cybersecurity EU Data Governance Act and EU Data Act Revised EU Product Liability Directive EU AI Act e- Evidence Regulation For fuller insight into core commercial issues linked to the Io T, see Practice Note: Internet of Things ( Io T)—key legal issues in the EU. Specific matters relating to automated vehicles are outside the scope of this Practice Note; for details, see Practice Note: Automated vehicles—data, privacy and cybersecurity issues in the EU. For material on the data protection and privacy aspects of the Io T in the UK, see...
The Internet of Things ( Io T) The Internet of Things refers to everyday items—not just conventional computing kit like laptops and mobiles—connected to the internet. Related terms include connected devices, smart objects, the internet of services, machine‑to‑machine ( M2M) technology, sensor networks, the network of networks, and pervasive or ubiquitous computing. Io T covers objects as varied as running shoes, buildings, cars, fridge‑freezers and drones. With embedded technology, these items can interact and share data online with one another, the user, the service provider and/or their environment, and they can be monitored and controlled remotely. This Practice Note introduces Io T technology in the EU and considers: The technology underpinning the Io T Identifying the legal issues Application programming interfaces ( APIs) Telecommunications and electrical equipment Intellectual...
Background to the The ( EC) 97/9 ( ICSD) is one of two existing EU guarantee scheme directives. The other, the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive ( DGSD), is discussed in Practice Note Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive. Collectively, these directives require Member States to establish, respectively, depositor and investor protection schemes, providing minimum levels and scope of cover to customers of DGSD- and ICSD-covered firms. Under the ICSD, Member States must set up one or more investor compensation schemes ( ICSs) operating within its territory. Investment firms that deliver investment services must be members of such a scheme. ICSs are designed as a last-resort safety net, safeguarding investors against losses where an investment firm cannot repay money or return assets held for investors. They are not intended to cover investment risk: for example, where an investor has acquired shares which then fall in value. Until the UK...
This glossary provides concise explanations and definitions of significant investment funds terms, together with pointers to related Practice Notes... Alternative investment fund ( AIF) A collective investment undertaking—also covering any investment compartment of an AIF—that raises capital from several investors to invest according to a defined investment policy for their benefit, and which is not a UCITS fund under Directive 2009/65/ EC on the co-ordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions for undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities ( AIFMD, Directive 2011/61/ EU, Art 4(1)(a)). An AIF may hold traditional or alternative assets and can be private or listed, authorised or unauthorised. For further detail (including scope and exemptions), see: Investment funds, asset management, and benchmarks ( EU Law)—overview Practice Note: EU...
The Investment Firms Regulation ( EU) 2019/2033 ( IFR) and the Investment Firms Directive ( EU) 2019/2034 ( IFD) took legal effect on 25 December 2019. Application of the IFR started on 26 June 2021, subject to certain limited exceptions. Member States had to implement the IFD in domestic legislation by 26 June 2021, and to apply most of those national measures from that same date across their jurisdictions. Under the IFR and IFD, the majority of EU investment firms are subject to new, streamlined prudential requirements, while large, systemic firms that conduct bank‑type activities and pose comparable risks are regulated and supervised as banks accordingly. Background to the IFR and IFD Across all Member States in the European Economic Area ( EEA), there are several thousand investment firms in operation. Most are small to medium‑sized and concentrate primarily on providing investment advice,...
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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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