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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 serves to monitor the progress of adequacy decisions for cross-border/international transfers of personal data under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation ( EU) 2016/679 (the EU GDPR). It brings together pertinent opinions, reports and guidance from EU institutions on the standing of both new and established decisions. For an all-round primer on the EU GDPR, assembling essential practical guidance, see: UK data protection law collection. Background While the EU GDPR repeatedly refers to the ‘ Union’, page one confirms it is a text ‘with EEA relevance’, so its provisions are intended to apply to every EEA state, not solely EU members. As the EU GDPR has been folded into the EEA Agreement and now applies, references to EU Member States will typically be understood to cover EEA members as well. For details on that...
This Practice Note considers when a host Member State may limit admission and residence rights of EU citizens and their family members. Non-exercise of treaty rights EU nationals and their relatives can be refused entry or expelled on grounds other than public policy or security; however, any such action is constrained by significant limits set out in the next sub‑section on measures based on public policy, security and health. Where a restriction on residence/entry is pursued for reasons unrelated to public policy, security or health, the Court of Justice has determined that Article 15 of Directive 2004/38/ EC (the Citizens’ Directive), headed ‘ Procedural guarantees’, provides in paragraph 1 that the procedures in Articles 30 and 31 of the Directive apply by analogy to all decisions curbing the free movement of EU citizens and their family members on grounds other than public policy, public security or public...
EU nationals who are in paid employment, carrying on self-employed work, and, in some cases, seeking work, are entitled under EU law to remain in the host Member State for longer than three months. This Practice Note explores EU citizens’ residence rights after the first three months when they rely on status as workers, self-employed individuals and jobseekers. Throughout this Practice Note, the expression ‘ EU citizens’ denotes nationals of EU Member States. Individuals from the European Economic Area ( Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein and the other 27 EU Member States) equally derive rights from EU free movement law, under Directive 2004/38/ EC, the Citizens’ Directive. Therefore, references in this Practice Note to EU citizens should be understood to include EEA nationals. Workers What activities constitute employed work? Neither Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ( TFEU), the...
What are mobile payments? ‘ Mobile payments’ can signify different things to different people, depending on who is asked and the context. Put simply, it enables a customer to use a mobile device to pay an individual or a business. The European Commission ( Commission) describes a mobile payment in its Green Paper ‘ Towards an integrated European market for card, internet and mobile payments’ as payments where the payment data and the instruction are started, sent or confirmed using a mobile phone or device, and this may relate to online or offline purchases of services, or of digital or physical goods. For more on the Commission’s Green Paper, see UK regulation of mobile payments below for further detail. As a sector, mobile payments is growing swiftly following the arrival of Apple Pay, Google’s ‘ Android Pay’ and Samsung’s ‘ Samsung Pay’. The retail...
On 12 January 2023, Council Regulation ( EU) 2022/2560 of 14 December 2022 on foreign subsidies that distort the internal market (the FSR) came into effect. On 10 July 2023, the European Commission ( Commission) adopted Council Regulation ( EU) 2023/1441, the Implementing Regulation, which lays down detailed arrangements for how the Commission conducts proceedings under Regulation ( EU) 2022/2560 of the European Parliament and of the Council on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market, setting out procedural rules for putting the FSR into practice. The FSR establishes a new framework to tackle distortions of competition within the EU internal market arising from foreign subsidies. It introduces mandatory notification and clearance obligations for takeovers of significant EU businesses and for sizeable EU public procurement, and grants the Commission wide-ranging powers to open ex officio inquiries. The notification obligations have applied since 12 October...
On 12 January 2023, Council Regulation ( EU) 2022/2560 of 14 December 2022 on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market ( FSR) took effect. On 10 July 2023, the European Commission adopted Council Regulation ( EU) 2023/1441 of 10 July 2023 on detailed arrangements for the conduct of proceedings by the Commission pursuant to Regulation ( EU) 2022/2560 of the European Parliament and the Council on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market ( Implementing Regulation), which sets out the procedural rules for putting the FSR into practice. The FSR establishes a new system designed to address distortions to competition in the EU internal market stemming from foreign subsidies. It introduces compulsory notification and clearance duties for substantial EU public tenders and for takeovers of significant EU businesses, and grants the Commission broad powers to commence ex officio inquiries. The...
This note records and outlines every appeal before the General Court connected to the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation ( FSR). For active European Commission FSR enquiries, consult Foreign Subsidies Regulation—ongoing cases tracker. For information on all concluded Commission preliminary enquiries, see also: FSR preliminary enquiries—closed cases......
This Practice Note offers a concise primer on EU food law. It outlines core definitions, overarching principles, principal obligations and enforcement, with citations to the pertinent provisions of EU legislation. It succinctly summarises key requirements and enforcement arrangements in context. References are made throughout to the applicable provisions of EU legislation. The focus of this Practice Note is EU food law. It does not examine UK food law. The scope is intentionally confined to EU food law alone. Key EU food legislation After several food crises in the late 1990s, the Commission recognised the necessity for a legislative framework establishing general principles and requirements for food law. In 2000, responding to the growing complexity of the food supply chain, the Commission set out an integrated, end‑to‑end food safety approach in its White Paper on Food Safety. In 2002, stemming from that White Paper,...
Scope of this Practice Note This Practice Note offers guidance on the European Supervisory Authorities ( ESAs): European Securities and Markets Authority ( ESMA) European Banking Authority ( EBA) European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority ( EIOPA) Among other matters, it explains their roles and general powers to prepare draft technical standards, and to issue opinions, guidance and recommendations to national supervisors within the EU. Together with the European Systemic Risk Board ( ESRB) and the national competent authorities ( NCAs) of EU Member States, the ESAs form the European System of Financial Supervision ( ESFS). The ESAs collaborate with the ESRB to safeguard financial stability and to strengthen and enhance the EU supervisory framework, aiming to improve co-ordination among national supervisory bodies and to raise the quality of national supervision across the EU. The ESAs also issue guidance and...
Purpose of this Practice Note This Practice Note offers a primer on EU financial services law by way of: concise guidance links within the Practice Note to sources predominantly hosted on the EU’s website, and commentary and analysis delivered by the EU law module Most links point to introductory resources, though they can often be pursued for more advanced discussion, if required. Some readers may prefer to consult our An introduction to EU law before exploring EU financial services law... Introduction The EU consists of 27 European countries which, at least in principle, operate as a single market. That market has been widened to the European Economic Area ( EEA) with three additional European countries. The single market features a highly developed financial services industry, overseen by a regulatory framework that EU institutions consider a benchmark for the rest of the world. The EU’s...
This Practice Note summarises the principal European Union financial sanctions relevant to financial services providers. It covers EU sanctions—most notably asset-freeze measures—and the intersecting elements of the EU anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism ( AML/ CTF) framework. For practical guidance on the EU AML/ CTF framework for financial services, see: Financial crime and sanctions ( EU Law)—overview. For UK-focused guidance, see: Sanctions compliance—overview and Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing ( AML/ CTF)—overview. Key points EU financial services firms must comply with a broad and increasingly complex range of sanctions. Given their risk exposure, they are expected to maintain robust sanctions compliance controls and procedures, and to meet any compliance standards set by their national regulators. EU sanctions apply across the EU, but each Member State and its financial services regulators may issue their own guidance, compliance best...
Background Financial conglomerates are sizeable groups active across more than one financial arena (banking, investment and/or insurance). Typically, they have intricate structures, operate internationally and across borders, and the broader group may include entities that are unregulated from a financial legislation perspective, as well as firms outside financial services. Within the EU, bancassurance has long been a key operating approach for such groups. Bancassurers unite banking and insurance businesses, enabling a complete suite of financial offerings via a one‑stop shopping model—from conventional banking, through mutual funds, to insurance products. For insurers, bancassurance opens fresh distribution routes with a dependable client base; for banks, it broadens the product mix and lifts profitability by selling more through the same infrastructure already in place, thereby lowering fixed and overhead operating costs (economies of scale). One‑stop shopping in a bancassurance group gives customers access to a wide array of...
This Practice Note outlines, in brief, the European Venture Capital Funds Regulation ( EU) 345/2013 (the Eu VECA Regulation), as subsequently updated by Regulation ( EU) 2017/1991, Regulation ( EU) 2019/1156 and Regulation ( EU) 2023/2869. The Eu VECA Regulation constitutes a specialist alternative investment fund ( AIF) regime available to alternative investment fund managers ( AIFMs) under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (2011/61/ EU) ( AIFMD). AIFMs running qualifying venture capital funds may opt to apply the ‘ Eu VECA’ label to those funds, enabling marketing to professional and certain high net-worth investors right across the EU via the Eu VECA marketing passport itself. The Eu VECA regulatory framework The Eu VECA Regulation was brought alongside Regulation ( EU) 346/2013 on European social entrepreneurship funds (the Eu SEF Regulation). The Eu SEF Regulation, as amended, falls outside the scope of this Practice Note, but is...
Introduction of the ETS II The core EU Emissions Trading System ( EU ETS) operates under Directive 2003/87/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council dated 13 October 2003, which created a greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme (the EU ETS Directive). The Directive sets out a legal framework intended to drive reductions in greenhouse gas ( GHG) emissions in a cost-effective and economically efficient way. On 14 July 2021, the Commission adopted a package of legislative proposals to put the EU on track to deliver at least a 55% cut in emissions from 1990 levels by 2030 and to reach climate neutrality, or net-zero emissions, by 2050. First trailed in 2019 under the European Green Deal and branded the ‘ Fit for 55’ package, the proposals covered updates to the main EU ETS, the EU ETS for aviation, and Decision ( EU)...
This Practice Note outlines the EU framework governing exchange traded funds ( ETFs). These are, in broad terms, open-ended investment vehicles that follow, for instance, an index, asset class or strategy and are dealt on an exchange or another trading venue. What is an ETF? In the EU, an ETF is a fund with at least one unit or share class traded throughout the day on at least one trading venue, and supported by at least one market maker that acts to keep the trading price of its units or shares close to its net asset value ( NAV) and, where relevant, its indicative NAV. This meaning of ‘ ETF’ appears in Article 4(1)(46) of the recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (2014/65/ EU) ( Mi FID II). ETFs are the most widely used exchange traded products ( ETPs) in the EU. Other ETP types...
This Practice Note is a horizon scanner tracking key future developments in rules governing environment, social, and governance ( ESG) and sustainability matters in the EU. It functions as a forward‑looking monitor of significant forthcoming shifts in EU rules on environment, social and governance ( ESG) and wider sustainability. It sets out diary‑ready milestones (including expected timings where available) and offers commentary on measures under negotiation, laws with deferred commencement or transposition dates, fresh consultations and calls for evidence, anticipated guidance, and new EU‑level strategies and action plans. The meaning of ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainable business’ has developed in recent years, with initiatives now commonly grouped under the three ESG pillars. The EU’s agenda to strengthen and reward sustainable corporate conduct draws on global accords and frameworks, notably the Paris Agreement, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, the Task Force on...
This Practice Note reviews the EU environmental, social and governance ( ESG) — also termed sustainability — integration measures, which revised delegated acts under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive 2011/61/ EU ( AIFMD), the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities ( UCITS) Directive 2009/65/ EC and the recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2014/65/ EU ( Mi FID II), and considers their industry impact. It also briefly highlights the UK’s departure in respect of these measures. What were the ESG integration measures? In August 2021, a package of measures (the Delegated Acts) appeared in the Official Journal of the EU; see Application of the ESG measures below, and they affected UCITS management companies, alternative investment fund managers ( AIFMs) and Mi FID investment firms (together, managers). For practical guidance on managers, refer to Practice Notes: Undertakings for Collective Investment in...
This Practice Note charts notable historical shifts in the EU’s rules on environment, social, and governance ( ESG) and wider sustainability issues. It sets out major milestones and explains them with pertinent commentary, covering enacted laws as well as other significant movements, such as issued guidance and strategies and action plans at EU level. This tracker addresses legislative changes from 2025 onwards. Over recent years, the ideas of ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainable business’ have developed in scope and meaning. Today, sustainability work is commonly grouped into three pillars: environment, social, and governance (collectively, ESG). The EU’s agenda to advance and reward sustainable corporate behaviour draws on multiple international accords and frameworks, including the Paris Agreement, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The measures tracked are also tied to broader...
This tracker outlines key dates and updates on proposed amendments to privacy and electronic communications laws in the EU. It compiles consultations, draft texts, progress notes and opinions concerning Directive 2002/58/ EC, the EU e Privacy Directive. Reform of the current Directive has been in train for some time, with a proposed e Privacy Regulation intended to deliver a more harmonised approach across EU Member States. The proposal addressed: privacy online communications direct marketing analytics spamming cookies Its reach exceeded the Directive and would have applied to every electronic communications service provider in the EU, plus non‑ EU providers supplying such services to EU residents. That captured ‘over‑the‑top’ communications platforms (such as Whats App or Facebook Messenger), organisations offering customer Wi‑ Fi access, and machine‑to‑machine communications. However, the e Privacy Regulation proposal was withdrawn in February 2025 (see: LNB News...
ARCHIVED This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer maintained. This case tracker highlights notable judgments and opinions from the General Court of the EU and the Court of Justice of the EU delivered from 1 January 2024, of interest to environmental lawyers. The tracker is organised into: the General Court of the European Union the Court of Justice of the European Union For decisions from 2023, see Practice Note: EU environment cases tracker 2023 [ Archived]. General Court of the European Union Carmeuse Holding Srl v European Commission ( Case T-385/22) Judgment: 11 December 2024 Environment – Directive 2003/87/ EC – EU emissions trading scheme – Transitional rules on harmonised free allocation for 2021–2030 – Amendments to Romania’s national allocation table for 2021–2025 – Transitional free allocation of...
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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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