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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 This Practice Note provides a concise overview of the principal recent digital initiatives ( Directives, Regulations and Codes of Conduct) that organisations should bear in mind when trading, marketing or delivering services within the EU, or where they are established in the EU. It addresses developments relating to: Artificial Intelligence ( AI) Data Online platforms Online content Liability and safety Privacy and cybersecurity It encompasses EU rules or codes adopted recently, alongside legislative proposals that are still progressing. The measures are presented in chronological order. This Practice Note excludes digital initiatives tied to consumer law. For details on key EU consumer protection instruments, including the Digital Content and Services Directive ( EU 2019/770), the Sale of Goods Directive ( EU 2019/771), the EU Omnibus Directive ( EU 2019/2161) and the EU...
This Practice Note examines matters relating to the development and use of autonomous and connected vehicles (also known as driverless cars or automated vehicles) in the EU, including: Terminology The current position of EU law Product safety and the EU type-approval procedure Product liability and insurance Data protection and cybersecurity Although most media coverage has centred on driverless private road vehicles-the focus of this Practice Note-the underlying technology has broader application, with indications that earlier benefits may emerge in sectors such as shipping and agriculture. For a timeline of key dates and details on autonomous vehicle development, see Practice Note: EU automated vehicles-tracker. Practice Note: Automated vehicles-data, privacy and cybersecurity issues in the EU addresses the data, privacy and cybersecurity matters arising from the use of autonomous and connected vehicle technology in the EU. For a summary of the...
This Practice Note outlines the EU remuneration framework contained in the Capital Requirements Directive 2013/36/ EU ( EU CRD IV) and Regulation ( EU) 575/2013 ( EU CRR), together with the remuneration provisions in the Investment Firms Directive ( EU) 2019/2034 ( IFD) and the Investment Firms Regulation ( EU) 2019/2033 ( IFR). These rules apply to pay awarded by credit institutions and investment firms to their staff... Background and introduction to EU CRD IV and EU CRR In the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, the Financial Stability Board ( FSB) and a number of national regulators reviewed remuneration governance and structures across financial services. They concluded that: firms and supervisors underestimated how pay policies and practices could fuel excessive risk-taking remuneration design, notably cash-heavy, short-term incentives, promoted undue risk appetite bonus pool methodologies did not adequately reflect firms’ capital and...
This Practice Note This Practice Note examines how Directive 2008/52/ EC, the Mediation Directive, has been carried out in EU Member States. All Member States have now given effect to the Directive, except Denmark, which chose to opt out. The details of national transposition cited here are drawn from the EUR- Lex website. The Mediation Directive required Member States to pass domestic laws to comply by 21 May 2011, and to notify the Commission of those texts ( Article 12). For broader information on Directive 2008/52/ EC, see Practice Note: Mediation Directive... Mediation Directive implementation- EU Member States Austria Status: implemented Austria already had a comprehensive mediation framework. A Mediation Act took effect on 1 May 2011 and applies to any mediation proceedings commencing after 20 April 2011... ...
What are pharmaceutical incentives? In the EU, protection mechanisms and incentives for medicinal products, grouped under the term pharmaceutical incentives ( PIs), are in place. PIs comprise legislative measures that give originator pharmaceutical companies (originators) a degree of advantage over companies selling medicines with the same active substance at far lower prices (generic or biosimilar companies)-ranging from market protection ( MP), through extensions of patent rights, to several years of market exclusivity for a medicinal product. Rationale behind PIs PIs were introduced in the EU to encourage and support originators in discovering and developing new medicinal products. While innovation and discovery typically require considerable time and financial investment, only limited effort is needed to use the knowledge generated afterwards. When a generic or biosimilar company reproduces an invention, it often does not bear the substantial research and development ( R& D) costs of creating it and can...
This Practice Note monitors key developments across the wider EU institutions, covering the State of the Union, the Commission’s work programme, the EU budget, infringement packages from the Commission, the priorities of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, and the Conference on the Future of Europe. State of the Union The State of the Union address reviews achievements over the last year and sets out the chief priority for the year ahead. What’s happening? When? Find out more information below State of the Union address by President von der Leyen - 10 September 2025. The President of the Commission delivered the 2025 address, underscoring the imperative for Europe to remain united and to defend its values, democracy, and independence in an ever more hostile global environment. See: LNB News 10/09/2025 30. State of the Union address by President von der Leyen - 13...
What is EU REMIT? Regulation ( EU) 1227/2011, known as EU REMIT, sets the rules safeguarding integrity and transparency across wholesale energy markets. It bans insider dealing and market manipulation concerning wholesale energy products. Aims EU REMIT’s core purpose is to rebuild customer trust that wholesale energy products are fairly priced. Recital (1) underscores the need for consumers and other participants to trust the electricity and gas markets, for wholesale prices to mirror a fair, competitive balance of supply and demand, and to prevent any gain from market abuse. Guidance The European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators ( ACER) issues detailed, practical guidance on EU REMIT. ACER also produces and routinely refreshes a Q& A, summarising common queries on EU REMIT together with ACER’s replies. This Q& A serves as guidance for EU REMIT stakeholders and is not a binding legal...
Membership of the European Union has expanded progressively since the founding states originally created the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952, and then later set up the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community in 1958. Below is a list of all the 27 EU Member States, their official language(s), and the year each acceded. Note that the United......
Practice Note This Practice Note sets out a timeline of leading Court of Justice of the European Union ( CJEU) rulings (formerly ECJ) interpreting “waste” under the Waste Framework Directive 2008 ( WFD). It outlines the central question, the judgment and its link to the definition of waste, the waste cases cited, and the principal decisions later relying on each ruling. For further detail on the definition of waste and other core WFD provisions, refer to Practice Note: EU Waste Framework Directive-snapshot. Vessoso and Zanetti 1990 Key issue Whether substances or items capable of economic reutilisation amount to waste. Ruling Waste encompasses substances or objects that can be economically reutilised. The concept of waste does not assume that a holder, by discarding a substance or object, aims to preclude all economic reutilisation by others. Waste cases cited None Key cases...
Objectives The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/ EC ( EU PPWD) seeks to harmonise national actions to avert or lessen the environmental impacts of packaging, while also removing barriers to trade and limits on competition. Its central aim is to stop packaging waste being generated and to ensure any essential packaging is properly recycled and recovered, thereby cutting overall waste... Grounded in the principles of polluter pays and producer responsibility, the EU PPWD requires companies that design and produce packaging to assume responsibility for its recycling and recovery to bring down waste levels. As a New Approach directive, it lays down essential requirements in Article 9 that Member States must meet, but it does not prescribe the precise means for achieving them... Under Article 10, the Commission is authorised to foster the development of harmonised standards linked to the Directive’s essential packaging...
Key information EU Paints Directive Official title: Directive 2004/42/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on limiting emissions of volatile organic compounds from the use of organic solvents in certain paints, varnishes and vehicle refinishing products, amending Directive 1999/13/ EC (the EU Paints Directive) Entered into force: 30 April 2004 Deadline for transposition: 30 October 2005 National transposition: see Eur- Lex for national transposition measures submitted by Member States Principal amendments: Directive 2008/112/ EC of 16 December 2008, introducing changes to reflect Regulation ( EC) 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures - transposition deadline: 1 April 2010; application from 1 June 2010 Directive 2010/79/ EU of 19 November 2010, adapting Annex III to...
For the purposes of this Practice Note, references to ‘ EU nationals’ extend to nationals of the European Economic Area ( EEA). The EEA covers the 27 EU Member States together with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Switzerland is party to an agreement between the EU and the Swiss Confederation that sets out free movement provisions closely aligned with those in Directive 2004/38/ EC (the Citizens’ Directive). The Citizens’ Directive introduced the right of permanent residence ( PR) and became directly effective on 30 April 2006, coinciding with the expiry of the deadline for transposition of that Directive. Permanent residence-acquisition and loss On obtaining PR, an EU national, a non‑ EU national who is their family member, or a non‑ EU national who has retained a right of residence under EU law, will no......
This Practice Note covers the circumstances where permanent residence ( PR) can be acquired early by the EU nationals and their family members residing in the host Member State under EU free movement law, in derogation of the general rule (see AT v Pensionsversicherungsanstalt , [37]–[38]), which lays down a period of five years continuous lawful residence. Accordingly, EU nationals may obtain PR ahead of the standard five-year threshold for continuous lawful residence in the host Member State, by way of derogation from that general rule, where they have stopped employment or self-employment in the particular scenarios outlined below. These rules are not widely publicised. For the purposes of this section, the expression ‘ EU nationals’ is taken to include EEA nationals, covering the 27 EU Member States together with Norway, Iceland and...
What is the World Trade Organisation? The World Trade Organisation ( WTO) serves as the institutional and legal architecture for trade among Member States. It therefore oversees the pacts concluded by WTO Members, adjudicates disputes between Member States, reviews compliance with the various agreements, and acts as a negotiation platform on a wide array of trade-related matters. The WTO came into being on 1 January 1995, though its origins reach back to 1948, when the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT 1947) was concluded. Following numerous rounds of negotiations, Members in 1994 at Marrakesh adopted the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organisation ( Marrakesh Agreement). That agreement created the WTO and sets the institutional and legal basis for the multilateral trading system. The Marrakesh Agreement contains four annexes, complemented by certain decisions and declarations. Taken together, these legal texts...
This Practice Note provides a concise overview of the principal consumer directives and regulations that businesses should keep in view when engaging with consumers. It addresses the core legislation relevant to trading or contracting with consumers in the EU, together with other key B2C rules across advertising and labelling, data protection, e-commerce, payment, product liability and safety, provision of services, and consumer disputes and enforcement. Sector-specific consumer legislation is also included. Environmental and life sciences legislation is not covered. For insight into the application and interpretation of EU consumer law, see Practice Note: EU consumer protection cases tracker. To monitor EU consumer protection initiatives (regulations and directives), guidance, and ongoing policy developments, see Practice Note: EU consumer protection-tracker. For consumer rules relevant to the digital sector, see Practice Note: Key EU digital...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained Overview The 2030 Climate and Energy Framework set out three principal aims for 2030: at least a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions compared with 1990 a minimum 27% share for renewable energy an improvement of at least 27% in energy efficiency In 2018, under the Clean Energy for All Europeans Package (the Clean Energy Package), these were amended to: at least a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels a renewable energy share of no less than 32% a 32.5% increase in energy efficiency The framework was endorsed by EU leaders at the October 2014 European Council. It builds on the 2020 Climate and Energy Package (see Practice Note: 2020 EU Climate and Energy Package-snapshot). The 2030 framework was formulated to be consistent with the...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. Overview The 2020 EU Climate and Energy package, agreed in 2007, set three principal targets for 2020: 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions against 1990 levels, with a 30% cut by 2020 conditional on a comprehensive international climate change agreement 20% of EU energy from renewable sources 20% improvement in energy efficiency At the March 2007 European Council, EU leaders committed to clear, legally binding objectives to confront climate change, secure sustainable and competitive energy, and make the EU economy a 21st‑century model of sustainable development. Europe signalled readiness to lead globally, reflecting firm resolve. The surest route to achieve such ambition was for each Member State to know precisely what was required, and for the aims to be binding in law so the levers of government could be fully mobilised and the private sector would have the...
This Practice Note offers a primer on EU law. It is written for lawyers who are new to, or lack familiarity with, EU law, especially trainee solicitors. It outlines the institutions, the institutional architecture, core principles, and mechanisms for enforcing EU law, with signposts to the pertinent provisions in EU legal sources. The focus of this Practice Note is to deliver a high-level overview of EU law. Detailed treatment of substantive areas of EU law falls outside the scope of this document. For a summary of the EU Law module, see Practice Note: EU Law-new starter guide. EU institutional framework The EU is a supranational polity. It is not a state, nor a federation like the United States, nor merely an intergovernmental forum such as the United Nations. It is truly distinctive. Its design fits no classical legal category and its...
Post-market surveillance Post-market surveillance refers to manufacturers’ ongoing oversight of medical devices to confirm they remain safe and effective for patients once authorised and placed on the market. Its aim is to detect whether corrective or preventive safety actions are needed. While the former regulatory framework under the medical device directives did impose compliance duties, it faced criticism for lacking rigour in tracking safety when products are actually used by patients, and for failing to feed that experience adequately into the official safety profile and continuing authorisation. The device scandals involving Poly Implant Prothése ( PIP) breast implants in the early 2000s, followed by a widespread hip implant crisis that harmed hundreds of thousands of patients across multiple countries, exposed the shortcomings of a safety certification regime unevenly carried out by different Notified Bodies, and triggered a comprehensive overhaul of medical device...
This Practice Note Use this Practice Note to monitor the status of EU legislative proposals and active consultations impacting the life sciences sector. For matters focused on the medical devices regulatory regime, its guidance and continuing reform, refer to the Practice Notes: The EU MDR and IVDR implementing acts and guidance tracker, and Medical devices- UK and EU regimes comparison. For pricing and reimbursement developments for medicines and innovative technologies under the Health Technology Assessment ( HTA) Regulation ( EU) 2021/2282 (the HTAR)-which has applied on a rolling basis since 12 January 2025-and for ongoing implementation via secondary legislation, guidance and industry input, see Practice Note: Health Technology Assessment in the EU, especially the sections: Horizon scanning-2026 and beyond, Tracker-log of HTA reform developments and important dates by reverse chronology, and Rolling implementation overview... Other related specific and topical trackers not covered here...
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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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