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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:
Most recent Practice notes
This Practice Note monitors the development of EU judgments, new legislation, legislative proposals, codes of conduct, communications and ongoing consultations concerning media, digital and telecoms rights across the EU. For UK judgments, legislative proposals and current UK consultations relating to media and digital rights, see Practice Note: Media, digital and telecoms tracker— UK. For EU judgments, legislative proposals and live consultations on copyright and databases, see Practice Note: Copyright and databases tracker— EU. For EU media and digital initiatives connected to consumer protection, see Practice Note: EU consumer protection—tracker. For broader EU digital initiatives, see Practice Note: Key EU digital initiatives—summary. Further details are set out below. References to related trackers are provided for ease, also for ease of use. Media, digital and telecoms—new legislation Legislation appears in reverse chronological order, determined by the date it is published in the Official Journal of the EU (...
Parties: 197 Parties Revisions: Montreal Protocol (1987); London Amendment (1990); Copenhagen Amendment (1992); Montreal Amendment (1997); Beijing Amendment (1999) Location: Vienna Adopted: 1985 Came into force: 22 September 1988 Subject: Protection of the ozone layer Background to the Convention Talks on a global accord to safeguard the ozone layer began in 1981, as the human-driven nature of the harm and its worldwide impact made collective action essential. Consensus was secured in March 1985, resulting in the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. The early phase of negotiations was spurred by mounting scientific concern over ozone depletion, the shield that screens the earth from excessive ultraviolet radiation from the sun and also helps regulate temperature. Although definitive proof was not yet available, chlorofluorocarbons ( CFCs), halons and comparable chemicals were suspected. When subjected to...
Net neutrality This Practice Note sets out how the concept that internet use should be free from any kind of discrimination—often called ‘net neutrality’—has been embedded in EU law and implemented through legislation. It covers the relevant provisions of Regulation ( EU) 2015/2120 (widely referred to as Roaming IV, or the Open Internet Regulation) that give effect to net neutrality. It also looks at the way those rules apply to familiar practices such as blocking, throttling, and the offering of zero-rating/zero-tariff plans and contracts. The phrase ‘net neutrality’ denotes a principle under which use of the internet is kept free of discrimination, thereby ensuring equal opportunities of access to any user. Coined in 2003 by Tim Wu, a media law academic at Columbia University, the term sits within a wider set of principles concerned with freedom to use the internet. It forms part of the...
EU trade marks ( EUTMs) This Practice Note outlines how the validity (and invalidity) of trade marks is evaluated for EU trade mark ( EUTM) registrations, and sets out the circumstances in which the EU Intellectual Property Office ( EUIPO) may refuse an EUTM application. An EUTM constitutes a single trade mark that extends protection across all EU Member States. For further detail on the EUTM framework, see Practice Note: EU trade marks ( EUTMs). The rules governing EUTM registration are contained in Regulation ( EU) 2017/1001 (the EU Trade Mark Regulation), together with Implementing Regulation ( EU) 2018/626 and Delegated Regulation ( EU) 2018/625. For additional information on the legislative basis of the EUTM system, and summaries of recent decisions, see Practice Notes: EU trade marks—legislation and Trade marks tracker— EU. This Practice Note concentrates on the EUTM system, rather than the...
Mi FID II & Mi FIR—pre- and post-trade transparency This Practice Note outlines the framework for pre- and post-trade transparency applicable to trading venues and investment firms under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation ( Regulation ( EU) 600/2014) ( Mi FIR), as revised by Regulation ( EU) 2024/791 (the Mi FIR Review). Mi FIR has applied since 3 January 2018 alongside the recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive ( Directive 2014/65/ EU) ( Mi FID II). The Mi FIR Review was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 8 March 2024 together with Directive ( EU) 2024/790 amending Mi FID II. The Mi FIR Review took effect on 28 March 2024, although some provisions will start later—see Date of application of certain provisions of the Mi FIR Review below. Member States were required to transpose Directive ( EU) 2024/790 into...
STOP PRESS: This Practice Note reflects the current legislative position. However, the Commission published a proposal on 21 January 2026 for a Digital Networks Act that may repeal the European Electronic Communications Code. To follow the Digital Networks Act’s progress through the EU legislative process, see Practice Note: Media, digital and telecoms tracker— EU. This Practice Note provides guidance on Directive ( EU) 2018/1972 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code ( Recast), commonly known as the European Electronic Communications Code and, in this note, the EECC. The EECC recasts and brings together the principal directives that originally made up the EU‑wide framework for regulating electronic communications networks ( ECNs) and electronic communications services ( ECSs). The aim of the European Electronic Communications Code The EECC is a directive with the central objective of creating an updated and harmonised EU‑wide regime for the regulation of ECNs and...
This Practice Note is a horizon scanner tracking key future developments in EU energy law It sets out key dates for your diary (including forecast dates where possible) with relevant commentary on: legislation underway; measures awaiting future application or transposition; new consultations and calls for evidence; forthcoming guidance; and new EU‑level strategies and action plans. The tracker is organised into: Legislation in progress Consultations and calls for evidence (open initiatives) Key upcoming legislative transposition deadlines and dates of application Key non‑legislative developments Case law is tracked separately—please see Practice Note EU energy cases tracker—2026. This horizon scanner does not cover past developments, such as legislation published in the Official Journal. For details of past developments in EU energy law, see Practice Note: EU Energy—key developments tracker. As a matter of priority, the 2024–2029 Commission is seeking to address what it considers overlapping, unnecessary, or...
Scope of this Practice Note A central bank digital currency ( CBDC) relies on an electronic record or digital token to signify the virtual version of a country’s (or region’s) fiat money. It is centralised because the competent monetary authority issues and regulates it. A CBDC would extend electronic money, created by a national central bank, to all households and businesses, enabling everyone to make electronic payments in central bank money. This Practice Note concentrates on the work undertaken by EU authorities towards establishing a digital euro. The ECB’s role in proposals for a digital euro ECB report and consultation on digital euro On 2 October 2020, the European Central Bank ( ECB) issued a report exploring, from the Eurosystem’s perspective, the potential issuance of a CBDC—the digital euro. The ECB noted that a digital euro could advance the Eurosystem’s objectives by giving citizens access to a safe form of...
Regulation ( EU) 2024/3015 on banning products made with forced labour in the Union market, which amends Directive ( EU) 2019/1937 (the EU Forced Labour Regulation, or EU FLR), establishes a prohibition on placing or making available in the EU—whether domestically produced or imported—any goods made with forced labour, and on exporting such goods. It also requires that any such products be withdrawn from the EU market... Timeline This overview sets out the principal legislative milestones leading to adoption of the EU FLR. Date of application: Three years after entry into force—14 December 2027—save for the provisions below that apply from the date of entry into force—13 December 2024: Article 5(3)—12-month window for Member States to notify contact details and areas of competence of competent authorities (see: Competent authorities) Article 7— Information and communications systems (see: Information and...
EU workers and EU citizens benefit from freedom of movement. This entitlement is set out for workers in Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ( TFEU) and for citizens in Article 21 TFEU. Detailed rules on the conditions and limits appear in Directive 2004/38/ EC. They may move to and live in other Member States without discrimination, and any curb on this right must pursue a public interest and be proportionate to the restriction applied. Free movement of workers Article 45 TFEU allows EU workers to circulate across the Union. It outlaws discrimination based on nationality in respect of employment and working conditions, including remuneration. Scope of the protection Personal scope The Court of Justice of the European Union retains the authority to determine which persons fall within Article 45 TFEU, as the Treaty’s objectives could be undermined if national law could set and...
In brief The free movement of goods, the freedom to provide services, the freedom of establishment, and the free movement of capital (collectively, the ‘four freedoms’) operate as constraints imposed by the EU Treaties upon EU Member States to secure the overall functioning of the EU Internal Market. This variety of negative integration has clear limits. Most domestic restrictions falling within the reach of the four freedoms can, however, be justified, provided such restrictions are proportionate. While the Court of Justice has assumed a particularly important and significant role in interpreting the four freedoms (and their limits), any remaining national barriers can ultimately only ever be removed through harmonisation measures enacted by the EU (‘positive’ integration). For further reading on this, see Practice Note: Harmonisation. This Practice Note examines the four freedoms underpinning the EU Internal Market in greater...
Legislation, consultations, guidance and reports What’s happening? When? This Practice Note monitors developments in significant court decisions, proposed legislation and ongoing consultations, alongside guidance and reports, covering patents and trade secrets within the EU. For UK-focused progress on judgments, legislative proposals, current consultations, guidance and reports relating to patents and trade secrets, see Practice Note: Patents tracker— UK......
This Practice Note outlines the unitary patent ( UP) and Unified Patent Court ( UPC) framework, describing the UPC’s composition, remit and powers in overview. It details the transitional opt-out arrangements currently available during the sunrise period. It also covers procedures in the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal, examining and elucidating the UPC Rules of Procedure in detail and context. The UPC formally commenced operations on 1 June 2023, following a three‑month sunrise phase. This milestone came after several earlier hurdles, notably the UK leaving the EU and later choosing to exit the project itself, and the German Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling upholding an initial challenge to the Unified Patent Court Agreement ( UPCA). Introduction to the unitary patent and Unified Patent Court system The new system is in two parts, as follows: a new form of European patent ( EP) with...
Regulation ( EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, commonly referred to as the EU Cosmetic Products Regulation ( EU CPR), constitutes the primary EU regime for cosmetics marketed in the Union. This Practice Note outlines the Regulation’s scope and principal obligations. It sets out the concept of the ‘responsible person’, who must guarantee the product’s safety and full compliance with the EU CPR throughout every stage of cosmetic product development. It also addresses the prohibition on animal testing, cosmetic labelling rules and the standards applicable to product claims. The Note further highlights the European Commission’s recent initiative to revise the EU CPR... Scope The EU CPR has applied since 11 July 2013, except for Article 15(1) and (2), effective from 1 December 2010, and Article 16(3) second subparagraph, effective from 11 January 2013. As a directly applicable Regulation, no...
This Practice Note monitors all developments concerning Regulation ( EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives ( EU) 2019/1937 and ( EU) 2020/1828 (the Digital Markets Act— DMA). It followed the DMA through the ordinary legislative procedure up to its entry into force in 2022. It now records notable steps in the DMA’s implementation and enforcement. Background In a mission letter dated 1 December 2019, Dr Ursula von der Leyen tasked Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager with ensuring that competition policy and rules are fit for the modern economy and with strengthening competition enforcement in all sectors. Drawing on expert reports and an E-commerce Sector Inquiry, the Commission in June 2020 opened a consultation on an Inception Impact Assessment for a New...
UK status From 31 January 2020 (exit day), the UK ceased to be an EU Member State. Under the Withdrawal Agreement, there was an implementation period when EU law continued to apply in the UK. As of 1 January 2021, the principal operative elements on automatic recognition in Regulation ( EU) 2015/848 ( OJ L141/19), the Recast Regulation on Insolvency, no longer apply to the UK (see Practice Note: Brexit—impact on Recast Regulation on Insolvency). Other Member States still give effect to the EU Recast Regulation on Insolvency where its criteria are met. EU Recast Regulation on Insolvency The EU Recast Regulation on Insolvency made substantial changes to Regulation ( EC) 1346/2000 (the EC Regulation on Insolvency). For the full text of the EU Recast Regulation on Insolvency, click here. Although the EU Recast Regulation on Insolvency entered into force on 26 June 2015, most...
This tracker collates and summarises important new and forthcoming EU laws (regulations and directives), and provides links to the most recent notable rulings and appeals from the General Court of the EU and the Court of Justice on employment and social policy. It is arranged as follows: EU employment and social policy—new legislation EU employment and social policy—horizon scanning EU employment and social policy—consultations EU employment and social policy—2025 Cases EU employment and social policy—2024 Cases This tool tracks developments on: Working conditions—working time, part-time and fixed-term work, and posting of workers Informing and consulting workers on collective redundancies and business transfers Equal treatment and workplace discrimination Social policy rules and social security coordination For cases issued between 2021 and 2023, see Practice Note: EU employment and social policy—cases tracker (2021–2023) [ Archived]. For a...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. Key information Batteries Directive title: Directive 2006/66/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators, repealing Directive 91/157/ EEC ( Batteries Directive). Entry into force: 26 September 2006. Deadline for transposition: 26 September 2008. National transposition measures: See Eur- Lex information on national transposition measures, as provided by Member States. Amended by: See consolidated version. Subject: Producer responsibility, batteries. What is the EU Batteries Directive? Directive 2006/66/ EC on batteries, accumulators and their waste is intended to minimise environmental harm from batteries and waste batteries. Earlier EU rules did not adequately manage the risks from waste batteries or deliver a consistent EU-wide system for collection and recycling. In 2002, a Commission impact...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews the regulatory landscape for trading venues under the recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive ( Directive 2014/65/ EU) ( Mi FID II), as amended by Directive ( EU) 2024/790 (the Mi FID II Review) and Directive ( EU) 2024/2811 (the Listing Act), together with the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation ( Regulation ( EU) 600/2014) ( Mi FIR), as updated by Regulation ( EU) 2024/791 (the Mi FIR Review), and outlines the following: definitions of regulated markets ( RMs), multilateral trading facilities ( MTFs) and organised trading facilities ( OTFs) principal differences between RMs, MTFs and OTFs authorisation of RMs, MTFs and OTFs the European Securities and Markets Authority ( ESMA’s) register of RMs, MTFs and OTFs ways to access other EU markets for RMs, MTFs and OTFs specific...
Key information Waste Framework Directive Official act: Directive 2008/98/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste (the Waste Framework Directive, WFD) Effective from: 12 December 2008 Transposition deadline: 12 December 2010 National measures: See Eur- Lex for Member State information on national transposition measures Repeals: Directive 75/439/ EEC on the disposal of waste oils Directive 91/689/ EEC on hazardous waste Directive 2006/12/ EC on waste Amendments: Regulation ( EU) 1357/2014 replacing Annex III to Directive 2008/98/ EC Directive ( EU) 2015/1127 amending Annex II to Directive 2008/98/ EC ...
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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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