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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 is aimed at private-sector commercial organisations in the UK. It explains the Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) expectations for securing, recording and managing consent to process personal data, and mirrors UK General Data Protection Regulation ( UK GDPR) requirements concerning consent... What is consent? Consent is a freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous sign of the data subject’s wishes whereby they, by a statement or a clear positive action, confirm agreement to the processing of personal data. Accordingly, consent must be: freely given specific informed unambiguous There are two levels of consent based on the type of data processed: standard consent, required when relying on consent to process non-sensitive personal data explicit consent, required when relying on consent to process special category (sensitive) personal data—there is no definition of explicit consent but see Practice Note: How to...
Data protection by design and default ( DPb DD) Organisations often pay insufficient attention to data protection by design and default ( DPb DD) when assessing their UK GDPR obligations. This is understandable, as DPb DD is an intangible, pervasive concept that can be hard to turn into specific measures, especially when compared with other discrete duties under the UK GDPR. Nonetheless, the UK GDPR contains a dedicated provision on DPb DD ( Article 25) and the Information Commissioner’s Office provides extensive guidance: ICO, UK GDPR guidance and resources, Data protection by design and default. In essence, DPb DD requires you to consider privacy and data protection from the outset in everything you do, embedding it into your processing and business practices from initial design through the entire lifecycle. Taking a DPb DD approach from the beginning, rather than retrofitting at the end: helps you...
Summary of the UK GDPR regime This Practice Note condenses the UK GDPR framework. For a higher-level primer on UK data protection, see Practice Note: Data protection law—new starter guide. The UK data protection law collection assembles key guidance on this regime and is a recommended first stop for research. For information on the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation ( EU) 2016/679, see Practice Note: The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation ( EU GDPR). This Practice Note covers: principal legislation substantive scope territorial reach core concepts data protection principles legal bases for processing special category personal data criminal conviction and offence data individual rights accountability and governance security personal data breaches international transfers of personal data exemptions the Information Commissioner data protection fees ...
The Sanctions and Anti- Money Laundering Act 2018 ( SAMLA 2018) SAMLA 2018 establishes the UK framework governing how international sanctions are applied and enforced. Brought in after Brexit, its aim is to support the UK’s continued adherence to international law, while giving the UK the agility to adopt or revise sanctions swiftly. It grants the Secretary of State authority to create sanctions regimes through secondary legislation, namely Statutory Instruments ( SIs). Consequently, the substantive detail of the UK’s sanctions regimes resides in SIs, particularly in regulations that are country-focused or thematic, rather than in SAMLA 2018 itself. The Act also permits regulations to be made concerning the enforcement of any prohibition or obligation imposed by a regulation. See Practice Notes: The UK sanctions framework under SAMLA 2018 and UK sanctions regimes currently in force......
This Practice Note outlines how the UK sanctions framework operates. The financial sanctions regime applies to every organisation. This Practice Note sets out: what financial sanctions are and who sets them how the UK administers and enforces financial sanctions a brief overview of offences and penalties key components of the regime, including asset freezes, lists and licences how the regime differs from anti-money laundering ( AML), counter-terrorist financing ( CTF) and counter-proliferation financing the consequences of getting it wrong For practical steps on compliance, see Practice Notes: How to manage sanctions compliance; for law firms: How to manage sanctions compliance—law firms; Sanctions—systems and controls; for law firms: Sanctions—systems and controls—law firms; and Financial sanctions compliance—examples of good (and poor) practice. What are sanctions and who imposes them? Sanctions are time-limited international restrictions or bans intended to: encourage a shift in the...
Sanctions rules apply to every law firm; unlike the anti‑money laundering, counter‑terrorist financing and counter‑proliferation financing framework, they make no distinction between regulated and non‑regulated sectors or activities. Breaching the sanctions framework carries severe outcomes, including up to ten years’ imprisonment, fines and professional disciplinary action. It is therefore vital to implement systems and controls that secure compliance, with clear procedures and checks in place. This Practice Note is for law firms. It explains how to design systems and controls to meet UK sanctions obligations, and incorporates guidance issued by the SRA. It does not cover systems and controls for firms providing services related to financial sanctions, as that is higher‑risk work requiring specialist skills and knowledge. The focus is on compliance arrangements rather than the delivery of financial sanctions services. Your systems and controls When setting up your systems and controls, there are several steps you...
The Criminal Finances Act 2017 ( CFA 2017) created a specific corporate offence for failing to stop the facilitation of tax evasion, effective from 30 September 2017. The government also published detailed guidance explaining what it expects from compliance frameworks and controls. This Practice Note draws on the finalised statutory provisions and the accompanying official guidance. That guidance should be considered, then approached and implemented on a proportionate, risk‑focused basis. This entails factoring in your organisation’s scale, character, structure and complexity. A small entity and a vast multinational may apply the principles quite differently: what is sensible for a low‑risk small business could be wholly unsuitable for a large enterprise operating in a high‑risk area, in practice. The Law Society has likewise issued Criminal Finances Act 2017 guidance for law firms, which was approved by the chancellor on 21 November 2018. Per the Law...
This Practice Note This Practice Note offers a high-level overview of the data protection framework relevant to direct marketing, particularly how such activities may give rise to compliance obligations under the Assimilated Regulation ( EU) 2016/679, the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation ( UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 ( DPA 2018) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications ( EC Directive) Regulations 2003 ( PECR 2003), SI 2003/2426. It is aimed at commercial organisations in the UK, with further, scenario-specific guidance signposted. The main difficulty in direct marketing is determining what the UK GDPR and PECR 2003 permit and whether consent is needed, which will differ according to the activity undertaken and the audience targeted. This Practice Note reflects the following ICO guidance: Direct marketing guidance Direct marketing using live calls Making live marketing calls about claims...
This How-to guide offers high-level, practical direction on direct marketing, with a particular emphasis on complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation ( UK GDPR) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications ( EC Directive) Regulations 2003 ( PECR 2003). Further detail is set out in Practice Note: Direct marketing compliance. The guide outlines principal obligations for telephone marketing, postal marketing, email marketing and other electronic mail direct marketing. It also highlights the requirement to screen against the Mailing Preference Service or the Telephone Preference Service ( TPS). The guide incorporates direct marketing advice issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) on service messages, refer-a-friend initiatives, regulatory communications, market research including selling under the guise of research (sugging), tracking pixels, marketing lists, suppression lists and preference centres. It reflects the ICO’s: Direct marketing guidance, and Guidance on direct...
This Practice Note This Practice Note offers practical advice on direct marketing, with an emphasis on meeting the requirements of the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation ( UK GDPR) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications ( EC Directive) Regulations 2003 ( PECR 2003). It addresses telephone and postal marketing, email activity, and other forms of electronic mail marketing. It also clarifies when checks against the Mailing Preference Service ( MPS) or the Telephone Preference Service ( TPS) are necessary. Drawing on ICO direction, it considers service messages, refer-a-friend promotions, regulatory communications, market research (including ‘sugging’—selling under the guise of research), tracking pixels, marketing databases, suppression lists and preference centres. The core difficulty with direct marketing is working out how the UK GDPR and PECR 2003 interlock; what you may do depends on your chosen tactics and the audience you are...
STOP PRESS: This document is being updated to reflect implementation of the Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025 ( DUAA 2025) which amends the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. For detailed advice on DUAA 2025’s compliance impact, consult Practice Note: Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025—compliance implications. The Practice Note outlines the real-world considerations for commercial organisations planning to disclose or obtain personal data. It reflects the obligations set by the UK General Data Protection Regulation ( UK GDPR), Assimilated Regulation ( EU) 2016/679, the Data Protection Act 2018 ( DPA 2018), and the Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) Data sharing code of practice. The ICO is legally required to issue a data sharing code and to have regard to it when applying its regulatory functions. Where relevant, courts must likewise take the Data sharing code of practice into...
This Practice Note is aimed at commercial organisations across the UK. It sets out practical direction on responding to data protection complaints and points to supporting tools designed to mirror the ICO’s suggested complaints-handling approach. At present, organisations are not legally required to manage data protection complaints; the UK GDPR grants the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO). From 19 June 2026, however, the Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025 ( DUAA 2025) will introduce mandatory complaint-handling duties for commercial organisations—see section: Impact of Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025. Until then, guidance and tools issued by the ICO indicate the ICO will generally not take forward a data protection complaint unless it has first been raised with the organisation concerned... The right to complain Data subjects may lodge a complaint with the ICO where they believe their...
ARCHIVED : This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note examines how Brexit has influenced UK cybersecurity, with particular emphasis on the network and information systems legislation. It addresses: a snapshot of UK cybersecurity regulation before the end of the implementation period the origins of Directive ( EU) 2016/1148, the Network and Information Systems Directive ( NIS Directive), and how it was implemented in the UK the broad consequences of Brexit for the UK’s application of the NIS Directive what the end of the transition period means for relevant digital service providers ( RDSPs) a summary of effects on qualified trust services under Regulation ( EU) 910/2014 (the e IDAS Regulation) the impact of the transition’s end on UK– EU cooperation on cybersecurity The prominence of cybersecurity has been underlined by recent high-profile incidents affecting companies and public services. These have involved a wide array of attack...
The UK ranks among the most internet-driven economies globally, with its online market worth billions of pounds annually. That scale also heightens exposure to risk. Cybercrime poses a tangible danger to people, companies, and both national and international security. Various organisations and programmes work to reduce that risk. This Practice Note sets out a table highlighting the most prominent of them. National Each year, hundreds of millions of pounds in public funding is directed at bolstering the UK’s cyber capability and countering cyber threats. The table below indicates how portions of that funding are applied: Who/what? Connect Inform Share Protect ( CISP) How? CISP, part of the National Cyber Security Centre ( NCSC), is a platform for UK cyber security professionals......
Financial sanctions target behaviour Financial sanctions aim to influence conduct and have customarily focused on: terrorism nuclear weapons development human rights abuses (see Practice Note: Sanctions regime—global human rights) However, financial sanctions are increasingly moving into mainstream criminal law, with measures imposed in relation to global anti-corruption and cyber-attacks—see, eg Practice Note: Sanctions regime—global anti-corruption. Cyber-attacks transcend borders and have grown in intensity, complexity and seriousness. Hostile cyber actors are active and capable of mounting successful operations against states, compromising critical national infrastructure, democratic processes, commercial entities and the media. Their risk appetite is rising and motives may include economic, strategic, regional and/or financial gain. The scale and consequences of such operations have escalated, with co-ordinated campaigns, rather than isolated incidents, granting far-reaching access to thousands of victims worldwide and inflicting substantial financial and material harm. The cyber sanctions regime seeks to dissuade those...
The Criminal Finances Act 2017 ( CFA 2017) introduced a corporate offence of failing to prevent facilitation of tax evasion, in force from 30 September 2017. There are two versions, depending on whether the evaded tax is owed in the UK or abroad. Each offence has three essential stages; all must be met for criminal liability to arise. Only one defence applies where, when the facilitation occurred, either: your organisation had prevention procedures in place that it was reasonable, in all the circumstances, to expect; or it was not, in all the circumstances, reasonable for your organisation to have any prevention procedures in place For more on the offence and defence, see Practice Note: Failure to prevent facilitation of tax evasion—compliance issues. The foreign offence carries extra conditions, including ‘dual criminality’. See Practice Note: Failure to prevent facilitation of tax...
Why you need to manage this risk The Criminal Finances Act 2017 ( CFA 2017) gained Royal Assent on 27 April 2017. It created corporate offences for failing to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion. There is only one defence—at the point the tax evasion facilitation offence was committed: your organisation had prevention procedures in place that were reasonable to expect in the circumstances, or it was not reasonable, in the circumstances, for you to have any prevention procedures in place If you are familiar with the Bribery Act 2010’s failure to prevent offence, this will feel recognisable. You should ensure your organisation has prevention procedures that cover employees, agents and intermediaries, unless a risk assessment has determined such procedures are unnecessary. HMRC has issued guidance on the corporate offence, setting out six principles to shape your prevention...
Corporate ‘failure to prevent’ offences Corporate ‘failure to prevent’ offences have proved an effective way of prompting organisations to establish and uphold internal systems and procedures aimed at stopping particular financial offences. Since the arrival in 2011 of the failure to prevent bribery offence under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010 ( BA 2010), two corporate criminal offences of failing to prevent the facilitation of UK and foreign tax evasion under sections 45 and 46 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 ( CFA 2017) were introduced in 2017, and the failure to prevent fraud offence under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ( ECCTA 2023) commenced on 1 September 2025. The growth in both scope and number of these failure to prevent offences reflects the acknowledged aim of successive governments to widen corporate criminal liability to encompass a broader range of...
Term Meaning Accounting reference date On incorporation, a company is typically assigned an accounting reference date, being the final day of the month that contains the anniversary of its incorporation. Directors can alter this by submitting the relevant form to the Registrar of Companies. It denotes the end of the annual accounting period and is also called the balance sheet date. Accounts payable Sums a business or individual owes to others for goods or services already received. Accounts receivable Sums due to a business or individual from others for goods or services supplied. Accrual In company accounts, recognition of income earned or costs incurred during a reporting period, even though the cash has not yet been received or paid. Adjusted earnings Where reported earnings are affected, positively or negatively, by exceptional one-off events in the year,...
Updated in December 2025 Introduction The UK has long been a preferred destination for global companies setting up their first foothold in Europe. It sustains robust trading relationships with most nations worldwide—situated within Europe, yet well placed between US and Asian time zones. While geographically European, the UK is no longer part of the European Union, and organisations planning UK operations should recognise the growing legal and regulatory divergence from EU Member States. The UK contains three distinct jurisdictions: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. In many respects, the same or closely aligned laws apply across these jurisdictions. Nevertheless, there are notable distinctions, particularly regarding local government regulation, property transfers, and judicial frameworks. This guide concentrates on the jurisdiction of England and Wales. Further local guidance will be required if you intend to operate in Scotland or Northern Ireland. There are multiple options for...
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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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