Featured documents
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 explores the role, function and significance of defined terms within an agreement context. It outlines those definitions most frequently found in documents relating to transactions, and considers the method that ought properly to be adopted when reviewing or preparing a contract that uses defined terminology. For wider guidance on boilerplate clauses generally, see Practice Note: The role of boilerplate. For general guidance on construing contracts, see Practice Note: Contract interpretation—rules of contract interpretation. The definitions and interpretation clause A common boilerplate provision is the definitions and interpretation clause, often treated as a standard component. It should gather every individual defined term contained in the agreement together with all provisions that govern the overall interpretation of the agreement and, where required, the meaning of particular expressions used in it as well. Typically, the defined terms and the...
This Practice Note examines how the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—which provides regimes for allocating court jurisdiction and for the recognition and enforcement of judgments—will operate in the UK after the end of the Brexit implementation period, viewed from the perspectives of both the UK and the EU Member States. The Convention applies solely to exclusive choice of court agreements. Definitions This Practice Note uses the following definitions: Hague Convention— Convention on Choice of Court Agreements concluded on 30 June 2005 at The Hague ECA 1972— European Communities Act 1972 EU( W) A 2018— European Union ( Withdrawal) Act 2018 EU( WA) A 2020— European Union ( Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 exit day—is defined in EU( W) A 2018, s 20 implementation period—is defined in EU( WA) A 2020, s 1. ‘...
This Practice Note examines disclaimers, particularly those used in email communications, and offers suggested wording. Refer also to Precedent: Email notices and email footers. Introduction A disclaimer is a mechanism designed to exclude or limit liability in contract, tort (notably negligence) or under statute. They are also known as exclusion, limitation of liability or exemption clauses and they typically appear as a notice or a term within a set of terms and conditions. To be effective, the party wishing to rely on it must bring it clearly to the other party’s attention. Timing is crucial—the notice must precede any assent by the other party (whether explicit or inferred from conduct) to the disclaimer. Absent prior notice, no agreement to the disclaimer can be formed. Without assent, it cannot be enforced against that party. No amount of drafting remedies the lack of notice and assent. What...
This Practice Note is a succinct reference for practitioners contrasting how the law of damages applies to claims in tort and in contract. For the core principles, see Practice Note: The remedy of damages—general principles. For detailed guidance on contract claims, see: Contractual breach damages and remedies—overview. For detailed guidance on tort claims, see: Damages in tort and negligence claims. For the concept of ‘special damages’ and ‘general damages’ unique to personal injury and clinical negligence pleadings, see: Past expenses and losses—overview. For drafting aimed at excluding and/or limiting liability for specified types of loss, see Practice Note: Exclusion and limitation of liability. General principles Compensatory function Where a breach of contract causes loss, damages are intended, so far as money can achieve it, to place the party in the position they would have been in had the contract been...
This Practice Note reviews the application of the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements by contracting states to the convention. It sets out the parties to the convention, as well as those states that have signed the convention but have not yet ratified it. It also outlines how the convention operates for contracting states. For guidance on further elements of the convention, see the following Practice Notes: Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements (jurisdiction and enforcement)— Brexit considerations Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—scope Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—jurisdiction Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—enforcement Definitions This Practice Note uses a number of definitions: Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements— HCCH Convention on Choice of Court Agreements concluded on 30 June 2005 at The Hague EU( W) A 2018— European Union (...
This Practice Note sets out practical guidance on how unincorporated charities execute documents. For details on execution by incorporated charities, refer to Practice Note: Execution formalities—incorporated charities. We offer a comprehensive, interactive collection that helps users identify and navigate the concepts and common issues in document execution, including deeds. Each stage includes practical guidance, precedent clauses and Q& As tailored to that stage. For further detail, see the Execution collection. Capacity Unincorporated charities lack a separate legal personality; consequently, the entity itself has no rights or duties and cannot own property in its own name. Property that appears to ‘belong’ to an unincorporated charity is vested in the organisation’s leading members, who act as trustees and hold it on trust for the remaining members. Accordingly, the individuals with authority to enter into arrangements and to execute documents are the trustees or members of the...
Consideration of electronic data interchange ( EDI) frameworks, blockchain, smart contracts, or sector‑specific legislation or regulation, including regimes for financial services, intermediation services, or online auctions, falls outside the scope of this Practice Note. For a primer on EDI and smart contracts, see Practice Notes: Business to business e‑commerce—introduction and Smart legal contracts. For blockchain guidance, refer to Blockchain—overview and Practice Note: Blockchain—key legal and regulatory issues. The type and functionality of the website A website’s compliance obligations and the rules that apply will vary according to the kind of site in question and its intended functionality or aim and audience. As an initial step, the site operator should determine, early on, the nature of the proposed site and the planned extent of its functionality. For example, consider the following questions: will the site be an ‘information only’ destination? will it operate as a...
Practice Note This Practice Note is intended to guide the identification of the applicable law before the courts of England and Wales in relation to events that cause damage, where those events took place on or after 1 January 2021. Where a dispute raises a conflict of laws between different parts of the UK, or between the UK and Gibraltar, UK Rome II applies if the harmful event occurred on or after 11 January 2009. For occurrences falling outside these dates, the UK courts will apply a different applicable law regime, determined by the date of the event. For an overview of the various regimes and how they interrelate, see Practice Note: Applicable law regimes. This Practice Note refers to UK Rome II, Regulation ( EC) 864/2007. UK Rome II reproduces the full text and recitals of Regulation ( EC) 864/2007 (as...
STOP PRESS: On 19 June 2025, the Data ( Use and Access) Bill obtained Royal Assent, becoming the Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025 ( DUAA 2025) and entering into partial operation on that date. Certain parts of DUAA 2025, addressing areas such as replying to data subject access requests and conferring authority to make further regulations, took effect immediately on 19 June 2025. Other provisions, relating to notices issued by the Information Commissioner and particular aspects of law enforcement processing, commenced on 19 August 2025 (being two months from the date of Royal Assent). The majority of DUAA 2025’s measures require additional regulations, in the form of statutory instruments, to be made in order to enable commencement before they come into force in practice. Part 5 of DUAA 2025 updates elements of UK data protection and e Privacy law, including the United...
Numerous businesses and public bodies, including HMRC, have faced exposure to or loss of confidential information, as well as other confidentiality failings, yet such events are not always widely publicised given the potential harm to an organisation’s reputation. Duties of confidence may arise by implication—for example, the duty of good faith (often called fidelity) inherent in employment contracts—be set out expressly, such as in a confidentiality agreement, or be imposed through regulation and statute, for instance the client confidentiality obligations on financial services and health professionals. A confidentiality breach can therefore infringe several overlapping legal duties. This Practice Note complements the related Practice Note, How to manage a personal data breach, which reflects guidance from the UK data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, addressing loss of personal data within the data protection regime, which may, or may not, also be...
This Practice Note highlights the principal considerations when establishing a subscription model for the sale and supply of goods, services or digital content to consumers. Subscription types There are broadly three categories of subscription: curation—the customer is sent a curated mix of different products. Examples include monthly boxes for clothing, pet items, cosmetics, personal hygiene products, or recipe boxes and food services replenishment—the customer receives repeat deliveries of the same or similar goods. For instance, monthly supplies of toilet paper, razors, vitamins or other staple commodities access—the customer is granted access to content or premium functionality. For example, content streaming platforms, gaming services, premium subscriptions, and cloud storage services Regulatory landscape When launching subscription models, a range of rules must be considered, notably consumer protection law, data protection legislation, direct marketing requirements and the self-regulatory advertising...
This Practice Note outlines the Consumer Rights Act 2015 ( CRA 2015). The CRA 2015 sets out consumer rights and remedies for goods, digital content and services, and overhauled the law on unfair terms in consumer contracts. It explores the Act’s aims, key definitions, controls on limiting or excluding liability, and the framework for assessing unfair terms in consumer contracts set out within it. It also briefly addresses the reform of enforcement powers, the expansion of civil remedies, and consumer collective actions for anti-competitive behaviour under the CRA 2015, alongside provisions relating to letting agents and secondary ticketing. Background to the CRA 2015 The CRA 2015 received Royal Assent on 26 March 2015 and marked a major overhaul and rationalisation of consumer law in the UK. In particular, it covers consumer rights and remedies for the sale of goods and the supply of services and...
Applications in the Technology and Construction Court Where your case proceeds in the Technology and Construction Court ( TCC), the TCC Guide governs any application you pursue, and its provisions will apply to every application you make. This Practice Note sets out guidance on applications in the TCC, with cross‑references to the relevant parts of the TCC Guide and their corresponding provisions. It concentrates on the step‑by‑step process of making an application in the TCC, spanning pre‑application considerations through to serving the issued application. For guidance on preparing for an application hearing after issue of the application, see Practice Note: Preparing for an application hearing in the Technology and Construction Court ( TCC). The following general points should be noted: The TCC Guide also offers practical information on proceedings in the TCC, but it is not a replacement for the CPR and must be read in...
This Practice Note provides practical guidance on the commercial and contractual dimensions of sports media and broadcasting, with a particular focus on the creation, protection and exploitation of sports media rights. It considers what constitutes sports media rights under English law, how coverage of a sporting fixture is produced and distributed, and the key provisions commonly found in a standard sports media rights agreement. Media commentators routinely refer to ‘media rights’ or ‘broadcast rights’ in relation to a sporting event, notably where significant sums are paid for those ‘rights’, as with the FA Premier League. The aim of this Practice Note is to set out and clarify the essential elements that underpin the creation, exploitation and protection of these rights from both commercial and contractual perspectives... Court of Justice judgments This Practice Note cites Court of Justice judgments. For guidance on whether judgments of the Court of...
This Practice Note Addresses defamation in the sphere of social media. It considers when individuals, internet service providers ( ISPs), website operators and employers could incur liability for defamatory material, and outlines defences available under the Defamation Act 1996 ( De A 1996), the Electronic Commerce ( EC Directive) Regulations 2002 ( E- Commerce Regulations 2002), SI 2002/2013, the Defamation Act 2013 ( DA 2013) and the Defamation ( Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013 ( DOW Regulations 2013), SI 2013/3028. The internet, and social media in particular, is a high-risk arena for defamation disputes. Posts on blogs, internet forums, online newspaper comment areas and well-known social networking platforms such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) can be inaccurate and malicious in nature. Anonymity prompts some people to abandon the normal cautions they would apply to other forms of publication. For a...
This Practice Note It sets out what a smart legal contract (often called a smart contract) is, both as a technological tool and as a binding legal device, and summarises the Law Commission’s guidance to the UK government, which found that the existing UK legal framework can enable and underpin the use of smart legal contracts. It outlines the legal concepts relevant to contract formation, form, formalities and interpretation under UK law, and contrasts their conventional application with how, according to the Law Commission, they might apply to the principal categories of smart legal contract. The Practice Note covers: • What is a smart legal contract? • Distributed ledger technology ( DLT) • Enforceability under UK law • The formation of smart legal contracts • Agreement (including offer and acceptance) • Consideration • Certainty and completeness • Intention to create legal relations •...
This Practice Note explores when and for what reasons you ought to pursue settlement of disputes, and the implications of failing to try to settle when directed to do so. For direction on who should participate in settlement discussions, the form a settlement might take, how it should be recorded, and the means of enforcement, consult the materials in this subtopic, including the following Practice Notes: Settling disputes—who, confidentiality and subject to contract Settling disputes—settlement offers ( Calderbank, WPSAC and Part 36) Settling disputes—how to document a settlement Settling disputes—drafting the settlement agreement Resolving disputes concerning settlement agreements What is settlement? A settlement is the product of agreement between the disputing parties to compromise and/or conclude the litigation, or to resolve matters where no proceedings have yet started. It comes about when one party makes an offer that is accepted by the other or others. Not all parties to the...
This Practice Note considers the following issues in relation to the development and use of autonomous and connected vehicles (also referred to as self-driving vehicles, driverless cars or automated vehicles): Core terminology and concepts Developments in sector-specific UK law The Law Commissions’ joint report: Automated Vehicles Automated Vehicles Act 2024 Liability Product liability under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 Advertising and marketing Data protection and cybersecurity Mobility-as-a-service Public policy and press coverage around driverless technology has largely centred on privately owned road vehicles, which is the principal emphasis of this note at present. Nonetheless, the underlying systems span multiple industries, and there are indications that earlier, tangible gains may arise from advancing automated vehicle capability in fields such as maritime transport and agriculture. The technology’s relevance extends well beyond personal transport, with earlier adoption likely in...
Relationship between causes of action for reputational damage claims which may provide alternatives to a defamation claim This Practice Note explores how other causes of action connected to reputational harm may operate as alternatives to a defamation claim. It examines malicious falsehood, misuse of private information, breach of confidence, contraventions of data protection legislation, harassment and negligent misstatement. Defamation remains the core route for safeguarding reputation. In essence, such a claim arises where material is communicated to third parties that diminishes the claimant in the eyes of reasonable members of the public, carrying an allegation capable of causing serious harm to their reputation, and where no defence in law applies. For further detail, see Practice Note: Defamation. In certain situations, it can be appropriate—and sometimes necessary—to pursue a different cause of action, potentially against a person other than the original publisher. Care is...
This Practice Note sets out an overview of a litigation process for a dispute in England and Wales. This Practice Note provides an outline of the litigation journey for disputes in England and Wales. It also offers a recap of the typical phases most civil cases will involve, spanning pre-action steps, issuing proceedings, trial, enforcement and any appeal, alongside related costs and funding considerations. It further addresses the court’s approach to case and costs management, lay and expert evidence, the obtaining of injunctions and the options for bringing proceedings to a close, including resolution by settlement. The Practice Note is arranged in a way that can be repurposed as a client letter to set out the principal stages of most civil disputes. It includes no outbound links to other Lexis+® UK materials. For links to content aligned to these key stages, refer to...
Popular documents
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 ]...
Discover more from LexisNexis
