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Introduction to statutory interpretation The aim of statutory interpretation is to determine the legal meaning of a statute, that is, the sense that expresses the legislator’s intention. The clearest guide to that intention is the statutory wording itself, read in its context and with its overall purpose in mind, and its broader legislative setting. Courts should seek to fulfil the purpose of legislation by construing its language, so far as they can, in the manner that most effectively serves that purpose. Put differently, the courts’ default method is purposive, and every enactment is to be construed with that end in view. There is a starting presumption that the grammatical and ordinary sense of an enactment reflects the meaning intended by the legislator. Where an enactment reasonably bears only a single meaning, and no other interpretative tools or
This Practice Note addresses identifying a fiduciary, fiduciary duties and obligations, the no conflict rule, the no profit rule, a fiduciary's duty of confidence, and the remedies available for breach of fiduciary duty. Who is a fiduciary? There is no definitive catalogue of relationships that give rise to fiduciary obligations at common law in every situation universally. Certain relationships are inherently fiduciary, eg trustee and beneficiary, solicitor and client, principal and agent, business partner and co-partners, together with mortgagor and mortgagee. The obligations of some fiduciaries have been set out in statute; for instance, trustees owe a statutory duty of skill and care under section 1 of the Trustee Act 2000 (TrA 2000), and directors' relationships with their companies are addressed in the Companies Act 2006 too. For guidance on directors' fiduciary duties, see Practice Note: of directors for further detailed
Definition of ADR Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is defined in the CPR Glossary as a collective label for methods of settling disputes other than through the usual trial process. Some courts adopt the term ‘negotiated dispute resolution’ (NDR) to describe resolution by alternative means; for ease, this Practice Note uses ADR. For guidance on how ADR is addressed in the various court guides, see Practice Note: ADR and NDR in the court guides. In essence, ADR is a means of resolving a dispute outside the court system. It typically involves a neutral third party who either helps the parties reach a negotiated outcome, or issues a determination of the dispute that is legally binding. A binding result can follow where the agreement to refer the dispute to ADR so provides. There are multiple forms of ADR processes. For an outline of the different types and their
In brief The British constitution is uncodified, meaning it does not spring from a single constitutional document or code. It draws on a wide range of written and unwritten sources. Alongside the principal written sources of law in England and Wales—legislation (which has also introduced international and human rights principles into our constitution) and the common law—the constitution also rests on two further unwritten bases within this system: the prerogative, and non-legal constitutional conventions. In addition, on one view the basic or prevailing principle of our constitution, Parliamentary sovereignty, is ultimately grounded in political fact rather than in law. Legislation Legislation is the foremost source of constitutional law. Acts of Parliament may set out detailed constitutional rules, or even pass authority to create them to ministers or to others. Under the doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty, legislation is traditionally regarded as taking precedence over any other form or kind of
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This Practice Note explains when a validation order should be sought and sets out the steps to be taken. Why might an application for a validation order need to be made? Under section 127 of the Insolvency Act 1986 ( IA 1986), any disposition of a company’s property after the start of a winding up is void. Examples of dispositions include: payments from a bank account; on learning of a winding-up petition, a bank will often freeze the account, preventing trading payment of wages, salaries and other routine day-to-day expenditure by the company disposal of a company asset, for example a land transaction Whether or not the disposition is at full market value is immaterial: it may still fall within IA 1986, s 127. Although IA 1986, s 127 renders void dispositions of the company’s property after winding up has commenced, this does not extend to...
Vacating a guilty plea Setting aside a guilty plea is a nuanced yet crucial remedy available in both the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court. This Practice Note offers direction to applicants wishing to set aside a guilty plea, outlining the procedural steps and substantive bases needed to justify withdrawing it. It further considers circumstances in which an appellate court may invalidate a plea when hearing an appeal against conviction entered on a plea of guilty. The early guilty plea scheme in England and Wales aims to make the system more efficient by promoting earlier admissions in return for a reduction in sentence (see Practice Note: Credit for guilty plea). Yet, the scheme can at times leave defendants feeling under pressure, or insufficiently advised, when deciding how to plead. Consequently, such influences can prompt some to attempt to retract their plea(s) later on. Both the...
Vacant possession Vacant possession is a central concept in property law, arising on both the sale of land and at lease expiry under the covenant to yield up at the end of the term. It is often especially significant in conditional lease break options. This Practice Note explains what vacant possession involves in practice, and the steps a tenant or seller must take to deliver possession to a landlord or buyer. For guidance on bringing to an end the range of interests a developer may face when seeking vacant possession of a potential development site—including commercial leases with protection of Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 ( LTA 1954), residential tenants (including security of tenure under the Housing Act 1988), licensees and telecoms operators—and how those interests may be terminated and vacant possession recovered, see Practice Note: strategy for...
What is the vacant building credit? Under national planning policy in the National Planning Policy Framework ( NPPF), to encourage the reuse of brownfield land, where empty buildings are brought back into use or redeveloped, any affordable housing payment due on that redevelopment should be reduced in proportion to the floorspace of the existing buildings. This reduction is referred to as the vacant building credit. The vacant building credit applies only in England. Its purpose is to lessen affordable housing contributions sought in development. It does not diminish other planning obligations, and it is distinct from the way the Community Infrastructure Levy ( CIL) is calculated. What is the background to the introduction of the vacant building credit? The vacant building credit was announced in England on 28 November 2014 through a written ministerial statement, alongside an exemption from affordable housing...
Note—to check if notification thresholds in Uzbekistan and throughout the world are satisfied, see: Where to Notify. 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the merger control regime in Uzbekistan and are any updates or developments expected? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in Uzbekistan? Uzbekistan’s merger control framework is now set by the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No ZRU-850 of 3 July 2023 on Competition (the Competition Law). It takes effect on 4 October 2023, superseding the Law on competition No ZRU-319 of 6 December 2012. The Competition Law applies to merger oversight across both financial and commodity markets. Complementary rules appear in Regulation No 86, which approves a unified procedure for issuing permission documents via a dedicated electronic system. Annex 12 to Regulation No 86 establishes a Passport for reviewing and obtaining preliminary consent for...
1. What is the applicable legislation? On 27 January 2020, the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 598 dated 25 December 2019 “ On Investments and Investment Activities” (the Investment Law) entered into force. It unified the key provisions of prior investment legislation, notably the statutes “ On foreign investments”, “ On investment activities”, and “ On guarantees and measures to protect the rights of foreign investors”, which ceased to apply upon its commencement. The Investment Law’s core aim is to govern relations in the sphere of investments and investment activity undertaken by both foreign and domestic investors. It sets out the types and forms of investment, the legal regime for investments, the objects and participants of investment activity, investor rights and duties, state-backed guarantees of investor rights and investment protection, the state’s regulation of investment activity, state support for...
STOP PRESS: From 24 February 2025, the core provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 ( PA 2023) are in effect. Competitions launched on or after that date must proceed under PA 2023, while procurements initiated under earlier regimes — the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ( PCR 2015), the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 — must continue to be run and administered under those rules. See Practice Note: Key Implications of the Procurement Act 2023 for Construction Lawyers. PCR 2015 as assimilated law PCR 2015 are EU-derived domestic legislation and therefore form assimilated law under sections 2 and 6 of the European Union ( Withdrawal) Act 2018. For practical guidance on the standing and interpretation of assimilated law, see Practice Note: Assimilated law. Scope and application of the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 The Utilities Contracts...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and no longer updated. It provides an overview of the law, official guidance and practice concerning unfair terms in consumer contracts under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, SI 1999/2083, relevant to consumer agreements made before 1 October 2015. For contracts concluded on or after 1 October 2015, see Practice Note: Consumer Rights Act 2015—unfair terms. The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, SI 1999/2083 ( UTCCR 1999) generally cover agreements between a seller or supplier and a consumer, subject to certain exclusions. A seller or supplier is any person acting in the course of their trade, business or profession, whether in the public or private sector, and may take the form of an individual or a corporate entity. A consumer is a person acting outside their trade, business or profession. The UTCCR 1999...
POCA 2002 and the Terrorism Act 2000 require you to report knowledge or suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing to the NCA via a Suspicious Activity Report ( SAR), with severe criminal penalties for non-compliance. A SAR can be: an internal report to the organisation’s nominated officer an external report to the NCA This Practice Note explains using the NCA’s SAR Portal, opened to all reporting organisations on 18 September 2023: how to register, submit a SAR, what information is needed, and what to do after submission. The SAR Portal From 18 September 2023, the Portal replaced SARs Online. Organisations must register and file all SARs through the Portal. It is solely for reporting suspected money laundering or terrorist financing, not for general crime reports. If you wish to report a crime, including fraud, you should......
The official receiver ( OR) is designated as trustee in bankruptcy (trustee) or as liquidator to manage and investigate every bankruptcy and court-ordered winding up, including those of partnerships. The Secretary of State or the creditors may, in place of the OR, appoint an insolvency practitioner ( IP) to act as trustee for personal insolvencies or as liquidator for corporate cases. Under the Insolvency Regulations 1994, SI 1994/2507, as amended (the Regulations), the OR or IP, as appropriate, is obliged to pay into the ( ISA) any funds they receive while administering all bankruptcies and compulsory liquidations. Before 1 October 2011, sums from voluntary liquidations could also be lodged in the ISA; now, only unclaimed dividends in a voluntary liquidation may be paid into the ISA. Likewise, unclaimed dividends arising in an administration or an administrative receivership may be paid into the ISA once the...
ARCHIVED This Practice Note is archived and is not being maintained. CORONAVIRUS ( COVID-19): Many arbitral organisations have reacted to the coronavirus pandemic with practical guidance and/or alterations to their usual procedures and ways of working. For details on how this content and related arbitration proceedings might be affected, see Practice Note: Arbitral organisations and coronavirus ( COVID-19)—practical impact. For further information, see: Coronavirus ( COVID-19) and arbitration—overview. Parties using arbitration may nominate an arbitral institution, such as the International Chamber of Commerce ( ICC), to administer the arbitration under its rules, or proceed ad hoc outside an institutional framework. In ad hoc proceedings, the parties may agree that the ICC acts as appointing authority, which may include appointing any arbitrator where the parties cannot agree. It should also be noted that parties may choose an appointing authority even where the arbitration is...
This guide This guide supports organisations to pledge to quantify, oversee and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions; to adopt legally binding, enforceable emissions-reduction targets; to consider and satisfy reporting and disclosure obligations, in particular regarding scope 3 emissions; and to commit to a transition plan that aligns their operations with Paris Agreement goals. These sustainability clauses were created by The Chancery Lane Project ( TCLP) and are linked to on the TCLP website below. For detailed, step-by-step guidance on how to measure, manage, reduce and report emissions, please consult the guide provided by TCLP. TCLP is the code name for a focused and collaborative initiative of lawyers from around the world, working together to develop new contracts and model laws to help fight climate change. For more information, see:...
This PN ought to be considered together with the following related precedents listed below: Pension schedule: acting for sellers in an asset sale EFP vol 31(1) PENSION SCHEMES [2517]–[2522] Pension schedule: acting for buyers in an asset purchase EFP vol 31(1) PENSION SCHEMES [2512]–[2516] For the purposes of this Practice Note, it is assumed that, at completion, the buyer acquires a business and the employees transfer into the buyer’s employment under the operation of the Transfer of Undertakings ( Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/246 ( TUPE). When can a pension schedule be used on a business sale? In a business sale, a pension schedule can be used where all of the following apply: immediately before any TUPE transfer, at least some employees are active members of a defined benefit ( DB) occupational pension scheme run by the seller the DB scheme remains open to future accrual; and the DB scheme is...
The most common reasons for entering into derivatives are for the purposes of: Speculation — when a party seeks exposure to a given variable, for example taking a view on a commodity’s future price on the assumption it will rise or fall over a chosen period Hedging — aiming to offset exposure to the risk of an unfavourable shift in a variable, or to stabilise expected outcomes over time Arbitrage — seeking to take advantage of price discrepancies (between markets, or within the same market over time) to earn profit or cut costs, or where one participant can reach a price or market unavailable to another, including where prices differ over time Exposure to asset classes — obtaining access to a target market (eg commodities, shares, property) without incurring the expense, complexity and formalities associated with those markets, avoiding the same costs and...
What are Incoterms and what is their origin? Incoterms—short for ‘ International Commercial Terms’—are a set of globally recognised trading terms used in international, and at times domestic, contracts for buying and selling goods. They comprise 11 three‑letter abbreviations, each standing for a distinct package of provisions that apportion duties, costs and risks within a sale and purchase agreement. The International Chamber of Commerce ( ICC) publishes rules that interpret Incoterms and explain the meaning of each term. First issued in 1936, these rules are updated from time to time to mirror developments in trading practices. In September 2019, the ICC released the most recent edition, Incoterms 2020, effective from 1 January 2020 (although parties could opt to apply the 2020 rules earlier if they wished). For the complete text of the 2020 rules, see the following Practice Notes: Incoterms®...
Why use environmental consultants? Environmental consultants operate across varied sectors and disciplines, working to regulate, manage and prevent pollution of air, soil and water. They evaluate environmental risks, check conformity with environmental legislation and best practice, and appear as expert witnesses in formal legal proceedings......
Practice Note This Practice Note delivers practical guidance on the use of damages (quantum) experts in international arbitration. It aims to: familiarise lawyers who are newer to damages with key considerations offer perspectives for more experienced damages practitioners to reflect on and potentially refine their approach The emphasis is on procedural and strategic matters when instructing damages experts, showing counsel how to collaborate effectively without needing to become maths or ‘ Excel’ modelling specialists. It covers: when appointing a damages expert is warranted advantages and disadvantages of using experts retaining and instructing damages experts selecting suitable experts practical tips for working with experts Although focused on damages experts, much of the guidance is equally relevant to other expert disciplines. Further reading on experts in international arbitration includes the following Practice Notes: Expert witnesses in arbitration ...
The new competencies framework underpins a range of activities, notably recruitment and selection. This Practice Note sets out questions that help pinpoint competencies within the framework across various organisational levels: what are behavioural interview questions? level 1 questions and guidance level 2 questions and guidance level 3 questions and guidance level 4 questions and guidance, and other recruitment tools Behavioural interviewing Behavioural interview questions—also known as situational or competency‑based questions—are used in interviews to explore how a candidate’s past job performance may inform their future effectiveness in the role on offer. This approach is now widespread and adopted by many large organisations. The core premise is that behaviour shown in work‑related scenarios predicts future performance. Using these techniques, interviewers pose open‑ended questions about previous situations and compare the responses with the role’s pre‑set...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and not maintained. It considered data protection and personal data sharing questions arising in cross-border investigations involving US and EU companies prior to the ruling in Facebook Ireland and Schrems ( Case C-311/18), where the Court of Justice of the European Union struck down the EU- US Privacy Shield and confirmed that any use of standard contractual clauses ( SCCs) must, in practice, provide an adequate level of protection for personal data, following a case by case evaluation of the circumstances of the transfer. For details on sharing personal data between the UK and EU in light of that judgment and IP completion day, see Practice Notes: Data protection and internal investigations, and UK GDPR and EU GDPR—transfers of personal data internationally and to international organisations. Who is the...
Change of use and development under the TCPA 1990 For the purposes of section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ( TCPA 1990), any material alteration in the use of buildings or other land is treated as “development”. As development requires planning permission, it is therefore always necessary to assess whether a proposed change of use is material and so amounts to development. However, TCPA 1990, s 55(2)(f) states that no development occurs, and permission is not needed, where the existing and proposed uses both fall within the same class specified in an order made under that paragraph. For instance, switching from a post office to a hairdresser would not need planning permission, as each sits within class A1 (shops). That said, physical works to the premises to enable the new use may still call for planning...
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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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