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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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FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to penalty reform calls for evidence and behavioural penalties reform: At Budget 2025, the government released a summary of feedback to the consultation opened at Spring Statement 2025 on behavioural penalties reform, and confirmed plans to advance proposals to change penalties for errors in tax returns and for failures to notify chargeability. This work builds on two earlier calls for evidence: an initial call for evidence on ‘ The Tax Administration Framework: Supporting a 21st Century tax system’ on 23 March 2021, with a summary published on 30 November 2021; a second call for evidence on ‘ The Tax Administration Framework Review–enquiry and assessment powers, penalties, safeguards’ on 15 February 2024, followed by a summary on 30 October 2024; this later exercise explored options for penalty reform, including changes to penalty suspension and the escalation of penalties for ongoing or...
Dependent relative revocation Where a testator cancels a Will on the basis of a condition, that cancellation has no effect if the condition is not fulfilled. A revocation is not treated as conditional absent clear proof of the testator’s intention and purpose. Dependent relative revocation arises where the original gift is only to be revoked if a fresh disposition, made or contemplated, actually takes effect. If that new arrangement does not operate, the original disposition stands. An illustration of dependent relative revocation is found in Re Bridgewater (deceased). The testator made three Wills and wrote to his solicitor stating that the second Will was held at his bank and that he had destroyed the third Will, intending thereby to give effect to the second. On his death, only the first Will was located. The letter was accepted as admissible evidence of an...
Background and aims At EU level, a range of Directives on gender equality and working conditions have already dealt with matters linked to work–life balance, notably: Directive 2006/54/ EC on enforcing the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment for women and men in employment and occupation (recast) Directive 2010/41/ EU on applying equal treatment between women and men engaged in self‑employed activities Directive 92/85/ EEC introducing measures to improve workplace safety and health for pregnant workers and for those who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding Directive 97/81/ EC concerning the Framework Agreement on part‑time work Directive 2010/18/ EU implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC, the Parental Leave Directive The principles of gender equality and work–life balance are reiterated in Principles 2 and 9 of the European Pillar of Social...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE Section 10 of the Finance Act 2022 will lift the normal minimum pension age ( NMPA) from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028, excluding members of the firefighters, police and armed forces public service pension schemes. It will also permit members of registered pension schemes to access benefits before 57 where, on or before 4 November 2021, they either held an ‘unqualified right’ to take benefits, or were already undertaking a substantive transfer to a scheme that, on or before that date, offered an unqualified right to a protected pension age below 57. To rely on this new protection in 2028, the scheme’s rules must have, as at 11 February 2021, contained an unqualified right to take entitlement to scheme benefits before age 57. For further details, see Practice Note: Increasing the normal minimum pension age ( NMPA) to 57—pensions...
This Practice Note sets out guidance on case law concerning claims brought under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 ( TOLATA 1996), highlighting the leading authorities of Stack v Dowden and Jones v Kernott. It further reviews decisions addressing the welfare of any minor and also the position of any secured creditor of any beneficiary. See also Practice Note: Eligibility to apply under TOLATA 1996, on relevant matters for the court and on the court’s powers. For practice and procedure, refer to these Practice Notes: TOLATA 1996—pre-action matters TOLATA 1996—when to issue in the County Court and when to issue in the High Court TOLATA 1996—when to use Part 7 and when to use Part 8 TOLATA 1996—procedure TOLATA 1996— Part 36 offers Stack v Dowden The principal authority on disputes between cohabitants is Stack v Dowden, where the...
This Practice Note sets out the core income tax rules that apply to a beneficiary of a discretionary trust for income tax purposes only. An individual is liable to income tax only when they are entitled to, or actually receive, income from a taxable source. For a discretionary trust beneficiary, the taxable income arises from the discretionary trust itself. The source of a beneficiary's income When a beneficiary is paid income by a discretionary trust, it is because the trustees have exercised their discretion so that the beneficiary becomes entitled to it. Accordingly, the trustees are treated as the source of that beneficiary’s income. This differs from the treatment of an interest in possession beneficiary, who is regarded as taking income directly from the trust property. See Practice Note: Interest in possession beneficiaries (life tenants)—income tax......
Trade sanctions Trade sanctions place restrictions on the following: the import, export, transfer, movement, supply, and procurement of goods and technology the delivery and sourcing of services connected to goods and technology the supply and obtaining of specified non-financial services This Practice Note outlines exceptions and licences permitting activities otherwise prohibited by trade sanctions. For general guidance on trade sanctions, see Practice Notes: Understanding the UK trade sanctions regime; Trade sanctions—offences; and The enforcement of trade sanctions breaches in the UK. This Practice Note concerns trade sanctions only. For information on licences and exemptions in financial sanctions, see Practice Note: Licences and exemptions in financial sanctions. For background on the UK’s domestic sanctions framework, governed by the Sanctions and Anti-money Laundering Act 2018 ( SAMLA 2018) and regulations made under it, see Practice Notes: The UK sanctions framework under SAMLA 2018 and...
This Practice Note explains who may face prosecution under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, SI 2005/1803 ( GPSR 2005). It further outlines, in particular, the statutory due diligence defence, sets out in detail the applicable limitation periods for instituting proceedings, and summarises the sanctions available on conviction for these offences. For guidance on the duties placed on producers and distributors by the GPSR 2005, SI 2005/1803, see Practice Note: General Product Safety Regulations 2005— Offences. For material on how the GPSR 2005, SI 2005/1803 are enforced, see Practice Note: Enforcement of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. Time limit for bringing prosecutions under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 Under the GPSR 2005, SI 2005/1803, any prosecution must be commenced within three years of the commission of the offence (ie a breach of the general safety requirement, etc), or within 12 months of the...
Increasingly, organisations are required to conduct investigations to meet their legal obligations. Typical triggers for an inquiry include: An individual raising concerns internally, for example via a whistleblowing hotline. A demand from a regulator or criminal agency. Pre‑merger or acquisition due diligence. A civil litigation claim. An internal or external auditor’s report. Media reports. An external allegation, eg from a customer or counter-party. For multinational groups, a persistent difficulty is the friction between data protection rules and duties created by laws tackling financial crime. Under the Bribery Act 2010, the burden of proof is reversed: the business must prove it had adequate procedures to stop those performing services for it from committing bribery, rather than prosecutors proving it did not. The tax evasion facilitation regime operates similarly. See Practice Notes: Failure to prevent bribery—the offence and Failure to...
Why you need to manage this risk Data protection ranks among the toughest strands of risk management—the framework is intricate and far‑reaching, operates across UK and EU spheres, changes continually and attracts legal disputes. It spans UK, EU and international regimes, shifts regularly and meets litigation. Breaching obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation ( UK GDPR) can leave an organisation facing significant reputational harm, claims from dissatisfied data subjects and penalties of up to £17.5m or 4% of total worldwide annual turnover. Comparable sanctions exist under the EU GDPR. Top five priorities The table below sets out five core priorities for managing data protection risk and flags why each matters. It gives the heads‑up on why each is prioritised. The main body of this Risk management guide then explores each priority in depth and includes mini action lists...
A contractual option to take a lease for a further term is a ‘call’ option It gives the tenant a one-sided entitlement to demand a renewal lease. The tenant is not compelled to use it, yet upon exercise the landlord must honour the bargain. The ability to seek a renewal lease is commonly conditional on satisfaction of conditions precedent (for example, all rent paid and other tenant covenants observed) – for further discussion see Conditions precedent below. A call option is a contract for the sale of an interest in land within the Law of Property ( Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, s 2(1). The option must: be in writing contain or incorporate all of the terms expressly agreed between the parties be signed by or on behalf of each party When the tenant exercises the option by giving notice to the...
This Practice Note sets out the UK financial sanctions legal and regulatory framework as it applies to firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ( FSMA 2000), and to firms within the FCA’s supervisory scope, such as e-money and payment firms (collectively, firms). It outlines the FCA and Prudential Regulation Authority ( PRA) regulatory requirements for firms and senior management concerning sanctions. It also explores the interplay between the anti-money laundering ( AML)/counter-terrorist financing ( CTF) framework and sanctions compliance, and the FCA and Joint Money Laundering Steering Group ( JMLSG) guidance on sanctions compliance, including the scope and status of that guidance. Key points Firms have legal and regulatory duties to put in place, and maintain, robust defences and risk management frameworks that identify and mitigate financial crime risk, including sanctions risk The FCA does not make,...
ARCHIVED This Practice Note is archived, retained solely for reference purposes and is no longer being updated. It summarises and explains the cap provisions contained in the 2016 draft regulations, now overtaken by the 2020 draft regulations (which remain not in force as yet). For the present position on the capping of exit payments for public sector employees and office-holders, including discussion of the 2020 draft regulations, see Practice Note: Capping the size of public sector exit payments—the revoked 2020 regulations [ Archived]. For how proposed legislation (also not yet in force) would operate to allow claw-back of part or all of an exit payment made to a public sector employee or office-holder in the event that they re-enter public service within one year of receipt, see Practice Note: Claw-back of public sector exit payments. A complete history of the status and legislation to cap exit...
Capping the size of public sector exit payments This Practice Note reviews revoked legislation and proposals not yet commenced. It traces the development of the cap on public sector exit payments, notably the Restriction of Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations 2020, SI 2020/1122, which applied from 4 November 2020 until 19 March 2021. It also examines the government’s suggested ‘framework’ to reform how public sector exit payments are calculated more broadly, alongside distinct plans to revise exit terms for local government staff, including those eligible for membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme ( LGPS). In addition, it summarises the 2022 government consultation on public sector exit pay that links cap proposals with Treasury approval routes for special severance payments. The background to the proposals and the now-revoked cap is set out immediately below—see Capping the size of public sector exit payments. For more on the...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note summarises how the Restriction of Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations 2020 (the 2020 Regulations), SI 2020/1122, operated, although they have since been revoked. The 2020 Regulations took effect on 4 November 2020. After just four months, on 12 February 2021, the government confirmed that the 2020 Regulations would be withdrawn, and a Treasury Direction disapplied the cap from 12 February 2021 pending formal revocation, which was delivered by the Public Sector Exit Payments ( Revocation) Regulations 2021, SI 2021/197, with effect from 19 March 2021. Because public sector exit payments were processed during the period when the statutory exit pay cap applied, the provisions of the 2020 Regulations remain pertinent. This Note is not updated and is provided for background reference only. For an account of the development of the proposals and legislation to cap public sector exit...
This Practice Note considers the practical matters that commonly arise in connection with an employment settlement agreement (previously referred to as a compromise agreement). It also highlights the likely tax considerations and signposts our related Practice Notes for fuller guidance. For details of the legal requirements (that is, the conditions governing settlement agreements) that must be satisfied for an agreement to be binding and effective to compromise statutory employment claims, see Practice Note: Settlement agreements in employment—legal requirements Parties to the agreement Where the employer is an individual, or a company with a straightforward corporate set-up, the parties to the settlement agreement will be the employer and the employee, with no necessity to mention third parties. However, the identity of the employing entity may not be simple, eg within a more complex group structure where: the employee works, or has worked, for other...
The Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures ( Acas Code) Defines baseline expectations of fair conduct for handling disciplinary and grievance matters at work, and imposes duties on workers and management alike to observe its requirements. As a statutory code (see: Key principles of the Acas Code below), it influences a wide spectrum of employment disputes, and non-compliance can be weighed when liability is assessed and may affect any compensation awarded in relevant cases. The non-statutory Acas guide on discipline and grievances at work supports the Code and offers good practice guidance for managing discipline and grievances in the workplace. Where there is uncertainty about interpreting the Code, tribunals may look to the Acas guide for direction. For more detail, see Guidance to the Acas Code, below. This Practice Note sets out how the Code is applied in...
What are invasive non-native species? An invasive non-native species ( INNS) refers to any animal or plant introduced from outside that can spread and cause harm to the natural world, the economy, our health, or daily life. The GB Non Native Species Strategy 2023–30 notes that, by 2021, roughly 2,000 INNS were established in GB, with a further 10 to 12 becoming established each year. This picture is echoed internationally and, without sufficient intervention, numbers will keep rising for the foreseeable future. Climate change is expected to raise the risk posed by many INNS that previously could not take hold. In October 2019, the Environmental Audit Committee ( EAC) released its report on invasive species, finding they cost the UK economy £1.8bn per year through damage to natural biodiversity, disease spread, and other adverse environmental effects. In May 2020, the government indicated it would...
Introduction to UK REACH ‘ REACH’ is the shortened name for Regulation ( EC) 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which concerns the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (the REACH Regulation). Before REACH came into force, there were worries that the risks from chemicals placed on the EU market were not being adequately examined or controlled, and that public authorities alone carried this burden. REACH sought to tackle this by transferring the responsibility for understanding and appropriately managing chemical risks to those manufacturing and/or importing chemicals and goods that contain them (ie industry). In addition, REACH aims to: ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment allow the free movement of substances on the EU market enhance the competitiveness and innovation of the EU chemicals industry, and promote the use of alternative methods for assessing hazardous...
A requestor, or more accurately a complainant, may challenge the handling of a request for environmental information where they believe a public authority has not met a requirement under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, SI 2004/3391 ( EIR 2004). The initial step is to take the matter up with the relevant public authority. If it remains unresolved, the further steps referred to in this Practice Note should then be followed... How and when should a requestor complain? Internal complaints procedure In the first instance, a complaint should be submitted to the relevant public authority itself, which is required to operate a process for handling internal complaints. It should be lodged within 40 working days from the date on which the complainant considers the authority failed to comply with the EIR. Upon receipt of a complaint, the public authority must, free of charge: consider the...
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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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