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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 is intended for lawyers working within, or advising, Children’s Services departments of Welsh local authorities. It focuses solely on the law applicable to Wales. For the current position in England, see in general: Local authority duties to children—overview. This is the first in a trio of notes concerning children’s social care in Wales. For discussion of a Welsh local authority’s obligation to provide accommodation, see Practice Note: Local authority powers and duties to provide accommodation for children in Wales. For discussion of a Welsh local authority’s responsibilities towards looked after children, see Practice Note: Local authority duties to looked after children in Wales. Each resource should be consulted alongside this note for contextual understanding and reference. Legislative background The Government of Wales Act 2006 ( GWA 2006) took effect on 25 July 2006. Section 108A GWA 2006 established a reserved powers model of...
The Health and Care Act 2022 was passed on 28 April 2022, with central provisions on Integrated Care taking effect from 1 July 2022. For more reading see News Analyses: Integrated Care Systems: practical steps for 1 July 2022, Transitioning to April—provider collaborative guidance issued, and Making provider collaboratives work—a little less conversation a little more (integrated) action. Key healthcare bodies in England Regulators Department of Health and Social Care ( DHSC) and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care — a Ministerial Department which also supports 14 Arms Length Bodies and a range of other Executive Agencies and Non- Departmental Public Bodies. In general, the DH provides: direction for the National Health Service ( NHS) and for the wider healthcare system stewardship of the health and care system so it delivers the right outcomes for patients, service users and the...
The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 ( HERA 2017) marks arguably the most far-reaching statutory shift in scope and effect for UK higher education since 2004. Under HERA 2017, Pt 1, a fresh regulator for higher education ( HE) in England, the Office for Students ( Of S), is created, alongside arrangements for a new register of providers across the system. Further particulars on the Of S’s constitution and functioning are set out in HERA 2017, Sch 1. HERA 2017, Pt 2 addresses additional education matters, such as student finance, complaints, and the deregulation of HE corporations in England. HERA 2017, Pt 3 deals with research, forming UK Research and Innovation ( UKRI) and defining the research and innovation roles of the councils. Expanded legislative detail is provided in HERA 2017, Sch 9. HERA 2017, Pt 4 attends to general...
Introduction This Practice Note outlines the role of the Gambling Commission and how it supervises the gambling sector across the UK. Overview The Gambling Commission (' Commission') oversees all areas of gambling in the UK and was established by the Gambling Act 2005 ( GA 2005) with supporting secondary legislation. It holds extensive powers and duties, regulating every type of gambling except spread betting, which falls under the Financial Conduct Authority. In October 2013 the Commission merged with the National Lottery Commission, extending its remit to the National Lottery. Its offices are in Victoria Square, Birmingham, and it maintains a helpful website. Nature and constitution The Commission is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Chairman and Commissioners are appointed by the Secretary of State, and there is also a chief executive. Commissioners must personally avoid conflicts, declare...
Practice Note This Practice Note provides guidance for a local authority on responding to an insolvent debtor. Debts may arise from arrears of: council tax National Non-domestic Rates ( NNDR) sundry debts liabilities from property liabilities from social care provision, see Practice Note: Securing and enforcing community care liabilities financial penalties imposed on a landlord for breaches of Houses of Multiple Occupation Legislation and other provisions deriving from the Housing and Planning Act 2016, see Practice Note: Houses in multiple occupation ( HMOs)—sanctions Individual bankruptcy debt relief order individual voluntary arrangement ( IVA) Partnership administration bankruptcy of individual partners partnership voluntary arrangement individual voluntary arrangement of individual partners Limited liability partnership ( LLP) administration administrative receivership compulsory liquidation of LLP voluntary liquidation of...
As with various areas of education legislation, the rules on school meals now differ in England and in Wales. Food and drink provided to pupils in schools in England English local authorities may supply milk, meals and other refreshments to registered pupils, to others taught at maintained schools, and to children in receipt of ‘relevant Early Years education’. This power also covers the provision of lunches at academies, free schools and independent schools. Catering can be delivered on school premises or at any other place where education is taking place, and local authorities must ensure maintained schools have facilities for pupils to consume food and drink brought from home. Provision may equally occur at alternative venues used for education. Including all temporary teaching sites. Catering in academies and free schools is not set out in statute, though their funding agreements with the...
How members are paid remains a divisive subject. The public service perspective holds that people step into politics to serve their communities rather than to profit, so remuneration should not reach levels that might tempt candidates for the wrong motives or to pursue purely personal advantage and status. Linked to this is a worry that higher pay could foster full‑time career councillors, narrowing the breadth of life and work experience that members bring as a collective body. By contrast, the professional stance argues that the basic allowances on offer fail to amount to a living wage, making it impossible for those without private means to sit on the council and potentially prompting young, energetic members to depart from the council entirely. Members’ allowances schemes in England The statutory basis for members’ allowances is set out in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the Local...
Part 2 of the Housing ( Wales) Act 2014 ( H( W) A 2014) Part 2 of the Housing ( Wales) Act 2014 ( H( W) A 2014) outlines the homelessness legal framework for local housing authorities ( LHAs) in Wales. It explains the varying obligations an LHA owes to different homeless applicants. Inevitably, an LHA must investigate an applicant’s circumstances before deciding which duty applies; see Practice Note: Homelessness and threatened with homelessness in Wales. Some applicants’ situations are so urgent that accommodation is required immediately, even before those enquiries can be completed. H( W) A 2014 makes provision, in specified circumstances, requiring LHAs to secure accommodation on an interim basis. This Practice Note sets out when that interim duty arises, how it operates, and how it is discharged. It also describes the power available to an LHA, once its enquiries are...
This Practice Note reflects the law as it is understood in England. Local authorities and other public bodies owe a general obligation to act fairly. This applies to both process and substance, and stems from the two fundamental rules of natural justice, namely that: no one should be a judge in their own cause (nemo judex in causa sua), and issues are to be decided after hearing from both or all parties involved (audi alteram partem) The modern duty of fairness is a flexible, context‑dependent principle requiring those consulting or making decisions on the public’s behalf to act—and be seen to act—in a way that is demonstrably fair in all the circumstances, and untainted by any actual or perceived personal or other extraneous interest. Public authority decisions affected by actual or apparent bias (a prejudice towards a particular outcome) or by...
A family intervention tenancy ( FIT) is regarded as an excluded tenancy under the Housing Acts 1985 ( HA 1985) and 1988 ( HA 1988), as it can be ended by notice without the landlord needing to prove grounds for termination or possession. The landlord may obtain possession and the tenant can be evicted if the behavioural support conditions have not been adhered to throughout the term. The procedure varies depending on whether the landlord is a local authority or a registered provider of social housing. Local authority landlord Where the landlord is a local authority, it must serve a notice of its intention before it can issue a notice to quit. The notice of intention to serve a notice to quit must: explain that the landlord will serve a notice to quit set out the reasons for serving a notice to quit state when the...
This Practice Note offers practical guidance on deploying trade remedies under the UK– Eastern and Southern Africa States ( ESA) Economic Partnership Agreement ( UK- ESA EPA). It explains how anti-dumping duties, countervailing measures and safeguard measures can be applied within the framework of the UK- ESA EPA. Introduction The UK- ESA EPA is a free trade agreement between the UK and the ESA states. Agreed in the wake of Brexit, it largely replicates the Economic Partnership Agreement that operated when the UK was part of the EU. It took effect on 1 January 2021. The agreement focuses mainly on trade in goods; for further details, see Practice Note: Trade in goods under the UK- ESA EPA. It also sets out trade remedy provisions relevant to goods, with particular attention to safeguard...
Executive narrative In practice, Japan’s ESG framework has a disclosure and governance core (e.g. capital markets, stewardship and comply-or-explain governance codes) which sits alongside a deep environmental compliance rulebook for waste, chemicals and pollution controls, together with a fast-moving decarbonisation policy regime that is evolving at pace. For multinationals, the day-to-day execution risk concerns whether claims to investors and consumers can be substantiated and whether operational sites and products comply with detailed lifecycle rules (particularly for waste and chemicals) that are actively enforced through administrative tools and inspections, with clear oversight. A further practical consideration is that Japanese ESG expectations are increasingly shaped by domestic standards expressly designed to incorporate International Sustainability Standards Board ( ISSB) standards, nudging companies towards audit-style controls for sustainability data and narrative consistency across reports. Disclosure and reporting When it comes to corporate and investor disclosure, Japan is in an...
Introduction Section 82 of the Companies Act 2014 ( Ireland) ( CA 2014 ( IRL)) forms a cornerstone of the capital maintenance regime for Irish companies and took effect in Ireland on 1 June 2015. It bars an Irish company from providing financial assistance aimed at facilitating an acquisition, whether proposed or completed, by any person of shares in that company or in its holding company. CA 2014 ( IRL), s 82 superseded section 60 of the Companies Act 1963 ( Ireland) ( CA 1963 ( IRL)), which imposed a marginally wider curb by outlawing not only assistance given for the purpose of such an acquisition, but also assistance furnished in connection with it. This Practice Note addresses the present framework. It sets out principal elements of s 82’s scope under CA 2014 ( IRL), highlights three of the exemptions most...
This Practice Note reviews the duty of care applicable in professional negligence actions and the suitable legal yardstick for proving liability in professional negligence proceedings in Ireland. It sets out what amounts to professional negligence and the manner in which it is proved. It also addresses the various legal foundations for such claims. It then examines the care standards expected of healthcare practitioners, solicitors and barristers, and the construction profession, within the context of potential professional negligence claims against them. Lastly, it indicates when a professional’s duty of care may extend to third parties. What is professional negligence? Professional negligence is a civil action against a professional who owes a contractual and/or tortious duty to the plaintiff, and who breaches that duty by behaving in a manner no other reasonable member of that profession would adopt, thereby causing loss or damage to the...
Executive narrative Brazil’s environmental, social and governance ( ESG) framework is best seen as a layered federal–state–municipal enforcement system, with significant real‑economy effects and unusually robust public enforcement and collective litigation routes. In practice, ESG risk commonly materialises through: environmental permitting, embargoes, fines and remediation duties handled by federal and state environmental bodies within the National Environmental System ( SISNAMA) public civil actions (ação civil pública) and prosecutor‑led settlements that can advance more quickly than regulatory procedures capital markets disclosure oversight by the Brazilian Securities Commission ( CVM), now expressly linked to International Sustainability Standards Board ( ISSB)/ International Financial Reporting Standards ( IFRS) sustainability standards consumer and advertising scrutiny of sustainability claims under the Consumer Defence Code, regulators, and Consumer Protection and Defence Offices ( PROCONs) advertising self‑regulation under the supervision of the National Council for Advertising Self‑ Regulation (...
This Practice Note sets out guidance on permission to appeal ( PTA) under CPR Part 52. For detailed, step-by-step guidance on making an application for PTA under CPR Part 52, see the Practice Note: Permission to appeal—the application. For advice on the conduct of the hearing of a PTA application, and on what to do thereafter, in particular, see the Practice Note: Permission to appeal—hearing and next steps. Alongside clearly explaining to a client the effect, implications and consequences of pursuing an appeal, including matters relating to costs, practitioners should also recognise—and be ready to address, as appropriate, the possibility of the court granting only limited or conditional permission; see Practice Notes: Permission to appeal—hearing and next steps— Limited permission to appeal and Imposing conditions on an appeal respectively. For PTA arising in civil contempt proceedings, see the Practice Note: Civil contempt...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and not maintained. It outlines the principal dates and legal developments expected to affect corporate lawyers in Ireland in 2025 and beyond. The entries cover Irish and EU legislation, rules and guidance, plus movements among international policy-makers and regulatory bodies. Please propose topics for our horizon scanner at: irelandcurrentawareness@lexisnexis.com. From an Irish viewpoint, the scanner reflects legislative and rules updates, guidance and announcements from the Corporate Registration Office ( CRO) and the Corporate Enforcement Authority ( CEA). Other Irish bodies featured include the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the Law Reform Commission, the Company Law Review Group ( CLRG) and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ( CCPC). To follow legal and regulatory changes by topic, see Practice Notes: for UK developments, Corporate horizon scanning—2025 and beyond EU 2024–2029...
What are cryptoassets and why are they frequently involved in criminal activity? For the purposes of this Practice Note, we use the following meaning of a cryptoasset: information recorded on a blockchain that has been attributed particular features so that the information is treated as a stand-alone asset. For more, see Practice Note: Web 3.0, digital assets and cryptoassets-essentials. Cryptoassets exhibit qualities that make them especially prone to criminal involvement. The most significant is arguably the decentralised model and the ecosystem in which they typically operate (namely, a standard permission-less blockchain). Consider this illustration: to send money electronically, you effectively engage a third-party intermediary to carry out the transfer. That entity logs details of the transaction, most notably the identities of the payer and the payee. It will also usually be regulated and therefore obliged to monitor, report and/or deter financial crime, including money...
FORTHCOMING CHANGES : In Budget 2025, the government set out plans to legislate through Finance Bill 2026 (also referred to as Finance ( No 2) Bill 2024–26) to introduce measures aimed at promoters or enablers of marketed tax avoidance. These provisions sit in Part 6 of the Bill, as introduced on 4 December 2025, and encompass: revisions to the DOTAS and DASVOIT civil penalty framework, allowing HMRC to issue DOTAS penalties directly rather than seeking tribunal approval a broad prohibition on promoting marketed arrangements with no realistic prospect of success, and a prohibition on promoting arrangements named in universal stop regulations ( USRs). Breach of either prohibition would lead to sanctions including publication, financial penalties and criminal prosecution promoter action notices ( PAN). A PAN would require businesses to cease providing goods or services to promoters of tax avoidance where those goods or services are used in the...
On 9 March 2023, Ireland enacted the Central Bank ( Individual Accountability Framework) Act 2023 ( CB( IAF) A 2023 ( IRL)), introduced to reinforce the Central Bank’s fitness and probity framework and to elevate individual accountability within financial service providers. This Practice Note monitors policy and guidance evolution around the CB( IAF) A 2023 ( IRL), and highlights significant milestones, both historic and forthcoming. Key: ASP- Administrative Sanctions Procedure CBI- Central Bank of Ireland CPC- Consumer Protection Code FSB- Financial Stability Board F& P Regime- Fitness and Probity Regime IAF- Individual Accountability Framework CB( IAF) Act 2023 ( IRL)- Central Bank ( Individual Accountability Framework) Act 2023 NEDs- Non-executive directors PCF- Pre- Approved Controlled Function SEAR- Senior Executive Accountability Regime The IAF includes the following elements: SEAR Conduct Standards ...
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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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