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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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ARCHIVED This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. UK insurers must submit annual accounts pursuant to the Companies Act 2006. An insurer’s accounts are also governed by additional reporting frameworks, including UK Financial Reporting Standards issued by the Financial Reporting Council, or International Financial Reporting Standards from the International Accounting Standards Board (mandated in the EU by the International Accounting Standards Regulation and optional for UK insurers). While insurers share the usual corporate duties to disclose general accounting measures such as operating ratio and gross profit, they must also make specific premium-related declarations in their financial accounts and to their regulators, the Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority ( PRA). This Practice Note serves as an introduction to key terminology used in relation to insurers’ accounts and how these terms apply in practice. For a general...
What are insurance linked securities? Insurance Linked Securities ( ILS) are an alternative route to manage risk for insurance and reinsurance businesses. The Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) defines ILS as financial instruments whose value is tied to an insurable loss event. Unlike traditional protection placed with a reinsurer, ILS provide insurers and reinsurers with a way to shift risk to the capital markets. An ILS transaction typically involves several steps. What is an insurance special purpose vehicle? An insurance special purpose vehicle ( ISPV) is a structure or entity established solely to assume specified contractual risks from an insurer or reinsurer. If an ISPV simultaneously undertakes more than one risk‑transfer contract from one or more cedants, it is termed a multi‑arrangement ISPV ( MISPV). Entities wishing to operate in the UK as an ISPV must apply to the Prudential Regulatory Authority ( PRA) for...
IPT is an indirect levy on insurance premiums. Unless an exemption applies, IPT is imposed as a percentage of the premium paid on particular categories of insurance policies issued by particular categories of insurers that cover risks situated in the UK. The economic burden of IPT is usually carried by the policyholder, yet the tax itself is accounted for and paid to HMRC by the insurer by reference to three-month accounting periods. Strictly, the premium includes IPT. As a result, the legislation differentiates between the premium and the ‘chargeable amount’ (the amount before IPT is added). The premium equals the chargeable amount plus IPT. For further details on what ‘premium’ means for IPT purposes, see: Premium below. IPT is due at 12% of the chargeable amount, the standard rate, unless the premium falls within the higher rate of...
What is the difference between an agent and a broker? Where insurance is arranged through an intermediary, that party is typically either an insurance agent (who generally represents a particular insurer or a number of insurers) or an insurance broker (who usually represents the insurance purchaser). Insurance agents Insurance agents have contractual appointments with insurers that define the products they may offer and how they are remunerated. A ‘captive agent’ focuses on a single insurer’s products, while an ‘independent agent’ can work with multiple insurers. The agent’s role is to bring insurance business to their principal(s). Insurance brokers As the buyer’s representative, a broker is independent. Brokers prepare and submit applications to insurers for their clients. During placement, they obtain a temporary contract, known as a ‘binder’, signed by an authorised representative of the insurer. After the transition period (often 30 or 60 days), the binder is...
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z This glossary provides helpful (re)insurance and underwriting definitions. For focused guidance on reinsurance terminology, see Practice Note: Reinsurance—essentials. A Accident An unforeseen or unintended event or incident that typically results in damage or injury (physical or financial) to the insured or a third party. Accidental damage Unintended or unexpected harm or damage caused to property or a person. Accidental death benefit Some life insurance policies pay an extra amount, over and above the original sum insured, if the insured dies because of an accident. Act of God (force majeure) An occurrence beyond anyone’s control, such as a natural disaster. Active underwriter The person with primary responsibility and authority to accept insurance and...
Why you need to manage this risk Information is a valuable asset, and safeguarding it underpins an organisation’s commercial success. It cannot be addressed in a vacuum, as it overlaps with cyber security, data protection, records management and the control of physical spaces. Although every business relies on technology to store and process information, deploying advanced IT will not make your company invulnerable. Criminals online are just as, if not more, sophisticated, and the human element must not be overlooked—your own people can, accidentally or deliberately, expose the organisation to data loss or a cyber attack. This guide recognises that most in-house lawyers and compliance professionals are not information security experts, nor are they typically accountable for it within their organisation; that duty commonly sits with the IT department. Nevertheless, when an information security breach arises, it is usually the in-house legal team and/or...
In-house lawyers This Practice Note outlines resources within the Banking & Finance module that an in-house banking and finance lawyer may find helpful. It is aimed at lawyers in banks and other financial institutions and covers: lending security guarantees and comfort letters on demand guarantees/bonds and letters of credit set-off and netting It also addresses specialist finance areas: acquisition finance asset finance Islamic finance project finance real estate finance trade and commodity finance debt capital markets derivatives structured products and securitisation Technology in banking & finance transactions and Sustainable finance and ESG are included. For fuller detail on restructuring, refer to the Restructuring & Insolvency module. This Practice Note also points to other useful Banking & Finance module resources for in-house lawyers, including current awareness and keeping up to date, and cross border. Please also see...
Residence nil rate band ( RNRB) This Practice Note outlines the residence nil rate band ( RNRB), once called the additional threshold and also referred to as the residential nil rate band or residential property nil rate band. It sets out what the RNRB is, when it can apply, how the figure is worked out and also the process for claiming it in practice. Although this Practice Note includes some links to worked examples, customers are directed to Practice Note: Q& As for extensive links to Q& As and worked examples showing how the RNRB operates across different practical situations and various scenarios in practice. The RNRB sits alongside the basic NRB and can further cut the inheritance tax ( IHT) due on death. It is set against the taxable value of the estate, but unlike the basic NRB it is confined to being...
Introduction The principal legislation in the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 ( IHTA 1984) and the earlier capital transfer tax system left a gap. Nothing stopped a person aiming to limit inheritance tax ( IHT) on death from making a lifetime transfer (hoping to live at least seven years thereafter) yet keeping the use or enjoyment of what was given. As a result, under those rules, someone could, in effect, divest their home for IHT purposes while still living in it. Section 102 and Schedule 20 to the Finance Act 1986 ( FA 1986) introduced the gift with reservation of benefit ( GWR or GROB) rules to shut this loophole. When the GROB rules bite, the gifted asset (or, in some circumstances, a replacement) is generally treated as remaining within the donor’s estate for IHT while the donor continues to benefit. The rules can apply where, among...
ARCHIVED: Trustees of a relevant property trust become liable to inheritance tax ( IHT) at each ten-year anniversary after the trust was set up. This levy is also described as: the principal charge the periodic charge the ten-year charge the decennial charge This Practice Note outlines how to calculate the tax due where the ten-year anniversary occurred before 18 November 2015 and the trust was established after 27 March 1974. Modifications to aspects of the calculation were introduced by the Finance ( No 2) Act ( F( No 2) A 2015). The approach now used for occasions of charge arising on or after 18 November 2015 is set out in Practice Note: Relevant property trusts—the principal (ten-year) charge. For what constitutes relevant property and how to identify the date of the anniversary, see Practice Note: The meaning of relevant...
Follow the link below to download the presentation. Contents Updates to APR/ BPR Transfer between spouses Reasons asset targeting falls short APR/ BPR trust clause Funding the trust Case study Case study solution Anti‑fragmentation Administration checklist Client communications Pitfalls and risks Summary These Power Point slides are designed as a foundation for a training session on Agricultural and Business Property Relief for the relevant fee earners. The presenter can tailor them—by trimming or expanding the points—to match the audience. How to use these slides Allow around two minutes per slide, and use the case study for a 20‑minute breakout. If more depth is required, the content can be delivered over two or three separate training sessions. Further reading Autumn Budget 2024— Private Client analysis Hot topic—the reform of business property relief and...
Background Business property relief ( BPR) BPR applies to defined types of company shares and other assets meeting set conditions. The relief given depends on the type of share or property and is presently either 50% or 100% of the full value of the qualifying interest. For more detail, see Practice Note: IHT—business property relief. Shares in a trading company not quoted on a recognised stock exchange currently attract 100% BPR under IHTA 1984, s 105(1)(bb). Holdings quoted on the Alternative Investment Market ( AIM) are treated as unlisted and so also qualify for 100% BPR. At Autumn Budget 2024, the government set out plans to materially scale back BPR on eligible property from 6 April 2026. The 100% relief will be capped, ceasing to cover the entire value of qualifying business property and instead applying only to the first £2.5m from 6 April 2026. This cap was...
Since the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 ( IHTA 1984) took effect in 1985, the government has aimed to curb how much people can dispose of while alive, either by punishing any retained benefit from a gift or by raising the fiscal load on trusts set up in life. Today’s inheritance tax ( IHT) framework for lifetime transfers is paradoxically straightforward and intricate: straightforward as any effort to part with assets during life may attract IHT of some sort depending on your objective; intricate due to successive tiers of rules and anti-avoidance provisions added over time. At the same time, the structure appears clear, as lifetime gifting generally falls within scope depending on intention, yet remains demanding because of successive anti-avoidance layers and rules that have accumulated through later changes. Potentially exempt transfers ( PETs) These represent the most typical gifts and are often...
This Practice Note This Practice Note outlines the principal anti-avoidance tools on which HMRC typically depend to counter inheritance tax ( IHT) avoidance in the UK. The core IHT framework is set out in a number of separate Practice Notes, which are cited where appropriate. Although not always formulated as targeted anti-avoidance rules, there are a range of conditions and statutory provisions that limit access to IHT reliefs and exemptions (for example, the criteria for sections 142 and 144 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 ( IHTA 1984) to operate after a deed of variation or an appointment from a discretionary trust within two years of death), and these fall outside the scope of this Practice Note. Individuals should ensure they understand the UK tax consequences of lifetime arrangements, gifts, or transfers, including how such steps may influence the taxation of their estate on...
Estates—inheritance tax Inheritance tax ( IHT) applies across the UK and is not a devolved levy. As a result, Scottish individuals and assets are subject to IHT on the same basis as those in England and Wales. A person who is long-term resident in the UK brings their worldwide assets within the IHT net. Those who are not long-term UK resident are chargeable only on UK-situs assets. The Lexis+® Private Client module contains substantial material likely to assist Scottish practitioners, highlighted below. For introductory material on IHT, see the following Practice Notes: Introductory guide to IHT IHT—valuation principles and particular types of property IHT—the charge on death Funding inheritance tax See also the following subtopics: Estates—inheritance tax—overview Inheritance tax ( IHT)—overview Compliance and administration Personal representatives ( PRs) must submit estate asset valuations using Form IHT400, together with the other relevant...
Note on Public Procurement Post- Brexit The Implementation Period under the EU– UK Withdrawal Agreement ended at 11:00 pm GMT on 31 December 2020 ( IP Completion Day). From that point, the changes brought in by the Public Procurement ( Amendment etc) ( EU Exit) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/13/19, to EU-derived public procurement law took effect, except for the amendments in Regulations 7, 9, 11 and 16. This Practice Note has been revised to reflect these post- Brexit developments. The UK government has also released high-level post- Brexit procurement guidance, updated after IP Completion Day: Public procurement policy and Public-sector procurement. For more detail, see Practice Note: Brexit—the implications for public procurement [ Archived]. Scope of this Practice Note This Practice Note reviews the institutions and government departments responsible for delivering infrastructure projects in the UK—particularly public private partnerships ( PPP or P3), the private finance...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 19 June 2025, the Data ( Use and Access) Bill secured Royal Assent, was retitled the Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025 ( DUAA 2025), and took partial effect the same day. Parts 5 and 6 revise elements of UK data protection and e Privacy law, touching the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Assimilated Regulation ( EU) 2016/679 ( UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications ( EC Directive) Regulations 2003, SI 2003/2426. Some DUAA 2025 provisions—covering, for example, responses to data subject access requests and the grant of powers to make additional regulations—commenced immediately on 19 June 2025. Others—relating to Information Commissioner notices and certain facets of law enforcement processing—start on 19 August 2025 (two months after Royal Assent). Most remaining measures will need further regulations, via statutory...
ARCHIVED This Practice Note is archived and is no longer maintained. At 11 pm ( GMT) on 31 December 2020, the implementation period—put in place to allow the UK to move away from the EU’s laws and institutions—came to a close. At this point in time (described in this document as ‘ IP completion day’), there was an immediate and significant shift in the UK’s legal regime. This Note outlines the implications of that change for the following areas of Information Law and practice: Overview—what happened on 31 December 2020 Access to EEA workers Commercial arrangements Data protection (excluding matters relating to law enforcement processing and intelligence services processing) e Privacy Cybersecurity Databases Public sector information Confidential information Reputation management For a tracker of key Information Law Brexit legislation and guidance, see Practice Note:...
ARCHIVED : This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note charts significant developments and guidance focused on Brexit in the Information Law sphere. It is organised into the following sections: Data protection e Privacy Databases Cybersecurity Public sector information State security and intelligence This note does not cover general Brexit developments; for those, see Practice Note: Brexit timeline. To follow the progress of UK legislation introduced as part of preparations for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, see Practice Note: Brexit legislation tracker. On 31 January 2020 (exit day), the UK was no longer an EU Member State and lost the right to participate in the EU’s political institutions and governance structures. Under the transitional provisions in Part 4 of the Withdrawal Agreement, exit day began an 11-month implementation period during which, for many purposes, the EU continued to treat the UK as if it were a Member...
STOP PRESS: On 19 June 2025, the Data ( Use and Access) Bill attained Royal Assent, becoming the Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025 ( DUAA 2025) and partly commencing that same day. Provisions addressing matters such as handling data subject access requests and granting powers to make further regulations took effect immediately on 19 June 2025. Other elements, including notices from the Information Commissioner and certain aspects of law enforcement processing, commenced on 19 August 2025 (two months after Royal Assent). Most of DUAA 2025’s measures require additional regulations, in the form of statutory instruments, before they can be brought into force. Parts 5 and 6 modify aspects of UK data protection and e Privacy law, including the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Assimilated Regulation ( EU) 2016/679 ( UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and...
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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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