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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 has been archived and is not maintained. The Construction horizon scanner tracks key forthcoming developments of interest to construction lawyers. When a development takes place, it is moved into the archive for the relevant year. This page is the archive for events that occurred in 2019. For case law, see: Construction law case tracker. Legislation What happened VAT reduced rate for energy-saving materials: the Value Added Tax ( Reduced Rate) ( Energy- Saving Materials) Order 2019, SI 2019/958, came into force. When? 1 October 2019 Find out more See: LNB News 21/05/2019 49. Note that the Order replaces SI 2019/954, which was withdrawn and re-registered as SI 2019/958 (see: LNB News 21/05/2019 84). Fire safety What happened? Building regulations ( Scotland): amendment to the Building ( Scotland) Regulations 2004, SSI 2004/406, under the Building ( Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019, SSI 2019/210. The amendment required buildings to be designed and built so that the...
Early neutral evaluation Early neutral evaluation is a type of alternative dispute resolution in which the parties invite an independent third party to provide a view on the merits of the case, or on particular issues within it. The evaluator will typically be a legal professional or a specialist in the relevant field. See Practice Note: Early Neutral Evaluation ( ENE). Early warning The early warning process features most prominently in the NEC3/ NEC4 suite of contracts, although the concept also appears in some other standard forms. It obliges the contracting parties to notify each other, as soon as either becomes aware of any matter that might increase the total cost, delay completion, or reduce the performance of the finished works, allowing the issue to be tackled proactively. For further details on the NEC context, see Practice Note: NEC—risk management ( The early warning...
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 Call-off The method, within a framework agreement, of directing particular works to be undertaken when needed, as appropriate. According to the arrangement's format and conditions, a call-off might demand that a separate contract is concluded, or it may simply need the instructing party to issue a call off notice. Refer to Practice Note: Framework agreements in construction—call-off procedures. CAR insurance Consult Contractor's all risk ( CAR) insurance below. Category A fit out Interior fit out provided to a fundamental standard for landlords/developers, typically. Pinning down the scope is challenging, as it can differ quite widely in practice. Nevertheless, guidance does exist, such as authoritative publications issued by the British Council for Offices. Category B fit out Interior fit out delivered to an exact...
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 Facilities management Facilities management contracting is, at its core, a commercial services contract arrangement, covering ‘ Hard FM’ (relating to the upkeep and fabric of a building, for example mechanical and electrical systems), ‘ Soft FM’ (relating to in-building support functions such as cleaning, security and helpdesk services) or ‘ Total FM’ (which can combine a number of hard and soft facilities management services), as required within buildings. See subtopic: Facilities management for construction lawyers. Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs- Conseils ( FIDIC) The International Federation of Consulting Engineers. FIDIC issues a suite of standard-form contracts for deployment on international construction projects. In common usage, ‘ FIDIC’ typically refers to that family of contracts rather than the institution itself. See...
ARCHIVED This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer updated. The Construction horizon scanner highlights forthcoming developments relevant to construction lawyers. When a development takes place, it is transferred to the archive for that year. This page holds items from 2016 (from March onwards). For a round-up of 2016’s main developments, see Construction end of year recap—2016. For a full catalogue of cases handed down in 2016, see Construction case tracker—2016 [ Archived]. Legislation Planning: Provisions of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 relating to the Secretary of State’s intervention in local and neighbourhood plan-making (ss 143–147) commenced on 1 October 2016. These measures recast the Secretary of State’s intervention powers in local plan-making to ensure every local planning authority has an adopted plan, which is crucial to increasing housing supply as local plans drive housing delivery. See News Analysis: Housing and...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. The Construction case tracker lists key 2017 judgments relevant to construction lawyers, arranged in reverse chronological order. See also: Construction case tracker Construction case tracker—2020 [ Archived] Construction case tracker—2019 [ Archived] Construction case tracker—2018 [ Archived] Construction case tracker—2016 [ Archived] Construction case tracker—2015 [ Archived] Public procurement cases are listed in the UK public procurement case tracker and the EU public procurement case tracker. December 2017 Ziggurat ( Claremont Place) LLP v HCC International Insurance Company plc [2017] EWHC 3286 ( TCC) — 20 December 2017 Bonds/insolvency: In Part 8 proceedings, the TCC issued declarations on the defendant surety’s liability to the claimant employer under a performance bond based on the ABI Model Form. The court concluded that, owing to a bespoke amendment, the...
FORTHCOMING CHANGES : At Budget 2025, the government confirmed it will legislate via Finance Bill 2026 (also known as the Finance ( No 2) Bill 2024–26) to introduce fresh powers for HMRC to counter fraud by businesses operating within the CIS. Mirroring VAT provisions that limit input tax recovery where a supplier knew, or ought to have known, that a supply was connected to the fraudulent evasion of VAT, the new CIS rules will: allow the immediate removal of a business’s gross payment status make the business responsible for any lost tax permit a penalty of 30% of the lost tax to be charged to the business, its directors, and other connected persons where it can be shown that the business knew, or should have known, that it entered into a transaction linked to the fraudulent evasion of...
FORTHCOMING CHANGES : At Budget 2025, the government confirmed it will legislate via Finance Bill 2026 (also referred to as Finance ( No 2) Bill 2024–26) to introduce fresh powers for HMRC to combat fraud by businesses operating within the CIS. Reflecting VAT rules that curtail input tax recovery where the supplier knew, or should have known, that a supply was linked to the fraudulent evasion of VAT, the new CIS provisions will: permit the immediate removal of a business’s gross payment status make the business accountable for tax that has been lost authorise a penalty of 30% of the lost tax to be levied on the business, its directors, and other connected persons, where it can be demonstrated that the business knew or ought to have known it had entered into a transaction connected with the fraudulent evasion of tax In...
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 ICC May denote the Infrastructure Conditions of Contract (see below) or the International Chamber of Commerce (see below). ICE Refer to Institution of Civil Engineers below. ICT contract In PFI/ PPP schemes with a substantial Information Communications Technology ( ICT) element (for example, a school), a distinct ICT contract is put in place between Project Co and an ICT contractor to provide ICT services and/or infrastructure. See Practice Note: Key documents in a PFI/ PF2 project. IFC Refer to Issued for construction below. Implied term A provision read into a contract in addition to those expressly agreed by the parties. Implied terms fall broadly into three types: implied by statute, by common law or by...
This Practice Note explores several key issues affecting construction contracts as a consequence of the coronavirus ( COVID-19) pandemic, and how these matters can be managed in both existing agreements already executed and agreements under negotiation. The pandemic, and the ensuing lockdown, restrictions and requirements for social distancing, also raise practical considerations that must be addressed, including those relating to the execution of documents. Existing contracts Contracts entered into before the pandemic began may suffer disadvantages when compared with contracts concluded after its onset. In most cases, these earlier agreements are unlikely to include specific clauses dealing with what should occur when a pandemic disrupts the carrying out of the works (and the impact of coronavirus would have been very difficult to anticipate). Parties who entered into contracts before coronavirus therefore have to rely on what, if anything, the current terms provide, or how they can be...
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 Named sub-contractor A sub-contractor designated by the employer within the specification or the employer’s requirements. The contractor assumes responsibility for the named sub-contractor’s procurement and design risks (as opposed to the position regarding nominated sub-contractors). See Practice Note: Sub-contracting in construction projects ( Types of sub-contractors). NEC3/ NEC4 The NEC contracts foster a collaborative ethos and are apt for procuring a broad range of works. The NEC3 suite was first released in 2005, and a later edition followed in 2013......
The general prohibition Pursuant to section 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ( FSMA 2000) (the general prohibition), no person may conduct a regulated activity unless authorised by the relevant regulator or otherwise exempt. Under FSMA 2000, s 23, a breach of FSMA 2000, s 19 may amount to a criminal offence. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ( Regulated Activities) Order 2001 ( RAO), SI 2001/544, art 66 ( Chapter XVII) sets out exclusions that apply to specified categories of regulated activity. These operate to remove certain activities from the scope of Regulated Activities for the purposes of FSMA 2000, s 19. For an outline of the various general exclusions in place, see RAO, SI 2001/544. RAO, SI 2001/544, art 72B, as amended, provides a general exclusion from the perimeter of regulated activities for...
This Practice Note offers a concise guide to UK competition law for commercial contracts. It summarises the principal elements of the legal regime, with opening sections on the main categories of commercial agreements relevant to competition law and a sketch of the rules that govern each. It aims to set context and flag what may warrant deeper consideration. It also signposts other Practice Notes and Checklists so readers can locate more detail on specific subjects. This Practice Note centres on anti-competitive agreements under Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 ( CA 1998). It does not address other areas of UK competition law, such as abuse of dominance under Chapter II of the CA 1998, or merger control. Note that Chapter I of the CA 1998 covers not only written contracts but also far looser arrangements. It is assumed here that the reader is...
This summarises completed UK antitrust enforcement actions since 2016. Further details on concluded CMA, OFT and sectoral regulator behavioural probes appear in UK behavioural investigations under Article 101 TFEU/ Chapter I Competition Act—closed cases tracker and UK behavioural investigations......
UK competition law UK competition law polices anti-competitive behaviour, oversees merger control and promotes competitive markets. The Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA) is the principal UK competition authority. Created by the merger of the OFT and the Competition Commission, it took over enforcing competition law in the UK on 1 April 2014. The CMA, together with other concurrent competition authorities, has powers to: enforce prohibitions on anti-competitive agreements and on abuse of a dominant position (see further, Chapter I prohibition and Chapter II prohibition) bring criminal prosecutions against individuals responsible for implementing hardcore cartels (see further, The UK criminal cartel offence) seek director disqualification orders against directors involved in competition law breaches (see further, Director disqualification) investigate UK mergers and block them or require remedies where they would result in a substantial lessening of competition (see further, UK merger...
This Practice Note gives a concise summary of the nature and significance of competition law and sets out actions you can take to identify and reduce competition law risks specific to your organisation. It is designed to help you keep your business compliant with competition law and to recognise when others are engaging in unlawful anti-competitive conduct. Finally, it explains the steps you can take if you believe competition law has been breached. Why complying with competition law matters Competition benefits both companies and consumers. It exposes where firms should improve and prompts organisations to pursue greater efficiency, become more innovative and productive, and ultimately operate as stronger businesses. Competition law exists to protect businesses and consumers from anti-competitive behaviour and to safeguard effective competition. Every business must comply with competition law and there can be serious consequences for businesses and...
Land agreements Few would instinctively link land agreements with competition law, yet it is important to avoid arrangements that may trigger such concerns. A land agreement is one that creates, varies, transfers or ends an interest in land. Illustrations include: a contract for the sale of the freehold a lease assignments of leasehold interests agreements concerning easements licences and, in Scotland, interests under a lease and other heritable rights in or over land, such as heritable securities Historically, land agreements were carved out from the UK ban on anti-competitive agreements under section 2 of the Competition Act 1998 (the Chapter I prohibition). However, during the Competition Commission’s investigation into the groceries sector, issues were identified with grocery retailers using restrictive covenants to stop land being developed for competing supermarkets. In practice, this operated as a barrier to entry. The UK...
From 31 January 2020, the UK was no longer an EU Member State, having left the Union. Under the Withdrawal Agreement, an 11-month transition (implementation) period ran until 31 December 2020, during which EU law continued to apply in full. EU legislation made or brought into effect after 31 December 2020 ( IP completion day) does not bind the UK at all. For EU legislation predating 31 December 2020, a new class of domestic law—retained EU law—was created by the European Union ( Withdrawal) Act 2018 and then the European Union ( Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020; related pre-2021 case law continued to have effect in the UK. For further information and background, see Practice Notes: Brexit—key legislation explained and Retained EU law and assimilated law. The Retained EU Law ( Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 further amended this position from the end of 2023,...
This table summarises all public announcements made by the CMA and concurrent sector regulators of dawn raids that have been carried out into alleged breaches of competition law since 2000 under the Competition Act 1998 and/or the Enterprise Act 2002 2024: Construction (roofing services) — companies not identified; CMA; suspected restrictive agreements—bid rigging; raid in 2024. 2021: Leicester City FC merchandise — CMA; alleged restrictive agreements—price collusion; raid in 2021. 2019: Supply of construction services — CMA; collusion—bid rigging; raid in 2019. 2019: Guitars (50565-3) — Fender Musical Instruments Europe Ltd; CMA; restrictive agreements— RPM; raid on 26/03/2019. 2018: Casio (digital pianos/keyboards) (50565-2) — CMA; restrictive agreements— RPM. Headings: 2024 — Case name, companies under investigation and industry; Competition authority; Issues; Date of dawn raid. 2021 — Case name, companies under investigation and industry; Competition authority; Issues; Date of dawn raid. 2019 —...
This table collates and outlines all concluded claims relating to an infringement decision or an alleged breach of UK competition law, and (for claims lodged before 1 January 2021) EU competition law, that have been publicly acknowledged before the CAT or the UK courts. Given the volume of private actions before the UK courts, completed cases are grouped as: Trucks Air freight Cathode ray tubes and liquid crystal display ( LCD) Motor vehicle components Google Master Card— MIFs Visa— MIFs Polyurethane foam Power cables Other actions Collective actions ‘ Pay-for-delay’ For ongoing actions, see UK private actions—ongoing cases tracker. Note—we have only used public sources to follow High Court cases; proceedings prior to judgment may therefore not appear in 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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