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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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CASE HUB ARCHIVED This archived case hub captures the position as at the date the deal was called off, 22 April 2022; it is no longer being maintained. See also the timeline. Case facts Overview of the European Commission’s merger review of the planned acquisition by Kingspan Group plc of Trimo, arhitekturne rešitve, d.o.o. ( M.9938). The planned deal entailed a horizontal overlap in the supply of mineral fibre sandwich panels. Latest developments On 22 April 2022, the parties withdrew their notification to the Commission and stated that the transaction had been dropped. Parties Kingspan Group plc ( Kingspan): Based in Ireland. Its core activities include manufacturing sandwich panels, insulation, light & air solutions, water & energy, and data & flooring technology......
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note sets out the different iterations of the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP) guidance on the Kickstart Scheme, and includes tracked-change editions, highlighting amendments from one release to the next, so practitioners can determine which iteration of the applicable guidance was in force on any specific date. It is no longer maintained and is provided for background purposes only. For information on the Kickstart Scheme generally, see the Practice Note: Kickstart Scheme— CLOSED......
ARCHIVED This Practice Note is archived, not updated, and supplied solely for reference and background information. It has been withdrawn and is no longer maintained or kept under review. It concerns the Kickstart Scheme, which stopped accepting new applications on 18 December 2021. The Kickstart Scheme sat within a suite of government programmes made available to employers considering hiring staff or offering work experience opportunities. As set out in the government guidance titled ' Plan for Jobs' skills and employment programmes: information for employers, apprenticeships are another relevant programme also available. For further details: on apprenticeships, see Practice Notes: Apprenticeships and Apprenticeships in Scotland on other skills and employment programmes for employers, see the government guidance: ' Plan for Jobs' skills and employment programmes: information for employers The Kickstart Scheme offers funding to employers to establish new six-month roles (previously called job...
Looking at key cases in the world of commercial and contract law in England and Wales and from the Court of Justice between 2013 and 2016 For decisions after 1 January 2017, see: Commercial Tracker. For public procurement case law, please consult the detailed UK public procurement case tracker and EU public procurement case tracker curated by our colleagues in Lexis® Public Law. High Court Case 118 Data Resource Ltd v IDS Data Services Ltd: [2014] EWHC 3629 ( Ch), [2014] All ER ( D) 57 ( Nov) Key date: Judgment date: 5 November 2014 Where we are: Contract: the claimant (licensor) and the respondent (licensee) operated competing ventures assembling and commercialising databases of UK business contact information. Although rivals, in April 2009 the licensor granted the licensee a licence to use its database. The licensor later suspected the licensee had breached...
The Property key future developments tracker monitors significant forthcoming developments of interest to property lawyers. After a development takes place, it is transferred to the archive for the appropriate year. This is the archive of events that took place in 2019. Appeal matters What is happening? When? Find out more Town and village greens — registration and statutory incompatibility R (on the application of Lancashire County Council) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and another; R (on the application of NHS Property Services Ltd) v Surrey County Council and another, [2019] UKSC 58 The Supreme Court delivered its judgment on Wednesday 11 December 2019. The Supreme Court upheld two connected appeals against the Court of Appeal’s determination concerning registration of land as a town and village green ( TVG). It confirms that land obtained and held by a local authority in exercise of general...
A list of useful website links to professional groups for family lawyers Resolution www.resolution.org.uk Family Law Bar Association www.flba.co.uk NAGALRO www.nagalro.com Association of Lawyers for Children www.alc.org.uk Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service www.cafcass.gov.uk ......
ARCHIVED This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. It sits within a collection of archived Practice Notes that collate and summarise significant historic case law decisions and principles concerning public procurement law. The majority of the entries are older authorities, decided before the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 came into force. For updates on current case law, see: UK public procurement case tracker EU public procurement case tracker This Practice Note focuses on matters to address before commencing procurement. Effective pre-procurement planning is vital to choosing the right procedure and embedding robust project management within the procurement process. Without proper preparation, a contracting authority risks running an inefficient process, procuring a solution that is not fit for purpose, and exposing the award to potential challenge. For further reading, see: Pre-procurement...
ARCHIVED This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. It examines notable decisions of the Pensions Ombudsman and the courts up to 2017 concerning the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, remedial powers and various procedural issues, together with the standards applied to ill-health retirement determinations. For additional detail on key themes from recent Pensions Ombudsman determinations—covering interpretation of scheme rules, the duties of trustees/providers, trustee/provider communications with members, employer duties, pension liberation, and the Ombudsman’s role/jurisdiction—see Practice Note: The Pensions Ombudsman—key themes from the determinations. The Pensions Ombudsman’s determinations do not amount to binding precedents, whether for the same Pensions Ombudsman or for his or her successors in office. Nonetheless, they are valuable as guidance. Traditionally, cases are cited by the complainant’s name along with the reference number assigned by the Ombudsman’s office (a letter signifies the year the complaint was received, followed by a unique...
STOP PRESS: The UK’s prospectus regime stems from the EU Prospectus Regulation, which was preserved in domestic law after Brexit as the UK Prospectus Regulation. The UK has been reassessing this regime as part of wider capital markets reforms designed to strengthen the UK’s appeal as a listing venue. Consequently, the UK Prospectus Regulation will be superseded by the Public Offers and Admission to Trading Regulations 2024 (the POATRs), with the granular admission to trading requirements to be set out in Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) admission rules. The FCA issued its final rules ( PS25/9) on 15 July 2025. The new regime is expected to commence on 19 January 2026. For more detail on the principal elements of the POATRs framework relevant to debt capital markets, see Practice Note: The UK Prospectus...
ARCHIVED: this retired Practice Note is no longer updated and exists for background information only...
LMA REF Term Sheets The Loan Market Association ( LMA) has issued two English law term sheet templates for real estate finance ( REF) transactions. They are: the LMA term sheet for a single currency term facility agreement for multi-property investment transactions (the LMA REF Investment Term Sheet), and the LMA term sheet for a single currency term facility agreement for single property development transactions (the LMA REF Development Term Sheet) This Practice Note considers the risk-free rate versions of the LMA REF Investment Term Sheet and the LMA REF Development Term Sheet, collectively referred to as the ‘ LMA REF Term Sheets’. The LMA REF Term Sheets contain the standard provisions you would anticipate in a loan term sheet. This Practice Note highlights the principal features of the LMA REF Term Sheets that are particular to real estate finance...
What are investment-grade, high yield and crossover bonds? Investment grade ( IG) bonds are debt instruments that hold an IG credit rating: BBB and above on the S& P and Fitch scales, and Baa3 and above on the Moody’s scale (for further detail on credit ratings, see Practice Note: Credit ratings). IG issuers are usually sizeable blue‑chip corporates—well‑known, well‑established and well‑capitalised—and are often companies with shares listed on a major stock exchange. Aside from sovereign bonds of developed markets, IG securities are widely regarded as among the safest income‑generating investments. As a consequence of this perceived safety, IG bonds tend to offer lower yields than high yield ( HY) bonds. Many institutional investors and pension schemes operate policies and mandates that constrain their bond holdings to assets with, on average, lower default risk, such as IG instruments or government...
PI & Clinical negligence horizon scanner— October 2025 [ Archived] Archived: This Practice Note is archived and is not being maintained. It provides a concise overview of the principal legal developments relevant to personal injury and clinical negligence practitioners as at 1 October 2025. For updates predating this horizon scanner, consult PI and Clinical Negligence horizon scanning and key cases—overview. Key PI and clinical negligence developments RTA Small Claims Pre- Action Protocol ( PAP) updates—in force 1 October 2025: The Master of the Rolls has approved changes to the Pre- Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims below the Small Claims Limit arising from road traffic accidents ( RTA Small Claims Protocol), effective from 1 October 2025. The revisions address the handling of non- Protocol vehicle costs ( NVC) within the Official Injury Claim Portal. Previously, both claimants and compensators had to upload NVC forms...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. Introduction It provides an overview of the business considered at the CPR Committee ( CPRC) meeting on 10 May 2019, of interest to general dispute resolution practitioners. The session was held in public before a number of interested members of the public, who had applied to attend and observe the proceedings. The agenda ranged widely, covering the County Court Legal Adviser Pilot— Final Charging Orders CPR PD51T, witness evidence from non- English speakers, the new lacuna sub-committee, online civil money claims, the JUSTICE report ‘ Understanding Courts’, the disclosure pilot scheme under CPR PD 51U, forms in the Business and Property Courts, enforcement, litigants in person, expert evidence on interim applications, public hearings, statements of truth and statements of case, digital case management systems, and general court reform. This Practice Note provides a...
Why you need to manage this risk Key business assets are the organisation’s possessions that are critical to ongoing operations; their loss would seriously hamper the organisation’s ability to continue operating. As with assets generally, a key asset might be tangible (for example, a paperclip or a factory) or intangible (for example, a patent or software)......
The major arbitral institutions Leading arbitral bodies are familiar with overseeing disputes across the technology, media and telecoms ( TMT) arena. The 2016 International Dispute Resolution Survey by Queen Mary University of London and Pinsent Masons, ‘ Pre‑empting and Resolving Technology, Media and Telecoms Disputes’, found that the International Chamber of Commerce ( ICC) was used by a clear majority (64% had instructed it on TMT disputes in the preceding five years). It was followed by the World Intellectual Property Organisation ( WIPO) at 38%—especially for IP matters—and the London Court of International Arbitration ( LCIA) at 29%. As to preferences reported in the 2021 International Arbitration Survey by Queen Mary University of London and White & Case, ‘ Adapting Arbitration to a Changing World’, users most favoured: ICC (57%) Singapore International Arbitration Centre ( SIAC) (49%) Hong Kong...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained The Property case tracker brings together all key 2022 judgments that we regard as relevant to property lawyers, presented in reverse chronological order. Cases appear in reverse chronological order, with the most recent decisions first. The tracker adopts the following definitions: AST: assured shorthold tenancy CVA: company voluntary arrangement FTT: First-tier Tribunal HMO: house in multiple occupation LPA: local planning authority NPPF: National Planning Policy Framework RRO: rent repayment order RTM: right to manage TCC: Technology and Construction Court UT: Upper Tribunal ( Lands Chamber) VTE: Valuation Tribunal for England See also the Property key future developments tracker, which follows the progress and outcome of appeal cases and their results; by contrast, this document offers a summary of all cases we consider pertinent to property lawyers generally, from 2022, in this field. See further: Property case...
ARCHIVED : A persistent challenge for dispute resolution specialists is staying abreast of developments in case law that influence their practice area, or affect civil litigation procedure more generally. This Practice Note distils the principal appeal decisions in England and Wales (ie rulings of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court and, where appropriate, selected judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union ( Court of Justice)) that we have covered, giving users straightforward access to those rulings; see: Key civil litigation appeals in review—2021. You can navigate this material via the table of contents on the left-hand side, or search the tracker using [ CTRL]+[ F]. The Practice Note also highlights a number of forthcoming appeals, where identified, to support horizon scanning. It is not designed to be a comprehensive catalogue of every appeal and/or significant ruling of interest to dispute...
ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note outlined significant legal developments anticipated to affect corporate lawyers in 2018, and has not been updated since that year. To follow legal and regulatory changes on particular themes, refer to our Trackers: Markets in Financial Instruments Directive ( Mi FID II) and Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation ( Mi FIR)—timeline (2007–2023) [ Archived] EU Prospectus Regulation tracker (2001–2020) Transparency Directive tracker [ Archived] Listing Rules tracker Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules Sourcebook tracker Prospectus Rules tracker The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act—company law reforms [ Archived] Our Market Standards deal analysis tool, featuring over 3,000 public company deal summaries, is available here. We also provide in-depth coverage of current corporate practice trends through our principal trend reports, alongside mini-trend pieces and News Analysis. For recent...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. Court of Appeal—retrospective applications to extend time for the appellant's notice analogous to relief from sanctions applications The Court of Appeal has confirmed that requests made after the deadline to extend time for filing an appellant’s notice are to be treated as akin to applications for relief from sanctions. Consequently, the approach in Mitchell and Denton governs such bids in full. This equivalence follows over twelve years of case law recognising an implied penalty for breaching the timetable in CPR 52.4(2): namely, forfeiture of the opportunity to seek to pursue an appeal. The ruling helpfully assists practitioners by dispelling confusion about the scope and effect of CPR 52.4 and/or CPR 52.6. It also canvasses further specific factors relevant to late notices of appeal and compliance with case management directions, including the clear...
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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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