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This Practice Note outlines the law concerning criminal recklessness. The subjective test for recklessness Certain statutory and common law offences allow the prosecution to prove mens rea through ‘recklessness’. Put simply, recklessness is where the accused takes an unjustified risk that results in unlawful harm or damage. The House of Lords in R v G reaffirmed the subjective approach to recklessness. Before R v G, two distinct tests were used, depending on the offence charged: Subjective recklessness from R v Cunningham: the prosecution had to establish that the accused personally foresaw the risk. Objective recklessness from R v Caldwell: the prosecution only needed to show that the risk would have been obvious to a reasonable person, without proving the accused themselves foresaw it. In R v G, the House of Lords concluded that the objective test could operate unfairly where a defendant did not foresee the
This Practice Note examines the remedy of rescission, explaining when and in what manner a contract can be unwound (at common law, in equity and under statute) and thereby terminated and brought to an end. It covers the consequences and effects of rescission, the principal grounds for setting aside an agreement (misrepresentation, mistake, undue influence, duress, non‑disclosure, fiduciary misdealing and bribery) and the main obstacles to claiming rescission—affirmation, the intervention of third‑party rights and the impossibility of restitution. For further guidance on rescission in the context of misrepresentation, see Practice Note: Misrepresentation—rescission as a remedy. There are many ways in which a contract may reach its end; see: Terminating contracts—how and when a contract ends—overview for a brief and accessible summary, with links to the related further practical guidance, including Practice Note: Termination and expiry of contracts. For a table
What is a res judicata? A res judicata is a determination by a court or tribunal with jurisdiction over the cause of action and the parties, which finally disposes of the issues decided so they cannot be litigated again by those bound, save on appeal. Final judgments entered by default or by consent fall within this concept, whereas rulings on purely procedural points and any decision lacking finality do not. The doctrine’s aim is to bring litigation to an end and shield parties from being harassed by the same dispute twice. in personam—binds the parties and their privies in rem—binds all persons, privy or otherwise (ie a judgment binding the whole world) A party may rely on res judicata: as an estoppel to defeat an opponent’s claim or defence; and/or as the basis of their own claim or
The offence of causing grievous bodily harm with intent Wounding or causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent can be tried solely in the Crown Court on indictment. Elements of the offence Under the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (OATPA 1861), the prosecution must establish that the defendant unlawfully and maliciously: wounded with the intention of causing GBH, or caused GBH with that intention, or wounded intending to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person, or caused GBH intending to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person ‘Unlawfully’ and ‘maliciously’ Unlawfully The wounding or causing of GBH must be unlawful. Such conduct may be lawful if used: in self-defence in defence of another in defence of property for the prevention of crime where the victim gave express or implied consent For further information on these defences, see below:
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At some stage, every employer will encounter staff dissatisfaction. For this reason, employers need a clear route to handle complaints. A well-run grievance procedure helps settle disagreements and supports a contented workforce. What is a grievance? Under the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures, grievances are the concerns, issues or complaints employees bring to their employer. The non‑statutory Acas guidance, Discipline and grievances at work, recognises that anyone in an organisation may at some point face worries about their job, conditions, or colleague relationships that they wish to raise with management. They expect the matter to be taken seriously and, where possible, resolved. Management likewise benefits from tackling problems early, before they escalate into significant difficulties for everyone. employment terms and conditions health and safety working relationships bullying and harassment new ways of working work...
UK GDPR regime This material examines the UK GDPR framework, with legislative references pointing to Assimilated Regulation ( EU) 2016/679, the UK General Data Protection Regulation ( UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 ( DPA 2018), unless specified otherwise. It reflects the provisions of the Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025 ( DUAA 2025) in force on 5 February 2026 (see Practice Note: Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025—employment implications). For broader guidance on workplace data protection, consult the following Practice Notes: The UK GDPR and DPA 2018: key data protection issues for employment lawyers The UK GDPR and DPA 2018: lawful processing of personal data in employment For a fuller overview of the UK GDPR, refer to Practice Note: The UK General Data Protection Regulation ( UK GDPR). Throughout recruitment and selection, employers must process—ie collect, use and...
This Practice Note outlines and introduces the principal forms of alternative dispute resolution used in Ireland—direct negotiation, mediation, adjudication, arbitration and conciliation—setting out their key characteristics and the main governing statutes: the Mediation Act 2017 ( Ireland) ( MA 2017 ( IRL)), the Construction Contracts Act 2013 ( Ireland) ( CCA 2013 ( IRL)) and the Arbitration Act 2010 ( Ireland) ( AA 2010 ( IRL)). Forms of alternative dispute resolution ADR offers a voluntary route in place of litigation for resolving civil disputes. In Ireland, the leading methods—arbitration, mediation, direct negotiation and construction adjudication—will be familiar to practitioners across other common law jurisdictions. Conciliation, by contrast, although widely used domestically for both employment and construction disputes, will often be unfamiliar to those practising elsewhere. There is also limited uptake of other tools on the ADR spectrum, such as expert...
This Practice Note addresses general damages in relation to personal injuries and will consider: What are general damages Personal Injuries Resolution Board ( PIRB) Level of damages in each court Book of Quantum ( BOQ) Personal Injuries Guidelines ( PIG) Assessing damages for multiple injuries How payments of damages awards are made Reduction in awards of general damages What are general damages General damages are compensation awarded to a person for the pain and suffering experienced as a result of a personal injury. They cover harm endured to date and what is anticipated in the future, and include both physical harm and psychiatric injury. They are distinct from special damages, which reimburse out-of-pocket losses (such as medical or travel expenses) and loss of earnings arising from the injury. When valuing general damages, there should be an...
This Practice Note is directed at commercial organisations operating in the UK. It should be read alongside, and in tandem with, Practice Note: How to manage modern slavery and human trafficking risk. Why you need to manage this risk Modern slavery causes profound harm and suffering. Every business is urged to take proactive steps to ensure they are not complicit in such practices, whether deliberately or inadvertently. Beyond the ethical and moral imperative, MSA 2015, s 54 obliges large commercial organisations (those with total turnover of £36m or above) to prepare and publish, each year, an annual modern slavery and human trafficking statement. Non-compliance with MSA 2015 may prompt the Secretary of State to pursue an injunction in the High Court (or, in Scotland, civil proceedings for specific performance) compelling the organisation to comply. If the organisation then ignores the injunction, it risks contempt of court, which is...
ARCHIVED This archived corporate horizon scanner monitors the progress of Irish legislation—covering Bills in progress, Acts in force and Statutory Instruments—alongside consultations, inquiries and dates relevant to corporate lawyers. It spans Irish and EU legislation, rules and guidance, and tracks developments linked to international policy‑setting and regulatory bodies. From an Irish standpoint, it includes legislative and rule updates, guidance and other notices from the Corporate Registration Office ( CRO) and the Corporate Enforcement Authority ( CEA). Other key Irish regulators featured are 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 change on specific themes, see: UK, EU and International Corporate reporting and audit—environmental sustainability and climate change tracker EU environment tracker...
This Practice Note outlines principal cases and linked material on fixed and floating charges. The matters are arranged by subject and include: The distinctive nature of fixed and floating charges Lender issues: fixed versus floating charges Crystallisation of floating charges Qualifying floating charges The distinctive nature of fixed and floating charges Names of parties: Re Yorkshire Woolcombers Association [1903] 2 Ch 284 Judgment date: 3 April 1903 Case summary: The court articulated the classic hallmarks of a floating charge: (i) security over a class of a company’s assets, present and future; (ii) a class which, in the company’s ordinary business, is expected to fluctuate; and (iii) an understanding that, until a future step is taken by or for those with an interest in the charge, the company may continue its business in the usual manner as regards the...
Development of the Loan Market Association ( LMA) documentation The initiative to create the LMA’s investment grade suite started in 1998, driven by market calls for a uniform syndicated facility agreement. The project emerged in response to market demand for a standardised syndicated facility agreement. Development of the LMA’s leveraged materials followed a comparable path: an initial facility agreement for leveraged acquisition finance transactions was released in 2004, with the recommended Intercreditor Agreement for leveraged acquisition finance (senior and mezzanine) issued in 2009. Since then, the LMA has continued to issue further precedents to reflect demand and changes in the market. There are now standard forms available for deals involving senior secured notes. In addition, there are forms for structures that feature both senior secured notes and high yield notes, recognising the significant volume of transactions financed in part or in full through high yield debt. The...
Sanctions Sanctions are temporary limits or bans set by governments that govern how their citizens and businesses interact with targeted countries or regimes. They are a tool of foreign policy and may apply to countries, regimes, organisations, individuals, and entities. Sanctions will typically either be aimed at doing so......
Step-by-step guide The protection purchaser ( Party A) and the protection vendor ( Party B) execute an ISDA Master Agreement, Schedule and confirmation to record a CDS. The CDS points to the reference entity. Within the confirmation, Party A and Party B both agree the trade will be settled by auction if a credit event occurs in relation to that reference entity. Party A undertakes to......
What is terrorism? The Reinsurance ( Acts of Terrorism) Act 1993 ( R( AT) A 1993) characterised terrorism as acts by persons acting for, or connected with, any organisation whose activities are directed towards overthrowing or influencing, by force or violence, His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom or any other government, whether de jure or de facto (section 2(2)). The Terrorism Act 2000 ( TA 2000), later amended by the Terrorism Act 2006 ( TA 2006) and the Counter- Terrorism Act 2008 ( CTA 2008), reframed the concept. Under this legislation, terrorism includes actions that: involve serious violence against a person cause serious damage to property endanger someone’s life (other than that of the terrorist) pose a risk to the health or safety of the public are intended seriously to interfere with or disrupt an electronic system The purpose behind such actions is to influence the government or an...
Before accepting appointment as administrator, an insolvency practitioner ( IP) will typically have carried out business reviews, prepared contingency plans, and advised the company and its directors on the choices available when facing financial difficulties. For more detail on the pre‑administration stage, see Practice Note: Restructuring-initial steps. If administration is identified as a workable route, the IP will determine the administration’s purpose and the strategy required to deliver it, as well as the anticipated exit route. The statutory purposes of administration as set out in paragraph 3(1) of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 ( IA 1986), ranked by priority, are: rescuing the company as a going concern delivering a better result for creditors as a whole than would be expected on a winding up, or realisation of the company’s assets to enable a distribution to one or more secured or...
This Practice Note succinctly outlines redundancy within an insolvency setting and signposts to more in‑depth, relevant supporting resources. Forthcoming changes The Employment Rights Act 2025 ( ERA 2025) obtained Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and brings in phased reforms affecting redundancy where insolvency arises. Notably and in particular, the ceiling on the protective award for non‑compliance with statutory collective redundancy information and consultation duties will rise from 90 days to 180 days from 6 April 2026. ERA 2025 also sets alternative statutory thresholds for commencing collective redundancy consultation. Further unfair dismissal changes are included, such as cutting the qualifying period from two years to six months and abolishing the cap on the compensatory award—these provisions are not yet in force. For further detail and guidance on the expected implementation timetable, see Practice Note: Restructuring & Insolvency—horizon scanner— Employees and...
When a restructuring is pursued instead of commencing formal insolvency proceedings (see Practice Note: Benefits of informal restructuring over formal proceedings), the company will often aim to secure swift standstill commitments from relevant creditors to create breathing room to shape a restructuring plan. A standstill agreement is a contract between the company and its creditors that pauses enforcement action (see Precedent: Standstill agreement). Parties The debtor company will sign, typically alongside operating subsidiaries that hold significant assets, could be exposed to formal action or risk breaching financial covenants, and, in many cases, the ultimate parent company. Other participants usually include creditors and stakeholders critical to the company’s success, eg major customers, suppliers (if the company is a key client, helpful concessions might be secured) and the pensions trustee/regulator (where there is a substantial defined benefit pensions deficit). Who is invited to...
Need for new money For numerous companies encountering financial strain, the first and most common response is to secure extra liquidity to carry the business through a downturn in results and to sidestep a more formal restructuring or formal insolvency procedure. This can occur where the enterprise is believed to be sound at its core yet experiencing a temporary dip in trading conditions. Alternatively, the request for finance may serve as a short-term bridge, giving the company and its stakeholders breathing space to evaluate the business’s current viability and the merits of a restructuring. This Practice Note considers the potential forms that fresh funding can take and the related legal issues that may arise. Ways to fund In practice, fresh capital typically arrives in one of two forms: an equity injection—new or current shareholders acquiring additional shares in the company, or a new debt...
This Practice Note describes the ‘transactions in UK land’ anti-avoidance provisions This Practice Note sets out the anti-avoidance regime for ‘transactions in UK land’. The principal provisions are contained in Part 8ZB of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 ( CTA 2010) and Part 9A of the Income Tax Act 2007 ( ITA 2007). Additional rules for non- UK residents appear in section 5 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 ( CTA 2009) and section 6 of the Income Tax ( Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 ( ITTOIA 2005). In broad terms, the position is consistent for both corporation tax and income tax. Accordingly, this Practice Note refers to the framework in general terms, though the exact statutory wording for corporation tax and income tax may vary slightly. The present regime superseded and broadened the earlier ‘transactions in land’ rules in CTA 2010, Pt 18 and ITA...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For guidance on the Act’s effect on residential tenancies in England, see Practice Note: Renters' Rights Act 2025—key provisions. This Practice Note explains: How a Rent Act 1977 ( RA 1977) protected tenancy can be ended, including by serving a notice to quit The requirements under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 The grounds for bringing a Rent Act 1977 statutory tenancy to an end With the Housing Act 1988 ( HA 1988) in force, RA 1977 tenancies were replaced by assured tenancies. For more information, see Practice Notes: Assured and assured shorthold tenancies—granting and Assured and assured shorthold tenancies—terminating. As a result, RA 1977 is generally only applicable to residential tenancies created before 15 January 1989. For more information on how to recognise a Rent Act tenancy, see Practice Note:...
This Practice Note outlines the ‘no order’ principle in section 1(5) of the Children Act 1989 ( Ch A 1989), when it arises in private children cases, and how courts have applied it. When deciding whether to make any order under the Ch A 1989 about a child, the court must not do so unless satisfied that making an order is better for the child than making none. This provision is designed to deter unnecessary court orders; by confining intervention to cases needing a specific solution, it should reduce conflict and foster parental co‑operation and agreement, with parents encouraged to sort matters consensually. The underlying idea is that the court should not interfere with parents’ exercise of parental responsibility unless necessary. Opting for ‘no order’ is a conscious, welfare‑driven decision. When does the no order principle apply? The principle applies whenever the court...
This Practice Note outlines who holds parental responsibility at birth and then who can obtain it afterwards. It details the ways by which a female parent, within section 43 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 ( HFEA 2008), can secure parental responsibility under the Children Act 1989 ( Ch A 1989), whether through registration as a parent or via a parental responsibility agreement or order. It also considers the relevant criteria applied when deciding an application for a parental responsibility order. Who has parental responsibility?......
STOP PRESS: The Financial Remedies Guide 2026 Issued on 13 March 2026 by Mr Justice Peel ( National Lead Judge of the Financial Remedies Court) and His Honour Judge Hess ( Deputy National Lead Judge of the Financial Remedies Court), and approved by the President of the Family Division, the Financial Remedies Guide 2026 replaces and supersedes the following: the Statement on the efficient conduct of financial remedy cases allocated to a High Court judge, whether sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice or elsewhere (1 February 2016) (the High Court judge level efficiency statement) the Statement on the efficient conduct of financial remedy hearings proceeding in the Financial Remedies Court below High Court judge level (11 January 2022) (the below High Court judge level efficiency statement) the Financial Remedies Court Primary Principles document (11 January 2022) the Notice from 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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