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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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Sending of cases forthwith to the Crown Court for trial An adult defendant must be sent without delay to the Crown Court in the following circumstances: indictable only offences specified either way offences, eg serious or complex fraud, certain matters involving children, or where there is a linked indictable only offence and the same or another defendant is being sent to the Crown Court (see below, Either-way offences) Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 ( Crim PR 2025), SI 2025/909, r 9.7 sets out how a case is to be sent to the Crown Court for trial (covering both indictable only and either way offences). In particular: if the defendant is present, the court must read and explain the allegation to the defendant, state the reason the case must be sent to the Crown Court, and provide information regarding any reporting...
This Practice Note applies solely to occupational pension schemes and is intended for trustees; accordingly, it does not cover compensation sharing orders for schemes within the Pension Protection Fund. From 5 December 2005, following the Civil Partnership Act 2004, pension attachment and pension sharing orders were broadened to include the dissolution of civil partnerships for same-sex couples. Cohabiting partners are outside the scope of both orders, as cohabitation does not confer a right to obtain either. Throughout this Practice Note, any reference to an ex-spouse should therefore be read as including an ex-civil partner... Court orders which trustees may have to implement A married member’s pension entitlement may constitute the sole, or principal, asset built up during the marriage. When the marriage breaks down, the court may, as a result, redistribute between the parties the benefits arising from pension resources in situations where...
This Practice Note outlines how appeals operate in UK extradition matters under the Extradition Act 2003 ( EA 2003). For more on extradition proceedings, see Practice Notes: Extradition and the statutory framework—an introduction to extradition Extradition—arrest and initial procedure Arrest without a warrant under Part 2 of the Extradition Act 2003 Secretary of State’s function in extradition Extradition hearings Statutory bars to extradition Non-statutory bars to extradition For the implications of Brexit on arrangements between the UK and EU, see Practice Note: Extradition and the statutory framework—an introduction to extradition— Extradition to the EU post- Brexit. The procedural rules for extradition appeals are set out in section 3 of Part 50 of the Crim PR 2025, SI 2025/909, rr 50.17–50.31, and are supplemented by the Criminal Practice Directions ( CPD) at paras 12.3–12.7. Right to appeal All extradition cases are first heard at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Appeals lie to the High Court and may be...
Created in collaboration with Megan Rowe and Jill Carey of Freeths. This Practice Note sets out the elements of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 ( RRA 2025) intended to introduce a mandatory redress scheme for private sector residential landlords, and to establish the private rented sector database. The relevant measures are not yet in force. Landlord redress scheme (not yet in force) The Secretary of State is empowered to make regulations to create a redress scheme for private sector residential landlords. Its purpose is to deliver a swift, cost-effective route for settling tenant disputes through independent inquiry and decision-making, as an alternative to pursuing cases through the courts or the local authority. The scheme will cover landlords granting assured tenancies or Rent Act tenancies, though the Secretary of State may vary the exact reach. Social landlords are excluded. Landlords within scope must hold...
Follow the link below to obtain the training presentation. Contents Execution Lack of testamentary capacity Lack of testamentary capacity—continued Lack of testamentary capacity—evidence Lack of knowledge and approval Undue influence Undue influence—continued Fraudulent calumny Fraudulent calumny—continued Proprietary estoppel Proprietary estoppel—continued......
The most frequent delicts arising in property disputes are negligence, nuisance and trespass; see Practice Notes: Property disputes in Scotland (delictual and statutory) and Property disputes in Scotland—negligence and trespass. Nuisance describes any use of land that interferes with a neighbour’s enjoyment of their property. Situations where a nuisance remedy may apply include uses that: generate offensive smells or odours produce noise cause flooding to a neighbour’s property In Scotland, nuisance is classified as either common law or statutory nuisance. Common law nuisance—invasion of interest in the use and enjoyment of private land At common law, nuisance is broadly characterised as ‘an invasion of an interest in land’. Liability is assessed by the ‘reasonable tolerability’ test, which is context‑dependent and may vary with factors such as locality, impact, frequency, and the utility of the conduct in question; see The nature of the test for determining liability for...
This Practice Note outlines how intellectual property ( IP) and other rights arise in relation to linking on the internet, with emphasis on the standpoint of a website operator. See also, Precedent: Linking policy. Brexit This Practice Note includes references to case law from the Court of Justice. For guidance on whether decisions of the Court of Justice bind UK courts, see Practice Note: Assimilated law. It also refers to EU-derived domestic legislation (that is, UK statutes that implemented EU law). From IP completion day at 11.00 pm on 31 December 2020 until the end of 2023, these measures were categorised as retained EU law ( REUL). Assimilated law is the label given to REUL that remains in force after the end of 2023. The re-categorisation of REUL (and associated terms) as assimilated law indicates a change in its status and treatment under UK law, in that it is...
STOP PRESS: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime Finance Act 2025 ( FA 2025), which gained Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, enacts the abolition of the remittance basis of taxation and introduces a residence-based system from 6 April 2025. FA 2025 also removes domicile as the principal test when determining liability to inheritance tax. Other updates include: amendments to the rules that set excluded property status, abolition of the protected settlements status for offshore trusts, modifications to overseas workday relief. For analysis of these measures, see Practice Notes: The abolition of the remittance basis of taxation from 2025–26 and A new residence-based regime for IHT from 2025–26. See also: Finance Bill Tracking Service: Key dates ( Finance Bill 2025) and Finance Act 2025. This Practice Note explains the tax position of individuals who own a UK residential property, used as a home, through an...
This Practice Note presents an overview of the offence of insider dealing as defined by Assimilated Regulation ( EU) 596/2014 ( UK Market Abuse Regulation). The insider dealing offence in Article 14 of the UK Market Abuse Regulation sits alongside the criminal insider dealing offence in section 52 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993, as well as the criminal offences of making misleading statements and misleading impressions under sections 89 to 91 of the Financial Services Act 2012. Background and purpose The EU Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014 took effect throughout the EU on 3 July 2016. Its stated aim was to create a common regulatory framework addressing insider dealing, the unlawful disclosure of inside information and market manipulation (all forms of market abuse), together with measures to prevent market abuse so as to uphold the integrity of financial markets in the EU and to bolster...
ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note outlines the data protection framework in place before 25 May 2018 and captures the position under the Data Protection Act 1998 ( DPA 1998). It is provided for background purposes only and is not kept up to date. Under the DPA 1998, data controllers must handle personal data in accordance with the eight data protection principles (see Practice Note: Data protection principles under the DPA 1998). In addition, a controller must not disclose personal data to third parties contrary to the non-disclosure provisions in section 27(3) DPA 1998, which encompass: the first data protection principle (fair and lawful processing), except for the obligation to satisfy one or more conditions for processing ( DPA 1998, Sch 2 and 3) the second (purposes), third (adequacy), fourth (accuracy) and fifth (retention) data protection principles an...
Statutory Powers To assist in resolving disputes, the LTS exercises a range of powers granted by statute in relation to: modifying or extinguishing title conditions, see: Powers as respects title conditions: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia [224] public sector tenants’ rights to buy their homes, see: House sales to public sector tenants: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia [226] challenged compensation for compulsory purchase of land, or diminution in land value arising from public works, see, eg: Compulsory purchase of land: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia [666] appeals against specified decisions of the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, see: Questions relating to the accuracy of the Land Register: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia [225] appeals concerning valuation of land for pre-emptive purchase by community bodies, see Practice Notes: Rights to buy affecting land in Scotland—snapshot, Part 2 community right to buy and asset transfer requests in...
Practice Note: part of the Lexis+® UK Corporate Private equity buyout transaction collection Due diligence typically requires examining materials the seller provides in a data room, or circulates to the private equity investor for assessment. This commonly covers a range of contracts (some specialist), together with records, ledgers and schedules. A corporate lawyer is invariably engaged to scrutinise corporate documentation on a private equity buyout ( MBO), including the target’s articles of association and statutory books and records. Searches of public registers—such as Companies House and HM Land Registry—should also form part of the exercise. A disclosure letter will usually contain general disclosures of matters revealed by those searches; the investor should require that the searches are carried out, rather than accept information that would have been identified had a search been undertaken. The investor’s legal due diligence typically concentrates on: title (the seller’s title to the sale...
What is an Energy Services Company ( ESCo)? There is no single, settled definition of an ESCo, and the term has no special legal status. It is used for organisations involved in generating, distributing and/or supplying energy to end users, as well as those focused on demand management, green retrofits and other efficiency measures. This Practice Note adopts ‘ ESCo’ to mean entities engaged in producing and supplying energy—specifically heat delivered as steam or hot water—rather than energy efficiency projects. An ESCo of this kind will often employ co‑generation of heat and electricity via a combined heat and power ( CHP) plant. Variations include combined cooling, heat and power ( CCHP), where absorption chillers utilise part of the heat from the CHP plant to create chilled water for air conditioning or refrigeration; and quadgeneration, which incorporates carbon‑capture technologies. For simplicity, this Practice Note refers to ‘ CHP’, as...
This Practice Note examines the scrutiny of official copy entries (often called an OCE) relating to the title of a property recorded at HM Land Registry in an enforcement context. It identifies the key items that ought to form part of a security review and the guidance to receivers upon appointment. The Practice Note also highlights, by way of examples, some opportunities that may exist for securing additional benefit; these are not intended to be exhaustive. Matters more appropriate to a real estate report on title are outside the scope of this Practice Note. For information on obtaining OCEs from HM Land Registry, see Practice Note: How to obtain official copies of the register from HM Land Registry. The land register and title plan Where a mortgagee is contemplating appointing, or has already appointed, a receiver over a property, you should obtain from HM Land...
This Practice Note considers circumstances where a tenant seeks to expand the footprint it occupies within a building or across the same scheme or estate. It covers: the danger of an unintended surrender and regrant if the parties attempt to vary the tenant’s current lease to capture the extra premises when it is preferable to grant a fresh lease of the additional premises principal transactional and drafting considerations on granting a lease of more space (including whether, and in what manner, it should be tied to the tenant’s existing lease) Key risk—avoiding surrender and regrant When granting extra accommodation to an incumbent tenant, it is vital to avert an accidental surrender and regrant of the existing term. Where a tenant wants further space in the same building or development, the parties might be inclined to amend the lease to fold in the extra area. Yet any...
Capacity to sell Trustees of land possess, in relation to the land comprised in the trust, all the powers that an absolute owner would enjoy as if they held the title outright. A purchaser from trustees does not need to be concerned with whether the trustees have complied with their obligations under the Trustees of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 ( TOLATA 1996). In the case of registered land, the trustees’ power to sell can be qualified by the registration of a standard Form A restriction. Such an entry may appear to limit their ability to dispose; however, where the beneficiaries’ interests are overreached, this will ordinarily be sufficient for HM Land Registry to remove the restriction, without any further action required from the buyer. Overreaching A purchaser of land from trustees will not be affected by the trusts on which the land is held if the...
What's the issue? The Health and Safety Executive ( HSE) describes lone workers as individuals who carry out their duties on their own, without close or direct supervision. Examples include: people working from home people whose roles take them away from a fixed base professionals visiting domestic and commercial premises people working apart from others on the same premises, such as cleaners, security, maintenance and reception staff, or those working outside normal business hours Evolving working practices and the growing use of technology are increasing how many people fall into the lone worker category. Employers are accountable for lone worker safety during working hours, whether staff are in the office, in a vehicle, working from home or undertaking a home visit. This duty relates not only to physical wellbeing but also to mental...
This Practice Note offers practical guidance on how to read a General Agreement on Trade in Services ( GATS) schedule of commitments. It explains how to interpret a Member State’s specific schedule of commitments on trade in services. Introduction When Member States undertake commitments on trade in goods—whether at the World Trade Organization ( WTO) through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 ( GATT), or within a free trade agreement—their meaning is relatively clear. To interpret goods commitments fully, readers should still consider the relevant treaty text, yet the obligation is largely straightforward: a defined tariff is levied on a product entering that Member State’s market. Commitments on trade in services are more involved. For their proper interpretation, one must look not only at the governing treaty text, such as the WTO’s GATS or a free trade agreement, but also at the detailed...
This Practice Note sets out the legal framework and practical issues around bills of lading and sea waybills used in the context of arrangements for transporting goods by sea. It outlines how bearer bills, order bills and seaway bills differ, in practice, and describes the roles of a bill of lading as receipt, title document and contractual instrument. The Note also identifies the parties to the carriage contract, how they interact with third parties, and, in particular, the means by which rights under the paperwork can be effectively transferred. A bill of lading: is issued by or on behalf of the sea carrier to the person with whom the carriage contract is concluded records or evidences that contract and its terms serves as evidence of receipt of the cargo operates as a document of title Types of...
This Practice Note summarises the procedure for bringing contempt proceedings under Part 37 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 ( FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955 (also referred to as committal proceedings). It outlines the mandatory formalities, specifies the contents required for a contempt application, and explains the rules on service. It identifies the procedural steps that must be satisfied, the information that an application must contain, and the obligations relating to service. All such points are covered in detail. For assistance with the initial steps for an application for contempt under FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955 Pt 37 — including the pre-issue formalities — see Practice Note: Family contempt proceedings—preliminary steps; for guidance on the hearing of contempt proceedings, including the standard of proof in a contempt application and the court’s available powers, see Practice Note: Family contempt...
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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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