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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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Practice Note: Consumer Rights Act 2015—digital content This Practice Note examines the Consumer Rights Act 2015 ( CRA 2015) in the context of digital content, outlining the consumer’s statutory entitlements under CRA 2015 for contracts to supply such content. It considers the standards governing digital content and the remedies available: the right to repair or replacement, the right to a price reduction, the right to a refund, and the remedy for damage to a device or to other digital content. For a general overview of CRA 2015, including definitions of key terms such as ‘consumer’ and ‘trader’, see Practice Note: Consumer Rights Act 2015—summary. For how CRA 2015 applies to goods, services and unfair terms, see: Consumer Rights Act 2015—goods Consumer Rights Act 2015—services Consumer Rights Act 2015—unfair terms Helpful guidance on CRA 2015’s application to digital content has been provided by the...
This Practice Note outlines the ways to effect service of a claim form or other documents beyond the jurisdiction. For England and Wales, it identifies the applicable CPR provisions and the key points that must be assessed. There are several possible routes for serving out of the jurisdiction. This Practice Note gives an overview of those options and flags matters to consider when deciding which route to adopt. It does not address issues of jurisdiction or whether the court’s permission is needed before serving documents abroad. Those questions must be resolved in advance, with reference to the following Practice Notes: Cross-border service—a guide for dispute resolution practitioners and Cross-border service—is permission required to serve a defendant who is outside England and Wales? Practical considerations Cross-border service is intricate and may involve delays. It is vital to be fully acquainted with the relevant CPR rules and the...
This Practice Note outlines key considerations and potential issues when handling documentary evidence and disclosure in cross‑border proceedings. Matters include managing a foreign client’s expectations; the effect, if any, of local laws where the documents sit; data protection concerns; control of material outside England and Wales; requirements for foreign‑language documents, including whether translations must be supplied and if translated materials can attract privilege; the role of technology; use of documents disclosed in overseas proceedings; obtaining deposition and documentary evidence; and points relating to both factual and expert evidence. Note that regard must be had to any specific guidance in the relevant court guide for the forum in which the case is progressing. See: court‑specific guidance below. In addition to the points addressed in this Practice Note, the general disclosure rules continue to apply. For guidance, see: ...
ARCHIVED : This Practice Note is archived and no longer updated. It outlines the principal amendments made to the Criminal Procedure Rules ( Crim PR) on 6 October 2025, when the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 ( Crim PR 2025), SI 2025/909, superseded and revoked the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 ( Crim PR 2020), SI 2020/759. The Crim PR, which regulate practice and procedure across all criminal courts in England and Wales — including magistrates’ courts, the Crown Court, the Court of Appeal ( Criminal Division) and extradition appeal matters in the High Court — are consolidated and republished every five years. This consolidation brings in fresh procedural provisions concerning the authority of Crown Court staff to vary community and suspended sentence orders, and the taking of depositions in magistrates’ courts; it also revises existing rules to harmonise confiscation appeals with ordinary Court of Appeal...
This Practice Note sets out guidance on seeking further information using the mechanism in CPR 18 and CPR PD 18 (often referred to as a Part 18 request). It outlines what a Part 18 request involves; why you might make one and when it should be made; the scope of what may properly be requested in such a request; the steps for preparing and issuing a Part 18 request; the consequences of a failure to answer, including applying for an order under CPR 18.1 and asking for an unless order; and how information obtained pursuant to a Part 18 request can be used. For advice on replying to a Part 18 request, see Practice Note: Responding to a Part 18 request for further information. This Practice Note also gives guidance on construing and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR. Depending on the court in...
This Practice Note considers directions questionnaires for civil claims that are issued before 1 October 2023. It explains when and how to complete, file and serve the directions questionnaire, together with the consequences of not filing it. The directions questionnaire must be provided on Form N180 or N181, depending on the track to which the case is allocated. The requirements for directions questionnaires differ according to whether proceedings were started before or after 1 October 2023. This Practice Note deals with civil claims issued before 1 October 2023. For guidance on directions questionnaires for civil claims issued on or after 1 October 2023, see Practice Note: Directions questionnaires—position on or after 1 October 2023. Note also that, for personal injury matters, the applicable rules depend on the date the cause of action accrues, and for disease claims, on when the first letter of claim is sent....
Practice Note This Practice Note outlines the court’s authority to issue a periodical payments order (maintenance provision) for a child under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 ( Ch A 1989), setting out what orders can be made and eligible applicants. It also covers interim relief, jurisdiction, and the factors the court will consider in determining applications, and it explains who may apply for such relief. In matrimonial or civil partnership proceedings, the court may make child maintenance orders. It likewise has jurisdiction to order periodical payments under Ch A 1989, Sch 1. Most applications brought under this route concern parents who have neither married nor entered a civil partnership, especially where the payer holds substantial financial means. The Child Maintenance Service ( CMS) exercises near-exclusive competence over child maintenance matters. Nonetheless, in a number of specified...
This Practice Note applies to the majority of applications to the Court of Protection. However, a separate process applies when seeking to appoint a property and financial affairs deputy in such cases within the Court of Protection context. From January 2023, the upfront notification route became the default for all property and affairs deputyship applications, after a successful pilot. As outlined in Practice Direction 9H, applicants must tell the person who is the subject of the application and also three individuals who know that person, using the combined notification and acknowledgement forms, COP14PADep and COP15PADep, and obtain their replies before lodging the application. All replies, together with any records of notifications, should then be promptly filed with the court at the same time as the completed application. If applying via the online portal, no COP1 application form is then needed. If applying on paper, include all...
Conditions of bail This Practice Note sets out when bail may carry conditions and summarises typical measures, including securities and sureties. For guidance on breaches, see Practice Note: Absconding and breach of bail conditions in criminal court proceedings. A defendant granted bail by the court may have to observe conditions both prior to and following release. The Bail Act 1976 ( BA 1976) identifies some potential conditions, but the list is not comprehensive. See also: Court bail application—checklist. No condition should be attached unless the court deems it necessary to ensure the defendant: appears at court does not commit offences whilst on bail does not interfere with witnesses or impede the course of justice co-operates with preparation of pre-sentence reports attends meetings with their legal...
This Practice Note This Practice Note examines the Consumer Rights Act 2015 ( CRA 2015) as it applies to goods and outlines the consumer’s statutory entitlements under contracts for the supply of goods. It explores the benchmarks required of goods, consumer remedies where goods do not conform, the rules on delivery and transfer of risk, guarantees and insurance-backed extended warranties, and the sale of used goods (including sales at public auctions). For an overview of CRA 2015, including definitions of key terms such as ‘consumer’ and ‘trader’, see Practice Note: Consumer Rights Act 2015—summary. For the application of CRA 2015 to other areas, see the following Practice Notes: Consumer Rights Act 2015—services Consumer Rights Act 2015—digital content Consumer Rights Act 2015—unfair terms Useful guidance on how CRA 2015 applies to goods has been issued by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute ( CTSI) and the...
This Practice Note explores the meaning of connected persons as employed within sections 1122 and 1123 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 ( CTA 2010). An almost identical definition for income tax purposes is found in section 993 of the Income Tax Act 2007 ( ITA 2007). CTA 2010, ss 1122 and 1123 specify: when a company is connected with another company when a company is connected with another person when an individual is connected with another individual with whom a trustee of a settlement is connected, and with whom a partner in a partnership is connected Why is the definition of connected persons important? The expression ‘connected persons’ is used across a range of corporation tax and other tax provisions, including: throughout the Corporation Tax Acts (although a modified definition applies for specific parts) for stamp duty land tax ( SDLT), land transaction tax ( LTT) and land and buildings...
Safeguarding confidential information is a cornerstone of the solicitor–client relationship and a central and enduring professional principle. Solicitors are also under a duty to disclose to their clients any information they know that is material to the client’s matter. There are only limited exceptions to both obligations. These obligations can collide; for example, you may simultaneously owe client A confidentiality while owing client B a duty of disclosure regarding the very same information. Under the SRA Codes of Conduct, you must not act for a client where that client’s interests are adverse to those of another client for whom you hold confidential information that is material to the matter, unless you have: informed consent from the client to your acting, together with any measures adopted to protect the information, or effective safeguards in place so there is no real risk that the...
Who is the nominee and what is their role in the CVA? The nominee is a central figure within a company voluntary arrangement ( CVA). For general background on CVAs as a whole, see Company voluntary arrangements—overview. Their involvement continues only up to the point at which the CVA proposal is either sanctioned or declined, and no further. A nominee must be a licensed insolvency practitioner ( IP). This stipulation ensures that any CVA will be subject to independent scrutiny throughout that phase. Historically, section 389A of the Insolvency Act 1986 ( IA 1986) permitted other persons to be authorised solely to act as nominees or supervisors in voluntary arrangements. In practice this route was never taken, and IA 1986, s 389A was repealed by the Deregulation Act 2015, being replaced by the introduction of a regime for the partial...
This Practice Note sets out the presumption of continued parental involvement under section 1(2A) of the Children Act 1989 ( Ch A 1989). It applies when the court considers contested applications for orders under Ch A 1989, s 8, and when it addresses the grant or the removal of parental responsibility. Presumption of continued parental involvement Pursuant to Ch A 1989, s 1(2A), inserted by section 11 of the Children and Families Act 2014 ( CFA 2014), where the court is considering any of the following applications, it must, in relation to each parent, presume (unless the opposite is demonstrated) that the involvement of that parent in the child’s life will promote that child’s welfare: a contested application to make, vary or discharge an order under Ch A 1989, s 8 (a section 8 order) an unmarried father’s application for parental...
This Practice Note outlines the provisions in the Family Procedure Rules 2010, PD 12B on the measures available to enforce a child arrangements order ( CAO). It explains the requirement for a warning notice to be included with CAOs. It also covers enforcement orders that may impose an unpaid work requirement, alongside financial compensation orders... General enforcement provisions A CAO is an order that governs arrangements concerning any of the following: with whom a child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact, and when a child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact with any person See Practice Notes: Child arrangements orders—residence and Child arrangements orders—contact. Enforcement of contact orders in particular is frequently challenging and can be lengthy, especially where there is implacable hostility. Applications for committal for breach are generally treated as a last resort, given the...
This Practice Note outlines the court’s power to grant a Bankers Trust order and explains the character of that remedy. It traces the origins of the equitable jurisdiction and sets out the conditions that must be satisfied before the court will make such an order. The guidance also considers how a Bankers Trust order may assist claimants seeking to recover property, and suggests how an applicant should assemble its evidence to maximise the likelihood of success... What is a Bankers Trust order? A distinctive aspect of a ‘ Bankers Trust order’ was identified by the Supreme Court in Wolverhampton City Council v London Gypsies and Travellers as an injunction capable of being made against a defendant even where no cause of action is present. The Supreme Court reiterated this position two years later in Abbasi v Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The...
Affirmation signifies an intention to carry on with a contract. It may arise where there is: a repudiatory breach of contract (including anticipatory breach (renunciation)), or a misrepresentation entitling the innocent party to rescind the contract It is crucial to understand what affirmation entails and what it demands, so you are alert to the risks if a counterparty commits a repudiatory breach. A lack of understanding could result in your client failing to affirm a contract it wishes to continue, or accidentally surrendering its right to terminate by accepting a repudiatory breach. This Practice Note concentrates on affirmation in the event of repudiatory breach. For affirmation in the setting of misrepresentation, see where other remedies are available below. and repudiatory breach A repudiatory breach is a breach of contract that strikes at the very core of the agreement, empowering the innocent party to treat the...
Writ or warrant of possession of land A writ of possession in the High Court, or a warrant of possession in the Family Court, is used to enforce an order granting a party possession of land or buildings, for example under a property adjustment order or an occupation order. When an order for sale is made under section 24A of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the court may, under the Family Procedure Rules 2010 ( FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, 9.24, require any party to deliver to the purchaser, or another person, possession of the land and/or the entitlement to receive its rents and profits. If an order for possession is not made at the same time as the sale order, a possession order must first be obtained before a writ or warrant of possession can be issued. A standard possession order form is...
Section 18 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 ( IHTA 1984) Section 18 sets out an inheritance tax ( IHT) exemption for transfers of value between spouses and civil partners. The spouse exemption is unrestricted, except where a transfer—whether during lifetime or on death—is from a long-term resident ( LTR) spouse to a spouse who is not LTR; in that case, the exemption is limited under IHTA 1984, s 18(2). From 6 April 2025, long-term residence replaced domicile for determining liability to IHT. An individual qualifies as LTR if they have been UK resident for at least ten of the 20 tax years immediately preceding the tax year in which an IHT charge arises. A person may still be LTR even with periods of non- UK residence within that 20-year span, so long as their cumulative UK residence is at least ten...
Databases For many years, databases—particularly electronic ones—have been a significant component of digital economies across the globe. Numerous jurisdictions view investing in and leveraging databases as essential to fostering an information market. In the UK, the principal legislation concerning IP protection for databases comprises: the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 ( CDPA 1988) the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 ( CRD 1997), SI 1997/3032, which gave effect to Directive 96/9/ EC on the legal protection of databases ( EU Database Directive) in the UK (now assimilated law, see: Databases and assimilated EU law, below) A database can receive protection in a range of ways: copyright can shield literary and artistic works, including tables and compilations forming part of a database, provided they are original works......
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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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