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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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Introduction This Practice Note outlines the role of the Gambling Commission and how it supervises the gambling sector across the UK. Overview The Gambling Commission (' Commission') oversees all areas of gambling in the UK and was established by the Gambling Act 2005 ( GA 2005) with supporting secondary legislation. It holds extensive powers and duties, regulating every type of gambling except spread betting, which falls under the Financial Conduct Authority. In October 2013 the Commission merged with the National Lottery Commission, extending its remit to the National Lottery. Its offices are in Victoria Square, Birmingham, and it maintains a helpful website. Nature and constitution The Commission is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Chairman and Commissioners are appointed by the Secretary of State, and there is also a chief executive. Commissioners must personally avoid conflicts, declare...
Practice Note This Practice Note provides guidance for a local authority on responding to an insolvent debtor. Debts may arise from arrears of: council tax National Non-domestic Rates ( NNDR) sundry debts liabilities from property liabilities from social care provision, see Practice Note: Securing and enforcing community care liabilities financial penalties imposed on a landlord for breaches of Houses of Multiple Occupation Legislation and other provisions deriving from the Housing and Planning Act 2016, see Practice Note: Houses in multiple occupation ( HMOs)—sanctions Individual bankruptcy debt relief order individual voluntary arrangement ( IVA) Partnership administration bankruptcy of individual partners partnership voluntary arrangement individual voluntary arrangement of individual partners Limited liability partnership ( LLP) administration administrative receivership compulsory liquidation of LLP voluntary liquidation of...
As with various areas of education legislation, the rules on school meals now differ in England and in Wales. Food and drink provided to pupils in schools in England English local authorities may supply milk, meals and other refreshments to registered pupils, to others taught at maintained schools, and to children in receipt of ‘relevant Early Years education’. This power also covers the provision of lunches at academies, free schools and independent schools. Catering can be delivered on school premises or at any other place where education is taking place, and local authorities must ensure maintained schools have facilities for pupils to consume food and drink brought from home. Provision may equally occur at alternative venues used for education. Including all temporary teaching sites. Catering in academies and free schools is not set out in statute, though their funding agreements with the...
How members are paid remains a divisive subject. The public service perspective holds that people step into politics to serve their communities rather than to profit, so remuneration should not reach levels that might tempt candidates for the wrong motives or to pursue purely personal advantage and status. Linked to this is a worry that higher pay could foster full‑time career councillors, narrowing the breadth of life and work experience that members bring as a collective body. By contrast, the professional stance argues that the basic allowances on offer fail to amount to a living wage, making it impossible for those without private means to sit on the council and potentially prompting young, energetic members to depart from the council entirely. Members’ allowances schemes in England The statutory basis for members’ allowances is set out in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the Local...
Part 2 of the Housing ( Wales) Act 2014 ( H( W) A 2014) Part 2 of the Housing ( Wales) Act 2014 ( H( W) A 2014) outlines the homelessness legal framework for local housing authorities ( LHAs) in Wales. It explains the varying obligations an LHA owes to different homeless applicants. Inevitably, an LHA must investigate an applicant’s circumstances before deciding which duty applies; see Practice Note: Homelessness and threatened with homelessness in Wales. Some applicants’ situations are so urgent that accommodation is required immediately, even before those enquiries can be completed. H( W) A 2014 makes provision, in specified circumstances, requiring LHAs to secure accommodation on an interim basis. This Practice Note sets out when that interim duty arises, how it operates, and how it is discharged. It also describes the power available to an LHA, once its enquiries are...
This Practice Note reflects the law as it is understood in England. Local authorities and other public bodies owe a general obligation to act fairly. This applies to both process and substance, and stems from the two fundamental rules of natural justice, namely that: no one should be a judge in their own cause (nemo judex in causa sua), and issues are to be decided after hearing from both or all parties involved (audi alteram partem) The modern duty of fairness is a flexible, context‑dependent principle requiring those consulting or making decisions on the public’s behalf to act—and be seen to act—in a way that is demonstrably fair in all the circumstances, and untainted by any actual or perceived personal or other extraneous interest. Public authority decisions affected by actual or apparent bias (a prejudice towards a particular outcome) or by...
A family intervention tenancy ( FIT) is regarded as an excluded tenancy under the Housing Acts 1985 ( HA 1985) and 1988 ( HA 1988), as it can be ended by notice without the landlord needing to prove grounds for termination or possession. The landlord may obtain possession and the tenant can be evicted if the behavioural support conditions have not been adhered to throughout the term. The procedure varies depending on whether the landlord is a local authority or a registered provider of social housing. Local authority landlord Where the landlord is a local authority, it must serve a notice of its intention before it can issue a notice to quit. The notice of intention to serve a notice to quit must: explain that the landlord will serve a notice to quit set out the reasons for serving a notice to quit state when the...
This Practice Note offers practical guidance on deploying trade remedies under the UK– Eastern and Southern Africa States ( ESA) Economic Partnership Agreement ( UK- ESA EPA). It explains how anti-dumping duties, countervailing measures and safeguard measures can be applied within the framework of the UK- ESA EPA. Introduction The UK- ESA EPA is a free trade agreement between the UK and the ESA states. Agreed in the wake of Brexit, it largely replicates the Economic Partnership Agreement that operated when the UK was part of the EU. It took effect on 1 January 2021. The agreement focuses mainly on trade in goods; for further details, see Practice Note: Trade in goods under the UK- ESA EPA. It also sets out trade remedy provisions relevant to goods, with particular attention to safeguard...
Executive narrative In practice, Japan’s ESG framework has a disclosure and governance core (e.g. capital markets, stewardship and comply-or-explain governance codes) which sits alongside a deep environmental compliance rulebook for waste, chemicals and pollution controls, together with a fast-moving decarbonisation policy regime that is evolving at pace. For multinationals, the day-to-day execution risk concerns whether claims to investors and consumers can be substantiated and whether operational sites and products comply with detailed lifecycle rules (particularly for waste and chemicals) that are actively enforced through administrative tools and inspections, with clear oversight. A further practical consideration is that Japanese ESG expectations are increasingly shaped by domestic standards expressly designed to incorporate International Sustainability Standards Board ( ISSB) standards, nudging companies towards audit-style controls for sustainability data and narrative consistency across reports. Disclosure and reporting When it comes to corporate and investor disclosure, Japan is in an...
Introduction Section 82 of the Companies Act 2014 ( Ireland) ( CA 2014 ( IRL)) forms a cornerstone of the capital maintenance regime for Irish companies and took effect in Ireland on 1 June 2015. It bars an Irish company from providing financial assistance aimed at facilitating an acquisition, whether proposed or completed, by any person of shares in that company or in its holding company. CA 2014 ( IRL), s 82 superseded section 60 of the Companies Act 1963 ( Ireland) ( CA 1963 ( IRL)), which imposed a marginally wider curb by outlawing not only assistance given for the purpose of such an acquisition, but also assistance furnished in connection with it. This Practice Note addresses the present framework. It sets out principal elements of s 82’s scope under CA 2014 ( IRL), highlights three of the exemptions most...
This Practice Note reviews the duty of care applicable in professional negligence actions and the suitable legal yardstick for proving liability in professional negligence proceedings in Ireland. It sets out what amounts to professional negligence and the manner in which it is proved. It also addresses the various legal foundations for such claims. It then examines the care standards expected of healthcare practitioners, solicitors and barristers, and the construction profession, within the context of potential professional negligence claims against them. Lastly, it indicates when a professional’s duty of care may extend to third parties. What is professional negligence? Professional negligence is a civil action against a professional who owes a contractual and/or tortious duty to the plaintiff, and who breaches that duty by behaving in a manner no other reasonable member of that profession would adopt, thereby causing loss or damage to the...
Executive narrative Brazil’s environmental, social and governance ( ESG) framework is best seen as a layered federal–state–municipal enforcement system, with significant real‑economy effects and unusually robust public enforcement and collective litigation routes. In practice, ESG risk commonly materialises through: environmental permitting, embargoes, fines and remediation duties handled by federal and state environmental bodies within the National Environmental System ( SISNAMA) public civil actions (ação civil pública) and prosecutor‑led settlements that can advance more quickly than regulatory procedures capital markets disclosure oversight by the Brazilian Securities Commission ( CVM), now expressly linked to International Sustainability Standards Board ( ISSB)/ International Financial Reporting Standards ( IFRS) sustainability standards consumer and advertising scrutiny of sustainability claims under the Consumer Defence Code, regulators, and Consumer Protection and Defence Offices ( PROCONs) advertising self‑regulation under the supervision of the National Council for Advertising Self‑ Regulation (...
This Practice Note sets out guidance on permission to appeal ( PTA) under CPR Part 52. For detailed, step-by-step guidance on making an application for PTA under CPR Part 52, see the Practice Note: Permission to appeal—the application. For advice on the conduct of the hearing of a PTA application, and on what to do thereafter, in particular, see the Practice Note: Permission to appeal—hearing and next steps. Alongside clearly explaining to a client the effect, implications and consequences of pursuing an appeal, including matters relating to costs, practitioners should also recognise—and be ready to address, as appropriate, the possibility of the court granting only limited or conditional permission; see Practice Notes: Permission to appeal—hearing and next steps— Limited permission to appeal and Imposing conditions on an appeal respectively. For PTA arising in civil contempt proceedings, see the Practice Note: Civil contempt...
General rule Where someone seeks compensation for personal injury arising from negligence, nuisance, or a breach of duty, they have two years from either the date the cause of action arose or the injured person’s date of knowledge, whichever occurs later (section (3)(1) of the Statute of Limitations ( Amendment) Act 1991 ( Ireland) ( SLAA 1991 ( IRL)) Date of knowledge In some personal injury claims, harm may have been sustained without the individual realising it, so they would not initially consider bringing proceedings. The two-year limit measured from the ‘date of knowledge’ therefore allows a plaintiff two years from the point they know they have been injured to commence a claim. Under SLAA 1991 ( IRL), s 2(1), the ‘date of knowledge’ is the date on which the person first knew: that the person said to have been injured had in fact...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and not maintained. It outlines the principal dates and legal developments expected to affect corporate lawyers in Ireland in 2025 and beyond. The entries cover Irish and EU legislation, rules and guidance, plus movements among international policy-makers and regulatory bodies. Please propose topics for our horizon scanner at: irelandcurrentawareness@lexisnexis.com. From an Irish viewpoint, the scanner reflects legislative and rules updates, guidance and announcements from the Corporate Registration Office ( CRO) and the Corporate Enforcement Authority ( CEA). Other Irish bodies featured include 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 changes by topic, see Practice Notes: for UK developments, Corporate horizon scanning—2025 and beyond EU 2024–2029...
This Practice Note This Practice Note sets out how artificial intelligence ( AI) is currently deployed within the UK criminal justice system and offers informed expectations about future uses. Mirroring the path of a criminal case—from investigation through to sentencing—it identifies and evaluates the different applications of AI along the way. It uses the working definition of AI from the government’s March 2023 White Paper, ‘ A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation’, under which an AI system exhibits two key characteristics: Adaptivity: systems are trained by detecting patterns in data that humans may struggle to perceive, and are able to generate fresh inferences themselves. Autonomy: systems can reach decisions without explicit direction or ongoing human control. Technologies grounded in machine learning will typically meet this definition, as they develop in a dynamic way through experience. This definition differentiates AI from automated...
What are cryptoassets and why are they frequently involved in criminal activity? For the purposes of this Practice Note, we use the following meaning of a cryptoasset: information recorded on a blockchain that has been attributed particular features so that the information is treated as a stand-alone asset. For more, see Practice Note: Web 3.0, digital assets and cryptoassets-essentials. Cryptoassets exhibit qualities that make them especially prone to criminal involvement. The most significant is arguably the decentralised model and the ecosystem in which they typically operate (namely, a standard permission-less blockchain). Consider this illustration: to send money electronically, you effectively engage a third-party intermediary to carry out the transfer. That entity logs details of the transaction, most notably the identities of the payer and the payee. It will also usually be regulated and therefore obliged to monitor, report and/or deter financial crime, including money...
Self-defence is an absolute defence to offences committed through force, extending even to allegations of murder. If a jury concludes the defendant acted in self-defence, they must acquit. The common law defence was carried into statute by the Criminal Law Act 1967 ( CLA 1967), with additional clarification in section 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 ( CJIA 2008). The defence is available where a defendant uses ‘reasonable force’ to: defend themselves defend another person defend property prevent crime assist in the lawful arrest and apprehension of offenders The defence of self-defence has two limbs: firstly, were the circumstances, as the defendant genuinely believed them to be, such that using force was necessary? This is the subjective test secondly, was the nature and degree of force used reasonable in those perceived circumstances? This is the objective test Reasonable force—defendant’s genuine belief Whether the force is considered...
April 2026 From 1 April 2026, Finance Act 2026 introduces a 40% allowance for main rate expenditure incurred on/after 1 January 2026 and reduces main rate writing‑down allowances to 14% for corporation tax; remote gaming duty rises to 40% and bingo duty is abolished; HMRC brings in penalties for betting and gaming errors and tighter rules for agents who facilitate non‑compliance; aggregates levy is uprated by RPI and replaced in Scotland, with consequential amendments; new UK double tax treaties with Portugal, Romania and Andorra take effect for corporation tax. From 6 April, the 40% allowance and 14% WDA apply for income tax; dividend rates increase by 2p; HMRC gains new CIS fraud powers; VCT upfront relief falls to 20% while EIS/ VCT and EMI limits increase; workplace benefits relief expands and the homeworking expense deduction ends; agencies or end clients become liable for PAYE/ NICs where...
FORTHCOMING CHANGES : In Budget 2025, the government set out plans to legislate through Finance Bill 2026 (also referred to as Finance ( No 2) Bill 2024–26) to introduce measures aimed at promoters or enablers of marketed tax avoidance. These provisions sit in Part 6 of the Bill, as introduced on 4 December 2025, and encompass: revisions to the DOTAS and DASVOIT civil penalty framework, allowing HMRC to issue DOTAS penalties directly rather than seeking tribunal approval a broad prohibition on promoting marketed arrangements with no realistic prospect of success, and a prohibition on promoting arrangements named in universal stop regulations ( USRs). Breach of either prohibition would lead to sanctions including publication, financial penalties and criminal prosecution promoter action notices ( PAN). A PAN would require businesses to cease providing goods or services to promoters of tax avoidance where those goods or services are used in the...
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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