Adam Craggs

This Practice Note explains the offence of a company director making a statutory declaration of a company’s solvency without reasonable grounds under section 89 of the Insolvency Act 1986. It deals with elements of the offence, proposals for voluntary winding up, what is a statutory declaration, the meaning of reasonable grounds and the penalties for committing the offence of making false declarations of solvency.

This Practice Note explains the elements of the offence of making false representations to creditors or committing fraud in order to obtain consent from the company’s creditors under section 211(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986. This offence may be committed during the course of winding up a company by a past or present company officer. The Practice Note includes information on what amounts to a false representation and the maximum penalty which may be imposed following conviction.

This Practice Note explains the procedure for obtaining production orders under sections 345–351 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002) and the relevant Criminal Procedure Rules 2025, SI 2025/909 (CrimPR 2025). It includes information on how to apply for a production order, the requirements of an order, the effect of an order, how production orders are executed and what happens if there is a breach of an order.

This Practice Note explains the elements of the offence of transactions in fraud of creditors under section 207 of the Insolvency Act 1986. It includes the statutory defences and sentences which may be imposed following conviction of making a gift or transfer to defraud creditors.

This Flowchart assists criminal law practitioners to determine the admissibility of documentary hearsay in criminal proceedings under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003), section 117. It poses a series of questions for lawyers to consider in assessing whether the evidence is admissible under the documentary hearsay provisions of CJA 2003, s 117.

This Checklist provides an outline of the type of factors which an advocate must mitigate during a sentencing hearing including mitigation in relation to the offence and personal mitigation. It also provides a list as to what character evidence should include and some general practical tips. It includes links to the Sentencing Council’s General guideline—overarching principles which applies to all individual offenders and to organisations who are sentenced and includes expanded explanations of aggravating and mitigating factors.

This Checklist summarises key practical guidance for criminal lawyers required to attend criminal proceedings in England and Wales which are conducted by live audio link or live video link.