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Practice notes
The offences of common assault and battery Technically, the offences of assault and battery are separate summary offences. An assault is committed...
Practice notes
This Practice Note provides an introduction to tort law by addressing three questions:•what does the concept of being liable in tort mean? And how...
Practice notes
This Practice Note outlines the key elements for establishing a claim in negligence. For specific guidance on negligence in the context of...
Produced in partnership with Professor Richard A Buckley M.A, D.Phil, DCL, Oxford of University of Reading
Practice notes
What is rescission of a contract? The remedy of rescission is available to a party whose consent, in entering into a contract, has been invalidated in...
Q&As
What are prelims?‘ Preliminaries’ in a construction contract, or ‘prelims’, is typically taken to mean the section in the bills of quantities which...
Practice notes
What is a res judicata? A res judicata is a decision given by a judge or tribunal with jurisdiction over the cause of action and the parties, which...
Practice notes
What is a reserved judgment? A court can reserve judgment by giving its decision at a later date in writing, after the trial or hearing (as opposed to...
Practice notes
Corporate legal personality—the Salomon principle A properly formed registered company is a separate legal entity from its shareholders and has...
Practice notes
There may be times when, rather than assigning the benefit of an agreement to a third party, the original parties wish instead to end their...
Produced in partnership with Jon Chapman of Clarkslegal LLP
Practice notes
Affray is an offence created by the Public Order Act 1986 ( POA 1986). It can be tried in either the magistrates’ court or the Crown Court. The...
Practice notes
Self defence Self defence Self defence is an absolute defence based on the evidence which can apply in crimes committed by force. Section 76 of the...
Practice notes
The offence of actual bodily harm The offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm ( ABH) can be tried in either the magistrates' court or the...
Practice notes
When is a contract a void contract? A void contract is one that is wholly lacking in legal effect. A contract will be void where:•the parties contract...
Practice notes
For a person to be found guilty of a criminal offence it must be shown that they:•acted in a particular way, or•failed to act in a particular way...
Practice notes
In brief The British constitution is unwritten in the sense that it does not derive from a single constitutional text. It has a variety of written and...
Practice notes
Liability False imprisonment consists of the complete deprivation of liberty without a lawful basis. Claims will in practice be made against a public...
Produced in partnership with Laura Giachardi of 42 Bedford Row
Practice notes
used to resolve disputes about the meaning of legislation Introduction to statutory interpretation The aim of statutory interpretation is to arrive at...
Practice notes
Strict liability applies to offences for which the prosecution is not required to prove mens rea for one or more elements of the offence. What the...
Produced in partnership with Christopher Sykes of 33 Chancery Lane
Practice notes
The subjective test for recklessness Certain statutory and common law offences allow the prosecution to prove mens rea on the basis of ‘recklessness’....
Produced in partnership with Christopher Sykes of 33 Chancery Lane
Practice notes
Who is a fiduciary? There is no comprehensive list of the relationships which give rise to the existence of fiduciary duties under common law. Some...

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