bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
23. Other offences involving fraud
Authors: Ormerod David , Laird Karl
Published: September 2021

This chapter focuses on other offences involving fraud, including false accounting, false statements by company directors, suppression of documents and cheating the public revenue—offences that are addressed in s 17 of the Theft Act 1968. Section 17(1)(a) criminalizes falsification of accounts, etc, whereas s 17(1)(b) criminalizes using a falsified account, etc. Section 17(2) provides an extended, albeit non-exhaustive, definition of falsity. The concept of a claim of right includes a claim to the payment of a debt. If a person genuinely believes in the claim of right to the money to which he acts with a view to gain, there is no reason why he should use false means (evidencing his dishonesty) to acquire that money. This chapter also discusses elements of the fraud-related offences including ‘gain’ and ‘loss’ as defined in s 34(2)(a) of the Theft Act 1968.
24. Blackmail and related offences
Authors: Ormerod David , Laird Karl
Published: September 2021

This chapter deals with blackmail and related offences. The crime of blackmail involves making any unwarranted demand with menaces. Blackmail initially appears to have been coextensive with robbery and attempted robbery, but has since embraced more subtle methods of extortion. The law is currently set out in s 21 of the Theft Act 1968. This chapter considers unwarranted demand, the paradox of blackmail, the requirement of a view to gain or intent to cause loss, unlawful harassment of debtors and other offences based on threats including threats to kill, threats to damage property, threats of food terrorism, demanding payment for unsolicited goods with threats, robbery, assaults, threats of violence for the purpose of securing entry to premises and sending malicious communications.
25. Burglary and related offences
Authors: Ormerod David , Laird Karl
Published: September 2021

Burglary is an offence under the Theft Act 1968. The offence is not confined to ‘breaking and entering’ in order to steal, but involves entering any building or part of a building as a trespasser and with intent to steal anything in the building or inflict or attempt to inflict on any person therein any grievous bodily harm. A separate form of burglary is found in s 9(1)(b) of the Theft Act 1968 where a person has entered as a trespasser and thereafter attempted to steal, actually stole something, inflicted grievous bodily harm or attempted to inflict grievous bodily harm. This chapter looks at burglary and related offences and also discusses aggravated burglary and the articles of aggravation, as well as trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.
29. Forgery (additional chapter)
Authors: Ormerod David , Laird Karl
Published: September 2021

Forgery and counterfeiting are regulated by the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981. Forgery overlaps with many other offences and tends to be committed in preparation for some other crime, usually one involving fraud. Although there are many available dishonesty offences, forgery is considered a separate offence because of its serious nature and because it warrants a particular label within the criminal code. It involves making, copying or using a false instrument as well as using a copy of a false instrument, having custody or control of specified kinds of false instrument and making or having custody or control of any means (eg paper, machines) for making false instruments.
32. Selected road traffic offences (additional chapter)
Authors: Ormerod David , Laird Karl
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses road traffic offences including dangerous driving, careless and inconsiderate driving, causing death by driving, causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving when under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and causing death while driving unlawfully. A discussion of these offences contributes to an understanding of the general principles of criminal law. Dangerous and careless driving are rare examples of English law providing endangerment offences. The Road Safety Act 2006 includes some controversial new offences in which liability is imposed for a death arising while unlawfully on the roads irrespective of whether the death is due to some defect in the manner of the driving. The chapter examines the decisions of the Supreme Court in Hughes and in Taylor on the need for fault as to driving.
34. Offensive weapons (additional chapter)
Authors: Ormerod David , Laird Karl
Published: September 2021

Legislation regulating the possession and use of firearms and offensive weapons is of major importance in the prevention of offences against the person and there are a number of offences, some of which have existed for many years, which criminalize the unlawful possession of offensive weapons. This chapter discusses these offences. Although they may seem straightforward, these offences have generated a significant volume of case law. Whether an articles is ‘made for’ causing injury requires the jury to consider whether it is of a kind which is, generally speaking, made for such use.
7. The family justice system
Authors: Partington Martin
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the family justice system. It considers the role law plays in regulating the family. The chapter covers the institutional framework of family justice and its transformation. It notes the creation of the Family Court and the pressures on that court. It reviews the remedies which are available in that court, in particular those relating to the protection of children. The chapter briefly considers adoption. It considers other matrimonial matters, in particular the introduction of no-fault divorce and the financial effects of divorce. It considers policy relating to child support, and notes changes to ways of dealing with domestic violence and abuse. It considers the legal practitioners involved in family law issues and how they seek to deal with family disputes on a less adversarial basis. The effect of changes to legal aid for funding for family law cases is discussed.
1. What is Public Law?
Authors: Webley Lisa , Samuels Harriet
Published: September 2021

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter provides an introduction to public law. Public law regulates the relationships between individuals (and organisations) with the state and its organs. Examples include criminal and immigration law and human rights-related issues. Public law is made up of a number of key principles designed to ensure a healthy, representative, law-abiding country that strikes a balance between the needs of the state and the needs of its citizens. Each of these principles is discussed in turn: the rule of law, separation of powers, representative democracy, supremacy of Parliament, limited and responsible government, and judicial review executive action by the courts.
10. Devolution and Parliamentary Supremacy
Authors: Webley Lisa , Samuels Harriet
Published: September 2021

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. Devolution can be defined as the conferral of powers by a central governing institution on a regional or national governing body, without the central institution having to concede legislative supremacy. Such devolved powers can be administrative, executive, or legislative in nature. The process of devolving such powers to three of the UK’s four nations—England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland—was initiated by the passing of the Devolution Acts of 1998. This chapter begins by tracing the history of devolution and then discusses the ways that power can be devolved and the roles and powers of the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, and the Northern Ireland Assembly. It addresses the question of whether there should there be an English Parliament and, finally, examines the effects of devolution on parliamentary supremacy, as well as the effects the UK’s exit from the EU has had on the devolution settlement.
12. Responsible Government and Constitutional Conventions
Authors: Webley Lisa , Samuels Harriet
Published: September 2021

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter discusses the nature and extent of constitutional conventions, which are political rules that are binding upon those to whom they apply. They apply to the relationships between the Crown, Parliament, the judiciary, the civil service, and the executive, and play a key role in limiting the powers granted to institutions of government by unwritten rules or sources. Constitutional conventions also regulate key parts of the relationship between the institutions of government. The doctrine of ministerial responsibility is one of the most important examples of constitutional conventions regulating the behaviour of the executive. There are two main branches of ministerial responsibility. One is individual ministerial responsibility—that is, a minister’s obligation to account to Parliament for his or her words and actions and for those of his or her civil servants. The second branch of ministerial responsibility is collective ministerial responsibility. Amongst other things, collective ministerial responsibility prescribes that decisions reached by the Cabinet or other ministerial committees are binding on all members of the government, regardless of whether or not the individual ministers agree with them.
16. Illegality
Authors: Webley Lisa , Samuels Harriet
Published: September 2021

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter examines ‘illegality’ as a ground for judicial review. Central to judicial review is the idea of ultra vires, which is the principle that public authorities have to act within their legal powers and that if they act or fail to act consistently with their legal powers, they will be acting unlawfully. Case law on the exercise of discretionary powers by public authorities is discussed in depth. In addition, the public-sector equality duty in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 is explained. The concept of jurisdiction and the distinction between error of law and error of fact are also included under this ground of review.
17. Irrationality and Proportionality
Authors: Webley Lisa , Samuels Harriet
Published: September 2021

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter, which discusses the circumstances for judicial review of a public authority’s decision on the grounds that it is irrational, first explains the history of irrationality and ‘Wednesbury unreasonableness’, to provide some background to the topic and to chart its development. It then considers cases in which the courts have discussed different versions of the irrationality test, discusses the difference between irrationality and proportionality, and examines the development of proportionality and its use in judicial review cases. The chapter distinguishes between proportionality and merits review and discusses the use of judicial deference by the courts. Proportionality, and not irrationality, is the test used to determine whether a public authority has acted unlawfully when its decision is challenged by judicial review under section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998. The irrationality test is used in non-Human Rights Act judicial review cases, but the courts have also used the proportionality test in cases involving common law rights. The chapter concludes by considering the discussion in the case law and the scholarship as to whether the irrationality test should be replaced by the test of proportionality across both types of case: traditional judicial review cases and those involving a human rights issue.
18. Procedural Impropriety
Authors: Webley Lisa , Samuels Harriet
Published: September 2021

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. A public authority must have the legal power to act; if that power is conferred by statute, it may also specify the procedure that must be used prior to an action or a decision being taken. This is what is known as a ‘statutory procedure’ because it is specified in a statute. The statute may, for example, require the authority to give notice of its intention to take action in a certain way, to consult interested groups, or to tell individuals that they have the right to appeal from an adverse decision. If the authority does not comply, then this is a breach of the statutory procedure and may be reviewed as a procedural impropriety. This chapter discusses the judicial review of procedural impropriety. It covers the rules of natural justice; the right to be heard; legitimate expectation; the detailed requirements of natural justice; the rule against bias; and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
2. Objectivity in contract law
Authors: Davies Paul S.
Published: September 2021

This chapter provides an overview of the concept of objectivity. In contract law, the intentions of parties are generally judged by their words and conduct and their ‘objective’ meaning. This is known as the ‘objective test’. The contents of a contract are determined objectively. The best evidence that a term has been incorporated into a contract and that a contract is binding is through the parties’ signatures, although entirely oral contracts are equally possible. Contractual communications, whether oral or written, are generally to be understood in the way that a reasonable person in the position of the recipient would have understood them.
4. Offer and acceptance: unilateral contracts
Authors: Davies Paul S.
Published: September 2021

This chapter analyses the formation of unilateral contracts. A unilateral contract arises where O promises A something if A does a particular act which is not the making of a promise to O. A unilateral contract only imposes obligations on O. A is not obliged to do anything. A unilateral offer can be accepted by A regardless of A’s motive for doing the required act. However, A must know of the offer in order for a contract to be formed. O may not be able to revoke the offer if A has embarked upon performance. This will depend upon whether or not O has made an implied promise not to revoke the offer.
5. Contract as an agreement
Authors: Davies Paul S.
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the key elements of a contract as an agreement. No contract exists unless the parties have agreed on everything which they consider requires agreement. However, a failure explicitly to set out all the terms of the agreement is not necessarily fatal to there being a contract, since a court might be able to imply terms to fill in any gaps. But a court will be unable to do this if it would contradict the intentions of the parties. Parties may agree not to negotiate with anyone else for a specified period of time. But an agreement to negotiate with one another is not binding because it is insufficiently certain. An agreement may be made ‘subject’ to something or other. If so, the contract is not binding until that particular event occurs.
11. Identifying the terms of a contract
Authors: Davies Paul S.
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the terms of a contract. It first examines the distinction between a ‘term’ and a ‘representation’, before considering how those terms can be incorporated into a contract. It then discusses the nature of the contract being examined—even if the relevant term is not to be found in the ‘main’ contract, it may be found in a ‘collateral’, or ancillary, contract. Finally, the chapter addresses the ‘parol evidence rule’, which essentially states that where there is a written contract, extrinsic evidence cannot be used to establish other terms. This rule is riddled with exceptions and often dismissed, although it is suggested that it should not be entirely discarded.
13. Implication
Authors: Davies Paul S.
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines whether a term should be imported into the contract, although it was never expressed in words; should the term be implied? A term can be implied into a particular contract because it is necessary to give effect to the parties’ intentions. This is known as ‘implication in fact’. Whether a term should be implied ‘in fact’ has traditionally depended upon whether the term was so obvious to both parties that it went without saying, or whether the term was necessary to give ‘business efficacy’ to the contract. A term might be implied ‘in law’ into all contracts of a particular type. Such terms might be implied as a result of statute or judicial decisions. Where a judge decides that a term should be implied ‘in law’, courts can take into account policy reasons when deciding whether an implied term is necessary for the type of contract at issue.
1. Defining the Constitution?
Authors: Loveland Ian
Published: September 2021

This chapter identifies evaluative criteria that readers may wish to keep in mind when considering the description and analysis of the United Kingdom’s current constitutional arrangements presented in the rest of the book. The chapter begins by exploring what we might regard from a contemporary perspective as the essential features of the governmental systems adopted in a ‘democratic’ state. In order to illustrate the very contested nature of this concept of ‘democracy’, the chapter presents and analyses several hypothetical examples of what we might (or might not) regard as acceptable forms of governance, and explores the the notion of a country’s constitution being properly described as as a social and political contract formulated by its citizens. The chapter concludes by examining briefly the solutions adopted by the American revolutionaries to resolve the constitutional difficulties they faced when the United States became an independent country.
8. Parliamentary Privilege
Authors: Loveland Ian
Published: September 2021

This chapter, which examines the so-called parliamentary privileges of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, begins by discussing Article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689. It then explores over three hundred years of the history of parliamentary privilege in five general areas: (i) the houses’ power to regulate their own composition through the admission, retention, and expulsion of their members; (ii) the publication of details of house business; (iii) the admissibility before the courts of such published material; (iv) the concept of ‘contempt of the house’; and (v) the regulation of MPs’ ethical standards. The chapter also analyses several seminal cases in which the courts have adjudicated on both the nature and extent of parliamentary privilege and considers how case law in relation to this area of the constitution balances the sometimes competing concepts of the sovereignty of Parliament, the rule of law, and the separation of powers.
1. Crime: definitions and conflicting images
Authors: Jones Stephen
Published: September 2021

This chapter describes the subject matter of criminology as self-evident. Both etymologically and in the largely unquestioning view of early positivists, criminology concerns the content and application of the criminal law of whatever society is under consideration. Such a definition has the advantage of precision: criminologists do not have to worry about the scope of their subject, as the legislature and, in some countries, the judiciary, has fixed it for them. Yet, such a definition is ultimately unsatisfactory for a number of reasons. Inevitably, there are differing views about what should amount to a criminal offence among individuals in the same society. This is where positivists usually draw the line and insist on confining themselves to the legal definitions, although even they must concede that this divergence indicates that the content of the criminal law is not set in stone.
8. Interactionism and phenomenology
Authors: Jones Stephen
Published: September 2021

This chapter focuses on two alternative hypotheses regarding crime and criminal behaviour. The first, based on interactionism, is that crime is not an objective entity, but a consequence of social processes that occur in societies made up of different value systems and in which particular individuals are able to influence both the actual and perceived status of others. As the name suggests, interactionism refers to the processes by which people come to react to their own self-image, their view of others and their perception of how others see them, as well as the settings in which they meet or interact with others. The second, based on phenomenology, is that it is impossible to impose meaning on the behaviour of others and that the only function of a ‘scientific’ researcher can be to provide an adequate account of the meaning of behaviour for the actors themselves. Phenomenology is a German philosophy developed during the 1950s by Harold Garfinkel.
10. Character Evidence
Authors: Choo Andrew L-T
Published: September 2021

Chapter 10 begins with a discussion of the relevance of evidence of character. It then deals with the admissibility of character evidence in civil and criminal proceedings. In civil cases, the admissibility of evidence of a party’s bad character is governed simply by the test of relevance. In criminal proceedings, the entitlement of a defendant to a direction on the significance of his or her good character is taken seriously. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 now provides a comprehensive statement of the law on evidence of bad character in criminal proceedings.
11. Hearsay Evidence
Authors: Choo Andrew L-T
Published: September 2021

Chapter 11 discusses the law on hearsay evidence. It covers the admissibility of hearsay evidence in civil proceedings, now governed by the Civil Evidence Act 1995; other proceedings in which the hearsay rule is inapplicable; and the admissibility of hearsay evidence in criminal proceedings.
14. Alternative Pathways to Proof
Authors: Choo Andrew L-T
Published: September 2021

To require evidence to be called to prove every single matter requiring proof in a trial would serve no useful purpose and lead to the unnecessary prolongation of trials. On occasion, therefore, a matter may be regarded as proved even though no evidence has been adduced to prove it in the normal way. Chapter 14 examines three devices used in the law of evidence to achieve this. These are formal admissions, judicial notice, and presumptions.
European Constitutional Law
Authors: Schütze Robert
Published: September 2021

European Constitutional Law uses a distinctive two-part structure to examine the legal foundations and powers of the European Union. The text takes a critical approach to ensure awareness of the intricacies of European constitutional law. Part I looks at the constitutional foundations including a constitutional history. This part also looks at the governmental structure of the European constitution. Part II moves on to governmental powers. It looks at legislative, external, executive, and judicial powers. It ends with a study of limiting powers and EU fundamental rights.
10. Judicial Powers I
Authors: Schütze Robert
Published: September 2021

This chapter highlights the ‘centralized’ powers of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It begins with an analysis of the Court’s annulment power. The power of judicial review is the founding pillar of a Union ‘based on the rule of law’. The chapter then moves to the remedial power of the European Court, and the question of when the Union legislative or executive branches will be liable to pay damages for an illegal action. It also investigates the Court’s power to adjudicate disputes between parties. In addition to a number of direct actions (direct actions start directly in the European Court), the EU Treaties also envisage an indirect action starting in the national courts: the preliminary reference procedure. This procedure is the central pillar of the Union’s cooperative federalism for it combines the central interpretation of Union law by the Court of Justice with the decentralized application of European law by the national courts.
5. European Law I
Authors: Schütze Robert
Published: September 2021

This chapter assesses the doctrine of direct effect across the various sources of European law, starting with the direct effect of the European Treaties. The EU Treaties, as primary law, also envisage the adoption of European secondary law. This secondary law may take various forms. These forms are constitutionally defined in Article 288 TFEU, which sets out the Union's legal instruments. The provision acknowledges three binding legal instruments—regulations, directives, and decisions—and two non-binding instruments. While regulations and decisions were considered Union acts that directly establish legal norms, directives appeared to be designed as indirect forms of legislation. Sadly, Article 288 TFEU is incomplete, for it only mentions the Union's internal instruments. A fourth binding instrument indeed needs to be ‘read into’ the list: international agreements. Union agreements are not only binding upon the institutions of the Union, but also ‘on its Member States’. The chapter then analyses the doctrine of direct effects for international agreements.
7. Law and social theory
Authors: Wacks Raymond
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the subject of social theory and, in particular, the sociology of law and analyses the leading theories of a number of writers who adopt a ‘sociological perspective’. The theories of Roscoe Pound, Eugen Ehrlich, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, Karl Marx, Michel Foucault, and Jürgen Habermas are discussed. Each espouses a different approach to the analysis of law and the legal system, but what they have in common is the attempt to explain the role law plays in society. Their contribution is an important one, although it is sometimes questioned whether the sociology of law has an adequate theoretical grounding.
11. Why obey the law?
Authors: Wacks Raymond
Published: September 2021

Do we have a moral duty to obey the law? Do we, in other words, have a moral obligation to comply with legal rules simply because they are legal rules? What about obviously unfair or unjust laws? Or laws that impose unreasonable demands on us? The question of whether we have a duty to follow the demands of the law raises some fundamental issues regarding the nature of law and its moral claims. This chapter examines a number of possible reasons for obeying the law. It will examine the principal justifications for obedience: fair play, consent, the common good, and gratitude.
1. Overview of tort law
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: September 2021

This chapter provides an overview of tort law. It explains that tort law is a branch of the law of obligations which imposes liability for the breach of norms of conduct based on the type of interest at stake and/or the degree of fault present in the defendant. It provides a brief history of tort law. It then moves on to discuss the rights and interests protected by tort law. The chapter considers also theoretical perspectives on tort law. These concern such things as the bases of tortious liability and the issue of whether tort law should serve individual (eg, corrective justice) or social (eg, deterrence) goals.
2. Duty of care I: foundational principles
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the foundational principles of the duty of care in tort law. It explains that the duty of care framework comprises three stages—those of: the reasonable foreseeability of injury to a class of persons which includes the claimant; a sufficient relationship of proximity between the claimant and the defendant; and inquiry into whether it would be fair, just, and reasonable to recognise a duty (otherwise known as the policy limb). It discusses the precedent set by Caparo Industries v Dickman and modern approaches to the duty of care (especially that represented by the case of Robinson v Chief Constable).
3. Duty of care II: bodily injury and psychiatric illness
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the duties of care in negligence that must be pleaded where the claimant has suffered some kind of personal injury—principally cases of bodily injury and psychiatric illness. The law imposes a wide duty with respect to persons who are physically proximate and vulnerable to injury. The law imposes a wide duty of care also upon persons who imperil others’ physical safety and cause them, as persons in the ‘zone of danger’, to suffer psychiatric illness. By contrast, the law has imposed certain ‘control mechanisms’ on the duty of care as it applies to secondary victims (who were outside the zone of danger but have suffered psychiatric injury). These mechanisms involve stringent types of proximity (as to relationships, presence, and sensory experience) in addition to the requirement of foreseeability to persons of the type of psychiatric illness.
7. Special duty problems: economic loss
Authors: Horsey Kirsty , Rackley Erika
Published: September 2021

This chapter explains when and how the courts have found that a duty of care should be owed by defendants for purely economic loss. This differs from ‘consequential’ economic loss, where financial loss is suffered as a secondary consequence of another harm, such as personal injury or property damage. The tort of negligence distinguishes between these, using duty of care as a device to control whether and when claimants will be able to recover their pure economic losses. The discussions cover the meaning of ‘pure’ economic loss; exceptions to the exclusionary rule; claims for pure economic loss in negligence before Murphy v Brentwood District Council [1990]; and extended applications of the principles established in Hedley Byrne v Heller [1963].
13. Employers’ liability
Authors: Horsey Kirsty , Rackley Erika
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses employers’ liability and, in particular, the non-delegable duty of care, which employers owe to their employees to ensure that they are reasonably safe when at work. The duty ensures that an employer remains responsible for key tasks even when their obligations have been delegated to another. The duty of care is typically said to have four components (building on Lord Wright’s statement in Wilsons & Clyde Coal Co Ltd [1938]) comprising the provision of: a competent workforce; adequate material and equipment; a safe system of working (including effective supervision); and a safe workplace.
15. Intentional interferences with the person
Authors: Horsey Kirsty , Rackley Erika
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines intentional interferences with the person, including the torts comprising trespass to the person—battery, assault and false imprisonment—the tort in Wilkinson v Downton [1897], and the statutory tort of harassment. The trespass to the person torts seek to protect an individual against an infringement of their personal or bodily integrity, that is, against the infliction, or fearing the infliction, of unlawful force (battery and assault) and the unlawful restriction of a person’s freedom of movement (false imprisonment). The three trespass to the person torts have the same characteristics: the defendant must have intended both the conduct itself and consequences of their action; the defendant’s action must cause direct and immediate harm; and they are actionable per se, that is, without proof of loss. The chapter also considers the tort in Wilkinson v Downton, which provides a remedy for physical and psychiatric harm deliberately caused by a false statement, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, which imposes both civil and criminal liability for harassing conduct.
20. Vicarious liability
Authors: Horsey Kirsty , Rackley Erika
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the principle of vicarious liability, a form of secondary liability through which employers may, in certain circumstances, be liable for the torts of their employees, even though the employer themselves may be entirely blameless. The imposition of vicarious liability is one of the most important exceptions to the general approach of the common law whereby liability for any wrongdoing is imposed on, and only on, the wrongdoer(s). A defendant will not be vicariously liable unless the following conditions are met: (a) there is an employer–employee relationship between the defendant and the person for whose actions they are being held liable; (b) the employee committed the tortious act while acting in the course of their employment.
21. Damages for death and personal injuries
Authors: Horsey Kirsty , Rackley Erika
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines various issues in relation to damages in tort, beginning by looking at the principles that lie behind damages awards. The primary object of the law is to compensate those who have been harmed by another’s wrongdoing by making an award that seeks to put the claimant into the position that they would have been in had the harm not occurred. The chapter discusses the calculation and forms of damage payments, and special and general damages; independent, joint and several concurrent liabilities; time limitations on claims; the problem with damages; and debunking the compensation culture myth.
5. Legal Estates and Legal Interests
Authors: McFarlane Ben , Hopkins Nicholas , Nield Sarah
Published: September 2021

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter investigates legal property rights in land and their content. The numerus clausus (or ‘closed list’) principle is of crucial importance when addressing the content question in relation to legal property rights in land. The Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925) divides such rights into legal estates and legal interests. As a result of s 1 of LPA 1925, there are now only two permissible legal estates in land. The chapter then explores the content of a freehold and of a lease, and covers the vital question of why the LPA 1925 imposed this limit on the types of permissible legal estate in land. The facts of Hill v Tupper and Keppell v Bailey offer particular examples of a more general question that land law has to tackle when deciding on the content of legal interests in land.
26. Lenders’ Rights and Remedies
Authors: McFarlane Ben , Hopkins Nicholas , Nield Sarah
Published: September 2021

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter concentrates on the rights and powers conferred upon the lender to enforce its security over land. A lender’s rights and remedies arise from the nature of its security, the powers implied by the Law of Property Act 1925, and any express powers. The lender’s right to take possession originated at common law, but is now conferred by s 87(1) of the 1925 Act. The lender’s power of sale and to appoint a receiver are implied by s 101(1)(i) and (iii) of the 1925 Act, respectively and can only be exercised if the borrower has defaulted. The duties that a lender or receiver owes when selling the mortgaged property are explained, as well as the position of a purchaser from a lender or receiver where there has been a breach of duty.
2. Contracts of employment (1): status, formation, continuity, and change
Authors: Smith Ian , Baker Aaron , Warnock Owen
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the way in which the law has had to keep up with changing models of ‘employment’. Even the old ‘employee/self-employed’ division is now complicated by increasing use in modern statutes of the term ‘worker’. Part-time, fixed-term, and agency workers have featured prominently in modern employment law and consideration is given to these specifically, along with even more topical areas of concern such as zero-hour contracts and the challenges of the ‘gig economy’ more generally. Three more technical areas are then considered. The first concerns the ‘section 1 statement’ of basic terms and conditions that has been an obligation on employers since 1963 but is still not always given. The second concerns the difficult question of the extent to which an employer can seek to impose limitations on an employee even after employment ends. The third concerns the whole question of how the terms of an employment contract can lawfully be changed by one or both of the parties to it.
8. Redundancy, reorganization, and transfers of undertakings
Authors: Smith Ian , Baker Aaron , Warnock Owen
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses issues concerning an employer facing hard times or stiff competition, which may need to sell or contract out part of its operation, dismiss some employees, or change the terms and conditions of work. It tackles these situations together both for the practical benefit of grouping issues that arise from similar factual settings and for the analytical coherence of dealing together with protections designed to balance worker interests in job security with the general economic interest in lean, efficient, and flexible enterprise. The statutory definition of ‘redundancy’ is examined and is contrasted with termination of employment, or change in terms of employment, for other economic reasons. The chapter then deals with statutory redundancy payments and collective consultation on collective dismissals (whether for redundancy or other reasons). The discussion then focuses on distinctions in how tribunals assess the fairness of redundancy dismissals as opposed to other dismissals caused by reorganization which are categorized as being for ‘some other substantial reason’. Finally, the chapter addresses the law governing the transfer of undertakings, or ‘TUPE’, covering the transfer to the new employer of individual and collective relationships, the protection of existing terms and conditions, and the legality of transfer-related dismissals and transfer-related changes to the employment contract.
12. The Investigation of Crime
Authors: Gillespie Alisdair A. , Weare Siobhan
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the investigation of crime. It begins with a discussion of how law enforcement is organized, exploring the role of agencies such as the police, the National Crime Agency, and HM Revenue and Customs, amongst others. It then critically considers police powers around stop and search and arrest and detention, before moving on to examine the rights of suspects in police custody, particularly in relation to interview.
13. Pre-Trial Matters
Authors: Gillespie Alisdair A. , Weare Siobhan
Published: September 2021

This chapter on the criminal justice system focuses on preliminary issues, i.e. some of the issues that take place before trial begins. A prosecution begins at the earliest stage through a defendant being charged by the police but under the authority of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The CPS must then review the decision to prosecute, which requires the CPS to have reference to two prosecution tests (evidential and public interest tests). The CPS has the ability to issue out of court disposals in appropriate cases as alternatives to prosecution. If a prosecution does take place it is necessary to identify in which court the proceedings will be heard. Crimes are divided into three categories: summary, indictable-only, and either-way. Criminal matters are heard in the magistrates’ court and the Crown Court and the categorization of offences has an impact on where the matter should be heard.
19. Alternative Dispute Resolution
Authors: Gillespie Alisdair A. , Weare Siobhan
Published: September 2021

This chapter considers alternative dispute resolutions (ADR), which are ways that a dispute can be settled outside of the court process. The chapters considers the growth of ADR and how the courts now require litigants to consider ADR before commencing legal action. The courts have wide powers to encourage ADR and this chapter considers these powers and why the courts try to encourage ADR. The key forms of ADR are then presented, together with an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses.
20. The Future in a Post-COVID World
Authors: Gillespie Alisdair A. , Weare Siobhan
Published: September 2021

This chapter considers the impact that COVID-19 has had on the English Legal System. The chapter is broken down into sections that mirror the parts of this book. The chapter begins by noting that the manner in which laws are passed differed because of coronavirus. The government were given wide-ranging powers to introduce new laws that restricted liberty. In many instances, these were not subject to Parliamentary debate or judicial analysis. The chapter also considers how the courts had to adjust to new ways of working. While traditionally, the courts rely on live proceedings, with everyone gathered in court, this was not possible throughout the pandemic. Remote hearings became the new normal until so-called ‘Nightingale Courts’ were introduced to allow for socially-distant trials to resume. However, this has led to significant delays in both the civil and criminal justice systems that will have a lasting impact. The chapter considers not only what has happened during the coronavirus pandemic, but also what lessons have been learnt that can carry through to the future.
1. Introduction to equity and trusts
Authors: Watt Gary
Published: September 2021

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams and exercises help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. The trust is an important invention of equity, a branch of English law compatible with common law. The history of equity oscillates between compatibility and competition with common law. This chapter serves as an introduction to equity and trusts. It outlines the major stages in the historical development of equity and trusts, examines the theoretical distinction between equity and the common law, explains how to correctly use the maxims and doctrines of equity, and discusses the distinction between equity as an inventive, flexible, remedial branch of law, and equitable institutions that are now settled and established, including the trust and the mortgage. The chapter also considers equity in relation to morality, co-operative remedies in equity and common law, equity and crime, and equity and restitution, before concluding with an assessment of the place of equity in the modern world and its possible future development.
5. The constitution of trusts
Authors: Watt Gary
Published: September 2021

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams and exercises help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. The formality requirements of a trust aim to prevent secret fraudulent dealings and to achieve certainty through the recording of transactions. In contrast, no trust exists if the requirements of valid constitution are not complied with. These requirements are designed as a precaution against the casual creation of trusts, a sensible approach given the dramatic consequences of the typical express trust of property. This chapter deals with the constitution of trusts and discusses the distinction between requirements of constitution and formality in relation to the creation of trusts. It also looks at a validly constituted trust, the maxim that equity will not assist a volunteer, how the common law can assist in the constitution of trusts and a valid donatio mortis causa. In addition, the chapter considers constitution by transfer of legal title to trustees as well as assistance from Roman law with respect to constitution of trusts.
14. Investment
Authors: Watt Gary
Published: September 2021

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams and exercises help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. Part II of the Trustee Act 2000 gives every trustee the power to make any kind of investment as long as he is absolutely entitled to the assets of the trust, a power that permits trustees to hold investments jointly or in common with other persons. There are no unauthorised types of investment, but it is important to know whether the type of investment chosen was appropriate to the trust on the basis of the ‘standard investment criteria’. This chapter examines the types of investment permitted by the general law, a breach of the duty to invest with appropriate care, the significance of modern portfolio theory to trustee investments and the impact of the Trustee Act 2000 upon trustee investments. It also looks at the historical need for income production and discusses capital gains as investment returns, the standard investment criteria, the need for trustees to obtain and consider proper advice about investments, particular types of investment and investment policy.
3. The law of treaties
Authors: Henriksen Anders
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the principles and rules of the international law of treaties as reflected in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT). It discusses the treaty as a legal concept and provides an overview of the regulation of who can conclude treaties, how consent to be bound by a treaty is expressed, the rules on entry into force, treaty reservations, the interpretation of treaties, amendments and modifications, the invalidity of treaties and the termination of and withdrawal from treaties. The VCLT is meant to be applied to all types of written treaties and it therefore governs treaties as diverse as a bilateral agreement to construct infrastructure as well as a multilateral document such as the UN Charter. In practice, however, the concrete application of the Convention may differ depending on the type of treaties.
5. Jurisdiction
Authors: Henriksen Anders
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the international legal concept of jurisdiction as well as the content of the relevant legal principles. The term jurisdiction relates to the authority of a state to exert its influence and power—in practice make, apply and enforce its rules—and create an impact or consequence on individuals or property. The chapter explains the difference between, respectively, the jurisdiction to prescribe and the jurisdiction to enforce and the main elements thereof. It analyses the different principles of prescriptive jurisdiction (the principle of territoriality, nationality, universality, protection and so-called passive personality) and discusses the issue of concurring jurisdictions as well as jurisdiction on ships and aircraft. It also discusses the prohibition on enforcing jurisdiction on the territory of another state as well as the legal consequences of violating that prohibition.