bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
2. English legal system—an overview
Authors: Wilson Steve , Rutherford Helen , Storey Tony , Wortley Natalie
Published: August 2018

This chapter provides an overview of the English legal system, introducing fundamental legal concepts, such as the nature of law and parliamentary sovereignty, and the differences between criminal law and civil law legal terminology, such as terminology and the outcomes. The sources of law, legislation in the form of Acts of Parliament or statutes and delegated legislation and common law or judge-made law are outlined. An outline of the courts is given, including the judges and the jurisdiction of the courts. The relationship between the English legal system and the European Union (EU) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is explained.
8. The judiciary
Authors: Wilson Steve , Rutherford Helen , Storey Tony , Wortley Natalie
Published: August 2018

This chapter describes and discusses the different types of judge, and their roles, within the English legal system. An outline of the system of judicial appointments is given. There is also comment supplied upon the issues of diversity of membership of the judiciary and the importance of independence of the judiciary.
13. The criminal process: pre-trial and trial
Authors: Wilson Steve , Rutherford Helen , Storey Tony , Wortley Natalie
Published: August 2018

This chapter explains what happens once a person has been charged with a criminal offence. Whether a case remains in the magistrates’ court or is sent to the Crown Court depends on whether the offence is ‘summary only’, ‘indictable only’, or ‘triable either way’. Summary trial takes place before a district judge or bench of lay justices in the magistrates’ court. Trial on indictment takes place before a jury in the Crown Court. Criminal proceedings are governed by the Criminal Procedure Rules (CrimPR), whose overriding objective is to deal with cases justly, including acquitting the innocent and convicting the guilty. The chapter will consider those parts of the CrimPR that set out the steps to be taken before a trial in both the magistrates’ court and the Crown Court. It also explores key evidential and procedural rules that apply at trial, such as the rule that the prosecution must prove a defendant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
15. The civil process
Authors: Wilson Steve , Rutherford Helen , Storey Tony , Wortley Natalie
Published: August 2018

This chapter is a general introduction to civil litigation and the civil courts. It describes the process by which a civil claim is dealt with in the County Court or in the High Court. It provides an overview of the major case management powers possessed by the civil courts and discusses how these powers must be exercised to further the overriding objective of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (as amended) to deal with matters justly and at proportionate cost. A brief history of the development of the civil court rules is included. Some of the basic principles of civil evidence are discusses and the methods of enforcement of civil judgments are set out.
16. Criminal and civil appeals
Authors: Wilson Steve , Rutherford Helen , Storey Tony , Wortley Natalie
Published: August 2018

This chapter introduces readers to the appeals process in criminal and civil cases. It explores the grounds upon which appeals may be based in criminal cases, including the concepts of ‘fresh evidence’ and ‘lurking doubt’. If a criminal appeal has been dismissed, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which was set up to examine potential miscarriages of justice, may refer a case back to the appeal court in certain circumstances. The chapter highlights some of the criticisms of the CCRC’s role and effectiveness. The avenues of appeal in civil cases are also discussed.
18. Alternative dispute resolution
Authors: Wilson Steve , Rutherford Helen , Storey Tony , Wortley Natalie
Published: August 2018

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) describes any method of resolving legal disputes other than through litigation in the ordinary courts or tribunals. ADR includes methods such as arbitration, mediation, adjudication, conciliation, med-arb, and early neutral evaluation/expert determination. This chapter explains why ADR in general exists, its many advantages (compared to litigation) as well as its disadvantages, and the differences between the various forms of ADR. The chapter examines the case law over the last fifteen years on the ‘cost consequences’ of a failure by one party to a legal dispute to engage in ADR when presented with the opportunity to do so. The chapter considers whether ADR should ever be made compulsory and the extent to which the parties to a dispute, having agreed to resolve their dispute through ADR, can be compelled to honour that agreement.
Contract Law
Authors: McKendrick Ewan
Published: August 2018

Contract Law: Text, Cases, and Materials provides a complete guide to the subject of contract law. The book comprises a balance of 40% text to 60% cases and materials. Its clear explanations and analyses of the law provide support to students, while the extracts from cases and materials promote the development of essential case reading skills and allow for a more detailed appreciation of the practical workings of the law and of the best legal scholarship. Part I of the book examines the rules relating to the existence of an agreement (particularly offer and acceptance, uncertain and incomplete agreements, and consideration and promissory estoppel). Part II covers the terms of the contract, including implied terms, interpretation, boilerplate clauses, exclusion clauses, unfair terms in consumer contracts, and good faith. Part III examines topics such as mistake, misrepresentation, duress, undue influence, unconscionability, inequality of bargaining power, and frustration and force majeure. Part IV turns to breaches of contract and termination, damages, and specific performance. The last part, Part V, concentrates on third parties.
4. Uncertain and Incomplete Agreements
Authors: McKendrick Ewan
Published: August 2018

The parties to agreements sometimes express themselves in terms that are vague, incomplete, or uncertain. The courts have experienced considerable difficulty in deciding whether or not an agreement has been expressed in a form that is sufficiently certain for them to enforce. On the one hand, judges generally do not wish to be seen to be making the contract for the parties, and on the other hand, are reluctant to deny legal effect to an agreement that the parties have apparently accepted as valid and binding. The result has been a degree of tension in the case-law. This chapter examines two groups of cases. The first group consists of cases in which it was held that the agreement was too uncertain or too vague to be enforced, while the second comprises a number of cases in which the courts have concluded that the agreement was valid and binding.
9. Incorporation of Terms
Authors: McKendrick Ewan
Published: August 2018

This chapter discusses the incorporation of terms into a contract. Three principal options are available to ensure the incorporation of terms, the first of which is to make sure that the other party to the contract signs the document that contains all the relevant terms. A party is generally bound by terms he has signed, whether or not he has read them. The second option is to take reasonable steps to bring the terms to the notice of the other party. In order to be effective the notice must have been given at or before the time of contracting, in a document that was intended to have contractual effect and reasonable steps must have been taken to bring the terms to the attention of the other party. The third option is incorporation by course of dealing or by custom. In order to constitute a ‘course of dealing’ there must have been a series of transactions between the parties that was both ‘consistent’ and ‘regular’.
10. Implied Terms
Authors: McKendrick Ewan
Published: August 2018

This chapter discusses implied terms. Terms may be implied into contracts from three principal sources: statute, custom, and the courts. Parliament has, on a number of occasions, implied terms into contracts. The precise reason for the implication of the term depends upon the particular statute. It may be to give effect to the presumed intention of the parties; it may be to reduce uncertainty by enacting a default rule out of which the parties can contract if they do not like the term that Parliament has seen fit to imply; or it may be to protect one party to the transaction from the superior bargaining power of the other. Terms can also be implied into contracts by custom where the custom is certain, reasonable, and notorious. Customs and usages are an important source of obligations in commercial contracts. Terms implied by the courts can be divided into two groups, namely terms implied in fact and terms implied in law. A term is implied in fact when it is implied into the contract in order to give effect to what is deemed by the court to be the unexpressed intention of the parties and are implied because they are necessary to make the contract work. Terms implied in law ‘are those terms that are consistently implied into all contracts of a particular type because of the nature of the contract, rather than the supposed intentions of the parties’.
11. The Interpretation of Contracts
Authors: McKendrick Ewan
Published: August 2018

This chapter focuses on the principles applied by the courts when interpreting contracts, as set out by the House of Lords in Investors Compensation Scheme Ltd v. West Bromwich Building Society and the Supreme Court in Arnold v. Britton and Wood v. Capita Insurance Services Ltd. The chapter discusses the scope of these principles (in particular, the ‘factual matrix’, the exclusion of pre-contractual negotiations, the meaning of words, ‘corrective interpretation’, and the balance to be struck between the natural and ordinary meaning of the words and giving to the words a commercial sensible construction.
12. Boilerplate Clauses
Authors: McKendrick Ewan
Published: August 2018

This chapter examines some standard clauses found in commercial contracts today (often known as ‘boilerplate clauses’). The focus is on commercial contracts and terms that will, in all probability, have been drafted by lawyers. The discussions cover general clauses, retention of title clauses, price escalation clauses, interest, force majeure clauses, choice of law clauses, arbitration clauses, jurisdiction clauses, hardship clauses, entire agreement clauses, termination clauses, assignment, and exclusion and limitation clauses.
18. Duress
Authors: McKendrick Ewan
Published: August 2018

A contract can be set aside on the ground that it has been entered into under duress. This chapter presents cases illustrating the different forms of duress, namely duress of the person, duress of goods, and economic duress. The case-law establishes that there are two principal elements to a duress claim: (i) lack of consent/coercion of the will and (ii) the illegitimacy of the pressure exerted. The chapter examines the idea of ‘illegitimacy’, in particular whether a threat to breach a contract is always illegitimate.
20. Unconscionability and Inequality of Bargaining Power
Authors: McKendrick Ewan
Published: August 2018

This chapter considers a group of cases in which the courts have been asked to grant relief on the basis that the contract concluded between the parties was, in some way, unfair, outlining examples drawn both from the common law (including equity) and from statutes. The rise and fall of a doctrine of inequality of bargaining power is also noted. It then considers the arguments in favour of drawing these disparate cases together into one general doctrine, and concludes by drawing on some academic reflections on the case-law and the role of fairness in the law of contract more generally.
22. Breach of Contract and Termination
Authors: McKendrick Ewan
Published: August 2018

This chapter begins with a definition of ‘breach of contract’ and then outlines the circumstances in which a breach of contract gives to the innocent party a right to terminate further performance of the contract. These include breach of a condition and breach of an intermediate term where the consequences of the breach are sufficiently serious. The chapter also considers the problems that can arise in deciding the status of a term which has not been classified by the parties as a condition, a warranty, or an intermediate term. It examines termination clauses and the significance attached to the good faith of the party who is alleged to have repudiated the contract. The chapter includes a brief comparison of English law with the Vienna Convention and with the Principles of European Contract Law, and also addresses the question of whether an innocent party is obligated to exercise its right to terminate further performance of the contract, and considers the loss of the right to terminate. It concludes with a discussion of the law of anticipatory breach of contract.
Land Law Directions
Authors: Clarke Sandra , Greer Sarah
Published: August 2018

Land Law Directions provides engaging and straightforward explanations of difficult concepts. Case summaries, photographs, and examples are used throughout to provide real-life context and to clarify abstract ideas, while diagrams and definitions ensure the text is easy to follow and that key points are understood. The book provides a full range of resources designed to help build upon and further existing understanding, including thinking points, end of chapter questions, and tips on linking topics together. A final chapter pulls together key details from each chapter, showing how topics link together and apply to a fictional piece of land. An additional separate chapter focuses on preparing for exams, offering advice on approaching assessment questions and revision technique. This edition includes a new chapter on proprietary estoppel, and consolidation of the law on land registration into one chapter (4). New cases covered include Regency Villas Title Ltd v Diamond Resorts (Europe) Ltd [2017] EWCA Civ 238; [2017] 2 P & CR DG8 (CA (Civ Div)) on rights of recreation as easements which pass with the land to each successive owner; Gore v Naheed & Ahmed [2017] EWCA Civ 369, which considered the old rule in Harris v Flower in relation to easements of way; Smith v Molyneaux [2016] UKPC 35 on unilateral permission/licences in adverse possession.
7. The sole owner of land
Authors: Clarke Sandra , Greer Sarah
Published: August 2018

This chapter discusses what it means to be the ‘owner’ of a property. In registered land, whoever is entered into the proprietorship register as the registered proprietor of the property is deemed to have the authority to deal with the land as an owner. The chapter discusses three alternative scenarios when the land register shows a sole registered proprietor; the first is that the registered proprietor is the sole legal and equitable owner of the land; the second is that the registered proprietor is the sole legal owner, holding the equitable title on trust for someone else; the third is that the registered proprietor is the sole legal owner, holding the equitable title on trust for him- or herself and (an)other equitable owner(s). The chapter considers the potential dangers for equitable owners and purchasers, and explains the law that has been put in place to protect them.
9. Trusts and the family home
Authors: Clarke Sandra , Greer Sarah
Published: August 2018

This chapter discusses a form of ‘implied’ co-ownership—the situation in which the law recognizes that co-ownership in a property has arisen, even though this is sometimes far from the intention of the parties. It looks at how implied co-ownership arises, either through a resulting or constructive trust. It discusses in detail the two-stage process that gives rise to the court identifying that the existence of a common intention constructive trust has been established, and looks at how the courts have considered this process over many years. It then considers how the court approaches quantification of shares in the property. Finally it looks at the many proposals for reform in this area of law.
12. Easements and profits
Authors: Clarke Sandra , Greer Sarah
Published: August 2018

This chapter discusses easements and profits—two of the most important rights that can be held by one person over land belonging to another person. Easements are important property rights owned by one landowner (the dominant owner) over land of another (the servient owner). To be an easement, the right claimed must benefit the land itself and not merely the owner of the dominant tenement personally. Common types of easement include rights of way, rights of parking, right to air, and rights of water. A profit à prendre is the right to take something from another person’s land. This includes minerals, crops, and wild animals. Profits may either be owned by one person to the exclusion of all others—that is, a several profit—or by one person in common with other persons—that is, a profit in common, or a common.
14. Mortgages
Authors: Clarke Sandra , Greer Sarah
Published: August 2018

This chapter discusses mortgages, specifically mortgage creation, legal mortgages, equitable mortgages, and priority of mortgages. A mortgage is a debt secured on land. A legal mortgage in registered land can now be created only by means of a legal charge under the Land Registration Act 2002, s. 23(1)(a). The mortgagor has a bundle of rights known as the ‘equity of redemption’. If the mortgagee attempts to gain any unconscionable advantage by means of the mortgage, the courts will strike it down. The mortgagee has five potential remedies to recover the debt: an action on the mortgagor’s personal covenant; repossession; sale; appointment of a receiver; and foreclosure. The doctrine of undue influence is important in the law of mortgages. Provided the mortgagee bank follows the steps outlined by the House of Lords in Royal Bank of Scotland v. Etridge
(No. 2), it will be protected against a claim for undue influence.
3. Buying a house
Authors: MacKenzie Judith-Anne , Nair Aruna
Published: August 2018

Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on Land Law provides an accessible overview of one key area on the law curriculum. This chapter discusses the acquisition of a fee simple estate in land. It first describes the two freehold properties that are currently for sale in Trant Way, Mousehole, Stilton. It then explains two systems of title and provides an outline of the conveyancing process.
7. Acquisition of an estate by adverse possession
Authors: MacKenzie Judith-Anne , Nair Aruna
Published: August 2018

Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on Land Law provides an accessible overview of one key area on the law curriculum. Another way to acquire an estate in land is by adverse possession. The Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002) made major changes to the process of acquiring registered land by adverse possession, but the old rules continue to apply to unregistered land (and registered land where the period of adverse possession was completed before the new Act came into force). This chapter considers what is required to establish adverse possession, and then uses the example of another house in Trant Way to illustrate the three systems in operation: adverse possession of unregistered land; adverse possession of registered land under LRA 1925; and the new system of adverse possession of registered land established by LRA 2002. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the human rights issues arising from adverse possession.
11. Enforcement of leasehold covenants
Authors: MacKenzie Judith-Anne , Nair Aruna
Published: August 2018

Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on Land Law provides an accessible overview of one key area on the law curriculum. This chapter discusses how leasehold covenants are enforced. It considers the effect covenants have on: the original parties to the lease; their successors in title (those who acquire the lease or the reversion from the original tenant or landlord); and subtenants (those who hold a sub-lease granted by the original tenant or his successor in title). The chapter also looks at breach of covenant before assignment and applies the enforcement of covenants to Trant Way tenancies.
14. Trusts of land
Authors: MacKenzie Judith-Anne , Nair Aruna
Published: August 2018

Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on Land Law provides an accessible overview of one key area on the law curriculum. This chapter begins by discussing changes introduced by the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA 1996). The operation of the new trust of land is regulated by Part 1 of TOLATA 1996, and the rest of the chapter deals with these provisions. These are illustrated by reference to: Mary Brown, the owner of 10 Trant Way, who needs advice about creating a settlement in her will; and six students who hold 8 Trant Way as co-owners, and are therefore subject to a statutory trust of land. Three special dispositions which would previously have created Settled Land Act settlements but now give rise to trusts of land are also identified.
16. Perpetuities and accumulations
Authors: MacKenzie Judith-Anne , Nair Aruna
Published: August 2018

Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on Land Law provides an accessible overview of one key area on the law curriculum. This chapter provides a brief account of the ‘perpetuities and accumulations’ rules. It discusses future interests; the old perpetuities rules; legislative modifications before 2010; the breadth of the application of old rules; rules about the period for which income can accumulate in a trust; and the Perpetuities and Accumulations Act 2009.
19. Proprietary estoppel
Authors: MacKenzie Judith-Anne , Nair Aruna
Published: August 2018

Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on Land Law provides an accessible overview of one key area on the law curriculum. This chapter examines the doctrine of proprietary estoppel. It discusses the nature of proprietary estoppel; the expectations of future rights; the criteria for proprietary estoppel; essential elements; satisfying the equity; the nature of the equity arising from estoppel; and the relationship between proprietary estoppel and constructive trusts.
21. Special rights in relation to the family home
Authors: MacKenzie Judith-Anne , Nair Aruna
Published: August 2018

Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on Land Law provides an accessible overview of one key area on the law curriculum. This chapter brings together some matters about the family home, and provides additional information about certain statutory rights which members of a family may have in respect of their homes, contrasting the rights of married couples and civil partners with the more limited rights of cohabitants. In conclusion, the chapter outlines proposals for reform of the law relating to cohabitants’ rights in the family home.
24. Easements and profits à prendre
Authors: MacKenzie Judith-Anne , Nair Aruna
Published: August 2018

Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on Land Law provides an accessible overview of one key area on the law curriculum. This chapter discusses easements and profits à prendre. It explains the nature of easements and profits; legal and equitable interests; enforcement against acquirer of the servient tenement; acquisition by express grant or reservation; acquisition by implied grant or reservation; acquisition by express grant by virtue of the Law of Property Act 1925, s. 62; acquisition by prescription; remedies which may be used to protect an easement or profit; and the extinguishment of easements and profits.
25. Freehold covenants
Authors: MacKenzie Judith-Anne , Nair Aruna
Published: August 2018

Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on Land Law provides an accessible overview of one key area on the law curriculum. This chapter discusses covenants affecting freehold land. It covers the enforceability of covenants, including enforcement against later acquirers of land; the problem of positive covenants; remedies; the discharge of covenants; and the proposals for reform of the law.
1. Ethics and Medical Law
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: August 2018

This chapter discusses various aspects of ethics and medical law. It begins with a definition of medical law. It then covers the nature of illness, the scope of medicine, the sociological impact of being ill, UK health statistics, and general ethical principles. This is followed by discussions of the notion of rights; patients’ obligations; principlism; hermeneutics; casuistry; feminist medical ethics; care ethics; virtue ethics; and communitarian ethics. It also explains the role of theology, relativism, and pragmatism in medical ethics. The chapter also explores the links between ethics and law. It cannot be assumed that because something is unethical it must be unlawful, nor that everything unlawful is necessarily unethical.
2. The Structure of the National Health Service and the Rationing of Healthcare Resources
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: August 2018

This chapter examines the structure of the National Health Service (NHS) and some of the key issues facing those dealing with its management. Topics discussed include policymaking and central planning in the NHS; quality control; commissioning and planning services; the provision of services; structural issues; rationing; health inequalities; the General Medical Council; and efforts to control infectious diseases and prevent illness. The chapter also discusses the complex issue of the rationing of health care resources. The case law on the topic is set out and there a consideration of the ethical issues which are raised when decisions need to be made about who gets medical treatment.
5. Confidentiality
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: August 2018

This chapter examines the legal and ethical aspects of medical confidentiality. The discussion include the legal basis of confidentiality; defences to claims of breach of confidentiality; the Data Protection Act 1998; legal remedies in confidentiality cases; patient access to their own health information; and ethical arguments for and against confidentiality. Underpinning this chapter is the tension between requiring that a patient’s confidences are kept and the fact that sometimes there is an overwhelming reason why confidentiality needs to be breached. A further difficulty for this topic is that once confidentiality has been breached it can be very difficult to formulate an effective legal remedy.
1. The meaning of a constitution
Authors: Parpworth Neil
Published: August 2018

This chapter begins with a discussion of the meaning of the term ‘constitution’. It distinguishes between written and unwritten constitutions, and outlines the special procedures for amending written constitutions. Constitutions are frequently classified according to their characteristics, and several of the more common classifications are explained in this chapter. The chapter also considers: the value of written constitutions; the unwritten nature of the UK constitution; whether the UK has a constitution; sources of the UK constitution; and the changing nature of the UK constitution. It concludes by addressing the question of whether the UK should have a written constitution.
2. Separation of powers
Authors: Parpworth Neil
Published: August 2018

This chapter discusses the origins and meaning of the separation of powers doctrine. It highlights the contribution of French nobleman and parliamentary magistrate Charles Louis de Secondat, otherwise known as Baron de Montesquieu, to political theory: L’Esprit des Lois (The Spirit of the Laws). The chapter also addresses the question of whether there is a separation of powers in the UK constitution. Differences of opinion between academics and judges as to the importance of the separation of powers doctrine to an understanding of the UK constitution are reviewed. Examples of overlap between the three functions of government are presented, and the reforms made by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 are discussed.
15. Judicial review remedies
Authors: Parpworth Neil
Published: August 2018

This chapter discusses the various remedies which courts may grant claimants for judicial review. It should be noted that the remedies are in the discretion of the court. The remedies which may be granted include: a quashing order (formerly certiorari); a prohibiting order (formerly prohibition); a mandatory order (formerly mandamus); declaration; injunction; interim declaration; and substitutionary remedy. Damages, however, are excluded from the list of remedies. Although CPR 54.3(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules provides that a claim for judicial review may include a claim for damages, it further provides that the claim may not seek damages alone.
20. Freedom of assembly and public order
Authors: Parpworth Neil
Published: August 2018

This chapter considers laws governing freedom of assembly and public order in the UK. The discussion covers rights and freedoms, and the powers of the police to preserve public peace and maintain public order. The chapter examines the concept of a breach of the peace and the circumstances in which the police may take action to prevent a breach from occurring. The chapter also focuses on the Public Order Act 1986, including provisions on racially or religiously aggravated public order offences, and the control of processions and assemblies. Finally, the chapter examines statutory provisions specifically aimed at controlling or restricting demonstrations in the vicinity of Parliament.
2. Duty of care I: foundational principles
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: August 2018

This chapter examines the foundational principles of the duty of care in tort law. It explains that duty of care comprises three stages, – those of: reasonable foreseeability of injury to a class of persons including the claimant; a sufficient relationship of proximity between the claimant and defendant; and inquiry into whether it would be fair, just, and reasonable to recognise a duty. It discusses the precedent set by Caparo Industries v Dickman and modern approaches to the duty of care.
9. Liability for defective premises and structures
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: August 2018

This chapter examines the potential liability for injury and/or other forms of loss related to defective premises and structures. It explains that there are two types of defendant in this area of negligence. The first are persons actually occupying premises and the second are those who might be liable for defects in the premises including landlords, builders, and professionals such as architects and consulting engineers. This chapter discusses the provisions of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984, and Defective Premises Act 1972.
11. Wrongful interference with goods
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: August 2018

This chapter examines the protection provided by tort law against wrongful interference with goods. It explains that the action for trespass to goods affords a remedy where there has been an intentional or careless direct interference with goods in the claimant’s possession at the time of the trespass. This chapter also considers conversion, which is concerned with intentional dealings with goods that constitute a denial of the claimant’s rights It discusses the remedies available for torts to goods contained in the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977.
18. The rule in Rylands v Fletcher
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: August 2018

This chapter examines the rule in Rylands v Fletcher, which is probably the best-known example of a strict liability tort in English law. It explains that the rule in this case highlighted various elements of the tort, such as non-natural use and escape, which must be present before liability can be imposed. It discusses criticisms of the rule, particularly about whether it really amounts to an instance of strict liability in tort, and considers the recent judicial view that it is merely a sub-branch of the law of private nuisance.
21. Defences and remedies in defamation
Authors: Witting Christian
Published: August 2018

This chapter examines the defences that can be used in defamation cases and the available remedies for defendants. Principal defences include consent, truth, honest opinion, absolute privilege, and qualified privilege. The available remedies for defamation claims are mainly damages and injunctions. This chapter incorporates discussion of the Defamation Act 1996 and the Defamation Act 2013 and analyses relevant court cases.
2. Actus Reus: The Conduct Element
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: August 2018

The actus reus is a central aspect of criminal law that defines the harm done to the victim and the wrong performed by the defendant. In many cases this involves proof that the defendant caused a particular result. This chapter begins by distinguishing the component elements of a crime. It then discusses the voluntary act ‘requirement’; causation; classification of offences; the need for a voluntary act; omissions; and seeking a coherent approach to causation.
3. Mens Rea: The Mental Element
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: August 2018

Mens rea is the legal term used to describe the element of a criminal offence that relates to the defendant’s mental state. Different crimes have different mentes reae: some require intention, others recklessness, negligence, or knowledge. Some crimes do not require proof of any mental state of the defendant. This chapter considers the following concepts that are used throughout criminal law: (a) intention, (b) recklessness, (c) negligence, and (d) knowledge.
6. Non-Fatal Non-Sexual Offences Against the Person
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: August 2018

This chapter discusses a wide range of offences against the person: from an unwanted touching on an arm to a life-threatening attack. Key to the law is the right to bodily integrity: a person should not be touched against his or her wishes. This right is protected under the common law and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Topics covered include assault and battery; assault occasioning actual bodily harm; malicious wounding; wounding with intent; poisoning; racially and religiously aggravated crimes; the Protection from Harassment Act 1997; threats offences; transmitting disease; consent and assault; the true nature and extent of violent crime; the nature of an assault; objections to and reform of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861; and emotional and relational harm.
1. Introduction to criminal law
Authors: Monaghan Nicola
Published: August 2018

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. This chapter begins by addressing the question: What is a crime? It then discusses the difference between criminal law, the law of tort, and contract law; the function of criminal law; sources of criminal law; the classification of offences; the criminal justice process; the hierarchy of the criminal courts; the burden and standard of proof; and the elements of an offence.
3. Mens rea
Authors: Monaghan Nicola
Published: August 2018

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. This chapter discusses the mens rea elements of a criminal offence. There are two types of intention: direct and oblique. A person directly intends a consequence that he desires. Where he instead merely appreciates that it is virtually certain to occur, a jury may find he intended the consequence. This is oblique intent. Subjective recklessness requires two questions to be asked: (a) did D foresee the possibility of the consequence occurring; and (b) was it unreasonable to take the risk? The actus reus and mens rea must coincide in time for the defendant to be guilty. The continuing act or ‘single transaction’ theories might be employed to establish coincidence.
5. Murder and voluntary manslaughter
Authors: Monaghan Nicola
Published: August 2018

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. This chapter explores the elements of murder and the partial defences which reduce a defendant’s liability to voluntary manslaughter. Murder is a common law offence that is committed when a defendant unlawfully causes the death of a person with an intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm (GBH). Where a defendant has both the actus reus and mens rea for murder, but also has one of three special, partial defences available to him, his liability for murder is reduced to that of manslaughter (voluntary manslaughter). Loss of control, diminished responsibility, suicide pact, and infanticide are also discussed.
12. Drugs offences
Authors: Monaghan Nicola
Published: August 2018

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. This chapter discusses the main drugs offences found under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. It begins with a discussion of the offence of possession of a controlled drug, and examines the meaning of the terms ‘possession’ and ‘controlled drug’, before exploring defences to specific drug offences. It considers the offences of possession of a controlled drug with intention to supply that drug to another, production of controlled drugs, supply of controlled drugs, and the offence of an occupier or someone concerned in the management of premises knowingly permitting the premises to be used for certain drug-related activities. Finally, it explores proposals to criminalise the use of ‘legal highs’.
14. Defences II: general defences
Authors: Monaghan Nicola
Published: August 2018

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. This chapter explores the remaining general defences: self-defence and the prevention of crime, duress, duress of circumstances, and necessity. A defendant may rely on self-defence where he honestly believes that use of force is necessary in order to protect him and the force used is reasonable. The issue of duress arises where the defendant is threatened that he must commit a criminal offence or suffer physical injury or injury to his family. Duress excuses a defendant’s behaviour as a concession to human frailty, whereas necessity justifies it. Necessity does not require a threat made by a person of death or physical injury, but merely a choice between two evils.
Company Law
Authors: Dignam Alan , Lowry John
Published: August 2018

Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. Company Law provides an account of the key principles of this area of law. It aims to demystify this complex subject. Chapter introductions provide summaries of various aspects of company law and further reading provide the tools for further research and study. This volume includes coverage of new case law such as Prest v Petrodel Resources Ltd (2013); Chandler v Cape plc (2012); VTB Capital plc v Nutritek Int Corp (2013); Vivendi SA v Richards (2013); Weavering Capital v Dabhia (2013); Sharma v Sharma (2013); and FHR European Ventures LLP v Mankarious (2013). On corporate governance the new edition discusses the implementation of mandatory ‘Say on Pay’ measures in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, the implementation of the Kay Review recommendations, and the new format Directors’ Report (2013). Also covered are the EU action plan on European company law and corporate governance (2012) and the EU consultation on the future of European company law (2012), as well as the Law Commission’s consultation of the fiduciary duties of investment intermediaries (2014), and the revised system of registration of company charges.
2. Corporate personality and limited liability
Authors: Dignam Alan , Lowry John
Published: August 2018

Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. This chapter deals with corporate personality and limited liability, two concepts that form the core of company law. It begins with a short historical background on how the process of corporatisation through charters evolved over time, including the emergence of the use of trust as an instrument to confer many of the privileges of incorporation. It then considers the case Salomon v Salomon & Co (1897) which decided on the legitimacy of small businesses with a corporate form, and offers some other good examples of the consequence of separate personality. The chapter also discusses the rights of members and shareholders with respect to ownership of the corporation, focusing on dispersed shareholdings and close companies.
6. Raising capital: debentures: fixed and floating charges
Authors: Dignam Alan , Lowry John
Published: August 2018

Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. This chapter discusses corporate borrowing through debentures or debenture stock, as well as fixed and floating charges that companies issue to creditors as security interests. It begins by outlining some important distinctions between the ability of small and large companies to raise loan capital. It then considers the priority of secured creditors and the registration requirements for charges, the issue of whether or not a fixed charge could be created over a company’s book debts, provisions for automatic crystallisation that converts the floating charge into an equitable fixed charge over company assets, and reform of security interests.
7. Share capital
Authors: Dignam Alan , Lowry John
Published: August 2018

Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. This chapter examines how company law governs maintenance of a company’s share capital, with emphasis on the distinction between private and public companies. It also discusses various ways in which shareholders might legally receive funds (‘distributions’) from the company, including issuance of shares and payment of shares in kind (that is, goods, property, or services rather than in cash). The relevance of the nominal value of shares issued to shareholders, the issue of paying dividends to shareholders, and disguised return of capital to shareholders are considered as well. The chapter also examines two other means of returning funds to shareholders, reduction of share capital and redemption or purchase by a company of its own shares, before concluding with an assessment of the prohibition and the exceptions concerning the issue of financial assistance for the acquisition of shares in a public company.
12. The constitution of the company: dealing with outsiders
Authors: Dignam Alan , Lowry John
Published: August 2018

Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. This chapter explores the legal aspects of transactions made with those outside the company (called outsiders or third parties), with emphasis on how they are determined to be legitimate and binding on the company. It also discusses the ultra vires doctrine and the three particular issues that make it a very tricky problem for the courts; the inclusion of the benefit of the company criterion to the ultra vires issue; the reform of ultra vires; and the application of the general principles of agency in determining whether the company is bound by a particular transaction. The chapter concludes by analysing reforms in the Companies Act 2006 concerning the authority of directors to bind the company or authorise others to do so.
15. Corporate governance 1: corporate governance and corporate theory
Authors: Dignam Alan , Lowry John
Published: August 2018

Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. This chapter looks at history and theory associated with corporate governance. It first considers Berle and Means’ concern about the separation of ownership from control, particularly managers’ lack of accountability not only to investors but also to society in general. It then traces the emergence of the Berle and Means corporation and examines major influences on corporate theory, citing concession theory, fiction theory, corporate realism, and aggregate theory. It also discusses economic theories that have influenced scholarship on corporate law.
8. Corroboration and care warnings
Authors: Keane Adrian , McKeown Paul
Published: August 2018

This chapter discusses exceptions to the general rule for corroboration of evidence. There are three categories of exception (i) where corroboration is required as a matter of law (speeding, perjury, treasons and attempts to commit these offences) and a conviction cannot be based on uncorroborated evidence; (ii) where neither corroboration in a technical sense nor supportive evidence is required as a matter of law, but the tribunal of fact may need to be warned to exercise caution before acting on the evidence of certain types of witness, if unsupported; (iii) five cases in which corroboration is not required as a matter of law, and there is no obligation to warn the tribunal of fact of the danger of acting on the unsupported or uncorroborated evidence, but there is a special need for caution. The five cases are confessions by mentally handicapped persons, identification evidence, lip-reading evidence, cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and unconvincing hearsay. Identification evidence is dealt with separately in Chapter 9.
10. Documentary and real evidence
Authors: Keane Adrian , McKeown Paul
Published: August 2018

This chapter discusses the law on documentary evidence and real evidence. It addresses the following key issues: Where a party to litigation wishes to adduce in evidence a statement contained in a document, (a) should it be open to proof by production of a copy of the document and, if so, (b) in what circumstances and subject to what safeguards? Where a party to litigation wishes to admit a document in evidence, (a) should he be required to establish that it was written, signed, or attested by the person by whom it purports to be written, signed, or attested and, if so, (b) how should these matters be established? When should material objects be admissible in evidence and why do they need to be accompanied by oral testimony? When, and subject to what safeguards, should a court inspect a place or object out of court?