Blog
The End of Leasehold Flats? A Breakdown of the Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Bill
Úna Campbell
12 February 2018
Starting a private prosecution; getting it right first time
A private prosecution, is a criminal prosecution commenced by a person or organisation rather than a public prosecuting authority. A private prosecution is commenced in the same way as a public prosecution, by laying a charge sheet referred to as an ‘information’ in a Magistrates’ Court. Once the information has been laid in court the Clerk or Magistrate will check to see if it is in the correct form and if it is they will issue a warrant or summons in order to secure the attendance of the defendant at court on a future date.
5 February 2018
Press Round-Up: Regulatory and Professional Discipline December 2017 - January 2018
Recent news relating to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), General Medical Council (GMC), Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
5 February 2018
Fire Safety: Is a company director also a ‘responsible person’?
Fire Safety is just one of the many issues with which management must concern themselves. However, unlike a lot of other safety concerns, fire has the potential for large scale and devastating consequences.
2 February 2018
Lessons learned: the duty of candour in practical terms
The recent case of General Medical Council v Bawa-Garba will have escaped the attention of very few medical professionals.
2 February 2018
The good, the bad and mixed motives: when will the private prosecutor’s motives justify stopping the prosecution?
Private prosecutions are a useful remedy for victims of crime and the only criminal remedy in circumstances where the state enforcement agencies fail to act. In cases of economic crime there will sometimes be merit in running concurrent civil and criminal proceedings. However, in such cases the motive for commencing criminal proceedings will inevitably be considered. It is established that a private prosecution motivated purely by spite or some other ‘oblique motive’ can lead the court to stay the proceedings as an abuse of process (R (Dacre) v City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court [2009] 1 Cr App Rep). However, the Court of Appeal has recently sought to distinguish between mixed motives and ‘oblique’ motives and has provided useful insight into what factors may legitimately be considered in determining whether a private prosecution, alongside civil proceedings, may be upheld.