The prosecutor appealed the acquittal of the defendant on a charge of allowing himself to be carried in a vehicle taken without the owner’s consent. The driver had been convicted on his own admission, and the prosecutor had presented only the certificate of conviction. Held: The memorandum of conviction went beyond being only evidence that … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Parker: Admn 12 May 2006
The defendant appealed against her conviction for aggravated vehicle taking. She was found near the scene of a road traffic accident involving a stolen car, and her fingerprint on an inside rear window. She submitted that the officers had asked as to her involvement at a time when she was already a suspect, and that … Continue reading Hughes v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 12 Oct 2009
The defendant appealed her conviction for theft. She had involved herself in the sale of an elderly relatives house and arranged for a new house to be bought in her and another name. Held: Hilton was to be distinguished. There, the defendant had carried out a clear act of misappropriation. Here the owner had been … Continue reading Regina v Briggs (Joan): CACD 12 Dec 2003
The appellant had twice begun private prosecutions only to have them taken over by the CPS and discontinued. He complained that a change in their policy on such interventions interfered with his statutory and constitutional right to bring such a prosecution. Held: The appeal failed (Lord Mance and Lady Hale dissenting). There had indeed been … Continue reading Gujra, Regina (on The Application of) v Crown Prosecution Service: SC 14 Nov 2012
A woman, X, had made an allegation in confidence she had been sexually assaulted as a child. The court was asked whether that confidence could be overriden to allow an investigation to protect if necessary a child still living with the man. Evidence suggested that a disclosure of her complaint may cause X further damage. … Continue reading In re A (A Child): SC 12 Dec 2012
Crown Privilege for Documents held by the Polie The plaintiff probationary police constable had been investigated, prosecuted and cleared of an allegation of theft. He now claimed damages for malicious prosecution, and in the course of the action, sought disclosure of five documents, but these were withheld on the ground of Crown privilege. The House … Continue reading Conway v Rimmer: HL 28 Feb 1968
The expressions ‘constructive trust’ and ‘constructive trustee’ are ‘nothing more than a formula for equitable relief. It is the actual control of assets belonging beneficially to a company which causes the law to treat directors as analogous to . .
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The court considered whether a driver had teken a vehicle without the owners consent, and having had that consent for one purpose, continued to use the car beyond that purpose: ‘[n]ot every brief, unauthorised diversion from his proper route by an employed driver in the course of his working day [would] necessarily involve a ‘taking’ … Continue reading McNight v Davies: 1974
An aggravated vehicle taking indictment must specify which offence is being prosecuted. Citations: Times 21-Oct-1994, Gazette 11-Jan-1995, Ind Summary 21-Nov-1994 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 12A(2)(b) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Practice Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.86261
Prosecutor’s appeal by case stated against dismissal of charge of taking vehicle without the owner’s consent. Officer’s fleeting sight of defendant who was known to him driving. Citations: [2006] EWHC 1523 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Theft Act 1968 12(1) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Cited – Bracegirdle v Oxley and Cobley 1947 The facts proved … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Uddin: Admn 8 Jun 2006
Offender is arrested when detained by automatic locking car trap. Citations: Times 02-Mar-1994 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 12A(2)(d) Crime Updated: 19 May 2022; Ref: scu.79836
Damage caused after the taking of a car need not be at the fault of the driver defendant for the offence of aggravated vehicle taking to have been committed by him. The sole requirement of the subsection was that the driving of the vehicle should have been the cause of the accident.It was not legitimate … Continue reading Regina v Marsh: CACD 19 Jul 1996
Where a person has been given permission by the owner of a motor vehicle to take and use it for a particular purpose, but on completion of that purpose fails to return it and thereafter uses it without any reasonable belief that the owner would consent to the use, he is to be regarded as … Continue reading Regina v Phipps: CACD 1970
Taking without consent of bicycle proved without evidence form actual owner. Times 09-Feb-1995 Theft Act 1968 12(5) England and Wales Crime Updated: 26 January 2022; Ref: scu.89599
No Liability Extension on Taking Without Consent Appeal by leave of the Court of Appeal on a point of law arising in the course of the trial of the appellant for aggravated vehicle taking, contrary to section 12A of the Theft Act 1968. The defendant had taken a vehicle without the owner’s consent, was over … Continue reading Taylor, Regina v: SC 3 Feb 2016
The defendant appealed against his conviction for taking a motor vehicle without authority. Held: Bridge LJ said: ‘where as here, a conveyance is taken and moved in a way which necessarily involves its use as a conveyance, the taker cannot be heard to say that the taking was not for that use. If he has … Continue reading Regina v Bow: CACD 24 Nov 1976
The three defendants had been charged with attempting to take a motor bus without authority. They had gone to a bus garage late at night and attempted to start the engine of a bus without success. The trial judge directed the jury as follows, . .
Partners Liable for Dishonest Act of Solicitor A solicitor had been alleged to have acted dishonestly, having assisted in a fraudulent breach of trust by drafting certain documents. Contributions to the damages were sought from his partners. Held: The acts complained of were so close to the activities which a solicitor would normally undertake, that … Continue reading Dubai Aluminium Company Limited v Salaam and Others: HL 5 Dec 2002
Fair Coment on Political Activities The defendant newspaper had published articles wrongly accusing the claimant, the former Prime Minister of Ireland of duplicity. The paper now appealed, saying that it should have had available to it a defence of qualified privilege because of the claimant’s status as a politician. Held: The appeal failed (Lords Hope … Continue reading Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd and others: HL 28 Oct 1999
The claimant gambler sought payment of his winnings. The casino said that he had operated a system called edge-sorting to achieve the winnings, and that this was a form of cheating so as to excuse their payment. The system exploited tiny variances in the appearance of the sides of playing cards, and the manipulation of … Continue reading Ivey v Genting Casinos (UK) Ltd (T/A Crockfords): SC 25 Oct 2017
There was no privilege against self incrimination in a civil action for a fanciful fear of criminal charges. Citations: Times 16-Jan-1996, Independent 10-Jan-1996, [1996] 3 All ER 244 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 21(1) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Cited – Phillips v Mulcaire SC 24-May-2012 The claimant worked as personal assistant to a well … Continue reading Renworth Ltd v Stephansen and Another: CA 10 Jan 1996
The deception required as an element of the offence of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception, could be constituted by acquiescence, where there could properly be said to be a continuing representation, under which the person deceived had acted. The defendant had obtained a grant for his mother’s house whilst she was alive to assist … Continue reading Rai, Regina v: CACD 29 Oct 1999
Before arraignment, the judge had heard submissions of law on admitted facts. The judge ruled that if those admitted facts were proved or admitted in the forthcoming trial they would amount to an admission or conclusive evidence of the accused’s commission of the charged offence. The accused, on the advice of his counsel and in … Continue reading Regina v Vickers: CACD 1975
A cheque drawn on funds which the defendant knew to have been mistakenly credited were not stolen when the cheque was drawn and sent to Scotland but on the presentation of the cheque to his bankers in England. Citations: Times 24-Jul-1997, Gazette 03-Sep-1997, [1997] EWCA Crim 1816 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 3 Jurisdiction: England and … Continue reading Regina v Sui Soi Ngan: CACD 11 Jul 1997
The defendants were convicted of a mortgage fraud. They appealed saying they had not been dishonest. They had signed forms, but they then had been completed by others, and that it had been those further replies which were dishonest. The original convictions had been for obtaining by deception, but those convictions could not stand following … Continue reading Regina v Dawson, Dawson: CACD 14 Jul 1997
New sentencing guidelines and standards were given for cases of theft by an employee or in breach of trust. There should be a reduction to account for inflation. 21 months for theft of 17,500 after a not guilty trial is the new benchmark. Citations: Gazette 10-Jun-1998 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 1 Jurisdiction: England and Wales … Continue reading Regina v Clark: CACD 10 Jun 1998
The court discussed when it was appropriate for the Court of Appeal to substitute other lesser convictions, after the main conviction had been declared unsafe. Held: After studying the authorities at length, the court felt that the various convictions should be quashed, but that in some cases there was a possibility of substituting verdicts of … Continue reading Regina v Graham, Kansal, etc: CACD 25 Oct 1996
Four appeals and one renewed application for leave to appeal against sentence have been listed together to enable the Court to consider the proposal of the Sentencing Advisory Panel, in their advice to this Court in March 2001, that sentencing guidelines should be framed in relation to offences of handling dishonestly obtained goods, contrary to … Continue reading Webbe and Others, Regina v: CACD 2 May 2001
On a charge of assisting in the disposal of stolen goods for the benefit of another, that other cannot be someone co-accused on the same charge. As a matter of plain language that other person must himself be a third party to the charge. Citations: Times 21-May-1999, Gazette 12-May-1999, [1999] EWCA Crim 1025 Links: Bailii … Continue reading Regina v Gingell: CACD 16 Apr 1999
The offence of causing death by driving while unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured, is committed if the driver is unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured and if the driving is a cause of death in the sense that it was ‘more than negligible or de minimis’. It was not an element of the offence that the defendant’s driving … Continue reading Williams, Regina v: CACD 2 Nov 2010
The defendant appealed against a confiscation order after his conviction for obtaining a mortgage advance by fraud. Though he had obtained 450k, the house he had purchased had increased considerably in value. The original loan had been repaid in full on a remortgage. The judge had made an order for confiscation at the now substantally … Continue reading Waya, Regina v: CACD 25 Mar 2010
The defendants were to be tried for allegedly sending funds abroad to support terrorism. The court now considered the meaning of the phrase ‘reasonable cause to suspect’ in the context of the anticipated use of the funds: ‘Does it mean that the accused must actually suspect, and for reasonable cause, that the money may be … Continue reading Lane and Another, Regina v: SC 11 Jul 2018
The plaintiff tenant was tricked out of the occupancy of the flat he was living in by a blatant fraud perpetrated by the defendant landlord. He sued for damages for fraud, and was awarded compensation for the inconvenience and discomfort. In a case of deceit and other causes of action, the principles enunciated in Rookes … Continue reading Mafo v Adams: CA 1969
Representative claims were made against the respondents, hospitals, pathologists etc with regard to the removal of organs from deceased children without the informed consent of the parents. They claimed under the tort of wrongful interference. Held: Organ removal when a post mortem had been ordered by the coroner was not tortious. In English law there … Continue reading AB and others v Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust: QBD 26 Mar 2004
The claimants had been detained under the 1971 Act, after completing sentences of imprisonment pending their return to their home countries under deportations recommended by the judges at trial, or chosen by the respondent. They challenged as unlawful the respondent’s, at first unpublished, policy introduced in 2006, that by default, those awaiting deportation should be … Continue reading Lumba (WL) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 23 Mar 2011
Appeal from sentence of 7 years six months imprisonment for an offence of aggravated burglary, contrary to section 10(1) of the Theft Act 1968, to which he had pleaded guilty at the plea and trial preparation hearing. Citations: [2019] EWCA Crim 1540 Links: Bailii Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 08 July 2022; Ref: … Continue reading Farrugia, Regina v: CACD 2 Jul 2019
(Jamaica) The appellant sought damages from the respondent journalists in defamation. They had claimed qualified privilege. The words alleged to be defamatory were ambiguous. Held: The publishers were protected by Reynolds privilege. The court should give the article the natural and ordinary meaning which would be attributed by an intelligent reader seeing it once. He … Continue reading Bonnick v Morris, The Gleaner Company Ltd and Allen: PC 17 Jun 2002
Once a case had been referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the court had to make a declaration, even if the case was very old. The effect of the 1998 Act on statute law was not retrospective, but where it affected common law the effect could be retrospective, since … Continue reading Regina v Kansal, on a Reference From the Criminal Cases Review Commission (2): CACD 24 May 2001
A company director can be convicted of theft from his company even though the act might technically be the act of the company. Here company directors had paid bribes to people with whom the company intended to do business. The bribes were paid out of company funds and with the intention of benefiting the company. … Continue reading Regina on the Application of A and Snaresbrook Crown Court: Admn 14 Jun 2001
K had been convicted of two counts of obtaining property by deception contrary to section 15 of the Theft Act 1968. He was also convicted of two counts under the Insolvency Act 1986, namely that being a bankrupt (a) he removed property which he was required to deliver up to the Official Receiver or his … Continue reading Regina v Kansal: CACD 24 Jun 1992
The defendant worked as a shop assistant. He had persuaded the manager to accept in payment for goods, two cheques which he knew to be stolen. The CA had decided that since the ownership of the goods was transferred on the sale, no appropriation of property belonging to another had taken place. Held: An appropriation … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Gomez: HL 3 Dec 1992
Judges: Pitchford LJ, Sweeney J and HHJ Bourne-Arton Citations: [2014] EWCA Crim 829 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Cited – Hughes, Regina v SC 31-Jul-2013 Uninsured Driver Not Guilty of Causing DeathThe appellant though an uninsured driver, was driving without fault when another vehicle veered across the road. The other driver … Continue reading Taylor, Regina v: CACD 9 Apr 2014
The plaintiff gave the defendant a cheque for andpound;40,000 with which to buy a house for P. D applied the money to his own purposes, and P claimed. The defendants were required to swear affidavits setting out full details of the whereabouts of money which the plaintiff alleged had been stolen from him. D sought … Continue reading Khan v Khan: CA 1982
The offence created by section 1(1) of the 1968 Act involved four elements: ‘(i) a dishonest (ii) appropriation (iii) of property belonging to another (iv) with the intention of permanently depriving the owner of it.’ Judges: Megaw LJ Citations: [1970] 3 All ER 933, [1970] 3 WLR 1103, [1971] 1 QB 373 Statutes: Theft Act … Continue reading Regina v Lawrence (Alan): CACD 1970
Two men were charged with theft from a company which they wholly owned and controlled. The court considered the actions of company directors in dishonestly appropriating the property of the company, and whether since the title to the goods was transferred, the goods had remained the property of the company. Held: The actions of the … Continue reading Attorney-General’s Reference (No. 2 of 1982): CACD 1984
US Treasury social security orders were stolen in the USA, and brought to London, where they were endorsed at a bank for payment in the USA. Held: On those facts the ‘acceptance’ of the bills could only have taken place in the USA, and therefore there was no jurisdiction to try charges of execution of … Continue reading Regina v Nanayakkara: CACD 1987
A police officer searched premises under a warrant seizing documents of a trust corporation managed by the occupier. The trustees sought return of the documents or, alternatively, copies of them. The police believed that the documents were evidence of a widespread fraud and that the documents were crucial to their investigations and that the investigation … Continue reading Arias and Others v Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police and Another: CA 1 Aug 1984
The liquidators of Bilta had brought proceedings against former directors and the appellant alleging that they were party to an unlawful means conspiracy which had damaged the company by engaging in a carousel fraud with carbon credits. On the pleaded facts, Mr Chopra and Mr Nazir were the directing organ of Bilta under its constitution. … Continue reading Jetivia Sa and Another v Bilta (UK) Ltd and Others: SC 22 Apr 2015
Identification of Company’s Directing Mind In a prosecution under the 1968 Act, the court discussed how to identify the directing mind and will of a company, and whether employees remained liable when proper instructions had been given to those in charge of a local store. Held: ‘In the expression ‘act or default’ in section 23 … Continue reading Tesco Supermarkets Ltd v Nattrass: HL 31 Mar 1971
False information which was provided in a Housing Benefit application form would be used in accounting and constitutes false accounting. Citations: Times 26-Nov-1997, 162 JP 120, 30 HLR 853, [1998] Crim LR 216 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 817 Cited by: Cited – Regina v Lancaster CACD 2-Mar-2010 Whether Ommission Significant on Benefits Claim The defendant … Continue reading Osinuga v Director of Public Prosecutions: QBD 26 Nov 1997
If an officer or magistrate is killed when executing a process or preserving the peace, the offence is murder and remains so even if there is some defect in the process being executed, or the arrest was being made at night. Constables were described as ministers of the King. Citations: (1611) 9 Co Rep 65 … Continue reading Mackalley’s case: 1611
Mens Rea essential element of statutory Offence The appellant had been convicted under the Act 1965 of having been concerned in the management of premises used for smoking cannabis. This was a farmhouse which she visited infrequently. The prosecutor had conceded that she was unaware that the premises were used for that purpose. Held: The … Continue reading Sweet v Parsley: HL 23 Jan 1969
The court heard an application for an injunction to restrain publication of material relating to the claimant’s private and sexual life. Held: An injunction restraining publication and identification, but not an order restraining publication of the order itself was made. Sharp J said: ‘[Counsel for the Claimant] submits that looking at the matter from the … Continue reading DFT v TFD: QBD 27 Sep 2010
The claimant had sought and been granted an injunction to prevent the defendant publicising matters which had passed between them and which were he said private. Held: The jurisdiction to grant such injunctions was now established. Publication would cause damage to the claimant’s private life, damages would not be an adequate remedy, and the defendant … Continue reading AMM v HXW: QBD 7 Oct 2010
The patient saw his doctor and complained about a lump under his arm. The doctor failed to diagnose cancer. It was nine months before treatment was begun. The claimant sought damages for the reduction in his prospects of disease-free survival for ten years from 42%, when he first consulted the doctor to 25%. The House … Continue reading Gregg v Scott: HL 27 Jan 2005
The defendant, a taxi driver, had without objection on the part of an Italian student asked for a fare of andpound;6 for a journey for which the correct lawful fare was 10s 6d. The taxi driver was convicted of theft. On appeal the main contention was that the student had consented to pay the fare. … Continue reading Lawrence v Metropolitan Police Commissioner: HL 30 Jun 1971
The prosecutor had lead and relied at trial on evidence obtained by compulsory questioning under the 1986 Act. Held: In doing so the prosecutor was acting to give effect to section 433. The decision in Lambert to disallow retrospective effect of Human Rights decisions in appeal cases may have been incorrect, but will be followed. … Continue reading Regina v Kansal (2): HL 29 Nov 2001
The defendant had permitted a journalist to see documents revealed to her as in her capacity as a solicitor in the course of proceedings. Held: The documents were disclosed under an obligation to use them for the instant case only. That rule was imposed because ‘Discovery constitutes a very serious invasion of the privacy and … Continue reading Home Office v Hariette Harman: HL 11 Feb 1982
(New South Wales) The court considered the use by directors of their fiduciary power of allotment of shares for a different purpose than that for which it was granted, and so as to dilute the voting power of the majority shareholding of issued shares. Lord Wilberforce said: ‘Having ascertained, on a fair view, the nature … Continue reading Howard Smith Limited v Ampol Petroleum Limited: PC 14 Feb 1974
The applicants had been made subject of anti-social behaviour orders. They challenged the basis upon which the orders had been made. Held: The orders had no identifiable consequences which would make the process a criminal one. Civil standards of evidence therefore applied, and hearsay evidence was admissible. Nevertheless, the test as to whether it was … Continue reading Clingham (formerly C (a minor)) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; Regina v Crown Court at Manchester Ex parte McCann and Others: HL 17 Oct 2002
The claimants sought damages from the defendants saying that they had been held and ill treated at various detention centres by foreign authorities, but with the involvement of the defendants. The defendants sought to bring evidence before the court as closed material, not to be seen by the claimants. Held: The court could make such … Continue reading Al Rawi and Others v The Security Service and Others: QBD 18 Nov 2009
The House considered the power of an officer of the Board of Inland Revenue to seize and remove materials found on premises which a warrant obtained on application to the Common Serjeant authorised him to enter and search; but where the source of the power limited the power of seizure and removal to things ‘which … Continue reading Regina v Inland Revenue Commissioners ex parte Rossminster Ltd: HL 13 Dec 1979
The appellants were said to have made false mortgage applications. They appealed convictions for dishonestly obtaining property by deception. Held: A chose in action created by an electronic bank transfer was not property which was capable of being ‘obtained’ by deception under the Theft Act. The transfer of funds was carried out by the debiting … Continue reading Regina v Preddy; Regina v Slade; Regina v Dhillon (Conjoined Appeals): HL 10 Jul 1996
Uninsured Driver Not Guilty of Causing Death The appellant though an uninsured driver, was driving without fault when another vehicle veered across the road. The other driver died from his injuries, and the appellant convicted of causing his death whilst uninsured. At trial he succeeded in arguing that he had not caused the death, but … Continue reading Hughes, Regina v: SC 31 Jul 2013
Honest and Reasonable mistake – No Bigamy The defendant appealed against her conviction for bigamy, saying that she had acted in a mistaken belief. Held: A man commits bigamy if he goes through a marriage ceremony while his wife is alive, even though he honestly and reasonably believes she is dead. ‘At common law an … Continue reading Regina v Tolson: CCR 11 May 1889
‘Appeal by the appellant, now aged 25, against the sentence imposed on him . . of 32 months’ imprisonment following his earlier guilty plea to a single count of burglary of a dwelling house, contrary to section 9(1)(b) of the Theft Act 1968.’ [2021] EWCA Crim 1247 Bailii England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 02 … Continue reading Simpson, Regina v: CACD 5 Aug 2021
In relation to a charge of theft where the issue of dishonesty is raised, the issue must be left to the jury. Dishonesty is not a matter of law, but a jury question of fact and standards. Except to the limited extent that section 2 of the Theft Act 1968 requires otherwise, judges do not, … Continue reading Regina v Feely: CACD 1973
Solicitors acted in a loan, giving an undertaking as to its application. In breach of that undertaking they released it to the borrower. The appellants appealed a finding of liability as contributors to the breach. Held: ‘Money in a solicitor’s client account is held on trust. The only question is the terms of that trust.’ … Continue reading Twinsectra Ltd v Yardley and Others: HL 21 Mar 2002
The claimant pursued a civil claim for damages, alleging complicity of the respondent in his torture whilst in the custody of foreign powers. The respondent sought that certain materials be available to the court alone and not to the claimant or the public under a closed material procedure. It argued that whilst the need for … Continue reading Al Rawi and Others v The Security Service and Others: SC 13 Jul 2011
Each claimant had been captured and mistreated by the US government, and claimed the involvement in and responsibility for that mistreatment by the respondents. The court was asked whether a court in England and Wales, in the absence of statutory authority, could order a closed material procedure for part or all of the trial of … Continue reading Al Rawi and Others v The Security Service and Others: CA 4 May 2010
Mens Rea essential to crime In order to constitute an act of bankruptcy by a trader in departing from his dwelling-house, it is not alone sufficient that a creditor should be thereby delayed, but the departure must also have been with that intent. The word ‘or’ in the statute of the 1 Jac. 1, e. … Continue reading Fowler v Padget: 8 Feb 1798
The court considered the application of the section on alternative verdicts available to juries on a trial for attempted murder. The allegations in a charge under section 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 or under section 9(1)(b) of the . .
The parties had engaged in a bitter 95 day trial in which allegations of forgery, theft, false accounting, blackmail and arson. A company owning patents and other rights had become insolvent, and the real concern was the destination and ownership of . .
The appellant challenged by review the use of closed material first in the issue of a search warrant, and subsequently to justify the retention of materials removed during the search.
Held: The appeal failed. No express statutory justification . .
The appellants complained that the recovery order made against them in part under the transitional provisions were unlawful. They had claimed benefits as single people but were married to each other and for a house not occupied. The difficulty was . .
A trustee has a duty to exploit any available opportunity for the trust. ‘Rules of equity have to be applied to such a great diversity of circumstances that they can be stated only in the most general terms and applied with particular attention to . .