Private prosecutions of crimes such as fraud and trademark infringement have become an increasingly important tool of litigation in the UK in recent years. In Hong Kong, however, this appears to remain an underused resource. In this article we consider the key legal principles governing the bringing and defending of private prosecutions in Hong Kong, […]
In R v Chapman and others, the Court of Appeal dismissed four applications for permission to appeal on the grounds that Nitrous Oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, was not covered by criminal offences in the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (‘the PSA’). The Court dismissed the appeal on the arguments advanced by the defendants but […]
This important and detailed guidebook is designed to identify the main pitfalls that advocates are likely to meet when handling statistics and so help us to avoid the miscarriages of justice that can occur – and have occurred – because of misunderstandings, and inappropriate use, of statistics and probability in court. Taking the simple, famous […]
Guidance from the High Court on the duty of candour in applying for a criminal summons; abuse of process, and whether a party can contract out of its right to bring a private prosecution In June of this year, the High Court (Mr Justice Garnham, with whom Lord Justice Popplewell agreed) handed down its judgment […]
The case Loughlin [2017] UKSC 63 was an application for judicial review of a decision not to refer discounted sentences back to the sentencing court under section 74(3) of SOCPA 2005. The Supreme Court, reversing the Divisional Court’s decision, refused to quash the prosecutor’s decision. Consideration of the interests of justice in this context required […]
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