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Оxford_dictionary_of_law 20 page

Director of Public Prosecutions

DPP

(Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP)

The head of the *Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who must be a lawyer of at least ten years' general qualification. The DPP is appointed by the *Attorney General and discharges his functions under the superintendence of the Attorney General. The DPP, through the CPS, is responsible for the conduct of all criminal prosecutions instituted by the police and he may intervene in any criminal proceedings when it appears to him to be appropriate. Some statutes require the consent of the DPP to prosecution.

disability discrimination

See disabled person.

disability living allowance

A tax-free benefit payable to those under 65 who have had a disability requiring help for at least three months and are likely to need such help for at least a further six months. It has two components; a care component, payable at three rates to those needing help with personal care; and a mobility component, payable at two rates to those aged five or over who need help with walking. The rates depend on the level of help required.

disabled person

Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, a person who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term effect on his abilities to carry out day-to-day activities. The Act makes it an offence to discriminate unjustifiably against anyone who is disabled. Discrimination occurs when a disabled employee (or interviewee) is treated less favourably by an employer (or potential employer) than someone without a disability, unless the employer can show that the difference in treatment is justified. Thus it is illegal for employers to refuse to employ someone qualified to do a job, simply because that person has, or has had, a physical or mental disability. In addition, employers have a duty to make alterations to premises to aid disabled employees. However, the law does not apply to employers with fewer than 15 employees (i.e. after all staff at all branches are aggregated).

On 5 March 2001 the government announced plans for significant changes to the Disability Discrimination Act. These include removal in 2004 of the small employers' exemption. The shape of any future proposal will be influenced by the need of the British government to comply with the recently issued EC Framework Directive 2000/78, which seeks to implement the extended role of the European Union with respect to the elimination of discrimination.

disabled person's tax credit

An income-related benefit that, under the Tax Credits Act 1999, replaced disability working allowance in October 1999. Administered by the Inland Revenue rather than the Benefits Agency, it is payable to those aged 16 or over who are working 16 or more hours a week, who have a disability that puts them at a disadvantage in obtaining employment, and whose income does not exceed an amount prescribed under statute.

disablement benefit

See industrial injuries disablement benefit.

disabling statute

A statute that disqualifies a person or persons of a specified class from exercising a legal right or freedom that he or they would otherwise enjoy.

disbar

To expel a barrister from his Inn of Court. The sentence of disbarment is pronounced by the *Benchers of the barrister's Inn, subject to a right of appeal to the judges who act as visitors of all the Inns of Court.

discharge

Release from an obligation, debt, or liability, particularly the following.

1. *Discharge of contract.

2. The release of a debtor from all *provable debts (with minor exceptions) at the end of *bankruptcy proceedings. In certain circumstances discharge is automatic. In other cases, the debtor or the official receiver may apply to the court for an order of discharge. This may be subject to conditions, such as further payments by the debtor to his creditors out of his future income, or it may be suspended until the creditors receive a higher proportion of the amount due to them. After discharge the debtor is freed from most of the disabilities to which he was subject as an *undischarged bankrupt.

3. The release of a convicted defendant without imposing a punishment on him. A discharge may be absolute or conditional. In an absolute discharge the defendant is not punished for the offence. His conviction may, however, be accompanied by a *compensation order or by *endorsement of his driving licence or *disqualification from driving. A conditional discharge also releases the defendant without punishment, provided that he is not convicted of any other offence within a specified period (usually three years). If he is convicted within that time, the court may sentence him for the original offence as well. Three conditions are required for the court to order a discharge: (1) that a community rehabilitation order is not appropriate; (2) that the punishment for the offence must not be fixed by law; and (3) that the court thinks it inadvisable to punish the defendant in the circumstances.

discharge of contract

The termination of a contractual obligation. Discharge may take place by: (1) *performance of contract; (2) express agreement, which may involve either *bilateral discharge or unilateral discharge (See accord and satisfaction); (3) *breach of contract; or (4) *frustration of contract.

disclaimer

The refusal or renunciation of a right, claim, or property. A beneficiary under a will that leaves him both a burdensome and a beneficial gift (e.g. a racehorse that never wins and £50) may disclaim the former and take the latter. A company's liquidator may disclaim the company's lease, to avoid liability for the rent and other "onerous" contracts. A trustee may disclaim a trust if he has not yet accepted it; once he has accepted his trusteeship he may no longer disclaim it but he may resign (See retirement of trustees). Trusts and powers are normally disclaimed by deed.

disclosure

1. (in contract law)

See nondisclosure; uberrimae fidei.

2. (in company law) a. A method of protecting investors that relies on the company disclosing and publishing information, which is then evaluated by the investors, their advisers, and the press.

See also stock exchange. b. A method of regulating the conduct of directors and promoters by requiring them, on *fiduciary principles or by statutory provisions, to disclose to the company any relevant information, e.g. an interest in a contract with the company.

disclosure and inspection of documents

(in court proceedings)

Disclosure by a party to civil litigation of the *documents in his possession, custody, or power relating to matters in question in the action and their subsequent inspection by the opposing party; before the introduction of the *Civil Procedure Rules in 1999, this procedure was called discovery and inspection of documents. For the purposes of disclosure, documents extend beyond paper to include anything upon which information is capable of being recorded and retrieved (e.g. tapes, computer disks). In *small claims track proceedings, the initial disclosure is by a list of documents that the party intends to rely upon. In *fast track and *multi-track proceedings, the lists must include all documents, both those that support the party making the list and those adversely affecting that party, which they would prefer not to disclose. Directions for disclosure generally take place at the *allocation stage or the *case management conference and, unless the court directs or the parties agree otherwise, there will normally be a direction for standard disclosure. This involves a reasonable search by the parties to disclose documents on which that party intends to rely, documents that may be adverse to their own case or another party's case, documents that support another party's case, and documents that are required to be disclosed by any relevant *Practice Direction. Some documents, although they must be disclosed in the list, may be privileged and thus exempted from the subsequent requirement to produce them for inspection (See privilege). Once a party has served a list of documents, the other party, together with any co-defendants, must be allowed to inspect the (nonprivileged) documents referred to in the list within seven days of serving on the first party a written notice requesting inspection. If copies are needed, a further written notice must be served, with an undertaking to meet reasonable copying charges. In the absence of disclosure and/or inspection, the court has power to direct that general or specific disclosure and/or inspection be made.

See also failure to make disclosure; nondisclosure.

disclosure of information

1. (in employment law) The communication by an employer to employees and their trade-union representatives of information relevant to *collective bargaining, proposed redundancies (*redundancy), and the preservation of employees' health and *safety at work. Under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, employers must disclose the following information to the representatives of a recognized *independent trade union.

(1) Information that is essential for the maintenance of good industrial relations or for the formulation of wage and related demands. The duty to disclose this information only arises if the union requests the information. When disclosure would damage national security or harm the business (apart from its effect on collective bargaining), or the information is subjudice or relevant only to particular individuals, disclosure need not be given. Guidelines on disclosure are published by *ACAS (See also Code of Practice). When an employer refuses to disclose essential information, the *Central Arbitration Committee is empowered on the application of the trade union to make awards of wages and conditions that are ultimately enforceable in the courts.

(2) Details of any redundancies proposed by the employer. He must give the union 90 days' notice when 100 or more employees are to be made redundant over a period of 90 days or less, and 30 days' notice when between 20 and 99 redundancy dismissals are proposed within a 90-day period. The employer's notice must specify the reason for his proposals, the numbers and job descriptions of employees involved, the way in which employees have been selected for redundancy, and the procedures for their dismissal. He must consider any representations made by the union, but need not comply with its demands. If the employer fails to give the required notice, the union can apply to an employment tribunal, which may make a *protective award to the redundant employees. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, an employer must give his employees at large such information, instruction, and supervision as will ensure their health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable. He must also give copies of any relevant documents to safety representatives appointed by a recognized trade union.

2. (in criminal proceedings)

For criminal proceedings issued after 1 April 1997, the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 sets out detailed rules on disclosures that the prosecution must make to the defence. It must disclose anything that might undermine its case and anything that might assist the defence, but the judgment of what undermines the prosecution or assists the defence remains with the prosecutor. Thus the Act enables the prosecution to decide what information they believe should be disclosed to the defence and, in particular, whether to disclose information about any weakness in their own investigation.

3. See breach of confidence.

disclosure of interest

The duty of local authority members to disclose (at the time or by prior notice to the authority) any pecuniary interest they or their spouses have in any matter discussed at a local authority meeting. They must also abstain from speaking and voting on it. Breach of the duty is a criminal offence.

discontinuance of action

See notice of discontinuance.

discovery

(in international law)

A method of acquiring territory in which good title can be gained by claiming previously unclaimed land (terra nullius). In the early days of European exploration it was held that the discovery of a previously unknown land conferred absolute title to it upon the state by whose agents the discovery was made. However, it has now long been established that the bare fact of discovery is an insufficient ground of proprietary right.

discovery and inspection of documents

See disclosure and inspection of documents.

discretion

See judicial discretion.

discretionary area of judgment

A concept used in some cases in the domestic courts when reviewing decisions of public authorities under the *European Convention on Human Rights. The concept allows the courts to defer on democratic grounds to the decisions of elected bodies. It follows from the fact that the concept of the *margin of appreciation is not applicable in the domestic courts.

discretionary trust

A trust under which the trustees are given discretion as to who, within a class chosen by the settlor, should receive trust property and how much each should receive. A settlor must give some indication as to the limits of the class of people he intends to benefit, but the trustees do not need to have an exhaustive list. A beneficiary under a discretionary trust has no enforceable right to any part of the property or its income, although the trustees must consider his claims together with those of the other beneficiaries. Such trusts are often very difficult to distinguish from *trust powers and *powers of appointment held by *trustees. Discretionary trusts have been invaluable in planning to mitigate liability to tax, but recent fiscal legislation has reduced their advantages.

discrimination

Treating one or more members of a specified group unfairly as compared with other people. Discrimination may be illegal on the ground of sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, disability, or nationality.

See also disabled person; human rights act; positive discrimination; racial discrimination; sex discrimination.

disentailing deed

A deed used to bar (convert into a *fee simple) an *entailed interest.

disentailment

The barring of an *entailed interest.

dishonesty

An element of liability in *theft, *abstracting electricity, *deception, *handling stolen goods, and some related offences. To convict of such offences the magistrates or jury must be satisfied that what was done was dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people and that the defendant realized this at the time.

dishonour

(in commercial law)

Failure to honour a bill of exchange. This may be by nonacceptance, when a bill of exchange is presented for *acceptance and this is refused or cannot be obtained (or when *presentment for acceptance is excused and the bill is not accepted); or by nonpayment, when the bill is presented for payment and payment is refused or cannot be obtained (or when presentment is excused and the bill is overdue and unpaid). In both cases the holder has an immediate right of recourse against the drawer and endorsers, but *foreign bills that have been dishonoured must first be protested (See protest).