Lord Chief Justice 15 page

reddendum

n.

The clause in a *lease that specifies the amount of the rent and when it should be paid.

redeemable share

See share.

redeem up, foreclose down

A maxim applied in the context of *priority of mortgages. When there are successive mortgages of the same property, a mortgagee who is second or below in the order of priority may buyout (redeem) an earlier mortgagee. Any mortgagee may be redeemed by a mortgagee with a lower priority. If the matter is complicated and a court action is necessary, any person who might suffer in such an action must be made a party to it, i.e. the mortgagor and any mortgagees of lower priority to the mortgage being redeemed. Any person seeking to redeem by action must not only redeem any mortgages standing between him and the prior mortgage; he must also foreclose all subsequent mortgagees and the mortgagor. The principle does not apply to redemptions out of court.

redemption

n.

The return or repossession of property offered as security upon payment of a mortgage debt or a charge. The property may alternatively be conveyed by the mortgagee to a third party nominated by the mortgagor.

See equity of redemption.

redress

n.

See remedy.

reduction of capital

The reduction by a limited company of its share *capital. Under the Companies Act 1985 there are two principal methods by which this may be achieved. When the company has capital in excess of its needs it can extinguish or reduce the liability of its members on any uncalled capital or it can repay to them the nominal value of their shares. When the company has suffered losses it can cancel paid-up shares because they are unrepresented by available assets. The reduction, which requires a *special resolution, must be authorized by the articles of association and confirmed by the court. If a variation of *class rights is involved, the consent of the relevant class of shareholder is usually necessary.

See also alteration of share capital; authorized capital.

redundancy

n.

1. (in employment law) The position of an employee who fills a job that no longer needs to be done. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, dismissal for redundancy occurs when the reason is wholly or mainly that the employer has ceased or intends to cease carrying on the business in which the employee was employed, that he is transferring the business in which the employee works to another location, or that he needs fewer employees to carry out the work m the place in which the employee is employed. An employee dismissed in such circumstances is entitled to a statutory *redundancy payment If he has been continuously employed in the business (See continuous employment) for two years prior to the *effective date of termination of his employment. ignoring any period during which the employee was under the age of 18, and provided he is not over the age of 65. He may also be disqualified from receiving payment If the employer has offered him suitable alternative employment, starting within four weeks after his old employment ends, and the employee unreasonably refuses it. He may however tryout alternative employment for up to four weeks without forfeiting. his redundancy payment, if he decides not to accept this employment and his refusal is reasonable.

An employee who is laid off (i.e. not provided with work) or kept on short-time working, otherwise than as a result of industrial action, for four or more weeks continuously, or for six or more weeks (not more than three consecutively) in any 13-week period, may claim a redundancy payment in certain circumstances. He must give his employer at least the minimum required period of *notice terminating his employment, stating his intention to claim a redundancy payment. This notice must be given within four weeks after the end of the relevant period of lay-off or short-time working. However, the employer is not liable to give him a redundancy payment if he honours a written undertaking, given within seven days after receiving the employee's notice, to restore full-time working within four weeks after the employee's notice, for at least 13 weeks without interruption.

An employee who is dismissed for redundancy must be given reasonable time off during the notice period to seek other employment. If he is offered a new job starting before his notice expires, the employee may bring forward the termination of his old employment. However, the employer can challenge his right to a redundancy payment if he justifiably requires the employee to work for the full-notice period. An employee forfeits his redundancy payment If, during the notice period, his employer justifiably dismisses him for misconduct other than strike action.

Disputes concerning redundancy and redundancy payments are determined by application to an *employment tribunal. The tribunal can also make a *protective award to employees on the application of an *independent trade union when the employer has failed to give sufficient notice of his intention to declare redundancies (See disclosure of information).

See also collective redundancy.

2. (in statements of case) The inclusion of unnecessary or irrelevant material. The court may order redundant material in a statement of case to be struck out.

redundancy payment

The sum that an employee dismissed because of *redundancy is entitled to receive from his employer under the Employment Rights Act 1996. The sum is the total of: (1) one and a half weeks' pay for each year of the employee's *continuous employment in which he was aged 41 or more; (2) one week's pay for each year's service between the ages of 22 and 41; and (3) half a week's pay for each year between the ages of 18 and 22. Continuous employment exceeding 20 years is ignored, and a maximum amount of weekly pay to be used in the calculation is prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and reviewed annually. Employees under 18 or over 65 have no statutory right to a redundancy payment. The sum payable to employees between 64 and 65 years of age is reduced by one-twelfth for every complete month by which their age exceeds 64. Redundancy costs are met entirely by the employer, rebates from the Department for Work and Pensions having been abolished. An employer may be obliged under a collective agreement or individual employees' contracts of employment to pay sums in excess of the statutory requirement.

re-engagement order

An order made by an *employment tribunal directing an employer who has been found to have unfairly dismissed an employee (See unfair dismissal) to provide him with comparable or other suitable employment in a post different from that from which he was dismissed (Compare reinstatement order). A re-engagement order might be made, for example, when the employee's former job no longer exists following a reorganization, but he could be similarly employed in a different post. The order is accompanied by the tribunal's directions specifying the nature and remuneration for the new employment, benefits that must be restored to the employee, and the date by which he is to be re-engaged. An employer cannot be forced to comply with the order; if he fails to do so the tribunal will award *compensation on the usual principles together with an additional sum.

re-entry

n.

Repossession by a landlord of land held under a lease when he effects *forfeiture. There are restrictions on re-entry without a court order. The normal method of enforcing a right of re-entry is therefore by issuing court proceedings for possession.

See also eviction.

re-examination

n.

The questioning of a witness by the party who originally called him to testify, following the *cross-examination of the witness by the opposite party. Leading questions (*leading question) may not be asked in re-examination. Re-examination must be confined to matters arising out of the cross-examination; new matter may only be introduced with the permission of the judge.

referee

n.

1. A person to whom a dispute is referred for an opinion.

See also official referee; reference.

2. A person who provides a character reference for another.

reference

n.

1. The referral by a court of a case (or an issue arising in a case) to another court or an arbitrator (referee) for a decision or opinion. In the High Court any action or any question or issue of fact arising from it may be referred to an *official referee for trial. In the county courts, a case may be referred to the district judge for an opinion and report. Under the Treaty of Rome, a court may refer to the *European Court of Justice a question of Community law for a preliminary ruling and must do so if it is a court from which there is no appeal within the national system.

2. (in succession)

See incorporation by reference.

referential settlement

A settlement incorporating by reference terms of an earlier settlement, either with or without variations. If the two settlements are inconsistent, a referential settlement may give rise to difficult questions relating to the precise meaning of the documents, when taken together.

reform

n.

See punishment.

refreshing memory

A procedure in which a witness may, while testifying, remind himself of events that he has forgotten by referring to a document that was made at the same time as the occurrence of the events in question and was accepted as accurate by the witness while the facts were fresh in his memory. At common law the document itself did not become evidence in the case, but it is now admissible in both civil and criminal cases.

refuse disposal

See pollution.

regent

n.

A person exercising all the royal functions while the sovereign is under 18 or totally incapacitated. Under the Regency Acts 1937 and 1953, the regent is the person next in line to the throne who is of age and is a commonwealth citizen domiciled in the UK.

Compare Counsellors of State.

Regional Health Authorities

See National Health Service.

registered company

A company incorporated by registration under the Companies Act 1985 (See registration of a company). There are several types of registered company (See limited company; private company; public company; unlimited company).

Compare statutory company.

registered design

A design registered at the Designs Registry, which is part of the Patent Office (See patent). Registration gives monopoly rights over the outward appearance of an article, including its shape, configuration, pattern, or ornament, but not over the underlying idea. Works of sculpture, wall plaques, medals, and printed matter primarily of a literary or artistic character cannot be registered.

See design right.

registered land

Land to which the title in question is registered (See land registration). Land subject to compulsory registration on dealing may be both registered and unregistered; for example, the freehold owner's title may not be registered if he acquired the land before compulsory registration was introduced in the area, but if he grants a lease for more than 21 years the tenant's leasehold title must be registered. Strictly, it is the legal estate or title that is registered, not the land itself. Since over 90% of all land in England and Wales is now registered, this is now the 'normal' way for ownership of land to be recorded, replacing title deeds.

registered office

The official address of a registered company. It must be notified to the Companies Registry before *registration of the company and it must' appear on company letter-heads and order forms. Documents may be served to a company's registered office and various registers and records may be inspected there.

register of members

A record of the names, addresses, and shareholdings of members of a registered company, which is kept at the registered office or wherever it is compiled. The register must be kept open for public inspection (members free) for at least two hours daily; it may not be closed for longer than 30 days in any year.

registrar

n.

1. An official responsible for compiling and keeping a register, e.g. the Registrar of Companies. The office of Registrar of the Chancery Division of the High Court has now been abolished.

2. In the *Court of Appeal, the officer (Registrar of Civil Appeals) responsible for superintending the prehearing stages of appeals in the Civil Division of the court.

3. (district registrar)

See district judge.

registration as citizen or subject

A method by which certain persons can, either by right or at the Secretary of State's discretion, acquire *British citizenship, *British Dependent Territories citizenship, or *British Overseas citizenship or become *British Nationals (Overseas). Some people can also become *British subjects by registration. An *oath of allegiance must be taken by most adult applicants.

Compare naturalization.

registration of a company

The most usual method of forming an incorporated company (See incorporation). Under the Companies Act 1985 the following documents must be delivered with the appropriate fee to the *Companies Registry: the *memorandum of association signed by at least two company members, *articles of association (if any), statements relating to the directors, secretary, and the *registered office, and a statutory declaration that the Companies Act has been complied with. The Registrar will then enter the company's name in the *companies register and issue a *certificate of incorporation.

registration of birth

The recording of a birth by a Registrar of Births and Deaths under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953. Information for this purpose must be supplied to him within 42 days of the birth by a parent of the child, the occupier of the premises in which the birth takes place, a person present at the birth, or a person having charge of the child. The informant must supply details of the date and place of birth, the name and sex of the child, and its parentage, which are entered on the birth certificate; an unmarried father's name may be included on the birth certificate in certain circumstances. A birth certificate may be obtained from the Registrar, the Superintendent Registrar, or the General Register Office; a short form of the certificate, relating to the child's name, sex, and date of birth but not parentage, may also be obtained (See illegitimacy). Children may consult the birth register to discover who their registered parents are and adopted children over the age of 18 have a right to see their original birth certificate.

See also Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority.

registration of commons

See common land.

registration of death

The recording of a death by the Registrar of Births and Deaths under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953. This must take place within five days of the death or, if written notice of the death is given to the Registrar within that period, within 14 days. It may be effected by any relative of the deceased present at the death or during the last illness, by any other relative, by any person present at the death, or by the occupier or any inmate of the premises on which the death occurred. The informant must supply details of the date and place of death, the name, sex, address, and occupation of the deceased, and the cause of death. A death certificate may be obtained from the Registrar, the Superintendent Registrar, or the General Register Office.

registration of encumbrances

Registration of *land charges and other interests affecting the rights of landowners. If registered, these charges are binding on third parties who acquire the land affected or any interest in it. If not registered, however, they will not bind most third parties and thus lose their effectiveness as interests or rights of occupation in the land itself. A person contemplating buying or taking an interest (e.g. a mortgage) in land should therefore search the relevant registers to ensure that there are no charges registered that would influence him against proceeding. The registers are therefore always searched in any *conveyancing transaction by the purchaser or his solicitor. There are four relevant registers.

(1) Local land charges, arising in favour of a local authority from the exercise of its statutory powers, are recorded in a local land charges register maintained by the authority concerned in relation both to registered and unregistered titles. Examples include rights to the repayment of improvement grants, compulsory purchase and smoke control orders, and planning decisions affecting the development or use of premises. Local land charges do not appear in any national register.

(2) When the title to land is registered (See land registration), encumbrances other than local land charges can be protected by registration of the appropriate entry in the charges register of the title at the Land Registry. This may be as a *minor interest, protected by a *notice or by a *restriction or *caution. Some encumbrances also rank as *overriding interests and so do not require registration.

(3) In the case of *unregistered land. registers are maintained by the *Land Charges Department of the following types of interest recorded against the names of persons owning land.

(a) Land charges comprising:

Class A: certain statutory charges registered on the application of the chargee;

Class B: similar charges registered automatically;

Class C: (i) *puisne mortgages. (ii) *limited owners' charges, (iii) *general equitable charges, and (iv)*estate contracts;

Class D: (i) Inland Revenue charges for *inheritance tax. (ii) *restrictive covenants created after 1925 and affecting freehold land. and (iii) equitable *easements created after 1925;'

Class E:annuities created before 1926 and registered after 1925; and

Class F: spouses' rights of occupation under the Family Law Act 1996.

(b) *pending actions relating to land or any interest in it, and petitions for *bankruptcy.

(c) Writs or orders of the court imposing a charge on, or appointing a receiver or sequestrator of, land, and all *bankruptcy orders.

(d) Deeds of arrangement (*deed of arrangement) affecting land. Land charges remain registered until discharged by the chargee or the court. Registration of pending actions, writs and orders, and deeds of arrangement must be renewed every five years.

(4) A floating charge on the assets (including land) of a limited company and any other charge on a company's land that was created before 1970 for securing money need only be registered at the Companies Registry, under the Companies Act 1985. A fixed charge on a company's land created after 1969 should be registered both at the Companies Registry and the Land Charges Department (or charges register of the registered title as appropriate). . .

Although a chargee is protected by registration against all persons acquiring any interest in the land affected. the Law of Property Act 1969 provides that a purchaser is bound only by registered charges of which he knew or ought to have known when the contract was made. Thus if the purchaser discovers an undisclosed registered charge before completing the contract, he may rescind or pursue other contractual remedies against his vendor as the circumstances allow. If he completes the transaction, however, he will be bound by the charge.

registration of marriage

The official recording of details relating to a marriage after it has been solemnized. (It is not to be confused with registration of notice of an intended marriage.) The details usually registered include the names, ages, occupations, and addresses of the parties, names and occupations of their fathers. and place of solemnization of the marriage. Certified copies of the details may be issued on request.

registration of merchant ships

See ship.

registration of title

See land registration.

regular forces

Generally, the armed forces of the Crown other than *reserve forces or auxiliary forces.

regulated agreement

Any *consumer-credit agreement or *consumer-hire agreement under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, other than one specifically exempted by the Act. Exempted agreements include debtor-creditor-supplier agreements secured by a land mortgage, in which the creditor is a local authority or building society who finances the purchase of that land or the provision of dwellings on the land, and *debtor-creditor agreements secured by a land mortgage. The Act also enables the Secretary of State to exempt other consumer-credit agreements in which the number of payments to be made by the debtor does not exceed a specified number, the rate of the total charge for credit does not exceed a specified rate, or the agreement has a connection with a country outside the UK.

regulated mortgage

A legal *mortgage (usually predating 8 December 1965) of land that is subject to a *regulated tenancy binding on the mortgagee. The Rent Act 1977(Part X) provides relief to mortgagors under regulated mortgages in certain cases of hardship.·

regulated tenancy

A *protected tenancy or a *statutory tenancy. It is a protected tenancy until the contractual element is terminated, when it becomes a statutory tenancy. Regulated tenancies have been replaced by assured tenancies (*assured tenancy) by the Housing Act 1988.

regulations of the EU

See Community legislation.

regulatory agency

Any of the nonministerial government departments with statutory duties of control over privatized industries. Each of the statutes that provided for the *privatization of services formerly provided by public corporations also made provision for the establishment of a regulatory agency for the service in question; these agencies include the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel), the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), the Office of Water Services (Ofwat), the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), and the Office of the National Lottery (Oflot).

rehabilitation

n.

See punishment; spent conviction.

rehabilitation order

An order relating to a building acquired by a local housing authority before 2 December 1974 in a *clearance area that is, in the housing authority's opinion, capable of being improved so as to be available for use as a dwelling for 15 years. Under a rehabilitation order, the authority's duty to demolish the building is replaced by one to improve it or ensure that it is improved.

rehearing

n.

1. A second hearing of a case already adjudicated upon, e.g. an *appeal to the Crown Court from conviction by a magistrates' court. All the evidence is heard again and either side may introduce fresh evidence without leave.

2. The hearing of an appeal by the *Court of Appeal, in which the Court will consider all the evidence presented to the trial court (if it is relevant to the appeal) by reading the verbatim transcript of the trial; it will not usually permit fresh evidence to be given. The Court of Appeal will usually not disturb the trial judge's findings on *primary facts, as opposed to the inferences to be drawn from those facts.

Reid test

See lay days.

reinstatement order

An order made by an *employment tribunal directing an employer who has been found to have unfairly dismissed an employee (See unfair dismissal) to restore him to his former job (Compare re-engagement order). The employee is to be treated as if he had not been dismissed and is therefore entitled to recover any benefits (such as arrears of pay) that he has lost during his period of unemployment. However, pay in lieu of notice, ex gratia payments by the employer, state unemployment or supplementary benefits, and other sums he has received because of his dismissal or any subsequent unemployment will be taken into account. An employer cannot be forced to comply with an order for reinstatement; if he fails to do so, *compensation will be awarded to the employee on the usual principles together with an additional sum.

reinsurance

n.

The procedure in which an insurer insures himself with another insurer against some or all of his liability for a risk that he has himself underwritten in an earlier *insurance contract. Reinsurance is undertaken when the potential loss attached to the risk is too great for the insurer to bear alone. A valid contract of insurance gives the insurer an *insurable interest to support a reinsurance.

rejection of offer

The refusal of an *offer by the offeree. Once an offer has been rejected, it cannot subsequently be accepted by the offeree. A counter-offer ranks as a rejection, but a mere inquiry as to the possibility of varying some term does not.

See also lapse of offer; revocation of offer.

rejoinder

n.

Formerly, a pleading served by a defendant in answer to the claimant's *reply. Such a pleading could only be served with the court's permission.

relation back

The treating of an act or event as having legal effect from a date earlier than that on which it actually takes place. Thus a grant of *probate relates back to the date of the testator's death.

relator

n.

A person at whose request an action is brought by the *Attorney General to enforce some public right. Although the relator is not the claimant, he is liable for the *costs of the proceedings. The Attorney General must consent to the issue of the originating process and his discretion in deciding whether or not to sue on behalf of the relator is absolute and cannot be reviewed by the court.

release

n.

1. The renunciation of a right of legal action against another. The fact that a release has been granted should be specifically pleaded as a defence if the person who granted it subsequently initiates court proceedings.

2. Any document by which one person discharges another from any claim with respect to a particular matter.

3. The freeing of a person formerly detained, either upon *discharge when sentencing him or at the end of a prison sentence. The early release of prisoners is subject to *parole, but the Home Secretary has a duty to release unconditionally anyone sentenced to less than 12 months' imprisonment after half of the sentence has been served. Other conditions for the early release of prisoners are specified in the Criminal Justice Act 1991.

release on licence

See parole.

relevance (relevancy)

n.

(in the law of evidence) The relationship between two facts that renders one probable from the existence of the other, either taken by itself or in connection with other facts. Although most relevant facts are admissible in evidence, relevance is not the same as *admissibility, since even relevant evidence must be excluded if it falls within one of the *exclusionary rules. If no exclusionary rule is involved, all facts that have logical relevance to a fact in issue may be proved even though they are not in issue themselves.

relevant evidence

See relevance.

relevant facts

See relevance.

relevant transfer

A situation that may arise when a business or part of a business (the transferor) changes ownership and staff transfer to the new owner (the transferee). If the change of ownership falls within the scope of the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment Regulations 1981 (TUPE), then there is an automatic transfer of an employee's contract of employment. TUPE was the UK government's response to EC Directive 77/187, known as the Acquired Rights Directive, the main objective of which was to safeguard employees' rights in the event of a change of employer. Employees are protected via TUPE where there is a relevant transfer. This, however, is not always a straightforward issue to determine. Because the Acquired Rights Directive is very wide in its scope, both the European Court and national courts have taken a wide view of what situations amount to a relevant transfer. The situations in which a relevant transfer has been held to operate are numerous. The simplest situation is where one company acquires another and staff transfer. More complex situations include contracting out services, the transfer of contracts and franchises, and the transfer of leases. TUPE operates in each of these situations if staff have followed the transfer or have lost employment as a consequence.

There are a number of important issues to note where a relevant transfer occurs. First there is an automatic transfer of the transferor's rights and obligations arising from the employment relationship they have with their staff. Because of this the employee's terms and conditions (with very limited exceptions in the area of pension rights) must be maintained by the new employer (the transferee). Secondly, a relevant transfer cannot be the basis for dismissal unless an employee can be shown to have been dismissed for economic reasons or as a result of technical reorganization. Where an employee, being aware of a proposed transfer, informs either the transferor or the transferee that he objects to the transfer, his transfer does not take effect and his contract of employment is terminated, but he has no claim for unfair dismissal. If a dismissal occurs as a direct result of the transfer this is automatically unfair. If an employer seeks to argue a dismissal was for an economic, technical, or organizational reason, it is not automatically unfair but it can be depending on the employer's procedure.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 955