England and Wales Case Law

R v Maria Kwiatkowska

Convictions in 2011 and 2015 are unsafe due to abuse of process and failure to identify applicant as a victim of trafficking; public interest did not require prosecution. Convictions in 2017, 2019, and 2020 are not unsafe as applicant was properly advised, made reasoned decisions to plead guilty, and public interest justified prosecution given repeated offending and available support.

Source excerpt

• Modern slavery
• Trafficking
• Abuse of process
• Statutory defence
• Appeals against conviction
• Mental capacity

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R v Tinh Van Nguyen

The Court of Appeal dismissed extensions of time and leave to appeal, holding there was no basis for section 45 or reasonable-cause arguments and no abuse of process.

• Guilty plea
• Modern slavery
• Statutory defence
• Abuse of process
• Article 4 echr
• Bail act offences

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R v Cadonius Lowe

The applicant's guilty pleas were properly entered, and there is no merit in the application to appeal or to adduce fresh evidence. The CPS would have prosecuted the case even if its policy had been applied, and the applicant was aware of his right to vacate his pleas but chose not to do so. There is no basis for granting an extension of time, anonymity order, or reporting restrictions.

Source excerpt

• Modern slavery
• Statutory defence
• Extension of time
• Anonymity order
• Reporting restrictions

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Malcolm Cohen & Ors v Co-operative Group Limited & Ors

Permission to adduce business valuation and restructuring expert evidence was refused because the pleaded case did not support the relevance or necessity of such evidence, and the issues could be resolved by factual evidence without expert opinion.

Source excerpt

• Transaction at undervalue
• Preferences
• Expert evidence
• Statutory defence
• Business valuation
• Business restructuring

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Lowe, R. v

Lowe, R. v [2025] EWCA Crim 1673 (02 December 2025)

The Court of Appeal Criminal Division refused a late application to appeal convictions for conspiracy to supply drugs, and also refused fresh evidence and anonymity.

• Modern slavery
• Statutory defence
• Guilty plea
• Anonymity order
• Extension of time
• Fresh evidence

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Demetrios Karpasitis v Hertfordshire County Council

The Court of Appeal held that Hertfordshire County Council failed to prove its section 58 defence over a dangerous verge defect, and allowed the appeal subject to 33% contributory negligence.

• Highway maintenance
• Statutory defence
• Duty of care
• Contributory negligence
• Evidence admissibility
• Highway-maintenance

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R v AUS

The applicant was not advised of the section 31 statutory defence, which would quite probably have succeeded if advanced. She suffered clear injustice as a result. An extension of time is granted, leave to appeal is allowed, and the conviction is quashed.

Source excerpt

• Statutory defence
• Anonymity orders
• Refugee status
• False identity documents
• Extension of time
• Appeal against conviction

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Demetrios Karpasitis v Hertfordshire County Council

The Defendant was not liable under s41 Highways Act 1980 because it established the s58 statutory defence, having conducted competent inspections and the dangerous hole was not present at the last inspection; no common law duty arose as there was no positive act or negligent omission regarding signage; contributory negligence would have reduced damages by 33% had liability been established.

Source excerpt

• Highways maintenance
• Duty of care
• Contributory negligence
• Statutory defence
• Dangerous defects
• Inspection standards

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R v Ritvan Fucija

The applicant was aware of the possibility to raise modern slavery as a defence and was properly advised before pleading guilty. The plea was unequivocal and not vitiated by the subsequent conclusive grounds decision or fresh evidence. There are no arguable grounds that the prosecution was an abuse of process or should not have proceeded.

Source excerpt

• Modern slavery
• Guilty plea
• Abuse of process
• Statutory defence
• Fresh evidence

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London Borough of Barking and Dagenham v Zannat Ara Aziz

Administrative Court case on planning enforcement offences, holding that s.285(2) can operate as a gateway to appeal grounds even where the notice was registered.

• Enforcement notice
• Statutory defence
• Statutory disapplication
• Service of notice
• Planning control
• Appeal grounds

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