Spent Convictions in UK Law

Leading Cases
  • Thomas v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 28 November 1996

    As to the spent convictions issue, the starting point, in my judgment, should be the purpose of the 1974 Act and the language of section 7(3). The Act was intended to allow persons convicted of the less serious offences to become, after a suitable period of time, rehabilitated. It was intended to allow the stain of the conviction to be wiped from the record. The language of section 7(3) is entirely consistent with that purpose.

    But the approach established in criminal cases is not, in my judgment, an appropriate approach in civil cases.

  • R v Nye
    • Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
    • 19 February 1982

    In our view, when this question arises, it is entirely a question for the discretion of the judge. It may well be that the past spent conviction, as was instanced in argument, happened when the defendant being tried was a juvenile, for instance for stealing apples, a conviction of many years before. The essence of this matter is that the jury must not be misled and no lie must be told to them about this matter.

  • Re the Solicitors Act 1974, No 13 of 2008
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 10 July 2008

    It would also have to render private convictions that were matters of public record and may well have been, as in this case, reported in the press. Notwithstanding the obvious practical difficulty of rendering secret a public judgment which had been freely and properly reported in the press, the Act does not purport to have that effect and does not, in my opinion, do so.

  • R (on the application of T) v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester
    • Supreme Court
    • 18 June 2014

    The conclusion about T in the present case is, however, of an entirely different character. It is that, in the light of the circumstances surrounding his receipt of the warnings, the requirement in the 1975 Order that he should disclose them to the college and its entitlement to act in reliance on them violated his rights under article 8.

    That is so, as the court explained in MM, because of the cumulative effect of the failure to draw any distinction on the basis of the nature of the offence, the disposal in the case, the time which has elapsed since the offence took place or the relevance of the data to the employment sought, and the absence of any mechanism for independent review of a decision to disclose data under section 113A.

  • YA v London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
    • Queen's Bench Division (Administrative Court)
    • 27 July 2016

    Section 4 (1) (a) also refers to the prohibition relating to a person who has 'committed or been charged with or prosecuted for or convicted of or sentenced for any offence…'. It is necessary in section 4 (1) (b) to refer to 'any circumstances ancillary thereto' because the drafting of the section only uses the word 'conviction' and this makes it clear that the prohibition is wider than just the conviction itself.

See all results
Legislation
  • Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015
    • Scotland
    • January 01, 2015
    ... ... (with art. 5) ... 52: Relevant offences and foreign offences: spent convictions ... In section 129 of the 2005 Act (relevant offences and ... ...
  • Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
    • UK Non-devolved
    • January 01, 1974
  • Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019
    • Scotland
    • January 01, 2019
    ... ... provision about periods and processes as regards disclosure of convictions by offenders; and to make provision concerning particular aspects of the ... ) the conviction is, for the purposes of this Act, to be treated as spent ... (1B) But where the disclosure period so applicable expired before ... ...
  • Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010
    • Scotland
    • January 01, 2010
    ... ... may be required to undertake in any one day,(b) reckoning the time spent undertaking unpaid work or other activity,(c) the keeping of records of ... 247(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (c.46) (convictions deemed not be convictions where offender placed on probation or discharged ... ...
See all results
Books & Journal Articles
See all results
Law Firm Commentaries
See all results
Forms
  • Apply to become someone's deputy (make a declaration)
    • HM Courts & Tribunals Service court and tribunal forms
    Court of Protection forms including the COP1 application to make decisions on someone's behalf.
    ... ... (Do not include convictions spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) ... If Yes, please ... ...
  • Application for Certificate to act as an enforcement agent
    • HM Courts & Tribunals Service court and tribunal forms
    Enforcement forms including forms used by judges.
    ... ... your answer to this question, you are not required to disclose convictions that ... are spent in accordance with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act ... ...
  • Application for Certificate to Levy Distress
    • HM Courts & Tribunals Service court and tribunal forms
    Enforcement forms including forms used by judges.
    ... ... your answer to this question, you are not required to disclose convictions that ... are spent in accordance with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act ... ...
See all results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT