Dishonesty in the criminal law

Produced in partnership with Christopher Sykes of 33 Chancery Lane

Practice notes

Dishonesty in the criminal law

Produced in partnership with Christopher Sykes of 33 Chancery Lane

Practice notes

Dishonesty provides the mens rea for multiple offences under statute and the common law. It is, however, not fully defined by statute. The exception is the Theft Act 1968 (TA 1968), which goes some way towards defining dishonesty but only insofar as certain offences within the 1968 Act are concerned (see: Theft offences—overview).

Dishonesty is ultimately a term that should be given its plain English meaning. It will be for the jury to decide whether a defendant has been dishonest, with the assistance of judicial directions drawn from the test for dishonesty in Ivey.

The need to prove dishonesty applies to many, but not all, offences falling under the broad categories of ‘financial’, ‘business’, or ‘corporate’ crime. For example, proof of dishonesty is required for the core offences under the Fraud Act 2006 and false accounting under TA 1968, s 17. It is required for certain offences under the Insolvency Act 1986, the Taxes Management Act 1970, the Companies Act 2006, and the Financial Services Act 2012. Dishonesty is also a required part

Christopher Sykes

Barrister, 33 Chancery Lane

Christopher acts for the prosecution and defence in cases of business crime and investigations. He has been instructed by the FCA as junior and disclosure counsel in complex prosecutions. He has gained experience of investigations through his work with the Enforcement Decision Making Committee of the Bank of England and the Fraud Investigation Service of HMRC. He has been led by senior members of Chambers in defending private prosecutions for fraud and in confiscation proceedings. He has defended individuals facing allegations of civil contempt in the High Court for breach of freezing injunctions. He is panel counsel for the SFO.

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Alongside his business crime practice, Christopher offers extensive experience and expertise in the practice area of professional discipline and regulation. He is frequently instructed by the GDC to present the case in substantive, interim, and High Court matters. He is regularly instructed to act for the defence by the CSP. Christopher gained in-house experience of regulatory enforcement through his secondment as a case presenter for the GOC.

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Christopher brings to these roles the experience gained as a criminal advocate appearing in the magistrates’ courts, Crown Courts, and Court of Appeal. He has secured successful outcomes for clients facing the most serious criminal allegations, including kidnap and terrorism.

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Christopher contributed to the drafting of “The UK Anti-Bribery Handbook” (Bloomsbury, 2022) and Blackstone’s Criminal Practice 2020.

Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Dishonesty definition

What does Dishonesty mean?

Dishonesty is to be determined according to the current standards of ordinary, decent people.

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