CH181140 - Dishonest tax agents: determining dishonest conduct: meaning of dishonesty
Following the Supreme Court’s Judgement in Ivey v Genting Casinos (UK) Ltd t/a Crockfords [2017] UKSC 67 the test for dishonesty is that set out by Lord Nicholl’s in Royal Brunei Airlines Sdn Bhd v Tan [1995] UKPC 4.
This test was summarised in Barlow Clowes International Limited (in liquidation) and others v Eurotrust International Limited and others [2005] UKPC 37 as follows:
“…although a dishonest state of mind is a subjective mental state, the standard by which the law determines whether it is dishonest is objective. If by ordinary standards a defendant’s mental state would be characterised as dishonest, it is irrelevant that the defendant judges by different standards. The Court of Appeal held this to be a correct statement of the law and their Lordships agree.”
It is not a requirement of the standard of dishonesty that the defendant should be conscious that their actions were wrong. It is sufficient that they personally know the background facts which made their conduct dishonest by the ordinary standards of reasonable and honest people.