Saturday, 26 July 2014

Structure and Operation of the Courts in the UK

Courts have to be organized to facilitate the working of the legal system.

Courts in the United Kingdom serve two main functions:
-          They are a mechanism that people can use to resolve disputes.
-          They interpret the law
There are four main functional aspects of the court system which underlie its structure. These functional aspects are as follows;
-          Civil and criminal law differ so much in substance and procedure that they are best administered in separate courts.
-          Local courts allow the vast bulk of small legal proceedings to be decentralized.
-          There is some specialization both within the High Court and in other courts with separate functions.
-          There is a system of review by appeals to higher courts.

        Summary of the Civil Court Structure
The civil court structure comprises the following;
Magistrates’ Court – mostly deal with small domestic matters.
County courts – hear claims in contract and tort, equitable matters and land and probate disputes among others.
The Crown Court – hear appeals from magistrate courts
The High Court – It is divided into three specialist divisions; Queen’s Bench, Family Division and Chancery.
The Court of Appeal – hears appeals from the County Court, the High Court, the restrictive Practices Court, and the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom – hears appeals from the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

     Summary of the Criminal Court Structure
 The criminal court structure comprises the following;
 Magistrates’ Court - hear summary offences and committal proceedings for indictable offences.
The Crown Court- tries serious criminal offences and hears appeals from Magistrate Courts.
Divisional Court of QBD – Hears appeals by way of case stated from Magistrates’ Courts and Crown Court.
The Court of Appeal –hears appeals from the Crown Court.
The Supreme Court for the United Kingdom - hears appeals from the Court of Appeal or a Divisional Court of QBD.

i)                  Magistrates’ Court

Criminal jurisdiction
-          The lowest ranked criminal court
-          The court tries all summary offences. These are minor offences triable summarily i.e. without a jury
-          They conduct preliminary investigation of the prosecution case (committal proceedings) when the offence is triable only by indictment (by Crown Court)
Civil jurisdiction
Magistrates’ courts have civil jurisdiction which include the following:
-          Family proceeding – Financial provision for parties to a marriage and children, the custody and supervision of children and guardianship and adoption orders
-          Enforcement of local authority charges and rates.
Appeals
-          With regard to criminal matters, appeals from the Magistrates’ Court are made to the crown court. The appeal should be based on the ground that the Magistrate has wrongly interpreted the law.
-           Appeals on family matters are made to the Crown Court with a further appeal on a point of law to Family division of the High Court.
Personnel
Magistrates hear cases in the Magistrates’ Courts. The Magistrates fall into the following two categories;
-          Magistrates – Lay persons selected by the Lord Chancellor.
-          District Judges – professional paid magistrates.

ii)               The County Court

They have civil jurisdiction only and this jurisdiction extends to the following matters;
-          Claims in contract and tort (except defamation)
-          Equitable matters concerning trust, mortgages and partnership dissolution.
-          Disputes concerning land.
-          Undefended matrimonial cases.
-          Probate matters
-          Bankruptcy.
Appeals from the County Courts go to the civil division of the Court of Appeal in some cases. In most other cases, an appeal goes to the relevant division of the high court.
County Courts are presided over by Circuit Judges assisted by District Judges.

Civil Procedure Rules

The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) were introduced in 1998 to govern the procedure followed within the English civil court system. The aim of these rules is to facilitate the just, expeditious, proportionate and affordable resolution of civil disputes. Therefore, the rules require courts to;
-          Ensure that party are on an equal footing
-          Ensure that a case is dealt with expeditiously and fairly
-          Deal with the case in ways which are proportionate to the amount of money involved, the importance of the case, the complexity of the issues and the financial position of each party.
The rules also encourage parties to consider alternative methods of dispute resolution.
There are two principal areas which are relevant:
a)      Tracking
b)     Case management

       I.            Tracking
A case can be allocated any one of the following three tracks;
i)                   Small claims track – for claims of no more than £ 5,000. These are cases that that are to be dealt with quickly and informally, often without the need for legal representation or for a full hearing.
ii)                 Fast track– for claims of between £ 5,000 and £ 25,000 where the trial is to last no longer than one day. These are subject to simplified court procedure and a fixed timetable designed to enable the clam to be determined within 30 weeks.
iii)              Mult-track – claims of over £ 25,000.
Generally, small claims and fast track claims are heard by the County Court, the more complex Multi-track cases are heard the High Court.

    II.            Case management
All case are actively managed by the court to ensure that they proceed properly. The courts will consider whether the likely benefits of taking a particular step will justify the cost.
Case management also allows the court to try to encourage the parties to settle their disputes without the need for trial, through alternative dispute resolution procedures (ADR) such as mediation.

iii)            The Crown Court

It deals with indictable offences (serious criminal cases) e.g. murder, rape, robbery.
It also deals with;
-          Appeals against decisions of Magistrates’ Courts.
-          Cases sent for trial by Magistrates’ Courts because the offences are ‘indictable only’ e.g. very serious offences.
-          Cases of defendants convicted in magistrates’ courts, but sent to the Crown Court for sentencing due to the seriousness of the offence
NB; All cases start in the Magistrates’ Court. With regard to ‘indictable only’ offences, defendants are sent to the Crown Court for trial.
This court also deals with a few types of civil cases, for example appeals from the Magistrates’ Court on matters of affiliation, betting, gaming and licensing.
From the Crown Court, there is a right of appeal on criminal matters to the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal. An appeal on a point of law may also be made to a Divisional Court of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court.
Cases in the Crown Court are heard by;
-          High Court Judges (for serious offences)
-          Circuit judges.

iv)              The High Court

It is organized into three divisions which hear different types of cases:
-          Queen’s Bench Division
-          Chancery Division
-          Family Division
All the three divisions hear cases in the first instance. They also have an appellate jurisdiction i.e. they hear appeals from other court.
a)      Queen’s Bench Division
This Division has both criminal and civil jurisdiction and it is headed by the President of the Queen’s Bench Division. Cases are heard by the President, and 73 High Court Judges. Judges who hear civil case in QBD deal with common law business e.g. actions relating to contract, except those specifically allocated to the Chancery Division. They also hear civil wrongs, known as tort.
 The division also has appellate jurisdiction in respect of;
-          Some appeal from County Courts
-          Appeals on a point of law from Magistrates’ Courts.
-          Some appeals from the Crown Court.
The QBD includes a separate admiralty court to deal with matters arising from the high seas and the UK territorial waters, and a commercial court which specializes in commercial cases.
QBD judges also preside over specialist matters, such as applications for judicial review. Such applications seek to establish if a decision of the government or a public body has been made in the right way. Accordingly, it may issue a mandatory order (mandamus), prohibitory order (prohibition) or a quashing order (certiorari). It may also issue a writ of habeas corpus, which is an order for the release of a person wrongfully detained.
Furthermore, it has as supervisory role over inferior courts.
b)     Chancery Division
This division is headed by the Lord Chancellor. Cases are heard by 18 High Court Judges. The principle business of the chancery Division is;
-          Business, trade  and industry disputes
-          Intellectual property matters, copyright and patent
-          Corporate and personal insolvency disputes
-          Contentious probate actions
-          Disputes relating to trust property
The Chancery Division also has the Patents Court (which deals with Patents and registered designs) and the Companies Court (which deals mainly with compulsory liquidation of companies)
c)      Family Division
This division deals with;
-           Matrimonial cases.
-          Family property cases.
-           Proceedings relating to children.
-          Appeals from Magistrates’ Courts on family matters.
-          Appeals from County Court on family matters.
Civil appeals from the High court may be made to the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal or to the Supreme Court under the Leap frog procedure.
Criminal appeals are made directly to the Supreme Court where the case has reached the High Court on appeal from Magistrates’ Court or from the Crown Court.

v)                 The Court of Appeal

An appeal court is a court to which an appeal is made against a judgment, ruling or sentence. In the UK, the Court of Appeal is organized into a civil division and criminal division.
The Civil Division hears appeals concerning civil law from the High Court, County Courts and Tribunals such as; Employment Appeal Tribunal, the Immigration Appeal Tribunal, and the Land Tribunal. This division has the power to uphold or reverse an earlier decision or order a retrial.  Cases are generally heard by three judges.
The Criminal Division hears appeals from the Crown Court. It may also be invited to review a criminal case by the government or to consider a point of law at the request of the Attorney General.
Cases in the Court of Appeal are heard by the Lord Justices of Appeal. Each division has a Chief Judge (President) and they are known as follows.
-          Civil division – Master of rolls
-          Criminal Division – Lord Chief Justice

vi)              The Supreme Court (formerly the House of Lords)

The Supreme Court replaced the House of Lords as the highest court in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.  It was established by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and was opened in October 2009. It is constituted by 12 Judges known as Justices of the Supreme Court and includes a president and a Deputy President.
The Supreme Court hears appeals from the Court of Appeal and the High Court (only in exceptional circumstances). Appeals are heard by panels of 5, 7 or 9 Justices who give their verdicts collectively rather than as individual decisions. Further, it may sometimes be called to interpret European Union Law and the European Convention on Human Rights, as they relate to UK law.

The European Court of Human Rights

This is the supreme court of the European states which have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights. Any individual who alleges that their human rights have been violated can bring an action against those responsible. The UK incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law through the Human Rights act 1998.

The European Court of Justice

This court has the role of interpreting European treaty Law. It should be noted that European treaty laws are enacted in the UK.

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council


The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the court of final appeal for Commonwealth countries that have retained to either Her Majesty in Council or to the Judicial Committee. The decisions of the Privy Council are also important to case heard in the United Kingdom as they have persuasive influence over hearing concerning points of law applicable under UK’s jurisdiction.

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