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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