2024

English Legal System The Court

System in England
Courts having Criminal and Civil Jurisdiction
 Courts outside the main hierarchy
Tribunals
Lecture Aims
To describe the system of courts in England
and Wales;
To demonstrate how these courts relate to one
another in the civil and criminal jurisdictions;
To show how the system of judicial precedent
depends on a strict court hierarchy for its
operation;
To examine courts outside of the main
hierarchy and their functions;
To look at the role and jurisdiction of
tribunals.
Lecture Outcomes
At the end of the lecture you should be able to:
Identify the main courts in the hierarchy in
England and Wales;
Describe the appellate structure for those
courts;
Identify the type of legal business that is
carried on in different courts in the hierarchy;
Name courts outside of the main hierarchy;
Explain the jurisdiction of tribunals and
critically evaluate why they were introduced
and how far they fulfil their function.
Hierarchy of courts in England and
Wales
The main hierarchy for courts in England
and Wales can be summarised as follows:
The House of Lords;
The Court of Appeal, Criminal and Civil
Divisions;
The High Court of Justice;
The Crown Court;
County Courts;
Magistrates’ Courts.
The Supreme Court of England
and Wales
This concept was created by the Judicature
Acts Consists of the superior courts of:
The Court of Appeal;
The High Court;
The Crown Court.
Note that it does not include the House of
Lords which was retained because of a
change of government after it was passed
It should also not be confused with the
‘Supreme Court’ which the government was
introduced through the Constitutional Reform
Bill 2004
Courts of Record
 You may come across this term in your reading on courts
 Courts of records are court where the proceedings are
recorded at the Public Record Office Superior courts of
record are the House of Lords, the Court of Appeal, the
High Court, the Crown Court and the Employment Appeals
Tribunal
 The county courts and coroners’ courts are inferior courts
of record Magistrates’ courts are not courts of record
 The superior courts of record have the power to punish
contempt of court, whereas inferior courts of record can
only punish those committed in court
Criminal Courts The main criminal
courts in England and Wales are:
The Magistrates’ Courts;
The Crown Court.
Generally, they are first instance courts, or
courts of original jurisdiction, although they
do have appellate jurisdiction
In order to appreciate how work is allocated
between them, it is necessary to look at what
is called the classification of offences
Classification of offences
All criminal offences are divided into:
Summary only offences, triable only in the
Magistrates’ Courts;
Either way offences, triable either in the
Magistrates’ Courts or the Crown Court;
Indictable only offences, triable only in the
Crown Court.
The Crown Court’s Jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of the Crown Court may be
summarised as follows:
First instance hearing of indictable only
offences – the only court which can hear these;
Appeals by those convicted summarily by the
Magistrates’ Courts;
Sentencing of those committed to the Crown
Court when the Magistrates’ sentencing
powers are considered inadequate;
Limited civil jurisdiction over licensing
appeals from the Magistrates’ Courts.
Criminal Courts – Appeal Structure
Appeal from the Magistrates’ Courts
To the Crown Court, or to the Divisional
Court of the Queen’s Bench Division of the
High Court of Justice by way of case stated on
a point of law
Appeal from the Crown Court
To the Criminal Division of the Court of
Appeal composed of two or three Lord
Justices of Appeal
Further appeals
From the Queen’s Bench Divisional Court to
the House of Lords, although there is an
exception in contempt proceedings
From the Criminal Division of the Court of
Appeal to the House of Lords
Only with leave of the Court of Appeal and on
a matter which raises a question of public
importance
The Civil Courts
The main court that people are likely to come into
contact with if they are involved with the law is the
county court
These were established by the County Courts Act 1846
to enable litigants to obtain justice locally more quickly
and fairly without recourse to the Royal Courts in
London
They are based in major towns and cities up and down
the country, but bear no relation to the county in which
they are situated
Extremely busy – million claims were issued in county
courts, as opposed to 54,500 in the Queen’s Bench and
Chancery Divisions of the High Court
County Courts Main work of the
county courts:
Contract – where there are no complex legal
issues and the value of the claim is under
£15,000
Tort – to the same value, except for personal
injury cases where the value of the claim can
run up to £50,000;
Family jurisdiction – in domestic violence
cases, ancillary relief, private and public law
of children.
The High Court
Based in the Royal Courts of Justice on the
Strand in London
Although the Court may sit anywhere (s.71
Supreme Court Act (SCA) 1981)3 Divisions:
The Queen’s Bench Division;
The Chancery Division;
The Family Division.
Note that the divisions are not separate
courts (Supreme Court Act 1981 s.5(5))
Work of the Divisions Queen’s
Bench Division
Contract or tort actions will be allocated to
this court if they are unsuitable to be
commenced in the county court for one of the
reasons dealt with above
The Queen’s Bench also has specialist
courts:
The Admiralty Court;
Administrative Court;
Commercial Court;
Technology and Construction Court.
Admiralty Court
Created in 1971 when the old division of
Probate, Divorce and Admiralty was dissolved
Deals with claims for personal injury arising
from collisions between ships, or because of
defects in the ships, claims for salvage and
towage etc…
Its jurisdiction only relates to salvage in tidal
waters
Judges in this court often sit with lay nautical
assessors
Administrative Court
Established in the Queen’s Bench Division in
October 2000 replacing the Crown Office List
Deals with claims for judicial review
Permission for judicial review is granted or
refused by a single judge
Can be grouped with the Divisional Court of
the Queen’s Bench Division which hears
points of law by way of case stated from the
magistrates’ courts
Commercial Court
 London is obviously a major financial and business
centre
 A lot of foreign companies/individuals decide to have
their contracts governed by English law
 Commercial court deals with business relating to these
and internal matters
 Deals with banking and insurance cases as well as the
construction of complex commercial documents
 Has specialised judges which have been appointed by
the Lord Chancellor to sit in the court
 It has a streamlined system for deciding cases, and may
admit evidence that would not otherwise be admissible
as well as dispensing with oral evidence

The Chancery Division
The Chancery Division is the successor of the old
courts of equity which were established by the
Lord Chancellor from the fourteenth century
Hence work which has an equitable nature will
be found in these courts, e.g. law relating to land
and trusts of land in particular
In addition the Chancery Division also deals with
bankruptcy, dissolution of partnerships,
intellectual property law and company matters
It is a smaller division of the High Court than the
Queen’s Bench or Family Divisions
The Family Division
Created in 1970 from the old Probate,
Admiralty and Divorce division
Reflected growing importance of family law
and its recognition as an area of specialisation
in its own right
Has original jurisdiction in some matters,
wardship proceedings have to be started here
The Divisional Court of the Family Division
hears appeals from Magistrates’ Courts on
financial provision orders & appeals under the
Children Act 1989
Court of Appeal
We have already seen that there are two divisions
of the Court of Appeal – Civil and Criminal
Civil division hears appeals from the High Court
and county court, although there is a ‘leap-frog’
procedure for appeals directly to the House of
Lords
The Criminal Division hears appeals from the
Crown Court, but not High Court generally
The appeal may be against conviction or sentence
and the Court must give its permission or the trial
judge certify that it is fit for appeal
House of Lords
Final appeal court in England and Wales with
unlimited jurisdiction
Has minor first instance jurisdiction such as in
relation to contested peerages
The trial of peers by the House of Lords was
abolished by the Criminal Justice Act 1948
Has appellate jurisdiction in civil matters from
Scotland
Usually sits as a court of five judges who
deliver ‘speeches’ or ‘opinions’ rather than
judgments
The Constitutional Reform Bill
2004
The proposals in this bill would lead to the
abolition of the House of Lords as a final court of
appeal and its replacement with a Supreme Court
for England and Wales
The new Supreme Court would take over the
appellate functions of the current House of Lords
It would also take over the jurisdiction of the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in
devolution matters
It will not have the power to strike down
legislation in the way that the Supreme Court in
the United States of America can
Coroner’s Courts These courts
date back to 1194
Currently 138 full-time Coroners and 240 deputy
and assistant coroners
Coroners are usually lawyers with a five year
qualification within the meaning of the Courts and
Legal Services Act 1990
They deal with the classification of unnatural and
violent deaths and also with treasure trove
The coroner may order a post-mortem to be carried
out and then subsequently if the death is found to
be unnatural, then an inquest may be held
Inquests can be held with juries in certain types of
cases
The Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council
Delivers an opinion to the Queen who is
theoretically able to accept or reject
Composed of senior Lords in the House of
Lords – hence jurisprudence persuasive in
other cases
Has jurisdiction over diverse areas, was until
recently an appeal court for Commonwealth
countries, and was also the final court for
appeals under ecclesiastical law