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Civil Courts In The Uk

Civil Courts In The Uk

Civil courts in England and Wales

Most cases dealing with claims for less than about 25000 start in the local CountyCourt of which there are 250. Cases are heard by a legally qualified judge. Anappeal can be taken from the District Judge to the Circuit Judge. County Court decisions are not binding in other County Court cases but are generally followedunless there is good reason not to.

Cases involving larger sums of money or more important legal points are raised in the High Court. The High Court sits in London and in a few regional centres. It is split into Divisions. For example, the Family Division deals with divorce and child welfare matters and also the administration of wills; the Chancery Division considers complex matters such as disputes about wills, settlements and trusts, bankruptcy, land law, intellectual property and corporate laws; and the Que

en's Bench Division deals with the remaining business including disputes about contracts, torts or land. The Queens Bench Division has some specialist sub-Divisions, including a Commercial Court which deals with large and complex business disputes.

You can appeal a County Court or High Court decision to the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal on law only. From the Court of Appeal, there can be an appealto the House of Lords on fact or law but usually if it involves matters of legalimportance. It is also possible to bring an appeal from the High Court to the House of Lords but this is rare.

Up to Court of Appeal level, a judge must follow the decisions of all the highercourts above it but need not follow the views of other judges in the same court

or a lower court. The Court of Appeal is normally bound by its own previous decisions and those of the House of Lords but can depart from its own decisions incivil cases in some special circumstances.

The House of Lords is not bound by its own previous decisions but will depart from them only rarely.

The Civil Court System

The County Court

This is the lowest tier of the civil court system. The county courts have jurisd

iction over recovery of debts and civil actions. In recent years, the High Courthas become overloaded and therefore subject to very long delays. The financiallimit on the County Courts jurisdiction has therefore been raised substantially inorder for more cases to be dealt with at this level which is more cost effectiveboth to the parties to litigation and to the public exchequer. The Lord Chancellor now has power to allocate work between the High Court and the County Court.Appeals from the County Court on bankruptcy petitions are dealt with by the Chancery Division of the High Court. Appeals on other matters are heard by the Courtof Appeal.

The MagistratesCourt

The MagistratesCourt has a civil jurisdiction in family matters under which they m

ake custody orders relating to children and maintenance orders in matrimonial and domestic cases. They also deal with adoption proceedings. They can make ordersexcluding a family member from the household.

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Appeals on family matters are heard by the Family Division of the High Court.

The High Court

Until recently, the High Court sat in the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strandand High Court judges travelled out from there to local courts. Nowadays, much H

igh Court business is dealt with in High Court District Registries situated in buildings of the larger County Courts.The High Court is both an original court and an appellate court. It is possible to begin court proceedings in the High Court and it also hears appeals from lower courts.Rules of Procedure in the High Court are found in "The Rules of Supreme Court" - also known as the White Book. TheHigh Court is divided into three divisions: the Queens Bench Division, the Chancery Division and the Family Division. The three courts have separate jurisdictions. No limit is set on the jurisdiction of the High Court. It serves the whole ofEngland and Wales.

The Queens Bench Division

The President of the Queens Bench Division is the Lord Chief Justice. In addition to its criminal jurisdiction, the QBD hears tort and contract cases. The QBD also

has judges who specialise in hearing commercial cases and admiralty cases in the Commercial Court and the Admiralty Court which have different procedures fromthe other QBD courts. In civil matters, the QBD hears appeals for District Judges in the County Courts and from some tribunals.

The Chancery Division

The President of the Division is the Lord Chancellor but in practice he never sits. The effective head of the court is the Vice Chancellor.

Most chancery actions are heard in London. The Chancery Division tries matters c

oncerned with trusts, company matters, insolvency, cases relating to land and patent and trademark actions which are heard in a special court. The Court of Protection, which oversees the property and affairs of mental patients is also partof the Chancery Division.

The Family Division

The head of the court is the President of the Family Division. The court hears all defended matrimonial cases, which are rare nowadays. The Family Division makes declarations of legitimacy and of the validity or invalidity of marriages. Ithears proceedings for the presumption of death, wardship, adoption, guardianshipand some matrimonial property matters.The Family Division hears appeals on matrimonial and family matters from the County Court and the MagistratesCourt.

The Court of Appeal

In both criminal and civil matters, the Court of Appeal has itsown judges known as the Lords Justices of Appeal. Cases are also heard by ex officio judges (judges who sit by reason of the office they hold): the Lord Chancellor, the Master of the Rolls, the President of the Family Division, the Lord Chief Justice, the Vice Chancellor, the judges from the House of Lords and formerLord Chancellors.Usually three judges sit together but where they are hearing avery difficult or significant point of law, five judges will hear the case. TheCivil Division of the Court of Appeal hears appeals from lower civil courts.

The House of Lords

The House of Lords hears appeals from:

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The Court of Appeal (when leave to appeal is granted either by the Court of Appeal or on application for leave to the House of Lords);

The High Court (with the permission of the House of Lords Appeals Committee) - where there is a point of law of general public importance, the case can leapfrogfrom the High Court direct to the House of Lords.

Category : Law

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