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THE UK COURT SYSTEM: THE DIFFERENT COURTS

The modern hierarchy of English courts was established by the Judicature Acts of 1873-5 which essentially removed the parallel jurisdiction of the Courts of Equity and of the Common Law, and created the Supreme Court of Judicature which is now comprised of the Crown Court, the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, regulated by the Supreme Court Act, 1981.

The diagrams beneath the text represent the present hierarchy of the courts in England and Wales for both civil and criminal jurisdiction. At the bottom of the structure in both diagrams is the Magistrate's Court which has both criminal and civil jurisdiction. The criminal jurisdiction of the court is mainly concerned with summary offences, that is to say offences tried without jury. These are comparatively minor offences and carry a maximum fine of £1,000 or six months imprisonment. If we look at the criminal side, appeals from a Magistrate's Court lie to the Crown Court for both conviction and sentence and to the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court by way of 'case stated'. Appeals by way of case stated are on matters of law only.

The Crown Court is in fact divided into tiers dealing with cases of increasing seriousness, ranging from Class 4 offences which may be tried by circuit judges and Recorders up to Class 1 offences such as murder and treason which must be tried by a High Court judge.

An appeal lies from the Crown court to the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal for persons convicted on indictment, and to the Divisional Court of the Queen's Bench Division by way of 'case stated'.

Turning now to the Civil side of the hierarchy, the first court we must consider is the County Court. The Court's jurisdiction is to deal with all minor civil cases up to a certain limit. Actions founded in contract and tort (except defamation) are dealt with up to a limit of £5,000; trusts and mortgages up to £30,000; land matters up to £1,000, and a variety of other matters such as hire purchase, bankruptcy, etc. Appeal against decisions in the County Court lies to the Court of Appeal and to the Divisional Court of the Chancery Division.

Now we come to the most complex of the courts, the High Court of Justice. It is divided into three Divisions.

· The Family,

· Chancery and

· Queen's Bench.

The Family Division has jurisdiction over matrimonial cases, dissolution of marriage, adoption and the rights of children. The Chancery Division has jurisdiction in the more difficult branches of the law such as the administration of the estates of dead persons, trusts, mortgages, company, partnership and bankruptcy matters. Finally the Queen's Bench Division is the busiest division, trying a large number of cases in contract and torts. Appeal against High Court decisions lies to the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal and by 'leapfrog' procedure directly to the House of Lords. This procedure is used when a ruling is required on the construction - that is to say, interpretation - of an Act of Parliament, or statutory instrument, and avoids having to first go to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal is divided into two divisions. The Civil Division hears appeals on questions of law and of fact, re-hearing the whole of the evidence presented to the court below relying on the notes made at the trial. If the appeal is allowed, the court may reverse the decision of the lower court, amend it or order a retrial. The Criminal Division hears appeals from persons convicted on indictment in the Crown Court and a number of other more technical appeals. It has powers to dismiss appeals, quash convictions and order a new trial.

The House of Lords is at the apex of the British court system. Its jurisdiction is almost entirely appellate. In civil cases it hears appeals from the Court of Appeal in England, the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland and the Court of Session in Scotland. The grounds for an appeal are normally that a point of law of public importance is involved. In criminal cases, appeal lies from the Court of Appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeal in Northern Ireland and from the Courts Martial Appeal Court. The House of Lords has no jurisdiction in Scottish criminal cases. Hearings result in a decision in the form of an opinion. The case is then remitted to the Appeal Court which translates the opinion into a judgment. Note also the existence of the Privy Council which receives appeals from outside the UK. In one respect the House of Lords is no longer the supreme legal authority in the United Kingdom. This is in matters regarding the interpretation of European law. The European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights are the final courts of authority in this respect.

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