chapter 1 Flashcards
civil courts and ADR
What is the Jurisdiction of the county court?
-Try most civil claims up to £100,00 in value
-Typical cases involve:
1.negligance claims where a person has suffered injury or loss as a result of the action or failure of another.
2.other tort based claims such as trespassing
3.debt claims and consumer disputes
4.housing claims and other tenant matters such as eviction.
5.probate claims and other claims in relation to wills and trusts.
How are claims heard in the county court?
-Claims will be usually heard in open court by a single judge (usually a circuit)
-If the case is straightforward and low in value then it is heard by a district judge.
-the judge will hear case papers before the hearing and can hear evidence and legal arguments in court.
At the end of the hearing the judge will decide…
1. liability
2. the compensation payable (if any)
3.any other remedy requested such as eviction notice and who should pay for the costs of the case.
What is the small claims track?
-Part of the county court that deals with claims under £10000 in value in an informal way.
-Personal injury claims of under £1000
-Cases are heard by a District Judge and lawyers are discouraged, so there are less legal argument and less costs.
-the ‘winner’ can not recover the costs of their solicitor, if they chose to use one, from the losing party
-It was introduced as a quick and informal court to deal with minor cases.
-cases heard in an informal setting , time allocated to a hearing will be a maximum of 2-3 hours and each party has a limited number of witnesses.
-no strict rules of evidence or cross examination
What is the Fast Track?
-Handles claims of £10,000 to £25,000
-The idea is that this track is fast at dealing with higher value claims in a more formal setting.
-Strict timetable for pre- trial matters to ensure there is no time wasting and the aim is for the claim to heard within 30 weeks of being received by the court.
-Case is likely heard by a circuit judge
-The hearing will be a maximum of one day in open court with limited number of witnesses.
-Each of the parties can be represented by a lawyer
-The judge is directed by civil procedure rules to case manage each claim so that the guidelines established by and after Lord Woolf’s recommendations are adhered to.
What is the Multi track?
-Handles claims from £25,000 to £50,000
-due to higher value claims it will be heard by a circuit Judge either a circuit Judge or a High Court Judge.
-The case will be strictly case managed by the circuit Judge who sets a strict timetable
-timetables, gathering of evidence and the controlling of expert witnesses are all in the hands of the Judge to manage.
-The use of ADR is encouraged by the Judge where possible.
Who was Lord Woolf?
Following an investigation into the criticisms facing the civil courts, Lord Woolf in his 1996 Report on access to Justice recommended three changes
1.simplify the current language in the civil justice system to allow the public a greater understanding of the procedure in the civil courts.
2.The introduction of the three track system in the county courts to quickly allocate a civil case depending on the value of the claim and to set a specific criteria to each tracks procedures
3.to encourage alternatives to the courts to reduce the cost of litigation to the parties of any action.
How are claims heard in the High Court?
-Claims will be heard in open court by a single judge of the High Court
-The Judge will read the case papers before the hearing and can hear evidence and legal arguments in court.
The judge will decide liability, the compensation payable, if any or another remedy requested such as eviction notice and who should pay the costs of the case.
What is the Kings Bench Division?
-The largest of the 3 divisions, it mainly deals with contract and tort claims over £100,000 in value and smaller claims where there is a complicated issue of law involved.
-There are specialist courts within the KBD, which include:
-Applications for Judicial review
-Appeals from the Criminal courts
What is the Chancery division?
This court has the Jurisdiction to deal with the following types of cases:
1.Disputes relating to business, property or land over £100,000
2.Disputes over trusts
3.Probate Claims
4. Disputes about partnership matters
What is the Family division ?
Cases in this division are usually held in private as they often deal with sensitive matters.
Has Jurisdiction to hear:
-matrimonial matters
- cases under the Children Act 1989
-cases under the child abduction and custody act of 1985
-Court of protection work
-family matters under the Family Law Act.
How do you issue a claim?
-A claim form N1 has to be completed with the names and the addresses of the parties, brief details for the reason for the claim and the amount of money being claimed. A form can be filed at a county court office.
How can you defend a claim?
The defendant has a choice of actions:
1.Admit the claim and pay the full amount to the claimant or the court.
2.Admit the claim and pay in instalments
3.dispute the claim and file a defence setting out why the claim should not be paid.
4.File an acknowledgement of service confirming receipt of the claim form but asking for time to file a defence.
What are pre-action protocols?
- A court claim should only be considered as a last resort if a negotiated settlement cannot be reached or a form of ADR has failed.
the first step to take before issuing any court claim is to follow an appropriate pre-action protocol. They explain the conduct and set out and the steps the court would normally except parties to take before starting any court action. The aim of a pre-action protocol is to ensure that as many problems as possible can be resolved without the need for a court hearing.
What is the process of appeals in the civil courts?
If one of the parties is dissatisfied with the decision of the trial judge about liability or compensation they can appeal.
1. you must have grounds for an appeal
2.An appeal hearing usually consists of legal argument to why the original decision should be altered.
3.An appeal is usually made to the next highest court in the hierarchy
4.It is rare for new evidence to be heard
5. An appeal must be made within 21 days of the original hearing
6. The appeal court can agree with the decision or reverse it. They can also agree or alter the amount of compensation awarded.
Appeals from the county court
-if an appeal was made by a district judge, in the small claims court an appeal will be made by a single circuit judge of the same court.
-If an appeal was made by a circuit judge an appeal can be made to a High court judge of the division that is relevant to the case. For example, if the claim is for personal injury then the appeal will be made to a judge of the Kings Bench Division.
-An appeal can be made directly to the court of appeal (civil decision) if the case raises an important point of principle and the court of appeal agrees to hear it.
