Chapter 1 - Civil Courts and Other Forms of Dispute Resolution Flashcards
The County Court
-Usually Heard in open court by a single judge, usually a circuit judge
-If straight forward and low profile can be heard by district judge
-Can try most civil claims up to £100,000
-Hear negligence claims
-Hears debt claims
-bankruptcy and insolvency matters
The High Court
-Made up of three divisions, QBD, Chancery and Family
-Judge from one of the three divisions will be selected to deal with a case
-As with all courts, judge will decide liability, compensation and who should pay costs of the case
Queens Bench Division
-largest of three divisions
-Jurisdiction to hear cases over £100,000
-Administrative court hears applications for judicial review, and case stated appeals
-Circuit Commercial Courts, which handle commercial and business disputes
Chancery Division
-Hears disputes relating to business, property or land worth over £100,000
-Disputes over trusts
-Contentious Probate Claims
-Specialist courts involve, Insolvency and Companies list
Family Division
-usually heard in private as deal with sensitive matters
Has jurisdiction to hear cases dealing with:
-Cases relating to the welfare of children under the children act 1989
-Appeals from lower courts, such as Family proceedings court
-Cases with foreign element such as child abduction or forced marriage
Which court will be used for a claim
Less than £10,000 or £1000 for PI - Small claims court
Less than £100,000 or £50,000 for PI - Must be started in County Court
More than £100,000 or £50,000 for PI - Can be started in County Court or more likely the High Court
How to Issue a claim
-An N1 form must be filed including to names and addresses of parties, brief details of claim and amount of money being claimed
-Can be filed at County Court Office, High Court if it is a high value claim, online for a debt claim
-Fee will be charged for issuing a claim, proportionate to the amount being claimed
Defending a claim
Defendant has four choices when defending a claim
- Admit claim and pay full amount
- Admit claim and pay in instalments
3.Dispute claim and file a defence
4.File an acknowledgement of service
The three tracks
-If a claim is defended, judge must allocate it to a track
-Small claims track, Fast track, Multi track
Small Claims Track
-Less than £10,000 or £1000 for PI
-Heard by district judge, lawyers not encouraged
-Hearing will last a max of 2-3 Hours
Fast Track
-£10,000 - £25,000
-Judge will Set out a strict timetable of max 30 weeks for case to be dealt with
-Hearing will last max 1 day in open court
-usually heard by Circuit judge
-Parties can be represented by lawyers
Multi Track
-£25,000 - £50,000
-Usually in County Court
-Heard by Circuit Judge
-Can be passed up to High Court if case involves more than £50,000 or has complicated points of law
Appeals from County Court
-If original decision was made by district judge, appeal heard by circuit judge in same court
-If original decision was made by circuit judge, appeal can be made to high court.
-An appeal can be made directly to COA if case raises important principles of law
Appeals From High Court
-An Appeal from a decision of a high court judge will be heard by COA
-If one party wishes to, can make direct appeal to Supreme Court, permission has to be granted by COA
Employment Tribunals
-Deal with issues such as claim of unfair dismissal, workplace discrimination or redundancy
-Sits in a separate building and has a set process
-less formal than court
-Made up of a socialist judge, employers represent, employees represent
Employment tribunals - Appeals
-Either side may appeal
-Must be within 42 days
-Further appeals made to COA and Supreme Court
Forms of ADR
-Negotiation
-Mediation
-Arbitration
-Conciliation
Negotiation
-Can be through any effective form of communication
-Is an attempt to come to a verbal settlement
-Must try before going to court
-Can be conducted by parties or their representatives
-ADV - Low cost, straightforward, can maintain relationships
-DIS - One party may not want to, May be hostile, Not prepared to settle
Mediation
-Where a neutral person helps parties to reach a compromise
-Mediator will shuffle between parties
-ADV - Cheaper than going to court, Parties are in control over process, Future relationships can be preserved
-DIS - Party may be unwilling to take part, Unable to reach agreement, Not binding decision
Conciliation
-Conciliator plays a more active role
-Discusses both sides arguments
-ACAS is a conciliation service that is involved with this process
-ADV - Cheaper than court case, parties have control when choosing conciliator and process, relationships can be preserved
-DIS - Conciliator may force a resolution, may not result in a resolution, not binding
Arbitration
-Where both parties voluntarily agree to let their dispute be left to a neutral arbitrator
-May be a result of a Scott v Avery Clause
-ADV - Cheaper than court, Arbitrator qualified and experienced, decision is legally binding
-DIS - Process can be formal and complicated, More expensive than the forms of ADR, not suitable if a complicated point of law is involved
