civil court structure

Question 1

what are civil claims?

Answer 1

claims made in the civil courts when an individual or business believes that their rights have been infringed in some way

Question 2

which courts hear civil cases?

Answer 2

County Court and High Court

Question 3

what are the county courts main areas of jurisdiction?

Answer 3

all contract and tort claims
all cases for recovery of land
disputes over equitable manners such as trusts up to value 350,000 pounds

Question 4

cases in county court are heard by who?

Answer 4

a circuit judge or a district judge
on rare occasions, it is possible for judge to sit with jury of 8 on cases for defamation, torts of malicious prosecution or false imprisonment

Question 5

where is the high court based?

Answer 5

London

has judges sitting in towns, cities throughout England and Wales

Question 6

what are the high courts area or jurisdiction?

Answer 6

has jurisdiction/power to hear any civil claim

Question 7

how is the high court split?

Answer 7

3 divisions:
queens bench division
chancery division
family division

Question 8

what is the queens bench division?

Answer 8

biggest of the 3

contract and tort cases where amount claimed is over 100,000 pounds- can hear smaller cases of important points of law

Question 9

cases in queens bench division are heard by who?

Answer 9

single judge, but there is right to jury trial for fraud, false imprisonment, slander, libel, malicious prosecution

Question 10

what is the administrative court within the queens bench division?

Answer 10

supervises lawfulness of conduct of national and local gov, of inferior courts and tribunals and other public bodies through judicial review

Question 11

what is the chancery division?

Answer 11

main business of this division involves disputes concerned with matters like insolvency (both companies and individuals), enforcement of mortgages, disputes relating to trust property, copyright, patents

Question 12

what is the special companies court within the chancery division?

Answer 12

deals with winding up companies

Question 13

cases in chancery division are heard by who?

Answer 13

single judge, jury never used

Question 14

what is the family division?

Answer 14

hears family cases where there is a dispute about which country’s laws should apply and all international cases concerning family matters under the Hague convention

Question 15

cases in family division are heard by who?

Answer 15

single judge

Question 16

what does the crime and courts act 2013 mean for the family division?

Answer 16

created a separate family court, majority of family matters dealt with in family division are now dealt with by family court. family division can also deal with these, but is unlikely unless case is difficult or important

Question 17

what is the pre-trial process?

Answer 17

V will first try to negotiate agreement with whoever caused them injury or damage to property

‘pre-action protocol’ has to be followed by both parties - a list of things to be done, increasing efficiency of personal injury claims should court be required

if the other person denies liability or refuses ADR, will go to court

Question 18

what is the process of issuing a claim?

Answer 18

if county court, they can choose to issue claim in any of the 200 or so county courts. if high court, then go to one of the 20 district registries or main court in London. claim a form called ‘N1’, claim has to be filed at court office and fee will be charged for issuing the claim according to how much claim is for.

Question 19

what are the 3 tracks claims are allocated to?

Answer 19

small claims track
the fast track
the multi-track

Question 20

what is the small claims track?

Answer 20

disputes under 10,000 except for personal injury cases where limit is at the time of writing 1,000, there are proposals to increase this to 5,000
heard in private, can be heard in court, district judge, encouraged to represent themselves as cannot claim cost of lawyer

Question 21

what is the fast track?

Answer 21

straight-forward disputes of 10,000 to 25,000

circuit judge, open court, formal procedure, hearing limited to max 1 day

Question 22

what is the multi-track?

Answer 22

cases over 25,000 or for complex cases under this amount

encourages parties to use ADR

Question 23

what is the appeal route for county court?

Answer 23

if case was heard by district judge, appeal is to circuit judge in same county court
if case heard by circuit judge, appeal to high court judge

Question 24

what is the second appeal route for county court?

Answer 24

second appeal always to court of appeal. only allowed in exceptional cases of important point of law

Question 25

what is the appeal route for high court?

Answer 25

appeal usually goes to court of appeal (civil division). since 2015, for cases that are of national importance or important issues ‘leapfrog’ to supreme court.

Question 26

what is the further appeal route for high court?

Answer 26

from decision of court of appeal, further appeal goes to supreme court but only if supreme court gives permission

Question 27

what are the advantages of using civil courts?

Answer 27

1. process is fair as judge is impartial
2. trial conducted by legal experts, decision made by judge who is experienced and qualified
3. specific appeal process available
4. may be possible to get legal aid although this has been reduced

Question 28

what is legal aid?

Answer 28

gov help in funding case

Question 29

what are disadvantages of using civil courts?

Answer 29

1. costs of taking case to court are often more than amount claimed
2. delay, there are many preliminary stages to go through that add to length of case, some cases not finished for years
3. complicated process- may be cumpolsary steps to take e.g. pre-action protocols, forms to be filled, this is complicated for ordinary person to take case without legal advice and help
4. uncertainty, no guarantee of winning case, makes it difficult to know costs in advance