Civil courts Flashcards by alana taylor

What is civil law?

Concerned with with rights and duties between individuals and businesses

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What is meant by damages?

Compensation awarded in the form of money

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What is tried before resorting to court in civil cases?

Alternative Dispute Resolution

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What are the two courts of first instance?

The County Court and High Court

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What is the Small Claims court?

Division of the county court

Deals with small value claims up to £10,000 or £1000 for personal injury

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Who represents parties in the small claims court?

Parties are encouraged to represent themselves to save cost

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Which judge usually deals with small claims?

District Judge- undergo special training to deal with low value cases

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What are the advantages of the Small Claims Court?

Cost is usually low
Those that lose will not be ordered to pay the other parties costs
Parties don’t need to use lawyers or representation
Procedure is quicker than high value cases
District Judges can assist parties who aren’t represented

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What are the disadvantages of the Small Claims Court?

Legal funding for paying a lawyer is not available
Where the other side is a business, they are more likely to use a lawyer which can put an unrepresented claimant at a disadvantage
District Judges may sometimes be unhelpful towards unrepresented party
Enforcement isn’t guaranteed- only 60% receive their award

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What are the claims the county court have jurisdiction to hear?

Claims based on law of contract and tort
Claims for the recovery of land
Equitable matters up to the value of £350,000

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What are the financial limitations on jurisdiction of the County Court?

Cases up to £100,000
If case is dealing with personal injury up to value of £50,000
Anything above is heard in the High Court

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What are the 3 main divisions in the High Court?

Queens bench division
Chancery Division
Family Division

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What is the limit to jurisdiction on the High Court?

They have jurisdiction to hear any civil case

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What does the Queens Bench Division deal with?

Tort and Contract cases over £100,000

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How many judges are there in the Queens Bench Divison?

Over 70

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What are the 3 additional specialist courts in the QBD?

Commercial Court- insurance, banking and commercial matters
Admiralty Court- shipping eg. damaged cargo
Technology and Construction Court- cases which are technologically complex

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What does the Chancery Divison deal with?

Cases relating to corporate and personal insolvency, copyright and intellectual property

How many judges deal with cases in the Chancery Division?

One single judge without the use of a jury

What is the Family Division?

Has jurisdiction to hear cases involving children and child protection

“The Family Division can deal with abductions of children?”

Only in some circumstances

What other cases can the family division hear?

Cases regarding forced marriage, female genital mutliation and applications for a relief after divorce has taken place outside of England

What are the pre- trial procedures in civil courts?

Encouraged to settle outside of court using ADR
Those that don’t have to follow strict rules under Civil Procedure Rules
Pre Action Protocols
Issuing the claim
Defending the Claim

What are the pre-action protocols?

Parties are encouraged to co operate with each other

Checklist of things need to be carried out before issuing a claim: Disclosure of documents, letter of claim, mediation

What is meant by issuing a claim?

If other party denies the claim or refuses ADR the claimant will need to file the case in court

What does a claimant need to complete to issue a claim?

A N1 Claim form- must be filed at court along with the relevant fee Fee depends on the overall value of the claim

Where does an N1 claim get sent to?

A copy is sent to the court to allocate the case to the relevant court based on value of case The defendant also receives a copy along with a response pack

What happens if the defendant accepts liability and pay full amount?

Claim will end

What happens if a defendant disputes the claim?

They must send an acknowledgment of service or a defence within 14 days of receiving the N1 form and response pack

What happens if the defendant files an acknowledgment of service?

They have an extra 14 days to file the defence

What happens if the defendant files a defence?

They must complete an N9 form back to the court

What happens if the defendant fails to respond?

The claimant can ask the court to make a default judgment in favour of the claimant

What happens if a case is contested?

The court will then allocate the court to a relevant track

What are the three track system?

Small Claims Track- for disputes under £10,000 or £1,000 for personal injury The Fast Track- for straightforward disputes valued between £10,000 and £25,000 or between £1-25,000 for personal injury Multi- Track- cases valued over £25,000

What are the two courts of appeal for civil cases?

Court of Appeal and Supreme Court

How many judges does the Court of Appeal have?

38 Lord Justices of Appeal and sit in panel of 3 or 5

How many judges in the Supreme Court?

12 Justices of the Supreme Court and sit in odd numbered panels

What are the only grounds an appeal will be allowed?

The decision of the lower court was wrong | It was unjust because of a serious procedural or other irregularity in the lower courts

What does S.55 of the Access to Justice Act say?

There should generally only be one appeal in any case rather than the case progressing over a long time in different courts A second appeal can only be granted under limited circumstances

What are the advantages of civil courts?

Fair process- judge is impartial with equal treatment Legal experts- judge is an experienced and qualified lawyer Appeals- there are appeal routes available if either party is not happy with the decision Legal aid is available

What are the disadvantages of civil courts?

Expensive- the cost of taking the case to court is usually more expensive than the amount being claimed Slow- lots of stages that drag the case out Complicated- there are a lot of complicated forms to fill in and set procedures that can be confusing Uncertainty- no guarantee of winning a case Legal aid is limited

Who conducted the reform into the civil court?

Lord Woolfe- Access to Justice 1996- came into effect in 1999 Most important recommendations included: Introduction of three track system Encouraged use of ADR Judges given more case management responsibilities Simplifying documents and procedures Shorter timetables for cases to reach court

What are the advantages of the Woolfe reform?

More co operation | Case management was successful