civil courts Flashcards
county court
- deals with many types of civil disputes (including tort, contact and divorce)
- generally deals with simple cases and cases involving a smaller amount of money
- usually heard by a district or circuit judge
courts of first instance
- county and high
- claims are addressed in these courts first and may be decided there
- if the decision is disputed, a party may ask a higher court to reconsider (appeal)
high court
- deals with more complex cases/those with a larger sum of money
- three divisions: king’s bench, family and chancery
- cases allocated to the multi-track will usually be heard here than the county court
king’s bench division
- deals with contract, tort and judicial reviews
- consists of 71 judges, headed by the president of the head of the division
family division
- deals with family law
- consists of up to 19 judges headed by the president of the division
chancery division
- deals with company law, partnership claims, land law and taxation cases
- consists of 18 high court judges headed by the chancellor of the high court
pre-action protocol
- a list of things that have to be done
- all types require the parties to give advance warning of the claim to the potential defendant
- aim is to encourage the parties to reach an amicable agreement
personal injury cases
- county court if less than 50,000
- claimant can choose between county and high court if over 50,000
non personal injury cases
- county court if less than 100,000
- claimant can choose between county and high court if higher than 100,000
issuing a claim
- C has to complete an N1 claim form and file it at court with a fee
- court issues a claim by allocating a claim number and they will serve the claim form on the D
defending a claim
D has several options if served with a claim form:
- admit claim and pay in full
- file an acknowledgement of service within 14 days and a defence within a further 14
- file a defence within 14
- do nothing
small claims track
- simple cases (small claims court within the county court)
- property damage: 10,000 and under
- personal injury: 1,000 and under (proposals are t
o increase this to 5,000) - flexible
- allows the district judge to ask questions of the parties
- costs not recoverable
fast track
- straightforward disputes (county court)
- property damage: 10,000-25,000
- personal injury: 1,000-25,000
- strict timetable for exchange of evidence
- aim to have the trial within 30 weeks
- hearing limited to one day/more formal
- costs recoverable
multi track
- high value but fairly straightforward disputes (county or high)
- all cases over 50,000
- no set timetable for evidence
- judge takes a hands on approach
1. ID issues at an early stage
2. encourages adr
3. deal with procedural steps without attending court
civil appeals
s55 access to justice act 1999 states appeals can only be made if the COA considers that:
- it would raise an important point of principle or practice
- there is something compelling reason to hear it
- some cases may leapfrog to the SC if the issue is of national importance
legal expertise/experience (adv)
- county/high judges have acquired experience
- can guide parties through the court process and provide legal explanations for decisions
lack of flexibility in court process
- parties have little control over the court process
- evidence is restricted to technical rules
- may be inconvenient to both parties
- remedies available may not be suitable
availability of public funding (adv)
- community legal service may grant public funding for some civil cases (e.g financial claims relating to divorce)
- recently become more limited and difficult to receive
lack of technical knowledge (disad)
- judges may have limited knowledge of the subject matter as it may be of a technical or obscure nature
- judge will have to rely on an expert appointed by the court
