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civil courts Flashcards

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1
Q

clivil claims

A
  • claim made in the civil courts when an individual or a business believes that their rights have been infringed in some way
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2
Q

civil cases

A
  • as well as dealing with different areas of law, the types of disputes that can arise within these areas are equally varied.
  • when a dispute occurs, it is normal to try and resolve it by trying negotiating with the other person/business or by trying another method of dispute resolution.
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3
Q

what are the two courts in which civil cases are dealt with

A
  • the county court
    -the high county
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4
Q

the county court

A
  • there are about 200 county courts. the county court can try nearly all civil cases.
  • the main areas of jurisdiction are:
  • All contract and tort claims
  • all cases for land
  • disputes over equitable matters such as trusts up to a value of £350,000
  • cases in the county court are heard by a circuit judge or a district judge. on very rare occasions this is possible for the judge to sit with the jury of eight. this will only happen for cases for defamation or for the torts of malicious prosecution or false imprisonment
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5
Q

the high court

A
  • the high court is based in London but also has judges sitting in several towns and cities throughout England and wales. it has the jurisdiction to hear any civil case and has three divisions, each of which specialises in hearing certain types of cases.
  • the kings bench
  • the chancery
  • the family division
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6
Q

the kings bench

A
  • is the biggest of the three divisions. it deals work contract and tort cases where the amount claimed is over £100,000, though it can hear smaller claims where there is an important point of law.
  • cases are normally tried by a single judge, but there is a right to jury trial for some cases.
  • a jury is rarely used, if used there will be a jury of 12
  • there is also an administrative court in the kings bench. this court supervises the lawfulness of the conduct of national and local governments, of inferior courts and tribunals, and other public bodies through judicial review
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7
Q

the chancery division

A
  • the main business of this division involves disputes concerned with such matters as:
  • insolvency, both for companies and individuals
  • the enforcement of mortgages
  • copyright
  • property matters
  • there is also a special companies court in the division.
  • cases are heard by a single judge. juries are never used in the chancery division
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8
Q

the family division

A
  • the division heard family cases where there is a dispute about which countries laws should apply and all international cases concerning family matters.
  • in addition, it can hear cases which can be dealt with by the family court. cases are heard by a single judge
  • the crime and courts act 3013 created a new separate family court.
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9
Q

pre trial procedures

A
  • most people making a claim do not want to start a court cases unless they have to. they will first of all try to negotiate an agreed settlement with the person who caused their injuries or damages their property.
  • using a method other than going to court us known as alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
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10
Q

pre action protocols

A
  • parties are encouraged to give information to each other, in an attempt to prevent the need for many court cases to be started. so before a claim is issued, especially in personal injury cases, a pre action ‘protocol’ has to be followed. this is a list of things to be done and if the parties do not follow the procedure and give the required information to the other party, they may be liable for certain costs if they then make a court claim
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11
Q

which court to use

A
  • if the other person denies liability or refuses to use ADR, then the only way to get compensation for the injuries will be to start a court cases
  • the court to be used will depend on the amount that is being claimed. there is different limits depending on whether the claim is for personal injuries or for damage to property
  • if the amount claimed is £100,000 or less then the case must be started in the county court. where the claim is for less than £10,000, it is a small claim and will be dealt with on the small claim track.
  • if the claim is for more than £100,000, a claimant can choose whether to start in the county court or the high court.
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12
Q

issuing a claim

A
  • if someone is using the county court, then they can choose to issue the claim in any of the 200 or so county courts in the country. if they are using the high court, then they can go to one of the 20 district registers or the main court in London.
  • they need a claim form called N1. the claim has to be filed at court office and a fee will be charged for issuing the claim. this fee varies according to how much the claim is for.
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13
Q

defending a claim

A
  • when the defendant receives the claim form there are several routes which can be taken. the defendant may admit the claim and pay the full amount. where this happens the case ends. the claimants has achieve what he wanted.
  • in other cases the defendant Amy dispute the claims. if the defendant wish to defend the claim, he mist send either an acknowledgement of service or a defence to the court within 14 days of receiving the claims
  • if the defendant does not do either of these things, then the claimant can ask the court to make an order that the defendant pays the money and costs claimed.
  • once a claim is defended the court will allocate the case to the most suitable track or way of dealing with the case
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14
Q

the three tracks

A
  • the decision on which track should be used is made by the district judge in the county court or the master in the high court. to help a judge consider to which track a claim should be allocated, both parties are sent an allocation questionnaire.
  • there are three tracks:
  • the small claim track
  • the fast track
  • the multi track
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15
Q

the small claims track

A
  • for disputes under £10,000
  • these cases are usually heard in private, but they can be heard in an ordinary court. the procedure allows the district judge to be flexible in the way he hears the cases. district judges are given training in how to handle small claims cases, so that they will take an active part in the proceedings, asking questions and making sure that both parties explain all their important points. the parties are encouraged to represent themselves and they cannot claim the cost of using a lawyer from the other side, even is they win the case
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16
Q

fast track cases

A
  • for straightforward disputes of £10,000 to £25,000
  • in the fast track cases the court will set down a very strict timetable for pre trail matters. this is aimed at preventing one or both sides from wasting time and running up unnecessary costs
  • once a case is set down for hearing, the aim is to have the cases heard within 30 weeks, but in practise the wait is to be nearer 50 weeks. the actual trial will usually be heard by a circuit judge and take place in open court with a more formal procedure than for small claims. in order to speed up the trial itself, the hearing will be limited to a maximum of one day and the number of expert witnesses restricted, with usually only one expert being allowed
17
Q

multi track cases

A
  • each case is heard by a Judge who will also be expected to ‘manage’ the case from the moment it is allocated to the multi track route. this includes:
  • identifying the issues at an early stage
  • encouraging the parties to use ADR if this is appropriate
  • dealing with any procedural steps without the need for the parties to attend court
  • fixing timetables by which the different stages of the case must be completed
  • case management is aimed at keeping the costs of the case as low as possible and making sure that it is heard reasonably quicker
18
Q

reform of the civil courts

A

the present system of the civil justice started in 1999 and is based of the reforms recommended by Lord Woolf. he states that a civil justice system should:
- be just in the results it delivers
- be fair in the way it creates litigants
- offer appropriate procedures at a reasonable cost
- deal with cases at a reasonable speed
- be understandable to those who use it

  • Lord Woolf found that virtually none of these was being achieved in the civil courts, and criticised the system for being unequal, expensive, slow, uncertain and complicated. his reforms brought in the three track system and gave judges more responsibility for managing cases
  • the reforms also led to the simplifying of documents and procedures and having a single set of rules governing proceedings in both the high court and the county court. Lord Woolf also wanted more use of information technology and greater use of alternative dispute resolution
19
Q

the effect of the Woolf reforms

A
  • the main improvements to civil cases have been that the culture of litigation has changed for the better, so that there is more co operation between the parties lawyers. there have also Benn improvements in the delays between issuing a claim and the court hearing, but these are not as great as had been hoped. e.g, there is still a wait of at least one year between issuing a fast track claim or a multi track claim and the trial of the case in court
20
Q

what are the problems with the civil justice system after the Woolf reforms

A
  • ADR is not used enough
  • costs of cases have continued to increase - in particular, costs in fast track cases are often far greater than the amount claimed
  • the courts are still under resourced - in particular the IT systems are very limited
21
Q

further reforms

A
  • since the Woolf reforms, the civil system has been reviewed and some more changes made. the financial limits for small claims and fast track cases have been increased to avoid expensive trials for lower value claims.
  • the civil procedure rules have been amended to emphasise that the courts deal with cases justly and at a proportionate cost. the winning party can only claim back costs where they are proportionate to the value of the claim
  • the latest review was by lord briggs in 2016. he put forward several proposals. two main ones are:
    1. that there should be an out of hours private mediation service in the county court
    2. that an online court should be set up
22
Q

online court

A

Lord briggs has proposed that there should be an online court.
- he believes this court would give litigants effective access to justice without having to incur the disproportionate cost of using lawyers

23
Q

appeal routes in civil courts

A
  • once a decision has been made in either the county court or the high court, there is always the possibility of appealing against that decision. there are different appeal routes from the county county and the high court. in affection, the value of the claim and the level of judge who heard the case affect which appeal route should be used
24
Q

appeals from the county court

A
  • for all claims the appeal route depends on the level of the judge hearing the case. this means that:
  • if the case was heard by a district Judge, then the appeal is to a circuit judge in the same county court
  • if the case was heard by a circuit judge, then the appeal is to a high court judge
25
Q

second appeals

A
  • there is the possibility of a second or further appeal. this appeal will always be the court of appeal. however, such further appeals are only allowed in exceptional cases as set out in s 55 of the access to justice act 1999
26
Q

appeals from the high court

A
  • from a decision in the high court the appeal usually goes to the court of appeal.
  • in rare cases there may be a ‘leapfrog’ appeal direct to the Supreme Court. since 2015, such an appeal must involve an issue which is of national importance to raises issues of sufficient importance to warrant the leapfrog. in addition the supreme court has to give permission to appeal
27
Q

further appeals

A
  • from a decision of the court of appeal there is a further appeal to the supreme court but only if the Supreme Court or court of Appeal gives permission to appeal
28
Q

advantages of using the civil courts

A

the main advantages:
1. the process is fair in that everyone is treated alike. the judge is impartial
2. the trial is conducted by a legal expert with the decision being made by a judge who is an experienced and qualified lawyer
3. enforcement of the courts decision is easier as any decision made by a court can be enforced through the courts
4. there Is an appeal process with specific appeal routes from decisions made in the courts, so, if the claimant is not happy with the decision, it is usually possible to Appeal against it
5. it may be possible to get legal aid, although legal aid for civil cases has even considerably reduced

29
Q

disadvantages of using the courts

A

the main problems work using the civil courts are:
1. cost - the costs of taking a case to court are often more than the amount claimed
2. delay - there are many preliminary stages to go through that add to the length of a case. even after the case is set down for a hearing at court there is still a long wait - usually about one year for larger claims before the case is heard in court. the total of all this can mean that some cases are not finished for years
3. complicated process - there may be compulsory steps to be taken before a case is started in court. e.g, pre action protocol, this makes it complicated for an ordinary person to take a case without legal advice and help
4. uncertainty - there is no guarantee of wining a case. the person losing a case may have to pay the others sides costs. this makes it difficult to know how much a case is going to cost in advance . delays in cases can also add to uncertainty and cost

30
Q
A

law English legal system (8 decks)

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