civil courts

Question 1

what does jurisdiction mean

Answer 1

the power to deal with, hear or try a case

Question 1

outline of civil court?

Answer 1

supreme courts
court of appeal civ div
high court
- family division kings bench div chancery div
county court (inc small claims court)

Question 2

what is the county court

Answer 2

• deals with civ disputes e.g contract, tort family etc
• up to a financial limit for the claim of 100k

Question 3

what issues need to be taken into account when deciding what cases should be placed in what court?

Answer 3

the amount being claimed,
the complexity of the legal issue

Question 4

how does someone issue a claim

Answer 4

N1 form
- contains claimants name and address
- D name and address
- brief detail of claim
- value of claim

Question 5

what is a court of first instance

Answer 5

court which case is first heard

Question 6

what are the 2 civil courts which can be courts of first instance

Answer 6

county court
high court

Question 7

jurisdiction of county court

Answer 7

• deals with contract claims, tort cases, mortgages, inhertiance etc
• claims below 15k must be started in county court
• deals with cases under 100k
• deal with small fast track etc
• complex cases sent to high court

Question 8

what is the high court made up of

Answer 8

family div
kings bench div
chancery div

Question 9

high court court - kings bench div

Answer 9

judicial review - may review decisions made by local authorities and national dog department and tribunals

track system multi track may b heard here

74 judges sit here

Question 10

high court - chancery div

Answer 10

deals with -
wills or trusts
company law
etc

17 judges sit at chancery div

Question 11

high court - family div

Answer 11

deals with family disputes e.g validity of marriage, divorce etc

no juries used

Question 12

court limits

Answer 12

100k or less
less than 50k in pi

with cases over that, C can choose where they wanna start case

Question 13

what are the 3 tracks

Answer 13

small claims
fast track
multi track

Question 14

what is the small claims

Answer 14

up to 10k

pi - up to 1k

district judges

Question 15

fast track

Answer 15

10k to 25k

pi - 1k to 50k

circuit judges

Question 16

multi track

Answer 16

over 25k

pi - over 50k

circuit judge or transferred to high court

Question 17

allocation of cases

Answer 17

• allocation questionnaire completed by both parties, helps court allocate cases into tracks

Question 18

advantage of small claims court

Answer 18

• court fee is low
• no need to pay for other persons lawyer fees
• quicker procedure

Question 19

disadvtange of small claims court

Answer 19

• for claims over 1k there’s an additional allocation fee
• if other side decides to get lawyer, this will not put both parties at a equal footing

Question 20

8 marker
describe the way in which civ cases are allocated to different tracks

Answer 20

• complete allocation questionnaire

small claims ,
allocated - case involves contract and tort, up to 10k
and 1k in pi, landlord and tentant cases
-county court, district judge

fast track
allocated- claim 10k -25k
pi - 1k to 50k
county court , district judge
case heard within 30 weeks of allocation
limited number of witnesses

multi track
allocated - 25k - 50k
pi - over 50k
county court, circuit judge
sent to high court if claim is over 50k

Question 21

advantage of using civil courts

Answer 21

• decided by a judge, legally qualified , experienced to deal with any legal issues
• clear routes of appeal
  -all judgements legally enforced

Question 22

disadvtange of using civil courts

Answer 22

• loser has to pay own court fees and the other parties, adds to costs
• despite reforms, e.g track system, still delays, could take months before case gets listed, further delays resolution
• parties have no flexibility or control over case management/timing
• in certain cases, other party is legally represented, the need to also be legally represented could increase , which is additional legal fees