Civil Courts Flashcards
What doe’s the county court have jurisdiction over
Negligence claims
Bankruptcy
Debt claims
Can try most civil cases of up to £100,000
Three facts about the county court
Cases are heard in open court
Circuit judge for high value
District judge for low value
What is the judges responsibility in county court
The judge decides…
Liability
Compensation
Who payed Legal fees
Four facts about the high court
Cases of £100,000 or more
Three division of court
Expensive to bring cases the high court
Barrage time between issuing a claim and trial is seven years
What are the three tracks
Kings bench division - contract, Tort and Judicial Review
Chancery - property, wills, trusts
Family - child welfare, complex family cases
What are the three steps to taking a dispute to civil court
- Pre action
- Issue of a claim
- Post judgment
What’s does pre-action look like
A letter before action
- states why you feel the other owes you money and demanding payment by a certain date
- gives the defendant time to resolve the situation
What does issuing a claim look like
First must decide which court it needs allocating to…
Small, county or high.
Small claims track
Fast track
Multi-track
This is decided through a allocation questionnaire both parties fill out
Then N1 form is completed
What does the small claims track look like
Less than £10,000
Lawyers discouraged
Heard in judges chambers
Judge has an active role
What does the fast track look like
£10,000 to £25,000
Strict timetable for pre trail matters
Circuit judge in open court
Hearings usually last a day
What does multi-track look like
£25,000 to £50,000
Circuit it high court judge
Judge manages the case
Encourage ADR
Deal with procedural steps without parties attending at court
The appeal process for county county court
Must have legal grounds
Made within 21 days
District, circuit, high court, court of appeal
Appeal process for high court
In rare circumstances there can be a leapfrog to the Supreme Court of appeals under administration of justice act 1969
However this most involve a point of law of general importance
