Civil Courts Flashcards
Civil law and Criminal law
These two are quite separate in the English Legal System
Civil law involves private disputes between individuals/and or organisations.
Criminal law is where individuals are prosecuted by the state when they are thought to have committed a crime – that is, behaved in a way which is forbidden by the state and for which there is a punishment.
claim and compensation
Claim: an action taken in a Civil court, either the county court or the High Court, when a person or business believes that their rights have been infringed and that they are due compensation or some other remedy.
Compensation: the amount of money claimed to make good the loss or damage to the claimant. This is also known as damages.
A civil dispute
A civil dispute is between the claimant and defendant.The claimant issues proceedings in a civil court by giving the court a description of the claim on a set form, along with the court fee,
The claim is then sent to the defendant for a response, usually in the form of a defence to the claim. There are two main civil courts in which civil claims can be issued; the County Court and the High Court.
These courts are known as Courts of First Instance.
Crime and Courts Act 2013
Created a single County Court in England and Wales which sits in nearly 500 centres.
(think of the court not as rooms but a system which uses different buildings/rooms to conduct hearings)
Replaced previous system where there were many local county courts.
The court deals with over 1,500,000 claims a year
county court
County Court can hear cases up to the value of £100,000
Typical cases include
Negligence claims where a claimant has suffered injury or loss as a result of another’s actions or failure to act.
Other tort based claims such as nuisance or trespassing.
Disputes involving a breach of contract.
Landlord and tenant matters such as eviction.
Bankruptcy and insolvency matters.
Probate claims and other claims relating to wills and trusts.
Judges who hear cases in County Court.
Usually a Circuit judge (will have at least 10 years’ experience as a solicitor or barrister when appointed)
Straightforward, low value cases can be heard by a District judge (will have at least 5 years’ experience as a barrister or solicitor when appointed)
high court
There is one High Court, based in the Royal Courts of Justice in London but also sitting in a number of centres around the country, including Birmingham.
Usually one High Court Judge (at least two years’ experience as a Circuit Judge) sits alone on a case.
High Court has the power to hear any civil case and has 3 divisions;
King’s Bench Division
Chancery Division
Family Division
King’s Bench Division
– mainly for contract and tort cases worth more than £100,000 although it could consider smaller value 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 libel, slander, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment cases.
There are specialist courts within this division. These include:
The Commercial Court
The Admiralty Court
The Administrative Court (judicial review and appeals from Magistrates Court).
Examples of King’s Bench Division Specialist Courts
The Administrative Court hears applications for Judicial Review and case stated appeals from criminal cases in the Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court.
The Admiralty Court hears shipping and maritime disputes such as
claims by ships’ crews for unpaid wages
disputes over transport of cargo
Claims by passengers for injuries suffered
The Commercial Court deals with claims relating to transactions of trade and commerce
e.g. insurance and banking.
Chancery Division
Mainly deals with –
Insolvency
Enforcement of mortgages
Disputes relating to trusts
Intellectual property
Contested probate actions
There is also a specialist companies court in the division which deals mainly with winding up companies.
Cases are heard by a single judge. Juries are never used in Chancery Division.
Family Division
Deals with all family cases
e.g.
cases where a child is made a ward of court
Cases relating to children under the Children Act 1989
Cases relating to international child abductions
Cases relating to forced marriage and female genital mutilation
Heard by a single judge
The Crime and Courts Act 2013 created a single Family Court to deal with most family matters but the Family Division of the High Court can still be used for difficult or important cases and will hear appeals from the Family Court
Starting a claim in the Civil Courts:
A court claim should only be considered as a last resort if a negotiated settlement cannot be reached or if a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution has failed.
Alternative Dispute Resolution is an overall term for different types of negotiation that can be tried to resolve a dispute between individuals/businesses.
(We will be looking at these methods as our next topic.)
Individuals are usually expected to have tried these methods before bringing a case to court. This is to discourage using the courts as it can be expensive and time consuming. Can you think of any other reason why it might be better to avoid court cases is possible?
Starting a claim in the Civil Courts: part two
If the only way for the claimant to get compensation is to start a court case, they choose which court to start the claim in, depending on the value of the compensation claim.
If it is less than £10,000 (or £1000 for PI claims). Then it can be started in the Small Claims Court.
If the amount is less than £100,000 (or £50,000 PI) it must be started in the County Court.
If higher than £100,000 (or £50,000 PI) it can be started in the County Court, or more likely in the High Court.
Pre-action protocols.
Pre-action protocols- these explain the conduct and set out the steps the parties are expected to take before starting any court action.
The aim is to make sure that as many problems as possible can be resolved before or instead of a court hearing.
Parties need to give as much information as possible to the court before the trial starts.
How can you issue a claim?
Claims can be issued at: County Court Office, High Court, or online for a debt claim
The form to be completed is a form N1
Claimant needs to pay a fee for issuing a claim – the amount depends on the value of the claim.
From £35 for a claim up to £300 - up to £10000 for a claim of £200000
Defending a claim
Claims can be issued at: County Court Office, High Court, or online for a debt claim
The form to be completed is a form N1
Claimant needs to pay a fee for issuing a claim – the amount depends on the value of the claim.
From £35 for a claim up to £300 - up to £10000 for a claim of £200000
Case Allocation
If the claim is defended, a judge must allocate it to an appropriate case management track for it to be dealt with in the most just and cost-effective way.
There are three tracks that a case can be allocated to-
Small claims track
Fast track
Multi track
the three tracks
small claims track-Disputes under £10,000 except for personal injury cases, where limit is £1,000
fast track-Straightforward disputes of £10,000 to £25,000
multi track- Cases over £25,000 or complex cases under this amount
small claims track
for disputes of less than £10,000 (£1000 for PI)
Often heard in private but can be in an ordinary (County) court
Usually heard by District Judge (who will have had training in dealing with Small Claims) but can sometimes be a Circuit Judge
Parties will be encouraged to represent themselves, cannot claim for cost of lawyers.
Fast track
Fast track is for straightforward disputes of £10000 to £25000
Will be heard by a Circuit Judge in the County Court, more formal than Small Claims Track
Court will establish a strict timetable, aiming to hear the case within thirty weeks
Hearing will be limited to one day
Usually only one joint expert witness allowed
Multi Track
The Multi Track is for cases over £25000 or complex cases that might involve less than this amount
Case will be heard by a Circuit Judge in County Court if less than £50,000
Can be sent to High Court if it involves more than £50,000 in value or involves complicated points of law.
Judge will be expected to “manage” case from the outset. No limit on expert witnesses
Civil appeals and appellate courts.
An appeal is when a party to a civil case is dissatisfied with the court’s decision and requests a higher court to review the earlier decision.
An appeal is not a complete re-hearing
It is a reconsideration of the documentary evidence in the case and the judge’s notes of witness evidence.
Appeal judges rarely change the trial judge’s finding of fact.
The appeal court has three options-
Affirm the original judge’s decision (no change in the outcome)
Vary the decision (changing the amount of damages awarded)
Reverse the judgement (finding in favour of the other party)
appeals hearing
An appeal hearing usually involves legal arguments about why the decision should be altered.
Usually made to the next judge in the hierarchy and heard by a panel of three judges,
Rare for new evidence to be heard. Need to be legal grounds for an appeal..
Usually has to be made within 21 days of the original judgement.
Appeal from County Court or High Court to Court of Appeal
These require leave (permission) from either the lower court or the Court of Appeal.
This permission will only be given where:
The court considers that the appeal would have a real prospect of success.
There is some other reason why the appeal should be heard.
The Court of Appeal will allow an appeal where the decision of the lower court was
Wrong, or
Unjust because of a serious procedural or other irregularity in the proceedings of the lower court.
appeals from the high court to the supreme court
Appeal from the High Court to the Supreme Court This is a “leapfrog” appeal direct from the High Court, provided
All parties consent, and
A point of law of general public importance is involved
A certificate of the trial judge and leave from the SC are required.
