Civil Courts and ADR (Tort) Flashcards
How would someone go about starting a court case?
Follow pre-action protocol, complete an N1 claim form from any county court, pay fee, case will go to a track dependant on type
What are the 4 civil courts (in order)?
County court, High court, Court of appeal, Supreme court
Which courts can claims be made as well as first appeals?
High court and County court
Which courts only hear appeals when there is a disagreement in lower courts?
Court of appeal and Supreme court
What types of cases will the county court hear?
Small claims, fast track and intermediate
What 3 divisions is the High court split into?
Chancery (money), Queen’s Bench Division (contract and tort), Family (marriage, divorce, adoption etc)
What are the four tracks and what were they introduced under?
Introduced under The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) Rules 2023; Small claims track, Fast track, Intermediate track, Multi track
What is the small claims track?
Cases with claims under £10k or personal injury up to £1k
What is the fast track?
Cases over £10k up to £25k if it is not a small claim
What is the intermediate track?
Cases between £25k and £100k (no injunctions in this track)
What is the multi track + examples?
Cases above £25k or complex cases and is the primary one for over 100k (e.g. human rights, police, abuse of child and neglect)
How are you able to appeal and what Act of Parliament decides this?
Appeals are only allowed if permission from the court has been given; comes from Access to Justice Act 1999 - will only be given if important or good chance of success
What is the hierarchy of judges?
District Judge, Circuit Judge. High court judge
What is the Administration of Justice Act 1969?
In rare cases, there may be a jump directly to the Supreme Court but it must have a point of law of general public importance
What are the alternative dispute resolutions (ADR)?
Negotiation, Mediation, Tribunals
What are negotiations?
The most common form of resolution; exchange of information between parties to negotiate and settle out of court
What is mediation + examples?
Where a neutral third party gets involved to try and compromise for both parties; often share viewpoints (e.g ADR group, Centre for Dispute Resolution)
What are the types of tribunals + examples?
Administrative (dealing with social and welfare rights), Employment (Employer against employee, typically due to discrimination), Domestic (dealt by own professionals such as football or solicitors - FA or Law Society)
What is the system for administrative tribunals?
The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 - First tier tribunal (Chambers; hear cases at first instances) and Upper tribunal (hear appeals)
What is the decision from tribunals?
Legally binding and a further appeal is available from Supreme Court
