Civil courts and other forms of dispute resolution

Question 1

Jurisdiction of county court

Answer 1

• Deals with almost all civil cases
• Maximum claim is less than £100,000
• Circuit judge or district judge
• Hears contract, tort, land, wills and family law
• On rare occasion, a jury of 8 people will decide on a case

Question 2

Jurisdiction of KBD

Answer 2

• Lord Chief Justice
• Contract and tort cases
• A jury of 12 people
• Judicial review

Question 3

Jurisdiction of Chancery division

Answer 3

• Business and property
• Competition
• Intellectual property claims

Question 4

Jurisdiction of Family division

Answer 4

• Welfare of children
• Family matters
• Divorce cases
• Some probate cases

Question 5

Small claims

Answer 5

< £10,000
< £1,000 personal injury and tenant cases
County court + District Judge
Strict time limits
Restricted number of witnesses
Parties do not require legal representation

Question 6

Fast track

Answer 6

£10,000 - £25,000
> £1,000 personal injury and tenant claims
County Court + District or Circuit Judge
Heard within 30 weeks of allocation

Question 7

Multi-track

Answer 7

> £25,000 or complex cases
County court + Circuit Judge
If > £50,000 high court + high court judge

Question 8

Appeals through the three tracks

Answer 8

• Small claims: Circuit Judge in County Court
• Fast track: If heard first by a District Judge the appeal will go to Circuit Judge in County court. If it was heard originally by Circuit judge the appeal will be heard by high court with high court judge.
• Multi track, it will be heard in high court by high court judge.

Question 9

Negotiation

Answer 9

Two parties resolve their dispute without referring to a third party assistance. The agreement can be verbal or taken in writing.

Question 10

Meditation

Answer 10

• Uses a neutral third party.
• Mediator will consult both parties
• Mediator gives no opinion
• Decision is not legally binding

Question 11

Conciliation

Answer 11

• Assisting third party
• The conciliator will make suggestions
• The decision is not legally binding
• ACAS is an example

Question 12

Arbitration

Answer 12

• Independent third party (chose by both parties)
• Decison is legally binding
• May be a requirement to arbitrate by a virtye of Scott v Avery clause in a contract.

Question 13

Negotiation advantages

Answer 13

• Can be conducted by the parties themselves
• Can be used at any point during a dispute
• Cheapest method
• Include future business deals

Question 14

Negotiation disadvantages

Answer 14

• May not be as successful as other ADR methods
• Unsuitable when the parties are antagonistic to eachother
• Can lead to prolonged dispute if unsuccessful attempts

Question 15

Mediation and Conciliation advantages

Answer 15

• The parties are in control and can withdraw at any point
• Decision is not legally binding
• Resolutions can include future business deals
• Avoid adversarial conflict of court

Question 16

Mediation and Conciliation disadvantages

Answer 16

• No guarantee that the dispute will be resolved
• Unsuitable if parties are antagonistic to each other
• Amounts paid are significantly lower than court

Question 17

Arbitration advantages

Answer 17

• Parties can choose their own arbitrator
• Experts can prevent the time and expense of court
• Hearing time can be arranged at a suitable time for both parties
• Private dealing
• Quicker resolution than in court
• Cheaper than going to court
• Award is final (legally binding)

Question 18

Arbitration disadvantages

Answer 18

• Unexpected legal points may arise that the arbitrator doesn’t have the knowledge for
• Arbitrators can be expensive
• If formal hearing is agreed on, it can be expensive
• Appeal rights are limited
• Delays can be as long as the courts