Civil Litigation and the Courts Flashcards
What is Civil Litigation?
Civil Litigation is the process of how civil disputes are resolved. Majority of disputes are resolved outside court. It is designed to avoid court.
What is the mantra underpinning the civil procedure rules 1998?
“litigation as a last resort”
The Civil Justice System is based upon principles which encourage….
- Fairness
- Save Expense
- Resolve Disputes quickly
What hearings do the County Court deal with?
- Straight forward cases
*Claims for money only where the value of the claim is for £100,000 or less
*Personal injury claims less than £50,000
Money claims are started under which procedure rule?
CPR Part 7 -
which court must money claims start in?
County Court Money Clams Centre, Contested claims are transferred to a named County Court hearing Centre
What cases does the High Court deal with?
Only the more complex cases are dealt with in the High Court.
What is the main location for the High Court?
Royal Court of Justice in London
The High Court is divided into three divisions, what are they?
*Family Division
*Chancery Division
*Queens Bench Division
What hearings do the Family Division of The High Court deal with??
Family proceedings including adoption, child welfare
What hearings do the Chancery Division of The High Court deal with?
Disputes over wills, inheritance, company law and bankruptcy
What hearings do the Queens Bench Division deal with?
Covers Contract and Tort Claims
Judicial Functions in the high court sitting in London are shared between:
- Masters
*High Court judges
What is the job role of a Master?
Masters deal with interim applications and case management
What is the role of a High Court Judge?
Deal with trials but can also assist with interim applications and case management
Court Personnel
Apart from judges there are also other officials that you may come into contact with.. Who are they?
*The Court Manager
*Ushers
*Bailiff’s and enforcement officers
What is the role of a Court Manager?
This is an official Senior Civil Servant in charge of the Court office. They deal with statements of case and applications to the court.
What is the role of an Usher?
These officials are present at court hearings. They note who is in attendance before hearings, swear witnesses. When you go court you will need to report to the Usher.
What is the role of an Enforcement Officer/Baliff
This role includes serving court documents and enforcing court orders and judgements
Litigation is divided into three stages, what are they?
*Pre action stage
*from issue of proceedings through to judgement
*steps taken after judgment
How many parts are the civil procedures divided into?
89
What is the overriding objective?
To enable the court to deal with cases justly and at a proportionate cost.
What are the six objectives the court should seek to achieve when dealing with cases?
- Ensuring that the parties are on equal footing
*Saving expense
*dealing with the case in ways that are proportionate to:
Amount of money involved
the importance of the case
the complexity of the issue
the financial position of the party
*Ensuring that the case is dealt with expeditiously and fairly
*allotting to it an appropriate share of the courts resources
*Enforcing compliance with rules, practice directions and orders
Explain CPR r 1.2
The court must give effect to the overriding objective when making procedural decsions
Explain CPR r 1.3
Requires the parties to assist the court in furthering the overriding objective
Explain CPR r 1.4
To give practical affect to the over riding objective, The court must take an active role in managing current cases
Active Case management includes:
*encouraging parties to co-operate with each other
*the court identifying issues at an early stage
*encouraging parties to use ADR
*Fixing timetables and giving directions to ensure that cases are dealt with quickly and efficiently
*Keeping costs under control
Explain CPR r 1.4 (2)(e)
Encouraging the parties to use ADR if appropriate
explain CPR 1.4. (2)(g)
Fixing timetables and giving directions to ensure that cases are dealt with quickly and efficiently
What courts are criminal cases heard?
Magistrates and the Crown Court
Cases brought in the civil jurisdiction are called
“claims”
the person bringing the claim is called the…
Claimant
The party responding to the claim is called the..
Defendant
What is the purpose/aim of civil litigation?
To put the wronged party back into their original position in which they would have been before the breach of duty or contract.
What is the standard of proof in civil claims?
on the balance of probabilities
Name 3 contract disputes?
None-payment of money due
Failure to comply/perform the contract
Good and supplies defective
These are breach of contract, debt claims and commercial disputes
Name 3 tort disputes?
- Road Traffic Accidents
- Accidents are work
*Medical negligence
Breach of duty of care
What is digital underpinning?
A new system introduced in 2016 to help the system become more efficient and accessible.
The Online Court was introduced in July 2017 for Money only claims. What is the value which claims can use this service?
The Online Court will be mandatory for money only claims below £25,000
What does litigation mean?
Litigation is the means by which civil disputes are resolved through the courts
What principles are the justice system based upon?
To encourage fairness, save expense and resolve disputes quickly.
What is the mantra underpinning the Civil Procedure Rules 1998?
“Litigation as a last resort”
What disputes does the County Court hear?
The County Court – deals with straight forward claims.
- Claims for money only, whether it be for debt or damages where the value of the claim is less than £100,000
- Personal injury claims less than £50,000
NOTE: Money only claims are started under CPR 7 and must be issued in the County Court Money
What disputes does the High Court hear?
The High Court – deals with more complex claims
- Chancery Division: Deals with disputes relating to wills, inheritance,
- Family Division: Deals with family proceedings, adoption
- Queens Bench Division: Deals with contract and tort claims
What is the difference between the civil courts and criminal courts?
What is the standard of proof in both courts?
- Civil Courts usually deal with disputes between individuals. These arise due to breach of duty or infringement of a right. The court decides whether the claim should succeed or not. If so, decide which remedy should apply. The Standard of proof is based on the balance of probabilities
- Criminal Courts deal with determining guilt and punishment of people found guilty of crimes. Since a person’s liberty is at stake, the Standard of proof is Beyond Reasonable Doubt
What are the three main stages of Litigation?
1) The pre-action stage
2) from issue of proceedings through to judgment;
3) steps taken after judgment
What is the aim of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR)?
CPR Govern the procedure in both the County Court and the High Court.
CPR are divided into parts and each part has an accompanying Practice Direction.
Each step of the litigation process has its own set of rules. The rules as a whole are the CPR procedure rules. They are the procedural basis of all civil claims. They are divided into 2 basic parts:
- The CPR rules which provide the fundamental instructions on what to do for each step of the process
- Practise directions (PD) which provide more practical instructions on what you have to do at each step
Civil procedure rules (CPR PART 1)
What does CPR 1.1 state?
Dealing with a case justly and at proportionate cost.
Six objective the court should seek to achieve:
(a) ensuring that the parties are on an equal footing.
(b) saving expense
(c) dealing with the case in ways which are proportionate:
to the amount of money involved.
to the importance of the case.
to the complexity of the issues;
to the financial position of each party.
(d) ensuring that it is dealt with expeditiously and fairly.
(e) allotting to it an appropriate share of the court’s resources, while taking into account the need to allot resources to other cases;
(f) enforcing compliance with rules, practice directions and orders
Civil procedure rules (CPR PART 1)
What does CPR 1.2 state?
Application by the court of the overriding objective:
The court must give effect to the overriding objective when making procedural decisions
Civil procedure rules (CPR PART 1)
What does CPR 1.3 state?
Duty of the parties
Requires the party to assist the court in furthering the overriding objective
Civil procedure rules (CPR PART 1)
What does CPR 1.4 state?
Court’s duty to manage cases
To give effect to the overriding objective, the court must take an active role in managing current cases.
(a) Encouraging parties to co-operate with each other in the conduct of the proceedings
(b) The courts identifying the issues at an early stage,
(c) deciding promptly which issues need to be fully investigated and dealt with at trial
(d) Encouraging parties to use ADR procedures if appropriate
(e) deciding the order in which issues are to be resolved
(f) helping the parties to settle the whole or part of the case
(g) Fixing timetables and giving directions to ensure that cases progress quickly and efficiently
(h) Keeping costs under control and taking into account whether the benefits of taking any particular step justify the cost of taking it
Define Defendant and Claimant?
Claimant - The person bringing the claim, whose rights have been affected.
Defendant - The party responding to the allegations.
Define the type of dispute and outcome in contract?
Contract claims can revolve around Goods and Services or Failure to Perform the contract which then results in breach of contract.
The remedy available is to put the claimant in the position they would have been had the contract been performed correctly.
Define the type of dispute and outcome in tort (civil wrong)?
Tort claims can revolve around, Road Traffic Accidents, Accidents at Work, Mistakes made by Medical Professionals. This amounts to Negligence, as a duty of care is owed, and the duty has been breached. This causes the other party to suffer a loss.
The remedy available is put the claimant in the position they would have been had the negligent act not occurred.
