Court Structure And Hierarchy

Question 1

What are the amount limits in the county court?

Answer 1

£100,000 for most cases and £50,000 for personal injury cases

Question 2

What are the amount limits in each track of the country court?

Answer 2

Small claims track - £10,000 and £1,500 in personal injury cases

Fast track - £25,000 and £10,000 in personal injury cases whereas trial is likely last no longer than one day and oral expert evidence is limited to one expert per party in any expert field, and experts evidence is limited to two experts fields. Four complexity bands. Professional negligence claims can fall within band 4.

Intermediate track - simpler cases valued between £25,000 to £100,000 in damages that are not suitable for High Court given their relatively low complexity and value. Cases which can be tried in three days or less, with. I more than two expert witnesses giving oral evidence on each side. If professional negligence claims is valued between £25,000 and £100,000, it may be suitable for the intermediate track.

Multi track - more than £25,000 or that are too complex for the Fast Track. More complex cases. Four bands of complexity. Proceeding may not be started in the High Court unless the total value of the claim is more than £100,000 (or more than £50,000 for personal injury cases)

Question 3

What is the expedite procedure that applies to claims in the Intermediate Track?

Answer 3

Statements of case to be no longer than 10 pages

Written witness statements to stand as evidence in chief, with a party’s statements limited to 30 pages

Oral evidence to be limited to one expert per witness (two if reasonably required and proportionate) with each expert report limited to 20 pages

Oral evidence to be time-limited and directed to the matters identified at the Case Management Conference and
All applications to be made at the CMC as much is possible

Question 4

What is the jurisdiction of the king’s bench division in the hight court?

Answer 4

Cases between £50,000 (PI) and £100,000 other cases.

Deals with almost all common civil law actions (tort ant contract claims). Also contains administrative court which deals with judicial review. Defamation cases

Question 5

What is the jurisdiction of the chancery division?

Answer 5

Business, equity, Land contracts, property claims, trusts, will, probate