Courts & Tribunals Flashcards

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1
Q

Criminal: standard and burden of proof

A
  • beyond reasonable doubt
  • prosecution has the burden of proof
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2
Q

Who prosecutes in criminal cases

A

Crown prosecution service
- can also be initiated by other Governmental agencies eg. Local government for fly tipping or health and safety executive

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3
Q

Who can be prosecuted

A

Any individual or ‘legal persons’ like companies

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4
Q

Which cases do Mags hear

A

95% all criminal cases
- summary offences
- some triable either way
(Some civil jurisdiction)

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5
Q

Mags sentencing powers

A
  • 6 months prison
  • unlimited fine
  • can send D to Crown Court for the sentencing or the trial
  • cannot create precedent
  • bound by Administrative Court, CoA & Crown Court
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6
Q

Which cases to Crown Court hear

A
  • indictable
  • some triable either way
  • appeals from Mags
  • all cases start at mags before being brought up (mags consider bail/remand, consider procedural issues)
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7
Q

Defendant Appeals from Mags

A
  • go to Crown Court
  • appeal sentence/conviction/both
  • can appeal to Administrative Court if believe (special division in King’s Bench Division of the High Court) known as ‘by way of case stated
  • appeal against conviction case heard again ‘de novo’
  • appeal against sentence risks sentence increase
  • heard by Crown Court judge & two Mags
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8
Q

Prosecution rights to appeal at Mags

A
  • CANNOT appeal acquittal or if sentence too lenient
  • can appeal to Administrative Court if believe (special division in King’s Bench Division of the High Court) known as ‘by way of case stated’
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9
Q

Defendant Crown appeals

A
  • appeal conviction/sentence/both with permission of CoA
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10
Q

Crown Court prosecution appeals

A
  • appeal under Criminal Justice Act 2003 (with consent from Director of Public Prosecutions) they then apply to CoA to quash an acquittal of a ‘serious offence’ (can quash if conviction unsafe) oral argument from both sides but no evidence heard
  • common reasons are new evidence, errors in trial processes, or misdirections of law
  • Attorney General may appeal against ‘unduly lenient sentence’ imposed by the Crown
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11
Q

Grounds to appeal sentencing

A
  • not justified by law
  • based on incorrect version of evidence
  • irrelevant matters taken into account
  • judge misapplied/failed to give weight to sentencing guidelines from Sentencing Council
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12
Q

CoA appeal to Supreme Court

A

Defendant or prosecution can if case has ‘point of law of general public importance’ eg. R v R

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13
Q

Judicial Committee of Privy Council

A

Final appeal court for UK,overseas territories,crown dependencies, commonwealth countries
- purpose is to ‘advise the Crown’ but they never refuse the advise
- hears criminal and civil cases
- heard by senior judiciary, and senior commonwealth judiciary
- not binding on English courts but highly persuasive

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14
Q

Criminal Cases Review Commission

A

Responsible for reviewing miscarriages of justice in the UK
- usually find new evidence/new legal argument that gives case ‘real possibility’ of being overturned
- ‘exceptional circumstances caveat’ allows them to refer with no new evidence/argument
- cases originally held in Mags/YC sent to crown court for re-hearing

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15
Q

Purpose of civil courts/law

A

Regulated legal relationship between private parties
- legal relationships may arise from contract, duty of care or many other ‘causes of action

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16
Q

Civil standard and burden

A

Balance of probability
- burden on Claimant

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17
Q

Which values start in which court

A

Under 100,000.00 start in County Court
- over 100k start in High Court

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18
Q

Three tracks

A
  • small claims: £10,000.00 or less £1000 personal injury
  • fast track between £10,000.00 and £25,000.00
  • multi-track £25,000.00 plus & complex
19
Q

3 county court judges

A

Deputy district judge (leads serious)
District judge (common & procedural)
Circuit judges (complex & DJ & DDJ appeals)

20
Q

Appeal from decision made by Circuit judge in County Court

A
  • High Court
  • if appealed again (with permission) goes to CoA
  • further appeal Supreme Court if PoL concerns general public importance
21
Q

Can county court create precedent

A

No

22
Q

What are tribunals

A

Specialist judicial bodies dealing with administrative and regulatory cases
- only civil cases
- first tier tribunal and upper tier tribunals (upper is HC equivalent) hears appeals from first tier

23
Q

7 first tier chambers

A

-War pensions and armed forces compensation chamber
-Social entitlement chamber
-Health education and social care chamber
-General regulatory chamber
-Tax chamber
-Immigration and asylum chamber
-Property chamber

24
Q

Which cases do first tier tribunals hear

A
  • general first instance civil
  • appeals from decisions made by Gov depts or agencies
25
Q

Employment tribunal

A

Is equivalent to a first tier tribunal but not a chamber

26
Q

4 upper tier tribunals which hear appeals from first tier

A
  • administrative appeals chamber
  • tax and chancery chamber
  • immigration and assylum chamber
  • Lands Chamber
27
Q

Which appeals does Administrative chamber hear

A
  • war pensions etc chamber (first tier)
  • social entitlement etc (first tier)
  • health etc (first tier)
28
Q

Senior president

A

Heads tribunals judiciary
- responsible for day to day judicial administration
- serve as link between judicial officers of their tribunals, and senior judiciary outside of tribunals

29
Q

Tribunal judges vs tribunal members

A

Tribunal judges: legally qualified and responsible for ensuring individual hearings
Tribunal members: non legally qualified lay people, members of the panel hearing the case

30
Q

Coroner’s court

A

Investigate all unknown deaths or where there is reason to believe it was unnatural causes
- their investigations called ‘inquests
- hear evidence
- not as formal but may have lawyers represent them
- coroner makes decision which is called a verdict (require legal experience but not in judiciary)
- sometimes jury decides verdict when die in state custody

31
Q

Public enquiries

A

Major investigations convened by gov depts that are given special statutory powers to compel testimony and the release other forms of evidence
- only justification needed to start one is public concern
- eg. Grenfell Disaster
- under Inquiries Act 2005 can summon witnesses, appointment of chair and inquiry personnel
- nothing to compel gov to act on inquiries
- public inquiries also happen when LA refused planning permission for development and developer appeals & proposed local plans

32
Q

What are all the senior courts

A

Crown Court, High Court, CoA, Supreme Court

33
Q

How is the High Court Divided

A
  • King’s Bench Divisional
  • Chancery Division
  • Family Division
34
Q

Which Judges are in the HC

A
  • nominally appointed by monarch on recommendation of Lord Chancellor after competition administered by Judicial Appointments Commission
  • must have been circuit judge for two years or satisfy judicial eligibility conditions on a 7 year basis
  • written: the honourable
  • oral: Mr/Mrs/Ms Justice Surname
  • abbreviation surname J
35
Q

Masters in the High Court

A

Procedural judges who deal with legal proceedings until ready for trial & after trial master resumes responsibility for completion of the case

36
Q

What does KBD deal with

A

Predominantly civil but some criminal jurisdiction (through administrative court)
- business (contract and tort)
- applications for judicial review
- mainly common law

37
Q

What does Administrative Court within KBD deal with

A

Part of KBD responsible for administrative law
- Directed at lawfulness of actions of central and local gov, disciplinary bodies, inferior courts/tribunals
- Civil and criminal jurisdiction (also by way of case stated appeals from mags)
- Don’t deal with all judicial review proceedings (mostly upper tribunal of immigration)
- Some administrative court heard by divisional court heard by divisional court (2 or more judges)

38
Q

Chancery division of High Court

A

Largest unit for business and property in the country
- Incorporates insolvency and companies court, patents court and intellectual property enterprise court
- has a Chancellor as the head of the High Court

39
Q

High Court family division

A

Hear all appeals from family court
- can hear cases relating to children

40
Q

Rights of audience

A

Solicitors can carry out advocacy training to earn higher rights to audience
- solicitors are not generally authorised to carry out advocacy in higher courts (High Court, CoA, Supreme Court)

41
Q

CoA Judge

A

Appointment by monarch on recommendation of a selection panel by Judicial Appointments Commission
- Lord/Lady Justice surname
- writing: surname LJ

42
Q

CoA civil division

A

Civil division hears appeals from high court and county court if circuit judge and certain tribunals (employment and immigration appeal tribunals)
Headed by master of the rolls
Headed by 3 judges (heads of division or Lord justices of appeal)

43
Q

CoA criminal division

A

Criminal hears crown court appeals
Headed by Lord chief justice
Generally held by 3 judges Lord chief justice/president of KBD or one of Lord justices together with two HC judges

44
Q

Supreme Court

A

Established by Constitutional Reform Act 2005
- known as Lordy/Lady surname
- senior judge known as the president
- need permission to appeal to this court and only granted if point concerns general public importance
- can bypass CoA ‘leapfrog appeal’ (general public importance or exceptional circumstances)