Courts & Tribunals Flashcards
Criminal: standard and burden of proof
- beyond reasonable doubt
- prosecution has the burden of proof
Who prosecutes in criminal cases
Crown prosecution service
- can also be initiated by other Governmental agencies eg. Local government for fly tipping or health and safety executive
Who can be prosecuted
Any individual or ‘legal persons’ like companies
Which cases do Mags hear
95% all criminal cases
- summary offences
- some triable either way
(Some civil jurisdiction)
Mags sentencing powers
- 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
Which cases to Crown Court hear
- indictable
- some triable either way
- appeals from Mags
- all cases start at mags before being brought up (mags consider bail/remand, consider procedural issues)
Defendant Appeals from Mags
- 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
Prosecution rights to appeal at Mags
- 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’
Defendant Crown appeals
- appeal conviction/sentence/both with permission of CoA
Crown Court prosecution appeals
- 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
Grounds to appeal sentencing
- 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
CoA appeal to Supreme Court
Defendant or prosecution can if case has ‘point of law of general public importance’ eg. R v R
Judicial Committee of Privy Council
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
Criminal Cases Review Commission
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
Purpose of civil courts/law
Regulated legal relationship between private parties
- legal relationships may arise from contract, duty of care or many other ‘causes of action
Civil standard and burden
Balance of probability
- burden on Claimant
Which values start in which court
Under 100,000.00 start in County Court
- over 100k start in High Court
Three tracks
- 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
3 county court judges
Deputy district judge (leads serious)
District judge (common & procedural)
Circuit judges (complex & DJ & DDJ appeals)
Appeal from decision made by Circuit judge in County Court
- High Court
- if appealed again (with permission) goes to CoA
- further appeal Supreme Court if PoL concerns general public importance
Can county court create precedent
No
What are tribunals
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
7 first tier chambers
-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
Which cases do first tier tribunals hear
- general first instance civil
- appeals from decisions made by Gov depts or agencies
Employment tribunal
Is equivalent to a first tier tribunal but not a chamber
4 upper tier tribunals which hear appeals from first tier
- administrative appeals chamber
- tax and chancery chamber
- immigration and assylum chamber
- Lands Chamber
Which appeals does Administrative chamber hear
- war pensions etc chamber (first tier)
- social entitlement etc (first tier)
- health etc (first tier)
Senior president
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
Tribunal judges vs tribunal members
Tribunal judges: legally qualified and responsible for ensuring individual hearings
Tribunal members: non legally qualified lay people, members of the panel hearing the case
Coroner’s court
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
Public enquiries
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
What are all the senior courts
Crown Court, High Court, CoA, Supreme Court
How is the High Court Divided
- King’s Bench Divisional
- Chancery Division
- Family Division
Which Judges are in the HC
- 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
Masters in the High Court
Procedural judges who deal with legal proceedings until ready for trial & after trial master resumes responsibility for completion of the case
What does KBD deal with
Predominantly civil but some criminal jurisdiction (through administrative court)
- business (contract and tort)
- applications for judicial review
- mainly common law
What does Administrative Court within KBD deal with
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)
Chancery division of High Court
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
High Court family division
Hear all appeals from family court
- can hear cases relating to children
Rights of audience
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)
CoA Judge
Appointment by monarch on recommendation of a selection panel by Judicial Appointments Commission
- Lord/Lady Justice surname
- writing: surname LJ
CoA civil division
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)
CoA criminal division
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
Supreme Court
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)
