Criminal vs Civil Flashcards
Purpose
Criminal - regulate society by threat of punishment, what is or isn’t acceptable
Civil - dispute resolution
Terminology
Criminal - state prosecutes a defendant (Regina vs “name”
Civil - “name” vs “name” - claimant sues a defendant
Burden of Proof
Criminal - Guilty beyond all reasonable doubt
Civil - Balance of probabilities
Punishment
Criminal - Fines, community based punishment, imprisonment
Civil - Damages, specific performance, injunctions
Courts
Criminal - Magistrates, Crown (criminal only), Court of Appeal, Supreme Court
Civil - County (civil only), High Court of Justice, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court
Occasionally civil cases are heard in the Magistrates Court
The High Court Civil Law
Queen’s bench division - cases regarding contract law/torts (negligence), large/complex cases for compensation
Chancery division - winding up companies, land law, trusts, cases regarding taxes and income
Family division - matrimonial cases (divorces, pre nups), adoption cases
County Court Civil Law
Landlord tenant disputes, personal injury claims, creditors seeking payments, consumers seeking compensation for faulty goods or services
Sometimes cases can be heard in the Magistrates Court, those tend to be family matters, income and council tax debt recovery
Court of Appeal Civil Law
Led by the Master of the Rolls, appeals are heard at the Royal Courts of Justice, they include cases from the other civil courts but also from certain Tribunals such as immigration and employment
Supreme Court Civil Law
The final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases
Three Track System
Small Claims - less than £10k
Fast Track - £10k - £25k
Multi Track - £25k+
Magistrates Court Criminal Law
Minimal sentencing power, all criminal proceedings begin here, if serious it will immediately be moved on, Divisional court of the Queens Bench Division hears appeals from the Magistrates
Crown Court Criminal Law
Criminal only, appeals from the magistrates, sentencing defendants from the magistrates, conducting jury trials and sentencing those convicted in the Crown court
Court of Appeal Criminal Law
Led by Lord Chief Justice
Tribunals
Case will be heard by someone who has expertise in that area, much quicker process than court, can be much cheaper, much less formal and can be less intimidating and not bound to the doctrine of judicial precedence therefore at risk of making inconsistent decisions
Doctrine of Judicial Precedence
The system adopted by judges of following the decisions in previous cases, some precedence are binding and others are merely persuasive.
3 factors that decide whether a precedence is binding or persuasive
- hierarchy of the courts - precedence of higher courts bind lower courts
- ratio decidendi (legal reason for decision) and obiter dicta (not an essential part of ratio decidendi)
- material facts of the case - in order for precedences to be binding facts of the 2 cases must be the same
When is a precedence not binding?
- Has been overruled by a higher court
- Has been overruled by a statute
- Was made without proper care
- Can be distinguished from an earlier case
Advantages of doctrine of precedence
- Consistency (fairness)
- Certainty (less mistakes are made)
- Efficiency (saves time and money)
- Flexibility (Judges have some freedom, landmark rulings)
Legislation - Whitehall Stage
Government seeks views on the proposed legislation, green paper - consultation document and white paper - decided proposals and reasons
Legislation - Westminster Stage
House of Commons, Becomes a Bill, 3R CR - 3 readings, Committee Stage and Report Stage
Legislation - House of Lords
Largely same process as House of Commons (Westminster) committee stage carried out by the whole house and changes can be made at 3rd reading stage which is also final vote
Legislation - Royal Assent
Queen signs the act, becomes an act of Parliament, just a formality
Doctrine of Sovereignty of Parliament
Parliament is sovereign, meaning it is only Parliament that can make and pass new laws, however it cannot pass an act that can never be repealed or goes against EU law
Delegated Legislation
Allow us to make changes to the law without the long Parliamentary process.
- Orders in council - often in times of emergency (coronavirus)
- Statutory instruments - Government ministers, rules are too technical or detailed to go or need to be changed often to go through Parliament (temporary motorway closure)
- By Laws - affects local areas (parking, littering fines)
