foundations of law

Question 1

what two paths is the english legal system split into?

Answer 1

• civil
• criminal

Question 2

what type of cases does the civil court deal with?

Answer 2

• contract disputes
• personal disputes
• company law
• insolvency

Question 3

what type of cases does the criminal court deal with?

Answer 3

• corruption
• money laundering
• murder

Question 4

what is the process of going through a civil court?

Answer 4

1. claimant (plaintiff) sues defendant
2. judgement based on balance of probabilities (liable / not liable)
3. appeal

Question 5

what is a balance of probabilities?

Answer 5

when a decision is made in a civil court which is based on which side is most likely to be telling the truth

Question 6

what is the process of going through a criminal court?

Answer 6

1. prosecutes defendant
2. verdict (guilty / not guilty)
3. further verdict (convicted & sentenced / acquitted)
4. appeal (change sentence, point of law, point of fact)

Question 7

what are the two types of offences in a criminal court?

Answer 7

• summary offences (minor, lower level crime eg. speeding)
• offences triable on indictment (more serious criminal offences eg. murder)

Question 8

what are the two types of trials in a criminal court?

Answer 8

• summary trial
• trial on indictment

Question 9

what is the process of a summary trial in a criminal court?

Answer 9

magistrates court (1-3 judges) –> divisional court of KBD (3 judges) –> supreme court (5+ judges)
OR
if a case is serious enough (eg. rape, murder) it goes to the crown court (1+ judges) instead of magistrates

Question 10

what is the process of a trial on indictment in a criminal court?

Answer 10

magistrates court (prelim hearing done here) –> crown court (1 judge + 12 jury) –> court of appeal (3 judges) –> supreme court (5+ judges)

Question 11

what are the two paths for claims in a civil court?

Answer 11

• smaller claims (eg. faulty product, poor service, owed money)
• larger claims (eg. large claims between multi-national companies, breach of contracts)

Question 12

what is the process for smaller claims in a civil court?

Answer 12

county court (1 judge) –> high court (1 judge) –> court of appeal (3 judges) –> supreme court (5+ judges)

Question 13

what is the process for larger claims in a civil court?

Answer 13

high court (family / chancery / KBD division) (1 judge) –> court of appeal (3 judges) –> supreme court (5+ judges)

Question 14

what are examples of specialist courts?

Answer 14

• property court
• business court

Question 15

what is a tribunal system?

Answer 15

• specialist court with jurisdiction over certain areas of civil laws eg. employment
• more informal & accessible than trad. courts

Question 16

what are leapfrog appeals?

Answer 16

where cases can be appealed to be moved to a higher court (eg. due to their severity)