Introduction Flashcards
Civil Law Remedies
Usually money or something personal to the litigants
Criminal Law Remedies
Fine or imprisonment as offence is against society as a whole
Common Law
The body of law created by the judges
Juries
To decide the guilt of someone or whether the suit would succeed in a civil case. However, these are not common in UK civil cases but are in repetitional or defamation cases. On the other hand, the US juries are guaranteed by the US constitution and are common in civil trials. Grand juries do not exist in the UK but in the US, they survive as a filter for cases.
Advantages of Juries
Transparency - brings commonality to the system
Element of democracy - presentation of the court being sen as a conspiracy of establishment
Generally, the public tends to trust jury verdicts
Disadvantages of Juries
Cost
Uncertainty
Problems of prejudice and bias
Magistrates Court
Smaller cases
- minor driving offences, shoplifting
Crown Court
Serious cases and jury cases
and appeals from magistrates courts can occur here
Appeals
Appeals are made usually on the questions of law and if the conviction is unsafe and are made to the Court of Appeal
Sexual Offences
These offences include rape and sexual assault
Sexual Offences Act 2003
Manslaughter
Loss of control and/or diminished responsibility
Murder
Death caused by an individual with malice aforethought
Homicide
Murder and Manslaughter
also infanticide
Tribunals
Specialist judicial bodies which decide disputes in their particular area of law
Coroner’s Court
Investigation/inquisition of a dead body where the cause of death is sudden, unnatural, violent, unknown or took place in police custody or some other form of state detention such as a mental health hospital.
May include an inquest hearing
