Section B-Civil Courts

Question 1

Outline the civil court structure (highest to lowest)

Answer 1

Supreme Court
Court of Appeal
High Court
County Court
Small Claims Court

Question 2

3 tracks

Answer 2

Small claims
Fast track
Multi-track

Question 3

Small claims characteristics (5)

Answer 3

Up to 10k, or 1k personal damage
County court 
Straightforward claims
District judge
Litigants in person (no lawyer)

Question 4

Fast track (4)

Answer 4

Up to 25k
County court
District judge
Cases up to a day

Question 5

Multi-track (4)

Answer 5

Over 25k
Complex cases
High court
Circuit judge, 50k=puisne judge 
Long

Question 6

What approach is followed in civil courts

Answer 6

Inquisitorial approach-judges assist parties to determine outcome

Question 7

3 parts of high court

Answer 7

QBD-Civil/criminal
Chancery-tax, property etc
Family

Question 8

Pre trial procedures

Answer 8

Forms, name, claim, etc. Court issues to D, who either admits and pays, or judge manages case and assigns track

Question 9

How do appeals work

Answer 9

Goes to case above its original

Question 10

When can it go to the CoA?

Answer 10

S55 Access to justice act-raises a point of law, or another compelling reason

Question 11

When can high court go straight to the Supreme Court

Answer 11

Permission and public interest (leapfrog approach)

Question 12

Advantages of a civil courts (4)

Answer 12

Fair-impartial judge-legal expert eval:representative?

Appeal available unlike negotiation, conciliation and mediation-procedurally just eval:can be unsuccessful

Binding unlike ADR-if party does not comply, enforceable, and binding nature encourages parties to negotiate seriously and settle where possible

Online Dispute Resolutions (ODR)-decide disputes up to £25k-addresses costly, slow system. E,g no travel, hidden costs, lawyers etc

FABO!!!

Question 13

Disadvantages of civil courts (4)

Answer 13

Cost-often greater than amount claimed. Esp high court eval:high costs can encourage ADR/early settlement

Slow-many stages and delays. Takes around a year for fast/multi. Eval:is improving

Uncertainty-no guarantee of winning, and costs are unpredictable as loser pays winners costs (excluding small claims)

ODR only available for certain types. Not for issues e.g car accident, where face to face is more necessary

Question 14

ODR-online facilitator example

Answer 14

Ebay-encourages negotiation first, if unsuccessful, eBay sort it out whose decision is binding

Question 15

CPR 1998

Answer 15

Implementation of Woolf reforms

Question 16

4 Woolf reforms objectives

Answer 16

Simplification of procedures
Judicial case management
Pre-action protocols
Encouragement of ADR

Question 17

Criticisms of old justice system

Answer 17

Cost
Delay
Complex
Too adversarial

Question 18

Simplification of procedures (3)

Answer 18

• 3 tracks introduced
• Simplification of language e.g plaintiff became claimant
• Simpler forms i.e N1 form

Question 19

Judicial case management-what is active case management

Answer 19

Adopting a more hands on inquisitorial approach to make system less daunting.

Question 20

Pre-action protocols

Answer 20

Encouragement to negotiate and settle out of court, reducing costs and delay.

Letter of claim, D either accepts charges or denies, then N1 form sent

Question 21

Encouragement of ADR and case

Answer 21

Courts should promote ADR, parties can postpone proceedings for one month to settle case through ADR.

Halsey v Milton Keynes NHS Trust-courts cannot force parties to ADR-could breach A6

Question 22

Overall analysis of reforms-cost(2) and delays(1)

Answer 22

Cost-increased-early prep has lead to front loading of costs.
Legal aid budget has been cut, leading to even less justice

Delay-time is still slow, solicitors are better case managers than judges, who just add to the delay

Encouragement of ADR-still not enforced by judges as much as ideal