The courts & doctrine of precedent Flashcards
What is the judiciary?
The various judges who sit in England & Wales:
- Lord Chief Justice
- Master of the Rolls
- Justices of the Supreme Court
- Heads of Division (President of KBD, Family Division, High Court)
- Lord Justices of Appeal
- High Court Judges
- Circuit Judges & Recorders
- District Judges
- Magistrates
Who is the most senior member of the judiciary?
The Lord Chief Justice
They are head of the judiciary & senior judge in E&W. President of all court + Head of Criminal Justice
Who is the Master of the Rolls?
Head of Civil Justice
Where do circuit judges & recorders sit?
Usually in the County Court, Family Court or Crown Court centres of a particular circuit
Where do district judges sit?
Usually in the County Court or Family Court, but sometimes also deal with more complex cases in the magistrates’ courts
What are the courts in England & Wales
Supreme Court
Court of Appeal (civil division & criminal division)
High Court (kings bench division, family division, chancery division)
Crown Court
Mags’ + County Court + Family Court
Which are the superior & inferior courts, and what is the difference?
SUPERIOR
Have unlimited jurisdiction both geographically & financially, try most important & complex cases
- Supreme Court
- Court of Appeal
- High Court
- Crown Court
INFERIOR
Limited geographical & financial jurisdiction, deal with less-important cases
- Magistrates’ courts
- County Court
- Family Court
What is the difference between a trial court & an appellate court?
Trial courts hear cases at first instance & will rule on issues of fact & law
Appellate courts will reconsider the application of legal principles to a case that has already been heard (rules on errors of law + occasionally fact & procedure)
Which are the appeal courts & courts of first instance in the civil division?
Court of First Instance:
- High Court
- Family Court
- County Court
Appeal Courts:
- Family Court
- High Court (KBD, family division, chancery division)
- Court of Appeal (civil division)
- Supreme Court
Which are the courts of first instance & appeal courts in the criminal division?
Courts of First Instance:
i. Crown Court
ii. Magistrates’ Court
Appeal Courts:
i. High Court (KBD)
ii. Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
iii. Supreme Court
What are the main courts involved in civil proceedings?
County Court
Where? All over the country
Who? Circuit judges & district judges
What? Unlimited financial jurisdiction (mainly lower value)
High Court
Where? London & District Registries
Who? High Court judge (usually sitting alone)
What? Claims must be £100k+ (or £50k for PI) to be commenced in High Court. KBD will do contract/tort + specialised courts; Chancery do disputes over estates, trusts, land, company, bankruptcy; Family division
Court of Appeal
Where? London
Who? Lord Justices of Appeal (usually 3 sitting at once)
What? Appeals in civil cases from High Court + County Court + certain tribunals
Supreme Court
Where? London
Who? Justices of Supreme Court (usually 5 sitting at once)
What? Appeals from Court of Appeal (or leapfrog appeal from High Court)
What are the main courts involved in criminal proceedings?
Magistrates’ courts
Who? Lay magistrates (3) or district judge (1)
What? Issue of summonses & warrants for search/arrest; bail applications; trial of summary offences; mode of trial procedure for either-way
Crown Court
Who? High court judge, circuit judge or recorder (usually sitting alone) + Jury for trials
What? Trials on indictment; committals for sentencing from mags’ where sentencing powers were inadequate; appeals by defendants convicted summarily in mags’
High Court
What? Appeals by way of case stated (appeals on matters of law)
Court of Appeal
Who? Lord Justices of Appeal (usually 3)
What? Appeals in criminal cases from Crown Court (by defendant), references by AG on points of law or against lenient sentences, cases referred by the Criminal Cases Review Commission
Supreme Court
Who? Justices of Supreme Court (usually 5 sitting at once)
What? Appeals from Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), KBD
If a defendant is convicted of a criminal offence in the magistrates’ court in a summary trial, to which court can they appeal?
Crown Court (defiendant only)
- Against conviction on point of law or fact (but only if pleaded not guilty at trial)
- Against sentence (re-hearing before judge & 2 mags)
or
High Court (KBD)
- Appeal by either prosecutor or defendant by way of case stated (on point of law)
then
Supreme Court
- Either side, so long as on point of law
- High Court must certify point of law of general public importance AND either Supreme Court or High Court must grant leave to appeal
If a defendant is convicted of a criminal offence in the crown court in a trial indictment, to which court can they appeal?
Court of Appeal (Crim Division)
- Appeal by defendant only with leave (against conviction or sentence; on point of law or fact)
- AG reference procedure (following acquittal, referring point of law - but doesn’t affect acquittal; or where believes sentence is unduly lenient)
then
Supreme Court
- Appeal on points of law only (available to either side)
- Court of Appeal must certify point of law of general public importance AND Court of Appeal / Supreme Court must grant leave to appeal
What cases does the Privy Council hear?
Appeals from certain Commonwealth countries
What cases does the European Court of Human Rights hear?
Cases on alleged breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights
What is a right of audience?
Right of a person to appear & conduct proceedings in court
What are solicitors’ rights of audience?
Solicitors have the rights to appear in the mags’ & county courts
If want to exercise rights of audience in the higher courts, must complete the appropriate higher courts advocacy qualification:
(a) Higher Courts (Civil Advocacy) Qualification
(b) Higher Courts (Criminal Advocacy) Qualification
When will a proposition stated in one case be binding on a later case?
If it is
(a) A proposition of law
and
(b) Part of the ratio decidendi of a case (ie. the central legal reasoning of a case)
Nb. Statements unimportant to the outcome are obiter ie. persuasive not binding
(c) Decided in a court whose decisions are binding on the present court
and
(d) No relevant distinctions between the two cases
Who binds whom?
UK Supreme Court
- Binds courts below but not itself
Court of Appeal
- Binds courts below & normally binds itself
- Criminal Division usually more flexible than Civil
High Court
- APPELLATE: Binds courts below & normally binds itself
- 1st INSTANCE: Binds courts below but not itself
Crown Court
- Binds no one
County Court & Mags’ Courts
- Binds no one
Privy Council
- Not binding but highly persuasive
European Court of Human Rights
- Not binding but persuasive relating to Convention Rights under s2 HRA 1998
Court of Justice of the EU
- Binds UK courts on EU law matters (subject to Brexit)
Who binds whom (family court)?
High Court Judges and above:
- APPELLATE: Binds courts below & normally binds itself
- 1st INSTANCE: Binds courts below but not itself
Below high court judges:
- Binds no one
Which courts are the decisions of the Supreme Court binding on?
Binds courts below but not itself
Which courts are the decisions of the Court of Appeal binding on?
Binds courts below & normally binds itself
(Criminal Division more flexible than Civil)
Which courts are the decisions of the High Court binding on?
APPELLATE: Binds courts below & normally binds itself
FIRST INSTANCE: Binds courts below but not itself
Are decisions of the Privy Council binding?
No - but highly persuasive
Are decisions of the European Court of Human Rights binding?
No - but persuasive in matters relating to Convention Rights under s2 HRA 1998
Are decisions of the Crown Court binding?
No
Are decisions of the County Court or Magistrates’ Court binding?
No
When will the decisions of the Court of Appeal not be binding on itself? (6)
- Where there are two conflicting decisions of the CA - can choose which to follow
- Where the previous decision of the CA, even if not expressly overruled, conflicts with a Supreme Court decision
- Where the decisions was made per incuriam (court didn’t consider a statutory provision or binding precedent)
- Where it was an interim decision by two judges
- Where one of its previous decisions is inconsistent with a subsequent ECHR decision
- In criminal matters, where decision is obviously wrong & would lead to the appellant remaining in jail
These are the same exceptions for the High Court
What is meant by a court ‘affirming’ a judgement?
A higher court confirms it agrees with the appeal before it from a lower court
What is meant by a court ‘applying’ a judgement?
A court adopts statements or reasoning from other decisions
What is meant by a court ‘departing’ from a judgement?
A court of one level disagrees with a previous decision, in another matter, by an equal court
What is meant by a court ‘overruling’ a judgement?
A higher court comments on a previous unrelated decision by a lower court & declares it to be wrong
What is meant by a court ‘reversing’ a judgement?
A higher court disagrees with the earlier decision, in the same proceedings, of a lower court
What is the role of a recorder?
A recorder is the most junior level of circuit judge
Can preside on a part-time basis in the Crown Court
What are justices of the peace?
Magistrates
A client issues proceedings in a breach of contract claim which is valued at £30,000. The trial is heard by a District Judge in the County Court and the claim is unsuccessful. The client wishes to appeal the decision.
Where will the appeal be heard?
By a Circuit Judge in the same County Court
(In a civil matter, an appeal of a decision by a District Judge in the County Court will be heard by a (more senior) Circuit Judge in the same Court
Would only be heard by a High Court judge if the original decision was by a Circuit judge in the County Court)
In a civil matter, where is an appeal of a decision by the County Court heard?
If original matter decided by a District Judge, will be heard by a Circuit Judge in the same County Court
If original matter decided by a Circuit Judge, will be heard by High Court Judge
