The Senior Courts

Question 1

What are the Senior courts?

What act sets out the structures of the senior courts?

Answer 1

• The Supreme Court (before 1 October 2009, House of Lords)
• The Court of Appeal,
• The High Court,
• The Crown Court
• Senior Courts Act 1981

Question 2

Which act states which courts are part of the judicature?

Answer 2

Judicature Act 1873

Question 3

What re-structured the High Court into 3 divisions?

What are the 3 divisions?

Answer 3

The Administration of Justice Act 1970
The 3 divisions:
Queen's Bench Division (QBD), 
Chancery Division
Family Division.

Question 4

How are the judges in the High Court appointed?

Answer 4

They are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, after a fair and open competition administered by the Judicial Appointments Commission.
- Candidates for appointment to the High Court must satisfy the judicial appointment eligibility condition on a seven-year basis or be Circuit Judges who have held office for at least two years.

Question 5

What prefix/ suffix is given to a high court judge?

Answer 5

‘the Honourable’ and referred to as ‘Mr/Mrs/Ms Justice [surname]’. When you read a judgment of the High Court you will see this abbreviated to ‘[surname] J’.

Question 6

What does a High Court Master do?

Answer 6

• A Master is a procedural judge who at first instance deals with all aspects of legal proceedings, from its issue until it is ready for trial by a trial judge – usually a High Court judge. After the trial, the master resumes responsibility for the case.

Question 7

What are district registries?

Answer 7

• All the divisions of the High Court also have district registries or regional centres where High Court cases can be heard.

Question 8

What is the Queen’s Bench Division?

Answer 8

• Division of the High Court

- predominantly a civil court but also has some criminal jurisdiction (through the Administrative Court)

Question 9

What civil cases does the QBD hear?

Answer 9

• Judges who hear civil cases in the Queen’s Bench Division mainly deal with ‘common law’ business – actions relating to contract disputes and claims in tort.
• Contract cases include failure to pay for goods and services and breach of contract
• QBD tort cases include:
  • Wrongs against the person e.g. defamation of character and libel;
  • Wrongs against property e.g. trespass;
  • Wrongs which may be against people or property – e.g. negligence or nuisance;

Question 10

What specialist matters do QBD judges preside over?

Answer 10

such as applications for judicial review – a type of case which seeks to establish if a government decision has been made in the correct way.

Question 11

What is the Administrative Court?

Answer 11

• part of the Queen’s Bench Division

- It is responsible for the administrative law jurisdiction of England and Wales

Question 12

What work does the administrative court do?

Answer 12

• Its varied work is directed at the lawfulness of actions of central and local government, regulatory and disciplinary bodies, inferior courts and tribunals, and other public bodies and officials exercising public functions.
• It has both a civil and criminal jurisdiction (notably appeals ‘by way of case stated’ from the magistrates’ courts).

Question 13

What other Court other than the Administrative Court/ QBD deals with judicial reviews?

Answer 13

The Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) - mainly immigration decisions

Question 14

What is a Divisional court?

Answer 14

It is a court consisting of 2 or more judges.

- These will usually be in criminal cases including a number of the more difficult extradition cases.

Question 15

What is the Chancery Division?

Answer 15

• Division of High Court

- Based in the Rolls Building and 8 other regional centres

Question 16

Who is the head of the chancery division?

Answer 16

Chancellor of the High Court

Question 17

What work does the Chancery division do?

Answer 17

The Chancery Division incorporates the Insolvency and Companies Court, the Patents Court and the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC). The remainder of the work of the Division is referred to as ‘general Chancery’ work.
- civil general work

Question 18

What do the ‘business and property courts’ do?

Answer 18

• The business and property courts cover the work of the specialist courts within the Rolls Building in London and at the civil and family courts in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff and Bristol.
• They bring together the work of the Chancery Division and specialist courts of the Queen’s Bench Divisions of the High Court.

Question 19

What are some of the courts that are included in the business and property courts?

Answer 19

• The Commercial Court (e.g. shipping, sale of goods, insurance and reinsurance)
• The Business List
• The Admiralty Court
• The Commercial Circuit Court (previously the Mercantile Court)
• The Technology and Construction Court
• The Financial List (e.g. banking and financial markets)
• The Insolvency List

Question 20

What is the Family Division?

Answer 20

• Judges who sit in the High Court can hear all cases relating to children and have an exclusive jurisdiction in wardship – a type of court order which gives custody of a minor (under 18) child to the court, with day-to-day care carried out by an individual(s) or local authority.
• Judges in the High Court also hear appeals from the Family Court.

Question 21

What is the Court of Appeal?

Answer 21

• The Court of Appeal consists of a Civil Division and a Criminal Division, which between them hear appeals in a wide range of cases covering civil, family and criminal justice.
• In some cases a further appeal lies, with permission, to the Supreme Court, but in practice the Court of Appeal is the final court of appeal for the great majority of cases.

Question 22

How does one become a Court of Appeal judge?

Answer 22

• senior judges with lengthy judicial experience.
• Appointment is by The Queen on the recommendation of a selection panel convened by the Judicial Appointments Commission

Question 23

What prefix/ suffix is given to a Court of Appeal judge?

Answer 23

“Lord/Lady Justice [Surname]” or “[Surname] LJ” for short.

Question 24

What does the civil division of the Court of Appeals hear? And who heads and hears this?

Answer 24

• The Civil Division hears appeals from the High Court, county courts and certain tribunals such as the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Immigration Appeal Tribunal.
• headed by the Master of the Rolls
  Cases are generally heard by three judges, consisting of any combination of the Heads of Division and Lords Justices of Appeal.

Question 25

What does the criminal division of the Court of Appeals hear? And who heads and hears this?

Answer 25

• The Criminal Division hears appeals from the Crown Court.
• It is headed by the Lord Chief Justice.
  Cases are generally heard by three judges

Question 26

What is the Supreme Court? Where does it hear appeals from?

Answer 26

• The Supreme Court is at the apex of the legal system of the United Kingdom. It hears appeals from courts in all 4 nations: England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on the most significant cases.

Question 27

How many Supreme Court judges are there and what are they known as?

Answer 27

• There are twelve Supreme Court judges, known as ‘Justices’. They are known as “Lord/Lady [surname]”.

Question 28

How can does a case enter the Supreme court?

Answer 28

• Permission to appeal to the Supreme Court is required and will only be granted if the issue raised is of ‘general public importance’.

Question 29

What is a ‘leapfrog appeal’?

Answer 29

A special and rare form of appeal that bypasses/ skips the Court of Appeals and goes straight from the High Court to the Supreme Court