U1A: Civil Courts, Appeals Flashcards
What is the civil court structure?
-County Court -> High Court of Justice -> The Court of Appeal -> Supreme Court (House of Lords)
What is the hierarchy of judges?
DISTRICT < CIRCUIT < HIGH COURT JUDGE
Who are the County Courts served by and what is the exception to this?
-Served by Circuit + District Judges who hear cases and decide verdicts without a jury
(Exception= 8 people help in cases of defamation/minor tort)
What cases can County Courts try?
-Can try almost all civil cases: including: contract, tort,land disputes
Where do the two types of judges sit in County Courts?
-Circuit Judges= sit on right / District Judges= sit on left
What are the three tracks of county courts?
-Small Claims Track/Procedure
-Fast Track
-Multi Track
What are the claim boundaries for each track?
-Small Claims Track: claims under £10,000
-Fast Track: £10,000 - £25,000
-Multi Track: £25,000+ or cases that involve complex points of law and/or evidence
What are the key features of the Small Claims Track?
-Cases = heard by a District Judge who use an interventionist approach
-Cases = dealt with in a informal way + usually heard in private (can be heard in open court)
-Use of solicitors = discouraged because the costs of legal representation CANNOT be recovered from losing side
What does the Fast Track typically require?
-Requires process of ‘Pre-Trial Directions’
(timetable for the ongoing management of the case)
-One expert witness is allowed + if parties cannot agree on an expert, the court has the power to appoint one
-The expert’s evidence will be given in writing
What is the maximum delay within the Fast Track between Directions and trial?
-Maximum delay = 30 weeks between the setting of Directions, and the trial date, but normally closer to 50 weeks
What does the Multi-track typically feature?
-Typically= most complicated cases SO no restrictions on witnesses + court time that are present for fast track
-Each case = heard by a judge who will be expected to manage the case from the time that it is allocated to the multi-track route
What is the Judge’s typical role within the Multi-Track?
Judge’s role includes:
-Identifying the issues at an early stage
-Encouraging ADR
-Dealing with any procedural steps
-Fixing timetables
What is the High Court in the UK called?
-The Royal Courts of London
What are the 3 divisions of the High Court?
1) Queen’s bench,
2) Chancery division,
3) Family division
Who is the High Court served by?
-ONLY Circuit Judges
What cases can the High Court hear?
-It has the power to hear any civil case
What is the Queen/King’s Bench/ what does it deal with?
- Largest Division
-Deals with large amounts of land + negligence
What does the Chancery Division deal with?
-Financial + Company matters= bankruptcy, Selling Land
What does the Family Division deal with?
-Divorce, Adoption Custody, Child Protection orders
What are the disadvantages of using the court system? (7)
-Expensive
-Time-Consuming
-Undefinite Outcome
-Individual pays
-Stressful
-Not worth it if it is only for a small amount of money
-Loser has to pay court costs
How are parties encouraged to avoid court?
-ADR eg Negotiation
-Strict rules to issue claim
What is the protocol for both parties for issuing a claim + what happens if not followed?
-Before a claim is issued, parties = required to exchange information as a part of protocol
-IF NOT FOLLOWED by one of the parties they may be liable for costs when using the courts for a claim
How do you know which court to use when issuing a claim?
-Depends on amount being claimed
-Different limits for personal injury and damage to property
What are the amount range (claims) for each court?
-£100,000 or less for PROPERTY= County Court
-£50,000 or less for PERSONAL INJURY= County Court
-Higher = choice of High or County Court
What are the Pre-Trial Procedures for the Claimaint?(4)
1) Begins when Claimant issues a Claim through an NI form
2) Claimant must pay a fee to issue the claim form, amount depends on the value + nature of claim.
3) When defendant is served with court proceedings, he has to indicate whether he accepts or intends to defend the claim.
4) Must be done within prescribed time limit
What are the Pre-Trial Procedures for the Defendant? (3)
1) If defendant wishes to defend the claim= must serve a defence within 28 days of receiving the claim form.
2) Failure to serve a defence = claimant wins case by default.
3) If defendant admits the claim they can pay the full amount claimed, ending the case
What are 4 advantages (+ explanations) of Civil Courts (County and High Court)?
1) Decision is final and binding:
-Can be enforced
2) Legal expertise:
-Judge has years of expertise and is well qualified
3) Consistency of decisions:
-Process is fair, everyone is treated alike
4) Can be appealed:
-Clear procedure for appeals
-Usually can appeal against a decision
What are 4 advantages (+ explanation) of Civil Courts (County and High Court)?
(1) Expensive:
-Costs are often more than the amount claimed
-Can be hundreds of thousands of pounds
(2) Delay:
-Many cases are not finished for years
-Long delays to even have case heard
(3) Formal and adversarial:
-Pre-action protocols must be followed. Court can feel intimidating
(4) Public hearing:
-Can mean bad publicity for companies
What is an appeal?
-Where a party to the case feels there is a valid reason why the decision in that case is wrong
What does a party do to appeal?
-They appeal the case to a higher court in the heirarchy/ higher judge
How does a party know which court to appeal to?
-The value of the claim + the level of the judge who heard the case originally affect which appeal route will be used
Who are appeals heard by?
-THREE judges
-If District Judge heard the case in the County Court then appeal will be to a Circuit Judge in the same court
-If original case was heard by a Circuit Judge then the appeal will be to a High Court Judge
Where is a second appeal held?
-Second appeal = always be to the Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
When is a second appeal allowed?
-Only in exceptional circumstances as set out in s55 Access to Justice Act 1999
What is the quote for appeals in s55 Access to Justice Act 1999?
- ‘No appeal…unless…’-
a)The appeal would raise an important point of principle or practice, or
b)There is some other compelling reason for the Court of Appeal to hear it.’
What happens to further appeals from the High court?
-Can have a further appeal to the Supreme Court if they, or the Court of Appeal give leave to appeal
What is a ‘leap frog’ appeal?
-Appeal straight from High Court to Supreme Court
What must a leap-frog appeal involve?
Must involve:
1) A point of law of general public importance which is concerned with the interpretation of a statute
OR:
2) Where there is a binding precedent on that point of law which ONLY the Supreme Court could overrule
OR:
3) Raise issues of sufficient importance to warrant the leapfrog
