THE RNGLISH COURT SYSTERM

THEENGLISHCOURTSYSTERMI.INTRODUCTIONTheUnitedKingdomofGreatBritainandNorthernIrelandconsistsoffourcountrieswiththreedistinctjurisdictions,eachwithitsowncourtsystemandlegalprofession:EnglandandWales:Since1999,WaleshashaditsownAssembly,whichcanimplementpolicybutdoesnothaveanylegislativepowers.NorthernIreland:SomelegislativepowersweredevolvedtotheNorthernIrelandAssemblyin1999.Scotland:SomelegislativepowersweredevolvedtotheScottishParliamentin1999.Notice:ThisessayonlyrefertothecourtsysteminEnglangandWales.II.THESTRUCTUREOFENGLISHCOURTThecourtsarearrangedinahierarchicalstructure,anoutlineofwhichisillustratedinthefollowingdiagram1:ItcanbeseenthattheHouseofLords2isthehighestcourtintheUKanditsdecisionscanonlybeoverturnedbyadecisionoftheECJortheEuropeanCourtofHumanRights.(Theselattertwoinstitutionscanalsooverturnthe2ItisproposedthatthenewSupremeCourtwilltakeovertheappellatefunctionoftheHouseofLordsandcertainpowersoftheJudicialCommitteeofthePrivyCouncil.decisionsofthelowercourts.)TheHouseofLordsshouldnotbeconfusedwiththesecondlegislativechamberofParliament.TheHouseofLordswhensittingasthemostseniorappellatecourt,consistsofanumberofLawLordswhohearappealswhichhavebeensenttothembytheCourtofAppealandwhichtheyhave,inaddition,agreedtohear.Thedirectionofthearrowsinthediagram,showbroadlythepathofappealsupwardsfromthedecisionsofthelowercourts.AftertheHouseofLords,theCourtofAppeal’sdecisionsarethemostauthoritativeandafterthose,thedecisionsoftheHighCourt.Thesystemwherebyjudgesfollowthedecisionsofhighercourtsisknownasthe‘doctrineofprecedent’anditisthispracticethathasledtothedevelopmentofthe‘commonlaw’.III.THRMAINCOUTTS3.1SupremeCourtoftheUnitedKingdomTheSupremeCourtisthehighestappealcourtinalmostallcasesinEnglandandWales.PriortotheConstitutionalReformAct2005thisrolewasheldbytheHouseofLords.TheSupremeCourtisalsothehighestcourtofappealfordevolutionmatters,arolepreviouslyheldbythePrivyCouncil.3.2JudicialCommitteeofthePrivyCouncilThePrivyCouncilisthehighestcourtofappealforasmallnumberofCommonwealthcountries,coloniesandtheChannelIslandsandtheIsleofMan.Thereareanumberofsmallerstatutoryjurisdictions,suchasappealsfromecclesiasticalandprofessionalbodies.ThejudgeswhositontheJudicialCommitteeofthePrivyCouncilarealsothemembersoftheSupremeCourt.3.3TheSeniorCourtsofEnglandandWalesTheSeniorCourtsofEnglandandWaleswereoriginallycreatedbytheJudicatureActsastheSupremeCourtofJudicature.ItwasrenamedtheSupremeCourtofEnglandandWalesin1981,[1]andagaintotheSeniorCourtsofEnglandandWalesbytheConstitutionalReformAct2005.Itconsistsofthefollowingcourts:•CourtofAppeal•HighCourtofJustice•CrownCourt3.3.1CourtofAppealTheCourtofAppealdealsonlywithappealsfromothercourtsortribunals.TheCourtofAppealconsistsoftwodivisions:theCivilDivisionhearsappealsfromtheHighCourtandCountyCourtandcertainsuperiortribunals,whiletheCriminalDivisionmayonlyhearappealsfromtheCrownCourtconnectedwithatrialonindictment(i.e.,foraseriousoffence).Itsdecisionsarebindingonallcourts,includingitself,apartfromtheSupremeCourt.3.3.2HighCourtTheHighCourtofJusticefunctions,bothasacivilcourtoffirstinstanceandacriminalandcivilappellatecourtforcasesfromthesubordinatecourts.Itconsistsofthreedivisions:theQueen'sBench,theChanceryandtheFamilydivisions.ThedivisionsoftheHighCourtarenotseparatecourts,buthavesomewhatseparateproceduresandpracticesadaptedtotheirpurposes.Althoughparticularkindsofcaseswillbeassignedtoeachdivisiondependingontheirsubjectmatter,eachdivisionmayexercisethejurisdictionoftheHighCourt.However,beginningproceedingsinthewrongdivisionmayresultinacostspenalty.3.3.3CrownCourtTheCrownCourtisacriminalcourtofbothoriginalandappellatejurisdictionwhichinadditionhandlesalimitedamountofcivilbusinessbothatfirstinstanceandonappeal.ItwasestablishedbytheCourtsAct1971.ItreplacedtheAssizeswherebyHighCourtjudgeswouldperiodicallytravelaroundthecountryhearingcases,andQuarterSessionswhichwereperiodiccountycourts.TheOldBaileyistheunofficialnameofLondon'smostfamousCriminalCourt,whichisnowpartoftheCrownCourt.ItsofficialnameistheCentralCriminalCourt.TheCrownCourtalsohearsappealsfromMagistrates'Courts.TheCrownCourtistheonlycourtinEnglandandWalesthathasthejurisdictiontotrycasesonindictmentandwhenexercisingsucharoleitisasuperiorcourtinthatitsjudgmentscannotbereviewedbytheAdministrativeCourtoftheQueen’sBenchDivisionoftheHighCourt.TheCrownCourtisaninferiorcourtinrespectoftheotherworkitundertakes,viz.interalia,appealsfromtheMagistrates’courtsandothertribunals.3.4SubordinatecourtsThemostcommonsubordinatecourtsinEnglandandWalesarethe•Magistrates'Courts•FamilyProceedingsCourts•Youthcourts•CountyCourts3.4.1Magistrates',FamilyProceedingsandYouthCourtsMagistrates'Courtsarepresidedoverbyabenchoflaymagistrates(akajusticesofthepeace),oralegally-traineddistrictjudge(formerlyknownasastipendiarymagistrate),sittingineachlocaljusticearea.Therearenojuries.Theyhearminorcriminalcases,aswellascertainlicensingapplications.YouthcourtsarerunonsimilarlinestoAdultmagistrates'courtsbutdealwithoffendersagedbetweentheagesof10and17inclusive.Youthcou