Civil Courts and ADR

Question 1

Explain/ list the steps a claimant needs to go through to start a civil case

Answer 1

1= Follow the pre action protocol- sharing information
2- Complete N1 claim form available from county court and send it to the court. This contains details of the case
3- Pay the appropriate fee
4- If the case is defended, it will be allocated to one of the three tracks

Question 2

List the two courts of 1st instance and what happens there

Answer 2

• County court and High court
• Claimant can start a claim here and it can be decided here
  -There may also be a first appeal here

Question 3

List the two courts of appeal and what happens there

Answer 3

• Court of Appeal and the Supreme court
• These courts only hear appeals- when one party disagrees with the decision made at the county or high court

Question 4

Explain the features of the county court

Answer 4

• Hears all small, fast claim track cases and some intermediate track cases. It may hear some uncomplicated intermediate and multi-track cases (less than £50,000)
• Types of cases heard: Contract cases, tort cases, divorce, property cases, personal injury

Question 5

Explain the features of the high court

Answer 5

• The high court can hear all civil cases (has unlimited jurisdiction) and also has an appeal function from lower courts and tribunals.
• Split into 3 divisions

Question 6

List/ explain the 3 divisions of the high court

Answer 6

• Chancery division= Hears cases involving money- e.g. mortgages, property, copyright
• QBD- Queen’s Bench Division- Main jurisdiction is to try cases in contract and tort. Judicial review is also done here. Biggest division
• Family division- deals with matters relating to marriage, divorce, and adoption

Question 7

List the 4 Tracks

Answer 7

• All civil cases are placed on one of four tracks- introduced under the Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) Rules 2023:
  1= Small Claims track
  2= Fast track
  3= Intermediate track
  4= Multi-Track

Question 8

Explain the Small claims track

Answer 8

• This is used in cases that involve claims under £10,000 or personal injury claims up to £1000

Question 9

Explain the Fast track

Answer 9

• This is used for cases over £10,000 to £25,000
• So if the case is not a small claim and damages are below £25,000, this track will be used

Question 10

Explain the Intermediate track

Answer 10

• For cases between £25,000 and £100,000
• If the case at court will take less than 3 days, and you are only claiming money, you cannot get specific performance or and injunction under this track

Question 11

Explain the multi-track

Answer 11

• These are cases involving claims over £25,000 or for complex cases.
• Now the primary track for cases over £100,000
• Certain cases are always heard in the multi-track- e.g. Against the police, human rights issues