Civil courts and appeals Flashcards
The county court (small claims)
Up to £10000, only £1000 for personal injury
Hearing= informal, simple and usually lasts about 30 mins
allow parties to represent themselves to save solicitor fees
district judges deal with cases
Private and encouraged to take own case
+ low cost +not using a lawyer + procedure quicker
-no legal funding -unhelpful judges
The county court
Over 200 courts
Claims based on law of contract, tort, recovery of land and disputes over equitable matters
Heard by district judge or circuit judges
Judge may sit on panel of 8 jurors but only dealing with defamation, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment
Amount of claimant is £100000, and case must be started in the county court, personal injury is £50000 or less
The high court
Part of the supreme court of judicature in 1873
Judicature Acts 1873-75
The three divisions: Queens Bench Division, Chancery division and family division
The Queen’s bench division
The biggest division
Deal with cases involving contract law and tort law, valued over £100000
Can hear small claims if case involves point of law or complex case facts
Only case tried by jury sitting with a judge
supervisory jurisdiction
Judicial review concerned with whether decision making process has been carried out legally
Deals with complex cases relating to own specific area: commercial court, admiralty court, technology and construction court
The chancery division
cases relating to cooperate and personal insolvency, intellectual property, copyright and patent, contested probate actions
only single judge
Family division
Cases involving children and child protection under Children Act 1989
Also cases involving child abduction, forced marriage, female genital mutilation and application for financial relief
Under Crime and Court Act 2013 new family court created to deal with general family matters
Pre-trial procedures
Thise who claim compensation won’t start court case unless necessary
Settle via ADR
Need to follow strict procedure laid out by Civil Procedure rules
Set of obligations legal personnel must abide to ensure swift and efficient process
Pre-action procedure
Parties to claim encouraged to cooperate with each other to avoid going to court
A list of things which need to be done
If the procedure is not followed may be held liable for certain costs
The protocols= disclosure of documents, issuing letter of claim
If defendant denies liability or refuses ADR, claimant need to start a court case
Allocation of court
County courts (small claims)= claims for £10000 or less, personal imjury claims is £1000 or less
County Court= claims for £100000 or less, personal injury for £50000 or less
High court= claims over £100000, personal injury for over £50000
Issuing a claim
To issue claim, need to complete a N1 Claim form
Can make money claim online
Claim form filed at court office, fee will be charged
Higher the claim= higher the fee
Defending a claim
If the defendant receives claim form- may admit the claim and pay in full
If they wish to dispute, they need to send a N9 Acknowledgement of service within 14 days of receiving the claim
The three track system
Track is allocated by a district judge in county court or procedural judge in High court
Both parties sent an allocation questionnaire to complete- indicate which track their case needs to be heard based on value and complexity
If one party fails to submit the judge may favour the submitting party
Small claims
Disputes under £10000 or £1000 for personal injury
Heard in private or small claims court
Heard in small claims court by a district judge
More flexible
CPR27
Parties encouraged to represent themselves
Fast track
Straightforward value of £10000 and £25000 or £1000 to £25000 for personal injury
Strict timetable for pre-trial matters- prevent time wasting and unnecessary costs
30-50 weeks
Heard in county court by a circuit judge
more formal procedure
Hearing one day- one expert witness
Covered under CPR28
Multi Track
Valued over £25000
Heard in county court of the high court
judge expected to carry out case management- conference to provide estimate costs, set trail window
Judge tasked with identifying main issues of case at early-stage proceedings
Encourage parties to use ADR
Deal with procedural steps
72 weeks maximum for allocation trial
