Legal System Flashcards
(28 cards)
The 2 courts for civil cases
County Court and High Court
County Court Jurisdiction
Contract and tort claims, the recovery of land, disputes over equitable matters up to a value of £30,000.
County Court judges
Circuit or district judge, sometimes a jury of 8 for cases of false imprisonment or malicious prosecution
High Court divisions
Queens Bench, Chancery and Family
Queens Bench Jurisdiction
contract and tort cases over £100,000
smaller claims on an important point of law
Queens Bench judges
single judge
right to a jury of 12 for fraud, libel, slander, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment.
Queens Bench - Administrative court
supervises lawful conduct of national and local gov., inferior courts and tribunals, and other public bodies
Chancery Division Jurisdiction
insolvency, enforcement of mortgages, trust property, copyright and patents, intellectual property, contested probate actions.
Chancery Division - Special Companies Court
winding up companies
Chancery Division judges
single judge (17 judges in division)(no jury)
Family Division Jurisdiction
family cases from the Children Act 1989 (such as adoption), all international family matters under the Hague Convention, some cases from the family court.
Family Division judges
single judge (no jury)
Family Division - Crime and Courts Act 2013
created separate Family Court for most cases unless they are difficult or important
Pre-trial Procedure - Pre-action protocols
A list of things to be done, if they don’t they may be liable for certain costs
Pre-trial Procedure - Court?
If parties refuse ADR, the case goes to court:
£100,000 or less = County Court
personal injury £50,000 or less = County Court
if over, the claimant can choose County or High Court
Pre-trial Procedure - Issuing a claim
N1 form filed at a court office for price:
A claim of £300 = £35; a claim of £200k = £10k
Any 200 County Courts or 20 District Registries
Pre-trial Procedure - Defending a claim
A D who receives a claim can
- Admit liability,
- Dispute (N9 form or defence to court within 14 days),
- Do nothing (claimant can request court order)
small claims track
damages < £10k and personal injury < £1k
district judge, own representation, cant claim cost of a lawyers
fast track
damages of £10-£25k, personal injury of £1k-£25k
circuit judge within 30 weeks, a strict timetable for pre-trial matters, open court, more formal and limited to 1 day, 1 witness
multi-track
damages > £25k but < £100k, personal injury < £50k
judge manages case: identifies issues, encourages ADR, does procedural steps and fixing timetables
aims to keep costs low
Appeals from County Court
[heard by district judge] to [circuit judge in County]
[heard by circuit judge] to [High Court judge]
final appeal [Court of Appeal (civil division)]
! exceptional cases: s55 Access to Justice Act 1999
s55 Access to Justice Act
No appeal may be made to the Court of Appeal unless the Court of Appeal considers that:-
(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.
Appeals from High Court
[High Court] to [Court of Appeal] to [Supreme Court]
! can leapfrog to Supreme from High if it is an issue of national importance or raises issues of sufficient importance with permission from the Supreme Court
negotiation
two parties resolve a dispute without a third party; informal, between individuals or formal between qualified negotiators (are usually solicitors).
