Paper 1 Section A Flashcards
County Court
Civil Courts
- Civil claims up to £100,000
- Open court + Circuit Judge (Low value - District Judge)
- Decides liability, compensation + who pays costs
- Can appeal to family division - complicated cases
- Appeal can be made directly to ‘court of Appeal’ if case raises as an important point of principal+ court agrees
Civil Courts
High Court
Civil Courts
- Open court where judges will be assigned to one of the 3 divisions
1. Family Division
2. The Chancery Division
3. The Queen’s Bench Division
Civil Courts
Family Division
Civil Courts - High Courts
- Heard in private - Sensitive issues
- Welfare of children - Child is made ward to the court
- Foreign element e.g. forced marriage, international child abduction
- Appeals from family proceding courts
Civil Courts - High Courts
Chancery Division
Civil Courts - High Courts
Deals with disuptes about:
* Trusts
* Partnership Matters
* Business, Property or land where £100,000 is an issue
* Contentious probate claims
Civil Courts - High Courts
Queen’s Bench Division
Civil Courts - High Courts
- Largest of 3
- Hear a wide variety of cases - including contract + tort claims over £100,000 in value
- Several specialist courts including the administritive court which hears:
- Circuit commercial courts
- Applications for judicial review + for habeas corpus (right to trial)
Civil Courts - High Courts
Court of Appeal
Civil Courts
- If a party is disatisfied with liability/compensation within 21 days - appeal to a higher court
- If there are legal grounds for an appeal, lawyers will argue as to why decision should be altered
- Appeal court can argue/reverse decision
- Appeals from High court go to court of appeal but can appeal further to Supreme Court with permission
Civil Courts
Supreme Court
Civil Courts
- Highest court - hearing civil appeals
- Permission to appeal is only given if there is a point of law of general public importance
- “Leapfrog” - Direct appeal if there is an issue of national importance/raised give sufficiemt importance to justify it
Civil Courts
Define Employment Tribunals
Tribunals
- Deal with issues such as a claim of unfair dismissal
- Sits in a separate building + has a set process (less formal than a court)
Tribunals
Preliminary Matters
Tribunals
- a claim on an employment issue has to be brought within 3 months
- Most cases - ACAS must be contacted within this time for early conciliation to see if there is a resolution
- Most claimants obtain advice on teh strength of the case before issuing a claim
- Claim must set out detailed reasoms for action + must be filed with the tribunal within the time limit
Tribunals
The Hearing
Tribunals
- Held in individual tribunal room
- Most are open to public, rarely publicised
- quite short, most issues identified before hand
- Outcomes = settlement, compensation, payment for the lawyers by the losing side or a review within 14 days
Tribunals
Appeals
Tribunals
- Either side may appeal within 42 days of the tribunal decision to an employment appeal tribunal, but only on a point of law
- Further appeals can be made to court of appeal + supreme court, only on a point of law + with permission from the employment appeal tribunal
Tribunals
Advantages of Civil Courts
Civil Courts
- Fair - impartial judge
- Qualified profesisionals
- Formal
- All evidence has to be collated + presented
Civil Courts
Disadvantages of Civil Courts
Civil Courts
- Slow + expensive
- Formal - intimidating, stressful
- Small cases can get overlooked
- Low availability of legal aid
Civil Courts
Advantages of ADR
ADR
- Cheaper + quicker
- Less formal + hostile
- Simplicity/Flexible
ADR
Disadvantages of ADR
ADR
- Less fair - choose own mediator - not a judge
- No obvious appeal routes
- Not covered by legal aid
- Sometimes ineffective at even reaching a solution
ADR
