ELS - court structure & hierarchy
Supreme Court - composition
12 judges President = Baroness Hale of Richmond Cases usually heard by 5 judges, but can be up to 9 in important cases. Brexit = 11
The Crown Court - composition
3 tiers of operation: 1. High Court Judge who will hear civil & criminal cases 2. High Court Judge who will hear only criminal cases 3. Recorders and Circuit Judges who will hear only criminal cases
The County Court - composition
3 types of judge: 1. Circuit Judge (appointed by the Queen on recommendation by the Lord C) 2. Recorder - part-time posts who handle less serious matters (appointed by Lord C) 3. District judge (appointed by Lord C) Over 300 county courts hear around 90% of civil law cases
Court of Appeal (Civil Division) - composition
38 Lord and Lade Justices of Appeal (promoted from within the body of High Court Judges) President = Master of the Rolls = Sir Terence Etherton Cases usually heard by Master of the Rolls + 2
The QBD Administrative Divisional Court (criminal) - function
Hears criminal cases from the Magistrates Court or the Crown Court Only hears appeals concerning a point of law OR where magistrates have acted outside their jurisdiction
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council - composition
Senior members of the judiciary in England and Wales - usually Supreme Court - and senior members of the judiciary from the commonwealth jurisdictions
Criminal law
Public law: the law concerned with the relationships between individuals and the state Prosecution - Defendant - Verdict - Punishment
The QBD Administrative Divisional Court (criminal) - composition
Two or more judges, one of whom will be a Lord Justice of Appeal
Civil law
Private law: the law concerned with the relations between individuals and other legal persons Claimant / Appellant - Defendant /Respondent - Judgment - Remedy
The County Court - appeals
Access to Justice Act 1999 - appeals go to High Court, unless bankruptcy - in which case, Chancery Divisional Court
Leap frogging
An appeal from the High Court straight to the Supreme Court, by-passing the Court of Appeal. Used to reduce the delay and costs of cases which will inevitably end up there.
The Magistrates Court (criminal division) - function
Around 98% of criminal matters begin and end life here Power to impose a find of up to £5,000 and/or maximum prison sentence of up to 6 months
The Family Court - precedent
As a result of the judges of mixed seniority acting within the court it is difficult to determine how the doctrine of precedent applies, but presumably it does not create and is bound
The High Court - precedent
Bound by Supreme Court and binds inferior courts It is not bound by other High Court cases which are heard by one judge or their peers - but it generally does follow its own precedent
Court of Appeal (Civil Division) - precedent
Bound by Supreme Court and its decisions bind inferior courts. Young vs. Bristol Aeroplane Co. -- 3 exceptions 1. Where there are two previous and conflicting decisions, the court may choose 2. The court need not follow a previous decision where that decision has been expressly or impliedly overruled by the Supreme Court 3. It may decline to follow a previous decision made 'per incurium'
The European Court of Human Rights
Cases can only be brought against governments and only after appeal processes in domestic courts have been exhausted
Standard of Proof
Civil = balance of probabilities Criminal = beyond reasonable doubt
Burden of Proof
Civil = claimant (can be reversed e.g. libel causes where the defendant has the burden of proof for certain defences) Criminal = prosecution (can be reversed e.g. in murder cases where the defendant is submitting the defence of diminished responsibility)
Judicial review
Concerned with the regulation of the legal activities of public bodies such as local authorities and utilities by reviewing the procedure used by these bodies in reaching their decisions
Supreme Court - history
Constitutional Reform Act 2005 - set it up 1 Oct 2009 - came into being By achieving a complete separation between the UK's senior judges and the upper house of parliament, sought to emphasise the independence and transparency of the law
The Court of Appeal (criminal division) - history
Created in 1966 out of the Court of Criminal Appeal
The Magistrates Court (civil division) - function
Deals with local government aspects of administrative law (highways, public health), council tax, charges for utilities
Supreme Court - precedent
Decisions made by the Supreme Court bind all inferior courts Used to be the case can it was bound by its own previous decisions HOWEVER Lord Gardiner (1966) - it would treat its own decisions as normally binding but may depart where it appears right to do so
The Family Court - appeals
Depends entirely on the level of seniority of the judge deciding the original case
The Family Court - composition
Different levels of judges (lay magistrate, lay justices, district judges, circuit judges)
The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ)
Does not decide the result of cases before it but simply makes a ruling on EU law and leaves it to be implemented by national courts
Criminal Justice Act 1988
Empowers the Attorney General to apply to the Court of Appeal to review a sentence, in respect of a list of offences, on the grounds that it is unduly lenient
Criminal Justice Act 2003
Enables the prosecution (with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions) to apply to the Court of Appeal to quash the acquittal of anyone found 'not guilty' of a serious offence. The Court of Appeal must decide if there is NEW and COMPELLING evidence - an exception to the rule of double jeopardy (a person cannot be retried for the same offence if acquitted)
The Court of Appeal (criminal division) - precedent
Generally bound by its own previous decisions but the desirability of justice outweighs the desirability of certainty
The Court of Appeal (criminal division) - composition
Head = Lord Chief Justice / Head of the Judiciary / Head of Criminal Justice / President of the Courts of England and Wales (Sir John Thomas --> Sir Ian Burnett) Sits in two courts 1. LCJ + Lord Justices of Appeal or QBD Judges 2. LCJ + 2 QBD judges
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council - precedent
Its decisions are not binding on English courts but its opinions are highly persuasive as the Council is made up of the same judges that sit in the Supreme Court Unclear whether it is bound by English precedent
Court of Appeal (Civil Division) - history
Judicature Act 1873 - set it up Split into civil and criminal divisions in 1966
The High Court - history
Judicature Act 1973 - set it up Administrative Justice Act 1930 - set up 3 divisions 1. Queen's Bench Division - Sir Brian Leveson - common law claims such as tort and contract, commercial and admirality courts, technology and construction court 2. Chancery Division - Lord Justice Vos - company and partnership, land, trusts, mortgages, bankruptcy 3. Family Division - Sir James Munby - legitimacy, wardship, adoption
The Magistrates Court (civil division) - appeals
Made to QBDivisional Court (The Administrative Court)
The Family Court - history
Matrimonial and Proceedings Act 1984 & Crime & Courts Act 2013 - a single Family Court was created 22 April 2014
The High Court - composition
Ordinary high court judges are called 'puisne' judges Each division of the High Court may also sit as a 'divisional court' which sits with at least 2 judges and performs appeals 1. The Administrative Court (QBD) 2. Chancery Divisional Court 3. Family Divisional Court