1 Distinction between criminal and civil law
1.1 Civil law
Who brings the action?
Claimant (plaintiff) against Defendant.
E.g. Brown v Jones
Burden & standard of proof?
Claimant must prove liability on 'balance of probabilities'
Where is action heard?
Small claims, County & High Court
Who decides liability/remedy?
Usually Judge alone
Remedy?Compensation. E.g. damages
1.2 Criminal law
Who brings the action?
Prosecution (Regina) against Accused.
E.g. R v Smith
Burden & standard of proof?
Prosecution must prove guilt ‘beyond reasonable doubt’
Where is action heard?
Magistrates & Crown Court
Who decides guilt/sentence?
Magistrates/Judge/Jury
Sentence?
Fine/Imprisonment/Community order
2 The courts of law
2.1 The European Courts:
(a) Court of the European Union (European Court of Justice) (not to be confused with European Court of Human Rights);
(i) Hears references and appeals from courts of member states on matters of European Law;
(ii) On European Law matters can overrule decisions of any UK court;
(b) European Court of Human Rights:
(i) The final source of appeal on European Convention on Human Rights matters. (Note that the Convention is now incorporated into UK law by Human Rights Act 1998);
(ii) There is no appeal from the European Court of Human Rights to European Court of Justice.
2.2 The House of Lords:
(a) Highest UK court;
(b) Personnel – Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (Law Lords) . 5 will usually sit on an appeal;
(c) Jurisdiction – purely appellate. Hears appeals from :
– Both divisions of the Court of Appeal
– The divisional court of the Queens Bench Division of the High Court
– The High Court by "leap映爀漀最 procedure";
(d) On appeals from some Commonwealth Courts and Channel Islands the court sits as "The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council".
2.3 The Court of Appeal:
(a) Divided into 2 divisions :
– civil and
– criminal
(b) Personnel – Lord Justices of Appeal. 3 will usually sit on an appeal.
– civil division – Master of the Rolls is chief judge
– criminal division – Lord Chief Justice of the criminal division
(c) Jurisdiction – purely appellate. Hears appeals from
– all 3 divisions of the High Court, the divisional court, the EAT, Lords Tribunal and Transport Tribunal
– the Crown Court
– the County Court (except for certain appeals in regard to family and bankruptcy matters)
2.4 The High Court:
(a) Divided into 3 divisions:
– Queens Bench Division
– Family Division
– Chancery Division
(b) Personnel – High Court Judges (Puisne judges):
– QBD – Lord Chief Justice = chief judge
– Family Division – President = chief judge
– Chancery Division – Nominally Lord Chancellor – in practice
ViceChancellor
(c) Queens Bench Division jurisdiction:
– Contract, Tort and other general civil matters without limit as to value (usually above 15,000) includes specialist courts such as the Commercial and Admiralty Courts.
– The making of prerogative writs and orders
The Divisional Court of the QBD hears appeals on points of law from the Magistrates and Crown Courts.
(d) Family Division jurisdiction:
– Defended divorces and matters under the Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1976
– Matters relating to Childrens Act 1989 and Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990
– Appeals in regard to family matters from the County Court
(e) Chancery Division jurisdiction:
– Trusts
– Tax
– Company Law
– Probate
– Insolvency
– Companies Court and Patents Court are part of the Chancery division
