The English Legal System – Part II

Law 403Advanced Legal English

UK Parliament = Queen, House of Lords and House of Commons

Law must pass through both houses and be signed by the Queen before it becomes law

Now…UK legal system

Then…legal profession (very briefly)

Recap

There is not one, unified legal system in the UKThe UK has 3 legal systems:1. English law (which applies in England and

Wales)2. Northern Ireland law (which applies in

Northern Ireland)3. Scots law (which applies in Scotland)

We are mainly concerned with 1 – English law

UK Legal systems

The highest court in the UK is the Supreme Court of the UK

It is the highest court for all civil and criminal cases in England, Wales, Northern Ireland (and all civil cases in Scotland)

Before October 2009, the highest court was the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (usually just called the House of Lords)

Now it is the Supreme Court of the UK

Supreme Court

Consists of 12 judges called “Justices”It’s completely separate from the legislative

branch of governmentSits in the former Middlesex Guildhall, on the

western side of Parliament SquareThey shifted out of the House of Lords – physically & legally

Supreme Court of the UK

Below the Supreme Court sits the Court of AppealThere are 37 Lords Justices of AppealsThe Court of Appeal has two divisions:

Criminal DivisionCivil Division

The Criminal Division hears appeals from Magistrates Courts and Crown Courts

The Civil Division hears appeals from County Courts and the High Court of Justice

Court of Appeal

Supreme Court

CRIMINAL

Court of Appeal

Crown Court

Magistrates Courts

CIVIL

Court of Appeal

High Court of Justice:

Queen’s Bench, Chancery and

Family

County Courts

Lower courtsBelow the Court of Appeal, the names of the

courts depends on whether the matter is civil or criminal

Recall:

Criminal cases: when the case relates to a crime eg murder, assault, robbery

Civil cases: when the case relates to a dispute between two or more people, companies etc eg. Contract, tort (eg. Negligence), family

Criminal cases begin in either the Magistrates courts or the Crown Courts

95% of criminal cases are heard in the Magistrates Courts (some civil cases are heard there too, eg, betting & gaming, liquor licensing)

Cases are heard before 3 Magistrates (Justices of the Peace) who sit as a bench and one legally-trained Court Clerk

No juries in the Magistrates Courts Magistrates are appointed by the Crown Magistrates retire at 70 Magistrates are not paid but they can claim an allowance They come from all walks of life – not usually legally qualified but

the Court Clerk advises them on the law The maximum sentence they can give is 6 months prison or a fine

of £5,000

Criminal = Magistrates & Crown courts

Some cases in the Magistrates Courts are heard before a District Judge who must have at least 7 years experience as a barrister or solicitor and 2 years as a Deputy District Judge

The District Judges in the Magistrates Courts sit alone and hear more complex cases

A Magistrates court may remit (send up) a matter to a Crown Court if it sufficiently serious (and may remit it to the Crown Court for sentencing)

The Crown court will be the trial court for serious criminal matters

The most famous criminal court in the world is “The Old Bailey” in London

Criminal courts continued…

The Old Bailey This is the Central Criminal Court – it is England’s most famous criminal court, and is commonly referred to as “The Old Bailey”. It has been hearing cases since the 1600s.

It is part of the Crown Court.

It hears major criminal cases from the Greater London area (& sometimes outside London) including assault, battery, libel, arson, fraud, counterfeiting, murder etc.

Judges in the Central Criminal Court are addressed as “My Lord” and “My Lady”.

Find out more: http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Advice_and_benefits/Legal_advice/central_criminal_court.htm

Civil cases will begin in a County Court

Cases are usually heard in the County Court nearest to where the defendant lives

Most matters are decided by a District Court Judge or a Circuit Judge (a judge who travels around, court to court)

Civil matters generally do not have juries

If there is less than £5,000 involved, it will be dealt with by the Small Claims Track (aka Small Claims Court)

Appeals are to a higher judge or to the High Court of Justice

Civil cases

Civil court (mainly – see next slide)Has both an original jurisdiction (for serious cases)

and an appellate jurisdiction (from all lower courts)Most hearings are before a judge alone (sometimes

before 2 or more judges sitting together)It has three divisions:

Family Division (non-criminal cases related to family law)

Chancery Division (deals with business and property law)

Queens Bench Division (deals with other civil cases such as libel, slander and breach of contract)

High Court of Justice

High Court of Justice•This is the High Court of Justice – it has 3 divisions (see previous slide)

•The 3 divisions are not separate courts but they have separate procedures

•It has an original jurisdiction for civil cases and also a criminal appellate jurisdiction (it hears appeals from Crown Courts)

Find out more: http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/rcj/rcj.htm

In the UK, there is a “split bar” so lawyers are either barristers OR solicitors but not both

Criminal cases: The police arrest and collect evidence, statements from

witnessesCrown Prosecutor is the lawyer who brings it to court on behalf

of the Crown Crown Prosecutors work for the Crown Prosecution Service

Civil cases: Solicitor meets with the client, prepares the file and does the

research, usually part of a law firmBarrister argues the case in court – he/she acts on the

instructions of the solicitor – he/she specializes in advocacy (arguing cases in court); barrister sole (works alone); look different in court (clothing is different – wigs and gowns)

British Legal Profession

We have looked at:Important parts of the UK system of government

What is the Crown?What is Parliament? What are the two houses of Parliament all about?

House of LordsHouse of Commons

How is a law made?Important parts of the UK Legal System

What is the top court in the UK called?What is the hierarchy of courts all about?What types of cases are heard in which courts?What types of lawyers work in the UK? What do they do?

Summary