This chapter describes the civil courts in England and Wales. It covers the composition and administration of magistrates’s courts, County Court, and the High Court; jurisdiction; High Court Divisions (Queen’s Bench Division (QBD), Chancery Division (ChD), and Family Division), and specialist courts (Business and Property Courts, Technology and Construction Court, Commercial Court, Administrative Court, Companies Court, Patents Court, and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court). For most civil claims the claimant has a free choice between the High Court and the County Court. Common law claims are suitable for the Queen’s Bench Division, whereas equity claims are more suitable for the Chancery Division. The High Court should be used for the more important and complex claims.
Chapter
This chapter describes the civil courts in England and Wales. It covers the composition and administration of magistrates’s courts, County Court, and the High Court; jurisdiction; High Court Divisions (Queen’s Bench Division (QBD), Chancery Division (ChD), and Family Division), and specialist courts (Business and Property Courts, Technology and Construction Court, Commercial Court, Administrative Court, Companies Court, Patents Court, and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court). For most civil claims the claimant has a free choice between the High Court and the County Court. Common law claims are suitable for the Queen’s Bench Division, whereas equity claims are more suitable for the Chancery Division. The High Court should be used for the more important and complex claims.
Chapter
David Harris, Michael O’Boyle, Ed Bates, Carla Buckley, and Krešimir Kamber
This chapter discusses the organization and functions of the European Court of Human Rights. Topics covered include the composition of the Court; the election of judges; the roles of the Court Chambers and the Grand Chamber; pilot judgments; reform of the Court; and the future of the Court.
Chapter
Steven Cammiss
This chapter first considers the functions of the courts and questions whether there are other, more symbolic functions at play than finding the truth. It then outlines the court system, looking to both magistrates' courts and the Crown Court, and explores the composition of both courts, the types of cases that they deal with, and their role. To examine a particular decision made within the criminal courts, the chapter looks at the mode of trial decision. It concludes by asking whether the reality of the courts lives up to the rhetoric of trial by jury as the pinnacle of due process protections.
Chapter
Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. This chapter introduces the various sources of law before proceeding onto a discussion of the courts of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales can be divided into numerous different classifications. There are three different ways that courts may be classified: criminal and civil courts, trial and appellate courts, and superior and inferior courts. In England and Wales, there is often thought to be a stark divide between criminal and civil courts. Criminal courts deal with individuals who have ‘allegedly’ committed a criminal offence and it is the role of the arbiters of fact to determine the guilt or innocence of a defendant based on the evidence presented before them. On the other hand, civil courts deal primarily with the resolution of private disputes between individuals. Such disputes can include matters of contract law, personal injury, and family law. However, the jurisdiction of some courts is not limited to one area of law, but rather is approachable for both substantive areas of law.
Chapter
Alisdair A. Gillespie and Siobhan Weare
This chapter discusses the organization of the modern court structure and what each court does. The courts in England and Wales (i.e. excluding the Supreme Court which is a UK court) are administered by a single agency, HM Courts and Tribunal Service. The courts of original jurisdiction (i.e. which hear trials of first instance) are ordinarily the magistrates’ court, county court, Crown Court, and High Court although they have now been joined by the Family Court. The Crown Court and High Court have both an original and appellate jurisdiction. The High Court is divided into three divisions (Queen’s Bench Division, Chancery Division, and Family Division) and when two or more judges sit together in the High Court it is known as a Divisional Court. The chapter also briefly describes the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Court of Protection, and Coroner’s Courts.
Chapter
Obtaining a judgment is not always the end of the process. A wholly or partly unsuccessful party in a trial will almost certainly wish to consider appealing. The procedure for appeal will vary depending on the type and level of decision appealed against. This chapter looks in particular at the procedure for appealing from the High Court to the Court of Appeal. The discussions cover the need for the client to decide whether to appeal against all or part of the judgment based on their lawyer's advice; jurisdiction for appeals; appeals from interim decisions; grounds for appeal; procedure for appealing; the position of the respondent to an appeal; presenting an appeal; powers on appeal; the appeal decision; and costs on appeal.
Chapter
All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter examines the application of EU law by national courts and the way in which the CJEU controls national remedies for breach of EU law. Article 19 of the Treaty on European Union contains a new clause added by the Lisbon Treaty, which specifies that ‘Member States shall provide remedies sufficient to ensure effective legal protection in the fields covered by Union law’. Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights provides that ‘[e]veryone whose rights and freedoms guaranteed by the law of the Union are violated has the right to an effective remedy before a tribunal in compliance with the conditions laid down in this Article’. However, beyond these broad new provisions, EU law does not lay down any general scheme of substantive or procedural law governing remedies for its enforcement. The European Court of Justice has responded to the lack of a harmonized system of EU remedies by requiring national courts, in certain cases, to make available a particular type of remedy (e.g., restitution or interim relief), regardless of whether this would be available under national law. The UK version contains a further section analysing issues concerning remedies and EU law in relation to the UK post-Brexit.
Chapter
All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter examines the application of EU law by national courts and the way in which the CJEU controls national remedies for breach of EU law. Article 19 of the Treaty on European Union contains a new clause added by the Lisbon Treaty, which specifies that ‘Member States shall provide remedies sufficient to ensure effective legal protection in the fields covered by Union law’. Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights provides that ‘[e]veryone whose rights and freedoms guaranteed by the law of the Union are violated has the right to an effective remedy before a tribunal in compliance with the conditions laid down in this Article’. However, beyond these broad new provisions, EU law does not lay down any general scheme of substantive or procedural law governing remedies for its enforcement. The European Court of Justice has responded to the lack of a harmonized system of EU remedies by requiring national courts, in certain cases, to make available a particular type of remedy (e.g., restitution or interim relief), regardless of whether this would be available under national law. The UK version contains a further section analysing issues concerning remedies and EU law in relation to the UK post-Brexit.
Chapter
This chapter identifies the various players and their roles and the appropriate setting for the moot. It provides answers to the following questions: Does an Appellant get a right of reply? How are the roles of Appellants and Respondents chosen? How does the Respondent balance the need to make a case and to challenge the points made by the Appellants? What is the standard running order of a moot? How should a moot court be set out?
Chapter
Martin Hannibal and Lisa Mountford
This chapter considers the range of disposals available where a young offender admits the offence(s) or a finding of guilt is recorded against him. It discusses the principles which guide the sentencing of youths; the youth court’s sentencing powers; the adult magistrates’ court sentencing powers; the Crown Court’s sentencing powers; and sentencing a ‘dangerous’ young offender.
Chapter
This chapter examines the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on the right to a fair trial in criminal and civil cases, explaining that Article 6 of ECHR holds that the Strasbourg Court has no jurisdiction to reopen national legal proceedings or to substitute its own findings of fact for the conclusions of national courts. The chapter examines the interpretation by the Strasbourg Court of the protections provided by Article 6 in the extensive jurisprudence on this Article and discusses issues concerning the overall requirements of a fair hearing, right of access to court, and the extraterritorial effect of Article 6.
Chapter
Martin Hannibal and Lisa Mountford
Where a prosecution is commenced against a child aged 10 to 13 years or against a young person aged 14 to 17 years, the general rule is that he will be tried and sentenced in the youth court. The youth court adopts more informal and less adversarial procedures to deal with the needs and vulnerabilities of young defendants. However, there are exceptional situations (grave offences and dangerous offenders) where they will be tried in the Crown Court or when jointly charged with an adult sometimes in the adult magistrates’ court. This chapter discusses the rules for deciding where a young person is to be tried; the rules for trying a young person in the Crown Court; the rules for trying a young person in the adult magistrates’ court; the young defendant’s right to court bail; and the procedure in the youth court.
Chapter
This chapter presents the skills needed to find cases. It first explains the meanings of case citations before moving on to discuss how to locate domestic cases. It then describes how to find decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the General Court, and the European Court of Human Rights.
Chapter
This chapter explains the basics of a moot and mooting. It distinguishes a moot from other law school activities, such as a seminar and a mock trial, and distinguishes a moot court from a real court. It discusses the origins of mooting; why law students should moot; in which courts are moots set; and how a moot is structured.
Chapter
This chapter demonstrates the relevance of mooting for professional practice. It shows that mooting insists upon exacting standards of behaviour, dress, personal presentation, research, preparation, information management, time management, and communication. Mooting provides students with a set of skills than can make them better lawyers. At the very least it will equip students to work within a team, and to a deadline, and to present the fruits of teamwork in a robust, attractive, and memorable way. The chapter provides answers to the following questions: How should colleagues be liaised with and should their arguments be known? Are there any rules of fair play to be observed in mooting? Should the original law reports be produced in front of the moot court? When should skeleton arguments be used and what form should skeleton arguments, if permitted, take? Should Latin be used in the moot presentation? Is a professional courtroom manner important? What is the dress code for a moot? How should colleagues and opponents be addressed and referred to?
Chapter
This chapter provides guidance on producing a persuasive presentation. It provides answers to the following questions: Is it always necessary to prepare for a moot presentation? What form should a presentation take? When is a submission outside the ground of appeal? How long should the presentation be? How should submissions be presented logically? How should one prepare for a moot presentation? Should the speech be written out? Should it be read out or should it be learnt by heart?
Chapter
This chapter discusses the various performance aspects of mooting. It provides answers to the following questions: Why can't points outside the grounds of appeal be argued? Can there be any discussion with colleague during the moot? How can pronunciation of English words generally be improved upon? How can the pronunciation of English (and Welsh) names be improved upon? Do the facts of the moot problem need to be outlined to the moot judge? Is it ever possible to put an interpretation on the facts in order to favour a hypothetical client? Should the law be expressly applied to the facts of the moot problem? Is not being able to act a problem? How should the submission be introduced and concluded?
Chapter
Sir William Wade and Christopher Forsyth
This chapter discusses the scope of judicial review. Judicial review is a procedure for obtaining the remedies specified in the Senior Courts Act 1981, namely the quashing order, the prohibiting order, and the mandatory order and declaration and injunction. The scope of judicial review, therefore, is the same as the scope of these remedies. Their boundaries, as set out already, are fairly clear, but in the non-statutory area they are uncertain.
Chapter
Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. This chapter examines the concept of unconscionable bargains and the conditions under which it operates as a vitiating factor. It discusses the history of the court’s jurisdiction to give relief in cases of unconscionable bargains and explains the current scope of relief, considering the elements in modern case law on unconscionable bargains.
