civil courts and appeals

COUNTY COURT

FAMILY DIVISION

THE THREE TRACKS

QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION

HIGH COURT

PRE-TRIAL PROCEDURES

CHANCERY DIVISION

APPEALS

can try most civil claims of up to £100,000nin value

negligence, tort-based, nuisance, trespassing, debt claims, consumer disputes, breach of contract, housing claims, possession of residential and commercial properties, bankruptcy, probate claims, wills and trusts

claims heard in open court by a single judge (Circuit Judge mostly) - if the case is straightforward and of low value, heard by District Judge - judge will read case papers before hearing and can hear evidence and legal arguments in court

at the end of the hearing the judge will decide: liability (which side wins), the compensation payable if any, or any other remedy requested, and who should pay the costs of the case

The Small Claims Track is part of the County Court and deals with claims of less than £10,000 (£1000 in personal injury claims) in an informal way - cases are heard by a District Judge and lawyers are discouraged - there is less legal argument and costs will not be awarded

claims will be heard in open court by a single judge of the High Court - judges will be assigned to one of the three Divisions - Queen's Bench, Chancery and Family - and will only hear cases relating to that Division's work

at the end of the hearing the judge will decide: liability, compensation, any other remedy requested, and who should pay the costs of the case

the judge will read the case papers before the hearing and can hear evidence and legal arguments in court

largest division - has jurisdiction to hear a wide variety of cases including contract and tort claims over £100,000 in value and smaller claims where there is a complicated issue of law involved

Administrative Court:(applications for judicial review and applications), case stated appeals in criminal cases decided at the Magistrates Court or Crown Court, Criminal Commercial Court

deals with disputes relating to business, property, land where over £100,000 is in issue, disputes over trusts, contentious probate claims and disputes about partnership matters

cases in this division are generally heard in private as they are often dealing with sensitive matters

have jurisdiction to hear cases where a child is to be made a ward of the court and cases relating to the welfare of children under the Children Act 1989, appeals from lower courts such as Family Proceedings Courts, and cases with a foreign element such as international child abduction, forced marriage, female genital mutilation and where a divorce tas taken place outside England but the parties are disputing property situated within England

a court claim should only be considered as a last resort if negotiated settlement cannot be reached or a form of ADR has failed

first step to take before issuing any court claim is to follow an appropriate pre-action protocol - they explain the conduct and set out the steps the court would normally expect parties to take before stating any court action

the aim of a pre-action protocol is to ensure that as many problems as possible can be resolved without the need for a court hearing

if the claim is defended, a judge must allocate it to an appropriate case management track for it to be dealt with in the most just and cost-effective way

which court to use?

less than £10,000 (or £1000 in a personal injury claim) = small claims court


less than £100,000 (or £50,000 in a personal injury claim) = county court


more than £100,000 (or £50,000 in a personal injury claim) = county court but more likely high court

issuing a claim

claim form has to be completed with the name and addresses of parties, brief details of the reason for the claim and the amount of money being claimed - the form can be filed at: a county court office, the high court if it is a high value claim, or online for a debt claim

defending a claim

the court will generally send or serve the claim on the defendant who then has a choice of actions:


  1. admit claim and pay full compensation to claimant or court (case ends)


  2. admit claim and pay in instalments


  3. dispute claim and file defence on why claim should not be paid


  4. file an acknowledgment of service confirming receipt form but asking for time to file a defence

small claims track - less than £10,000 (£1000 in personal injury)

fast track - £10,000-£25,000)

multi track - £25,000 - £50,000)

claim heard by a District Judge and lawyers not encouraged

time allocated to a hearing will be a max of 2-3hrs and each party allocated a limited number of witnesses

hearing will be max 1 day in open court, limited number of witnesses called - heard by Circuit Judge

each party can be represented by a lawyer

case allocated to this track will have a strict timetable set at a max of 30 weeks - if parties do not follow timetable, claim can be thrown out or judgment in default can be awarded

hearing will take place before Circuit Judge

strictly case-managed by Circuit Judge who sets strict timetable, the disclosure of relevant docs, the number of witnesses and how long case will last

allocated to county court

if case involved complicated points of law or evident, or involves more than £50,000 in value, can be passed onto high court

county court

high court

if one part is dissatisfied with decision of trial judge about liability or amount of compensation, can appeal

appeal hearing usually made in next higher court

consists of legal arguments as to why original decision wa made

rare for new evidence to be heard - must have legal grounds for appeal (more than 'the judge got the decision wrong')

appeal can be made within 21 days of original hearing

if an appeal made, costs will increase as lawyers will argue for reasons for appeal

appeal court can agree with original statement or reverse it

if the original decision was made by a Circuit Judge, an appeal can be made to a High Court Judge of the Division of the relevant case

if one of the parties wishes to appeal further, it can be taken to the supreme court, but only if permission is granted by the court of appeal - the supreme court is the highest court for hearing civil appeals, and permission will only be given if there is a point of law of general public importance involved

an appeal can be directly made to the Court of Appeal if the case raises an importance point of principle or practice, and the Court of Appeal agrees to hear it

if original precedent was made by a District Judge (small claims court), an appeal is heard by a single Circuit Judge of the same court

a 'leapfrog' appeal can be made directly from an issue of national importance involved, or the case raises issues of sufficient importance to justify the leapfrog

an appeal from a decision of a High Court Judge will generally be heard by the court of appeal