The Courts of England and Wales , supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service , are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales .
67-583: Except in constitutional matters, committed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom , the United Kingdom does not generally have a single unified legal system— England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Northern Ireland a third. There are additional exceptions to this rule; for example, in immigration law , the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal 's jurisdiction covers the whole of
134-892: A barrister or solicitor ) who acts as a judge in the consistory court of the diocese. The bishop no longer has the right to preside personally, as he formerly did. Appeals lie to the Arches Court (in Canterbury) and the Chancery Court (in York), and from them to the Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved (CECR). From the CECR appeals lie to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council . Military courts of
201-651: A Supreme Court for the United Kingdom was first proposed in a consultation paper published by the Department of Constitutional Affairs in July 2003. Although the paper noted that there had been no criticism of the then-current Law Lords or any indication of an actual bias, it argued that the separation of the judicial functions of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords from the legislative functions of
268-469: A bench of magistrates (A.K.A. justices of the peace ), or a legally trained district judge (formerly known as a stipendiary magistrate), sitting in each local justice area . There are no juries . They have jurisdiction to hear minor criminal cases, as well as certain licensing appeals. Youth courts are run on similar lines to adult magistrates' courts but deal with offenders aged between the ages of ten and seventeen inclusive. Youth courts are presided over by
335-462: A case may be heard by a district judge (formerly known as a stipendiary magistrate), who will be a qualified lawyer and will sit singly, but has the same powers as a lay bench. District judges usually sit in the more busy courts in cities or hear complex cases (e.g. extradition). Magistrates and District Judges have the same limited sentencing powers. In the Crown Court , the case is tried before
402-618: A county court of the same name. Section 43 abolished: Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ( initialism : UKSC ) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases and for criminal cases originating in England , Wales and Northern Ireland . As the United Kingdom's highest appellate court for these matters, it hears cases of
469-464: A fair trial. The Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury , later President of the Supreme Court, expressed fear that the new court could make itself more powerful than the House of Lords committee it succeeded, saying that there is a real risk of "judges arrogating to themselves greater power than they have at the moment". The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers said such an outcome was "a possibility", but
536-557: A recorder (part-time judge), circuit judge or a High Court judge, and a jury. The seniority of the judge depends on the seriousness and complexity of the case. The jury is involved only if the defendant enters a plea of "not guilty". From the magistrates' courts, an appeal can be taken to the Crown Court on matters of fact and law or, on matters of law alone, to the Administrative Court of King's Bench Division of
603-443: A right to compel a jury trial. Defendants under eighteen years of age do not have this right and will be tried in a youth court (similar to a magistrates' court) unless the case is homicide or else is particularly serious. A magistrates' court is made up in two ways. Either a group (known as a "bench") of "lay magistrates", or a district judge, will hear the case. A bench must consist of either two or three magistrates. Alternatively,
670-431: A single County Court for England and Wales where previously there was a series of courts. The County Court is so named after the ancient sheriff's court held in each county, but it has no connection with it nor indeed was the jurisdiction of the county courts based on counties. A County Court hearing is presided over by either a district or circuit judge and, except in a small minority of cases such as civil actions against
737-480: A specially trained subset of experienced adult magistrates or a district judge. Youth magistrates have a wider catalog of disposals available to them for dealing with young offenders and often hear more serious cases against youths (which for adults would normally be dealt with by the Crown Court). Youth courts are not open to the public for observation, only the parties involved in a case being admitted. Prior to
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#1732773199664804-572: A trial on indictment (i.e., for a serious offence). Its decisions are binding on all courts, including itself, apart from the Supreme Court . The High Court of Justice functions both as a civil court of first instance and a criminal and civil appellate court for cases from the subordinate courts. It consists of three divisions: the King's Bench, the Chancery, and the Family divisions. The divisions of
871-406: A voluntary bill of indictment , and go directly to the Crown Court, but that would be unusual. A criminal case that starts in the magistrates' courts may begin either by the defendant being charged and then being brought forcibly before magistrates or by a summons to the defendant to appear on a certain day before the magistrates. A summons is usually confined to very minor offences. The hearing (of
938-505: Is a criminal court of both original and appellate jurisdiction which in addition handles a limited amount of civil business both at first instance and on appeal. It was established by the Courts Act 1971 . It replaced the assizes whereby High Court judges would periodically travel around the country hearing cases, and quarter sessions which were courts held periodically in counties, county boroughs and certain boroughs. The Old Bailey
1005-415: Is an established church (i.e. it is the official state church) and formerly had exclusive or non-exclusive subject matter jurisdiction over marriage and divorce cases, testamentary matters, defamation , and several other areas. Since the 19th century, the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts has narrowed principally to matters of church property and errant clergy. Each diocese has a "chancellor" (either
1072-590: Is not overturned by the declaration, and neither Parliament nor the government is required to agree with any such declaration. However, if they do accept a declaration, ministers can exercise powers under section 10 of the Human Rights Act to amend the legislation by statutory instrument to remove the incompatibility or ask Parliament to amend the legislation. As authorised by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 , Part 3, Section 23(1),
1139-646: Is the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases, and for criminal cases from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population. The Supreme Court hears appeals (i) in England and Wales, from the Court of Appeal (Civil Division), the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) and (ii) in Scotland from the Court of Session . The Supreme Court
1206-823: Is the highest court of appeal in relation to Scottish civil cases. However, the High Court of Justiciary is the highest court of appeal in relation to Scottish criminal cases. The Supreme Court also determines devolution issues (as defined by the Scotland Act 1998 , the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 2006 ). These are legal proceedings about the powers of the three devolved administrations—the Northern Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly ,
1273-500: Is the unofficial name of London's most famous criminal court, which is now part of the Crown Court. Its official name is the Central Criminal Court. The Crown Court also hears appeals from magistrates' courts . The Crown Court is the only court in England and Wales that has the jurisdiction to try cases on indictment , and when exercising such a role, it is a superior court in that its judgments cannot be reviewed by
1340-557: The Court of Appeal . In other circumstances (for example when acting as an appeal court from a magistrates' court) the Crown Court is an inferior court, which means that it is subject to judicial review. When acting as an inferior court, appeals by way of case stated on matters of law may be made to the Administrative Court. Appeals from the High Court, in criminal matters, lie only to the Supreme Court. Appeals from
1407-704: The High Court of Justiciary , the Court of Session and the Office of the Accountant of Court make up the College of Justice and are known as the Supreme Courts of Scotland . The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. Rolls Building The Rolls Building is a judicial court complex on Fetter Lane in the City of London that is used by the High Court of Justice (one of
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#17327731996641474-615: The House of Lords should be made explicit. The paper noted the following concerns: The main argument against a new Supreme Court was that the previous system had worked well and kept costs down. Reformers expressed concern that this second main example of a mixture of the legislative, judicial and executive might conflict with professed values under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . Officials who make or execute laws have an interest in court cases that put those laws to
1541-704: The Law Terms Act 1830 . The Court of the County of Durham was abolished by section 2 of the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836 . The Stannaries Court was abolished by the Stannaries Court (Abolition) Act 1896. The following courts were merged into the High Court by section 41 of the Courts Act 1971 following the report by Dr. Beeching : Section 42 replaced the Mayor's and City of London Court with
1608-865: The Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament , the Welsh Government and Senedd . Devolution issues were previously heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and most are about compliance with rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, brought into national law by the Devolution Acts and the Human Rights Act 1998. On rare occasions the court may have original jurisdiction, normally in cases relating to contempt of
1675-730: The Senior Courts of England and Wales ). It houses the commercial and property business of the Chancery Division (including bankruptcy), as well as the Admiralty Court , Commercial Court , and the Technology and Construction Court . The building has 31 courtrooms, including three "super courts" for high-value cases, and four landscape-oriented courtrooms for multi-party cases. The basement and top floors are available for lease by commercial law firms. The building
1742-536: The judicial functions of the House of Lords , which had been exercised by the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (commonly called " Law Lords "), the 12 judges appointed as members of the House of Lords to carry out its judicial business as the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords . Its jurisdiction over devolution matters had previously been exercised by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council . The creation of
1809-478: The magistrates' courts are administered by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service , an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice . There have been multiple calls from both Welsh academics and politicians for a Wales criminal justice system . The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the highest appeal court in almost all cases in England and Wales. Before the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 this role
1876-538: The "multi-track". These "tracks" are labels for the use of the court system – the actual cases will be heard in the County Court or the High Court depending on their value. For personal injury, defamation cases, and in some landlord and tenant disputes, the thresholds for each track have different values. For nearly 300 years, from the time of the Norman Conquest until 1362, French was the language of
1943-477: The Administrative Court of the King's Bench Division of the High Court. The Crown Court is an inferior court in respect of the other work it undertakes, namely among other things, appeals from the magistrates' courts and other tribunals. The most common subordinate courts in England and Wales are The County Court is a national court with a purely civil jurisdiction, sitting in 92 different towns and cities across England and Wales. As of 22 April 2014 there has been
2010-519: The County Court centres and magistrates courts where family work was previously heard by county courts or family proceedings courts . Family Court judges are now more categories of judges who will be eligible to hear family cases including lay magistrates, district judges, circuit judges, and High Court judges from the Family Division. Magistrates' courts are local criminal courts, where all criminal proceedings start. They are presided over by
2077-419: The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) may also only be taken to the Supreme Court. Appeals to the Supreme Court are unusual in that the court from which appeal is being made (either the High Court or the Court of Appeal) must certify that there is a point of law of general public importance. This additional control mechanism is not present with civil appeals and means that far fewer criminal appeals are heard by
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2144-470: The EU with an agreement had opposed the prorogation. In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled on whether the Scottish Parliament had the power to legislate for a second independence referendum . In the case, the five-judge panel unanimously found that Scotland did not have the right to organise a referendum without the permission of Westminster, as questions around independence qualify as "reserved matters" (reserved to
2211-482: The European Convention on Human Rights. One of the most important cases presented to the Supreme Court was the joint cases of R (Miller) v The Prime Minister and Cherry v Advocate General for Scotland , known as Miller/Cherry , on Boris Johnson's unlawful prorogation (suspension) of Parliament, to suppress debate in anticipation of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, "frustrating or preventing
2278-940: The Financial List was created "for financial claims of £50 million or more, or cases that raise issues concerning the domestic and international financial markets: the equity, derivatives, FX and commodities markets." There are also Regional Business and Property Courts. The judicial expertise available in the Rolls Building includes asset recovery, banking, commodities, company law, construction, finance, fraud, insolvency and reconstruction. It also covers information technology, insurance, intellectual property (including patents), international trade, mining, oil and gas, partnership, property, public procurement, regulation, shipping, tax and trusts. All matters in this list are heard by judges with particular experience in determining disputes in their particular speciality. The Crown Court
2345-492: The High Court are not separate courts but have somewhat separate procedures and practices adapted to their purposes. Although particular kinds of cases will be assigned to each division depending on their subject matter, each division may exercise the jurisdiction of the High Court. This also means English High Court puisne judges and above can sit 'cross-bench' meaning they can hear matters normally assigned to another division should they so desire. However, beginning proceedings in
2412-474: The High Court, which is called an appeal "by way of case stated ". The magistrates' courts are also inferior courts and are therefore subject to judicial review . The Crown Court is more complicated. When it is hearing a trial on indictment (a jury trial) it is treated as a superior court, which means that its decisions may not be judicially reviewed and appeal lies only to the Criminal Division of
2479-436: The High Court, which will often be more limited in scope than an appeal. Examples of specialist courts are: The post of coroner is ancient, dating from the 11th century, and coroners still sit today to determine the cause of death in situations where people have died in potentially suspicious circumstances, abroad, or in the care of central authority. They also have jurisdiction over treasure trove . The Church of England
2546-463: The President. To avoid a tie, all cases are heard by a panel containing an odd number of justices. Thus, the largest possible panel for a case is 11 justices. To date, there have been only two cases (both involving matters of major constitutional importance) heard by 11 justices: the case of R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (argued in 2016 and decided in 2017) and
2613-476: The Supreme Court is much more limited in its powers of judicial review than the constitutional or supreme courts of some other countries such as the United States , Canada and Australia . It cannot overturn any primary legislation made by Parliament . However, as with any law court in the UK, it can overturn secondary legislation if, for an example, that legislation is found to be ultra vires to
2680-509: The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom was formally established on 1 October 2009 and is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom . Section 23 of the Constitutional Reform Act limits the number of judges on the Court to 12, though it also allows for this rule to be amended, to further increase the number of judges, if a resolution is passed in both Houses of Parliament. It assumed
2747-417: The Supreme Court, such as Proceedings for Contempt: Mr Tim Crosland and its appeal case HM Attorney General v Crosland . The twelve justices do not all hear every case. Unless there are circumstances requiring a larger panel, a case is usually heard by a panel of five justices. More than five justices may sit on a panel where the case is of "high constitutional importance" or "great public importance"; if
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2814-539: The Supreme Court. Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 , civil claims under £10,000 are dealt with in the County Court under the "small claims track". This is generally known to the lay public as "small claims court" but does not exist as a separate court. Claims between £10,000 and £25,000 that are capable of being tried within one day are allocated to the "fast track" and claims over £25,000 to
2881-540: The Tribunals and other courts, are administered and supported by HM Courts and Tribunals Service . The Court of Appeal deals only with appeals from other courts or tribunals. The Court of Appeal consists of two divisions: the Civil Division hears appeals from the High Court and the County Court and certain superior tribunals, while the Criminal Division may only hear appeals from the Crown Court connected with
2948-416: The United Kingdom include There are two kinds of criminal trials: "summary" and "on indictment". For an adult, summary trials take place in a magistrates' court, while trials on indictment take place in the Crown Court. Despite the possibility of two venues for trial, almost all criminal cases, however serious, commence in a magistrates' courts . It is possible to start a trial for an indictable offence by
3015-532: The United Kingdom . The Senior Courts of England and Wales were originally created by the Judicature Acts as the "Supreme Court of Judicature". It was renamed the "Supreme Court of England and Wales" in 1981, and again to the "Senior Courts of England and Wales" by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (to distinguish it from the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ). It consists of the following courts: The Senior Courts of England and Wales, along with
3082-484: The United Kingdom, while in employment law , there is a single system of employment tribunals for England, Wales, and Scotland but not Northern Ireland. Additionally, the Military Court Service has jurisdiction over all members of the armed forces of the United Kingdom in relation to offences against military law . The Court of Appeal , the High Court , the Crown Court , the County Court , and
3149-401: The case raises "an important point in relation to the European Convention on Human Rights"; if the case involves a conflict of decisions among the House of Lords, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council , or Supreme Court; or if the Court "is being asked to depart, or may decide to depart from" its (or the House of Lords') previous precedent. The composition of panels is ultimately determined by
3216-419: The cases of R (Miller) v The Prime Minister and Cherry v Advocate General for Scotland (argued and decided in 2019). The justices have never worn court dress during sittings. In November 2011, The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers allowed counsel to jointly agree to "dispense with any or all of the traditional elements of court dress" at sittings. The Supreme Court has a separate administration from
3283-401: The central government) under the Scotland Act 1998 . Nicola Sturgeon , the then-leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party , regarded the decision as "a hard pill for any supporter of independence... to swallow" but reiterated the party's commitment to "find another democratic, lawful means for Scottish people to express their will". From the Supreme Court – The Supreme Court
3350-408: The charge or summons) before the magistrates is known as a "first appearance". Offences are of three categories: indictable only, summary, and either way. Indictable only offences such as murder and rape must be tried on indictment in the Crown Court. On first appearance, the magistrates must immediately refer the defendant to the Crown Court for trial, their only role being to decide whether to remand
3417-708: The civil and family courts in the major cities. The Business and Property Courts administer the specialist jurisdictions that had previously been administered in the Queen's Bench Division under the names of the Admiralty Court, the Commercial Court , and the Technology & Construction Court, and under the Chancery Division's lists for Business, Insolvency and Companies, Competition, Intellectual Property, Revenue, and Property, Trusts and Probate. In 2015,
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#17327731996643484-536: The constitutional role of Parliament in holding the Government to account". It is one of only two cases that involved the presence of 11 judges (the highest number of judges currently allowed to rule on a case). The case carried a large amount of political tension in the context of the process of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union; for some, the ruling "delighted 'Remainers' but appalled 'Leavers ' ", although some Conservative MPs who sought to withdraw from
3551-499: The county court in whose district the property lay, but in general, any county court in England and Wales could hear any action and claims were frequently transferred from court to court. The Family Court is a national court and has jurisdiction to hear all family cases in England and Wales. Local jurisdictional boundaries have disappeared and there is only one single jurisdiction for all family proceedings. The Family Court sits at many locations in England and Wales, and it usually sits at
3618-688: The courts, rather than English . Until the twentieth century, many legal terms were still expressed in Latin . The Supreme Court of Judicature was formed in 1875 from the merging of various courts then existing, such as the The Court of Appeal in Chancery was merged into the Court of Appeal. Other historical courts include: The courts of session of the County Palatine of Chester and the Principality of Wales were abolished section 14 of by
3685-453: The defendant on bail or in custody. Summary offences, such as most motoring offences, are much less serious and most must be tried in a magistrates' court, although a few may be sent for trial to the Crown Court along with other offences that may be tried there (for example assault). The vast majority of offences are also concluded in a magistrates' court (over 90% of cases). Either way offences are intermediate offences such as theft and, with
3752-414: The difference in name is meaningless. For example, an employment tribunal is an inferior court of record for the purposes of the law of contempt of court . In many cases, there is a statutory right of appeal from a tribunal to a particular court or specially constituted appellate tribunal. In the absence of a specific appeals court, the only remedy from a decision of a tribunal may be via judicial review to
3819-517: The enactment of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 , some magistrates' courts were also a family proceedings court and heard family law cases including care cases and they had the power to make adoption orders. Family cases are no longer heard by the magistrates' courts, instead being heard by the single Family Court established by the 2013 Act. In addition, there are many other specialist courts. These are often described as "tribunals" rather than courts, but
3886-406: The exception of low-value criminal damage, maybe tried either summarily (by magistrates) or by judge and jury in the Crown Court. If the magistrates consider that an either way offence is too serious for them to deal with, they may "decline jurisdiction" which means that the defendant will have to appear in the Crown Court. Conversely, even if the magistrates accept jurisdiction, an adult defendant has
3953-1000: The greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population. The Court usually sits in the Middlesex Guildhall in Westminster , though it can sit elsewhere and has, for example, sat in the Edinburgh City Chambers , the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, the Tŷ Hywel Building in Cardiff and the Manchester Civil Justice Centre . The United Kingdom has a doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty and no entrenched codified constitution , so
4020-587: The other courts of the United Kingdom, under a Chief Executive who is appointed by the Court's president. King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee In Scotland,
4087-417: The police, the judge sits alone as a trier of fact and law without assistance from a jury. The old county courts' divorce and family jurisdiction was passed on 22 April 2014 to the single Family Court. Until unification in 2014, county courts were local courts in the sense that each one has an area over which certain kinds of jurisdiction, for example, proceedings for possession of the land had to be started in
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#17327731996644154-469: The powers in primary legislation allowing it to be made. Further, under section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 , the Supreme Court, like some other courts in the United Kingdom, may make a declaration of incompatibility , indicating that it believes that the legislation subject to the declaration is incompatible with one of the rights in the European Convention on Human Rights . Such a declaration can apply to primary or secondary legislation. The legislation
4221-419: The test. When the state invests judicial authority in those officials or even their day-to-day colleagues, it puts the independence and impartiality of the courts at risk. Consequently, it was hypothesised closely connected decisions of the Law Lords to debates had by friends or on which the Lord Chancellor had expressed a view might be challenged on human-rights grounds on the basis that they had not constituted
4288-403: The wrong division may result in a cost penalty. The formation of the Business and Property Courts of England & Wales within the High Court was announced in March 2017, and launched in London in July 2017. The courts are based in the Rolls Building , where there are 31 courts and three super courts able to handle the most complex and multi-party trials. There are regional High Court centres at
4355-429: Was HM Treasury v Ahmed , which concerned "the separation of powers", according to Phillips, its inaugural President. At issue was the extent to which Parliament has, by the United Nations Act 1946 , delegated to the executive the power to legislate. Resolution of this issue depended upon the approach properly to be adopted by the court in interpreting legislation which may affect fundamental rights at common law or under
4422-409: Was "unlikely". The reforms were controversial and were brought forward with little consultation but were subsequently extensively debated in Parliament. During 2004, a select committee of the House of Lords scrutinised the arguments for and against setting up a new court. The Government estimated the set-up cost of the Supreme Court at £56.9 million. The first case heard by the Supreme Court
4489-416: Was held by the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords . The Supreme Court is also the highest court of appeal for devolution matters, a role previously held by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council . The Supreme Court has a separate administration from the other courts of England and Wales, and its administration is under a Chief Executive who is appointed by the President of the Supreme Court of
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