The High Court:
This court hears the more serious and complex civil and family cases at first instance. It contains three divisions – Queen’s Bench, Family and Chancery.
Each of these has a judicial `Head’. The Head of the Chancery Division is known as the Chancellor of the High Court (not to be confused with the Lord Chancellor). The Queen’s Bench Division and the Family Division are both led by a President.
- English legal system and difference with the civil law
- Distinction between Common law and equity
- Distinction between Common Law and statute law (written law)
- House of Lords, House of Commons and the parliamentary sovereignity
- The legislation : Source of English law
- Statutory interpretation
- Case Law and precedent in the English Legal System
- Stare decisis or the doctrine of binding precedent
- Judge-Made Law
- What is Equity in English Common Law Tradition ?
- Equity in the english legal system
- Custome Law and Soft Law
- Treaties : Ratification and Provisional Application
- Application of european law by English courts
- How does the European court of Human Rights affect the UK?
- Foreign Law in the English Courts : conflict of laws rule
- Lower courts : Magistrate’s courts, Crown court, county court
- High Court : Chancery and Queen’s Bench Division
- Supreme court and Court of appeal
- Lord Chancellor, lord Chief Justice (authorities of the judicial system)
- The independence of the judiciary in England and Wales
- Lawyers in the english legal system : Solicitors and Barristers
- English Law – English legal system
The High Court is divided in 3 divisions: chancery, Queen Bench, family.
The high court is in the meantime a first time court and an appeal court.
A) Chancery:
Presided by the chancellor of the high court and this division is assigned very specific civil cases.
The types of the cases are:
- Corporate and personal insolvency disputes.
- Business, trade and industry disputes
- The enforcement of mortgages
- Intellectual property matters, copyright and patents
- Disputes
The Chancery Division deals with company law, partnership claims, conveyancing, land law, probate, patent and taxation cases. The division includes three specialist courts: the Companies Court, the Patents Court and the Bankruptcy Court. The Bankruptcy and Companies Courts deal with personal actions for bankruptcy and compulsory liquidation of companies and other matters arising under Insolvency and Companies Acts. The Patents Court deals with a range of intellectual property matters and hears appeals from the decisions of the Comptroller
B) Queen’s Bench Division (QBD):
The Queen’s Bench Division is the biggest of the three High Court Divisions, and has the most varied jurisdiction. Included within it are a number of specialist courts: the Admiralty, Commercial,
Mercantile, Technology & Construction, and Administrative Courts.
Types of cases:
Civil: “common law” business. The Common Law business means contract and tort. Regarding the criminal matters, judges of the QB division hear the most important criminal cases in the Crown court.
It should be added that the QB division has also different matters which are specialized such as the commercial court and Admiralty court.
C) Family:
Judges who sit in the high court can hear all the cases relating to children. Judges in the high court also hear appeals from family proceedings court and cases transport from the county courts or family proceeding courts.
. The Family Division does not have the same range of specialist courts for its work as the Queen’s Bench Division, but it does contain the Court of Protection, which gives judgments on behalf of those who are unable to make decisions for themselves, such as persistent vegetative state victims. The Family Division deals with the most difficult and sensitive situations involving families, such as divorce and disputes over children, property or money; adoption, wardship (guardianship over a child) and other matters involving children
Conclusion:
CIVIL:civil justice is date with the county court but also with the high court for the more complex cases. These civil cases may be heard in appeal courts where public may attempt. There are some hearings in the judge’s private room without any public and some matters are decided by the judge in private but on the basis of the paper alone without discussing with lawyers and parties.
There isn’t a jury, the jury almost disappeared for the civil cases, exception for label and slender. Hear before a jury.
CRIMINAL:
– Crown prosecuted Service (ministère public): when he decides to prosecute someone or acknowledged crimes. Magistrates hear most of criminal cases but for more complex criminal case than it will be heard by a district judge sitting in a magistrate court for even more serious case the case will be heard by a circuit judge sitting in the crown court. And for more serious criminal cases high court judge sitting at the QB.
