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Question：

In relation to the English legal system:

(a) describe the structure of the main civil courts; (6 marks)

(b) explain the tracking system for allocating civil cases between courts. (4 marks)

(10 marks)

Answer：

(a) The civil court structure in England in ascending order of authority is as follows:

Magistrates’ courts

Magistrates’ courts have a significant, if limited, civil jurisdiction. They hear family proceedings under the Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates’ Courts Act 1978 and the Children Act 1989. In such cases the court is termed a ‘family proceedings court’. More generally, magistrates’ courts have powers of recovery in relation to council tax arrears and charges for water, gas and electricity.

County courts

The network of county courts was introduced in 1846 to provide for local adjudication of relatively small-scale litigation. There are currently some 240 county courts. The county court jurisdiction extends to probate, property cases, tort, contract, bankruptcy and insolvency.

Of particular importance with regard to the county court is the provision of a small claims procedure operated under its auspices. This procedure essentially allows for an arbitration hearing to be conducted by a district judge in most cases involving claims of no more than £5,000. This small claims procedure is designed to be quicker, less formal and less expensive than a county court hearing.

The High Court of Justice

The High Court has three administrative divisions: the Court of Chancery, the Queen’s Bench Division and the Family Division.

The Queen’s Bench Division

This is the main common law court and is the division with the largest workload. Its main jurisdiction is related to contract and tort cases.

The Chancery Division

This division deals with issues relating to land, mortgages, trusts and the administration of the estates of the dead, copyright, company law, partnership, revenue law and insolvency.

The Family Division

The Family Division of the High Court, as its name indicates, deals with all family matters, including issues relating to minors, legitimacy and adoption.

The Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

This court hears appeals from the three divisions of the High Court. Usually, three judges will sit to hear an appeal, although for very important cases five may sit.

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the final Court of Appeal in civil as well as criminal law. Most appeals reaching the Supreme Court come from the Court of Appeal, but there is also a ‘leapfrog’ procedure by which an appeal may go to the Supreme Court directly from the High Court if the High Court judge certificates the case as being suitable for the Supreme Court to hear and the Supreme Court gives leave to appeal. For most cases, five Justices of the Supreme Court will sit to hear the appeal but seven, or more, are sometimes convened to hear very important cases.

(b)

This part of the question requires an explanation of the way in which the Civil Procedure Rules operate via the tracking system to allocate cases between the county court and the High Court.

Since the 1999 civil justice reforms, the civil system works on the basis of the court, upon receipt of the claim, allocating the case to one of three tracks for a hearing. These are: (i) small claims; (ii) fast track; and (iii) multi-track. (Civil Procedure Rules Part 26)

（i）The small claims track （CPR Pt 27）

The concept of ‘arbitration’ as such disappears and is replaced by a small claims hearing for cases involving a claim of no more than ￡5,000, except for personal injury claims and claims relating to housing disrepair where the limit remains ￡1，000. Aspects of the previous small claims procedure which were retained include its informality, the interventionist approach adopted by the judiciary， the limited costs regime and the limited grounds for appeal （misconduct of the district judge or an error of law made by the court）

Parties can consent to use the small claims track even if the value of their claim exceeds the normal value for that track，but subject to the court’s approval. Cases are dealt with quickly and informally and often without the need for legal representation or a full hearing.

（ii）The fast track （CPR Pt 28）

In accordance with one of the main principles of the Woolf reforms, the purpose of the fast track is to provide a streamlined procedure for the handling of moderately-valued cases, i.e. those with a value of more than ￡5,000 but less than ￡25,000, where the trial is to last no longer than one day and there is limited need for experts in court.

（iii）The multi-track （CPR Pt 29）

The multi-track is intended to provide a flexible regime for the handling of the higher value, more complex claims, that is, those with a value of over ￡25,000, which is to be managed by the courts.

The Civil Procedure Rules operate the same process irrespective of whether the case forum is the High Court or the county court. Generally, county courts will hear small claims and fast track cases while the more challenging multi-track cases will be heard in the High Court.

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