Introduction to Civil Courts

Reminders …•All homework essays must now be completed by hand.

• A new half term … a new start!

• Reminders: 100% work submission expected!

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Aims and objectives …

• Explain the civil court structure, including appeal courts.

• Summarise the basic civil procedure.

• Describe the civil standard of proof.

• Evaluate the civil justice system.

By the end of this topic you should be able to ….

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Task:

In PAIRS complete for buzzwords sheet for civil courts.

Think back to the induction period.... What do you remember about civil law...?

21/04/23 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com

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Civil LawYou could have come up with things such as

• Contract law

• Torts such as Negligence, Nuisance or Defamation

• Or even family law

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Reminder …

• In Criminal law it is the police that investigate offences and if they have enough evidence then the CPS will decide to prosecute D on behalf of the Crown

• Eg R v ……

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Who starts Civil Cases?• The person (or company) doing

the suing is the claimant(Known as the plaintiff until 1999)

• The person (or company) being sued is still called the defendant

• If Smith sues Jones the case is written as ...?

Smith v Jones

V

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Beginning Proceedings

Most sensible people try to resolve their disputes without going to court. The courts themselves try to discourage you from going to trial

Think ..... Why might someone want to avoid going to court?

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Problems with the courts before the Woolf Reforms (pre 1999)

Delay – It took on average 163 weeks for a high court case to come to court and 80 weeks for a county court trial.

Complexity – Each court had their own set of complex procedures.

Long Trials – no onus on judges to speed it up.

Cost – Due to the above the cost was huge.

Adversarial – The aim was to win at all costs not to get justice

System

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Civil courts - What do they do

• The courts hear trials - this is where the court is a “Court of first instance”

• This means that a case is coming to court for the first time

• Courts can also be Appeal Courts where the case is being considered by the court for the second or third time

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The Courts of first Instance• Although magistrates courts do deal with a

small amount of civil actions we are going to concentrate on the County Courts and the High Court, where the vast majority of civil trials take place.

1. County Courts These were created in 1846 as a cheaper way of dealing with small court actions. There are over 250 of them staffed by District and Circuit judges. They can handle claims in tort and contract up to the value of £50,000

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2. High Courts – are more senior than the County Courts. It is based in London but has judges sitting in 26 towns and cities throughout England and Wales

There are three divisions of the High Court …

Queens Bench Family Chancery

Contract Tort

Shipping

DivorceAdoption

Land lawBankruptcy

Companies etc

The Courts of first Instance

Type of case Court of 1st instance

Personal injury claim of up to £50,000

County Court

Personal Injury claim over £50,000

High Court (Queens Bench Division) or County Court

Damage to property: Claims of up to £15,000

County Court

Damage to property: Claims of over £15,000

High Court (QBD) or County Court(more usual for claims of up to £25,000 to be heard in CC)

Deciding where to start a civil case

The Process1.Pre-action protocol

2. Issuing the claim

3. Defending the claim

4. Allocation to a track

The C must give notice to the other side that they intend to sue. They must provide a list of evidence and witness statements.

The C fills in a N1 form from the court. This includes – names of the parties and details including the value of the claim. The form is taken to court and a fee is paid according to the value of the claim.

D then has 14 days to reply, or it will be assumed that he agrees with the claim and the court will order D to pay up the full amount. If he denies the claim then the court will allocate one of three tracks.

Task…

Read through the information on the 3 different tracks and then answer the questions at the end of each section

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To summarise so far….• Where a case is to be tried is mainly dependant on the value of it.

Small Claims - Disputes up to £5000 ( £1000 for P.I.) In County Court

Fast Track – Straightforward disputes between £5000 and £25,000 In County Court

Multi-Track – Cases over £25,000 or lower value complex cases

County Court OR High Court

- £25K - £50K Either in County Court/ High Court

- £50K plus – High Court

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Advantages DisadvantagesLow Cost

Quick

Judge should help to explain things

Don’t pay costs if you lose

Do not need a lawyer

Less formal

Need to pay fee

Big firms often use lawyers and win

Over a third of winners do not receive their money

Evaluation of the small claims track

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The Trial Itself

Most civil trials are tried by a judge sitting alone who decides both questions of law and fact.

A jury can be used in cases of libel, fraud or malicious prosecution.

Each side calls evidence and presents legal arguments

The witnesses may be cross-examined

The judge usually gives his decision immediately and awards damages

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Burden of Proof

It is up to the claimant to prove the facts of their claimbut the defendant must prove any defences

Standard Of Proof

The standard of proof in civil cases is

“on the balance of probabilities” ( or “more likely than not”)

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CostsWhat does Sir Thomas Bingham’s quotation mean? (p8 w/sheet)

Normally the judge will order the loser to pay the costs of the winner.These can include court fees, solicitors/barristers fees,expert witnesses and the cost of preparing for trial.

At any time up to the end of the trial either side can make an offer to settle. If the other side refuses but goes on to win the case but does not match the settlement offer then they will be faced not only with their own costs from the point of the offer but the other sides too (plus interest)

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Appeals

The rules regarding where appeals are heard are determined by the;

“Access to Justice Act 1999

It is the status of the Judge that is the determining factor

ie General Rule – your appeal lies with the Judge on the next level of the judicial hierarchy

Task on Appeals …

Using the information in your handout complete the diagram on appeals give to you by your teacher.

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Supreme Court

Court of Appeal

High Court

County Court

Circuit Judge

District Judge

(On point of law)

Circuit Judge

District Judge

High Court Judge

Circuit Judge(On point of law, fact or damages)

Small Claims

Fast Track

Court of appeal Judge

High Court Judge

(On point of law, fact or damages)

Multi-Track

High CourtJudge

Supreme court justices

(Leapfrog Appeal

on point of law)

Or CircuitJudge

2nd appeal if it would raise important principle

Blue = 1st Instance, White = 1st Appeal, Yellow = 2nd Appeal

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Now add in these extra notes…

• To appeal you need permission either from the original court or the appeal court

• Permission will only be given if;

“There is a real prospect of success” Or there is some other compelling reason ( eg public interest)

• The appellant must lodge an Appellant Notice at the appeal court within 14 days of the original decision,

This states the grounds for the appeal

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The Appeal

This takes the form of a review of the decision made in the first trial. It will not be a re-hearing of the trial itself. Generally the appeal court will not hear oral evidence or any new evidence that was not heard originally

The appeal may affirm or reverse the original decision or order a new trial

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Remedies• Damages – Money awarded

to the claimant to compensate for the loss inflicted.

• In contract the aim is to put C back in the position he would have been in had the contract been performed.

• In negligence the aim is to put C back in the position they would have been in if the negligence had not occurred

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Task

• Using the resources available to you research the alternative remedies in civil cases