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A level Law Civil Courts and ADR revision
A level law civil courts and ADR revision
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By: criminologyhelp • 4 year ago
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(1)The Civil Trial and Appeal Courts (2) Pre-trial procedures in a little more detail! Trial Courts: the trial courts for civil cases Civil Trial Courts.
are County Courts which are in most major The two trial courts (courts that hear cases for the first time) are the County Court and the High Court. County Courts are in most major towns & cities (over
towns and cities (300 of them) and the 300) and hear all kinds of civil cases like tort (negligence) cases, contract disputes and some family matters. They usually hear cases with a value of under
procedural rules are set out in the County £50,000 for personal injury and property damage of up to £100,000. The County Court can hear the trials of cases, which have been allocated, to any of
Courts Act 1984 (amended by the Civil the three case management tracks (the small claims track, the fast track or the multi- track- see later notes for detail on tracks). The High Court, based in
Procedure Rules 1999) or the High Court London but with branches in most cities, hears (has “jurisdiction” over- meaning the power to hear trials of…) the higher value and more complex civil cases
which is based in London and has 3 in its 3 different divisions which are the Queen’s Bench Division (hears contract and tort cases), the Chancery Division (cases involving tax and
divisions to hear different types of cases but company/business law) and Family Division (hears family law cases) but tends to only hear multi- track cases.
has “registries”/departments in most major
towns and whose procedure is set out in ADR (alternative dispute resolution)
the Supreme Courts Act 1981(again The parties should try to settle their case using negotiation or another form of ADR before starting on the formal court process (the Civil Procedure Rules
amended…). The divisions are the QBD say this should be encouraged but the parties cannot be made to do it). Most parties will use negotiation and some will use conciliation, mediation or
(Queens’ Bench Division) which hears arbitration (which is often used in disputes about package tour holidays).
tort/negligence claims including personal The vast majority of civil claims (negligence claims too) settle before the parties get to court, which is seen as the last resort.
injury and defamation (libel and slander); In personal injury cases (negligence), the Claimant sends a pre-action letter to the defendant telling them their version of event and what they are claiming
the Family Division, which hears, for and inviting them to settle before going to court. This procedure of being open and trying to settle matters without court is called the pre-action
complicated family cases and The protocol.
Chancery Division, which deals with A court (judge) can refuse to allow them to claim their legal costs at the end of the court case if a party has unreasonably refused to consider/entertain ADR
financial matters e.g. insolvency/mortgages. as seen in the case of Dunnett v Railtrack...
Appeals from the Country Court: Appeals
about cases heard in the county court by a How to start the claim in court and the pre- trial process: case management and the three tracks (small, fast and multi tracks)
district judge (all small claims and some If there is no prospect of ADR working, the Claimant will usually start the formal court process/procedure by issuing the Claim Form (called form N1) (which
fast track cases) are heard by a circuit contains the details of both parties, the claimant’s version of events, their allegations of negligence and details of their claims for damage$) and they
judge in the County Court and a further final pay the court fee which can be anything from £35 (for a claim worth £300) to £10,000 (for a claim worth £200,000).
appeal can be made to the Court of Appeal
(Civil Division) in exceptional cases which Civilthe
Pre-trial matters in the civil courts;-Civil cases (aka civil claims) can be started in either Courts
County (1)
Court or the High Court depending on their value and
involve a point of law of public importance. their complexity. The County Court usually hears trials of tort and contract cases with a value of up to £100,000 and the High Court takes the ones of
Appeals about multi track cases, which over £100,000. When the civil claim is started (in either Court), the judge allocates it to one of three tracks to manage the case (get it ready for trial).
have their trial in the County Court, go first Cases with the following values should be started in the County Court :-(-personal injury claims worth under £50,000 and property claims under £100,000.
to the Court of Appeal Civil Division and Personal Injury claims with a value of over £50,000 can be started in either court, but cases/claims for damage to property with a value of over
then the UK Supreme Court if about a legal £100,000 have to be started in the High Court.
point of public importance.
Appeals from the High Court: - appeals Court serves the claim form on the defendant who must acknowledge receipt of the claim (on a Form N9) within 14 days. He can then either can reply
from the High Court go to the Court of admitting/accepting the claim or file a defence within 28 days. The court will enter judgement in default, if the defendant fails to respond to the form.
Appeal (Civil) Division with a further right of
appeal to the UK Supreme Court if it is If the claim/case is defended the court will case manage it (get it ready for trial) It allocates the case/claim to one of three tracks depending on the value and
about an important point of law. If the case complexity of the claim.
involves law of “national” importance, the Cases with a value of under £1000 for injury or with a value of under £10,000 are allocated to the Small Claims Track – which has informal hearings in the
appeal from the High Court can go straight county court, which is similar to arbitration (parties often do not have lawyers).
to the UKSC leapfrogging over the Court of The Fast track is for relatively straightforward cases including PI/injury cases with a value of over £1000 and other claims with a value of between £10,000
Appeal (jumping over it). and £25,000, which will be managed on a strict timetable to get the case to trial within 30 weeks. Only one day is allowed for the trial.
.The multi- track is kept for complex cases and those with a value of over £25,000 and complex cases. Generally, multi-track claims with a higher value (say
over £50,000) will be allocated to the High Court (their trial will be in the High Court rather than the County Court). The parties and judge agree a
timetable of steps to get the case ready for trial.
Tracks: small Claims: claims with a value of value of up to £10,000 (or up to £1000 for injury) are allocated to the Small Claims Track and have their trial
in the Small Claims Court, part of the County Court, heard by a district judge. Fast Track: claims with a value of between £10,000 (over £1000 for personal
Civil Courts and ADR (1) injury) and £25,000 are allocated to the fast track and usually have their trial in the Country Court. Multi Track: claims with a value of over £25,000 are
allocated to the multi- track and complex cases and those with a value of over £100,000 have their trials in the High Court (with lower value ones
heard/tried in the Country Court).
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