ACCA F4 - Corp and Business Law (ENG)

Part A Essential elements of the legal system  1: Law and the legal system 7

3 The system of courts

The courts have to be organised to facilitate the working of the legal system. There are four main

functional aspects of the court system which underlie its structure.

(a) Civil and criminal law differ so much in substance and procedure that they are best administered

in separate courts.

(b) Local courts allow the vast bulk of small legal proceedings to be decentralised. But important civil

cases begin in the High Court in London.

(c) Although the courts form a single system and many courts have a general civil jurisdiction there is

some specialisation both within the High Court and in other courts with separate functions.

(d) There is a system of review by appeals to higher courts.

3.1 The civil court structure

The civil court structure comprises the following.

 Magistrates' Courts mostly deal with small domestic matters.

 County Courts hear claims in contract and tort, equitable matters and land and probate disputes

among others.

 The Crown Court hears appeals from Magistrates' Courts.

 The High Court is divided into three specialist divisions; Queen's Bench, Family and Chancery

 The Court of Appeal hears appeals from the County Court, the High Court, the Restrictive Practices

Court, and the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

 The Supreme Court hears appeals from the Court of Appeal and the High Court.

The diagram below sets out the English civil court structure.

EUROPEAN COURT SUPREME COURT EUROPEAN COURT

OF JUSTICE

PRIVY

COUNCIL

COURT OF APPEAL

(Civil Division)

HIGH COURT

CROWN

COURT

COUNTY

COURT

Appeal

Appeal by way

of case stated

MAGISTRATES’

COURTS

Restrictive

Practices

DIVISIONAL COURTS Court

QBD Family Chancery

Employment

Appeal

Tribunal

Employment Tribunal

OF HUMAN RIGHTS

‘leapfrog’

procedure

In appropriate cases it is possible to refer a case to either the European Court of Human Rights or the

European Court of Justice, although they are not strictly within the English court structure.

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