Jurisdiction of the High Court 439Jurisdiction of the High Court
The High Court sits in London and several provincial towns. The High Court will not hear
a case which does not include a claim for personal injuries unless the amount claimed is
more than £15,000. If the case does involve a claim for personal injuries the claim must be
for more than £50,000 if the High Court is to hear the case. It would be most unusual for a
claim for slightly more than £15,000 to be heard by the High Court. However, as we have
seen, this might happen if the claim is very complex or likely to set an important precedent.
The High Court is divided into three Divisions. The largest of these is the Queen’s Bench
Division and it is in this Division that contract and tort cases are heard. Currently, there are
110 High Court judges, 73 of whom sit in the Queen’s Bench Division. These judges are
assisted by Masters, who hear cases which are slightly less complex. Disputes concerning
companies and partnerships are generally heard in the Chancery Division, which currently
has 18 judges.
Appeals from the High Court are normally made to the Court of Appeal and from there
to the Supreme Court. It is, however, possible to appeal straight from the High Court to the
Figure 17.1An outline of the structure of the civil courts