Chapter 3Resolving disputesfaces the danger that he may receive a more severe sen-
tence on appeal.
High Court
The High Court is split into three divisions: Queen’s
Bench, Family and Chancery. In the past when the court
was hearing an appeal or, in the case of the Queen’s
Bench Division, exercising its supervisory jurisdiction, a
minimum of two High Court judges sat together and it
became known as a ‘Divisional Court’. Under the Access
to Justice Act 1999, however, a single judge of the High
Court is able to hear judicial review applications,
appeals by way of case stated and applications for habeas
corpusin criminal cases, which were previously only
heard by a Divisional Court.
Jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of the High Court in criminal matters is
as follows:
1 Appeals from magistrates’ courts.An appeal may be
made by way of ‘case stated’ by either the prosecution or
the defence, but only on a point of law. This form of
appeal requires the magistrates to provide a ‘case’ for the
opinion of the High Court. The ‘case’ consists of a state-
ment containing the magistrates’ findings of fact, the
arguments put forward by the parties, the decision and
the reasons for it. The Divisional Court has the power
to confirm, reverse or amend the decision of the
magistrates’ court or it can send the case back with an
expression of its opinion.
2 Appeals from Crown Court.The Divisional Court
also hears appeals by way of case stated from the Crown
Court, in respect of all criminal cases dealt with by that
court.
3 Judicial review.The Divisional Court of the Queen’s
Bench plays an important role in monitoring abuse of
power when it deals with applications for judicial review.
As part of this general supervisory power, it can quash
the decision of a magistrates’ court which has exceeded its
powers or failed to observe the rules of natural justice.
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
The Court of Appeal consists of two Divisions. The
Criminal Division is composed of the Lord Chief Justice,
a maximum of 37 Lord or Lady Justices of Appeal and
any High Court judge who is asked to sit. Normally,
three judges sit to hear a case, but if a difficult or import-
ant point of law is involved, a court of five or seven may
be convened.Jurisdiction
The Court of Appeal deals with the following criminal
cases:
1 Appeals from trials on indictment in the Crown
Court.The defence (but not the prosecution) may appeal
against the conviction and/or sentence. In an appeal
against conviction, the court may confirm or quash the
conviction or order a new trial. Where there is an appeal
against the sentence, the court may confirm or reduce
the sentence or substitute one form of sentence for
another. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduces what
is known as an ‘interlocutory’ right of appeal against the
ruling of a judge in the Crown Court which is exercis-
able by the prosecution. (‘Interlocutory’ means in the
course of the proceedings.) This right may be exercised
in the case of two kinds of rulings: the first kind are rul-
ings made during the proceedings up to the start of the
judge’s summing up which have the effect of terminat-
ing the trial and the second kind are evidentiary rulings
made in trials for certain offences, up to the point of the
opening of the defence case, which have the effect of
significantly weakening the prosecution case.
2 References by the Attorney-General.There are two
kinds of reference which may be made by the Attorney-
General. The first is where a person has been acquitted
following trial on indictment in the Crown Court. The
Attorney-General may refer any point of law which has
arisen in the case to the Court of Appeal for its opinion.
The decision of the court does not affect the outcome of
the original trial. The second kind of reference is where
a person has been sentenced by the Crown Court but the
Attorney-General considers the sentence to be unduly
lenient. The Court of Appeal may impose any sentence
which the Crown Court could have imposed. Thus, the
defendant could be dealt with more severely by the
Court of Appeal.
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduces a new right
for the prosecution to apply to the Court of Appeal for
an acquittal to be quashed and for a retrial to take place.
This provision provides a limited exception to the law
against ‘double jeopardy’, which prevents a person being
tried twice for essentially the same offence. The prosecu-
tion’s right to seek a retrial applies only in respect of55