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Courts of England and Wales

Her Majesty's Courts of Justice of England and Wales are the civil and

criminalcourts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales; theyapply English law, the law of England and Wales, and are established under Acts of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom

!he United Kingdom does not have a single unified legal system" England and Wales 

have one system, #cotland another, and $orthern %reland a third !here are e&ceptions to

this rule; for e&ample in immigration law, the Asylum and %mmigration !ribunal's

 jurisdiction covers the whole of the United Kingdom, while in employment law there is

a single system of Employment !ribunals for England, Wales, and #cotland (but not

 $orthern %reland) Additionally, the *ilitary +ourt #ervice has jurisdiction over all

members of the armed forces of the United Kingdom in relation to offences against

military law

!he +ourt of Appeal, the igh +ourt, the +rown +ourt, the *agistrates' +ourt, and the

+ounty +ourt are administered by er *ajesty's +ourts and !ribunals #ervice, an

e&ecutive agency of the *inistry of -ustice

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

!he #upreme +ourt is the highest appeal court in almost all cases in England and Wales

.efore the +onstitutional /eform Act 0112 this role was held by the ouse of 3ords 

!he #upreme +ourt is also the highest court of appeal for devolution matters, a role previously held by the Privy +ouncil

Judicial Committee of the Priy Council

!he Privy +ouncil is the highest court of appeal for a small number of +ommonwealth 

countries, colonies and the +hannel %slands and the %sle of *an !here are a number of

smaller statutory jurisdictions, such as appeals from ecclesiastical and professional

 bodies !he judges who sit on the -udicial +ommittee of the Privy +ouncil are also the

members of the #upreme +ourt and the +ourt of Appeal

Senior Courts of England and Wales

!he #enior +ourts of England and Wales were originally created by the -udicature Acts

as the 4#upreme +ourt of -udicature4 %t was renamed the 4#upreme +ourt of England

and Wales4 in 5675,859 and again to the 4#enior +ourts of England and Wales4 by the

+onstitutional /eform Act 0112 (to distinguish it from the new #upreme +ourt of the

United Kingdom) %t consists of the following courts:

• +ourt of Appeal (formally er *ajesty's +ourt of Appeal in England809)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_(common_law)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administration_of_justicehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_and_Waleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_and_Waleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts_of_Scotlandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts_of_Northern_Irelandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asylum_and_Immigration_Tribunalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asylum_and_Immigration_Tribunalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_Tribunalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Courts_of_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offences_against_military_law_in_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offences_against_military_law_in_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty's_Courts_and_Tribunals_Servicehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Justice_(United_Kingdom)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Reform_Act_2005https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_functions_of_the_House_of_Lordshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_functions_of_the_House_of_Lordshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_functions_of_the_House_of_Lordshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devolutionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Committee_of_the_Privy_Councilhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty's_Most_Honourable_Privy_Councilhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nationshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts_of_England_and_Wales#cite_note-1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Reform_Act_2005https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Appeal_of_England_and_Waleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts_of_England_and_Wales#cite_note-2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administration_of_justicehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_and_Waleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_and_Waleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts_of_Scotlandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts_of_Northern_Irelandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asylum_and_Immigration_Tribunalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_Tribunalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Courts_of_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offences_against_military_law_in_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offences_against_military_law_in_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty's_Courts_and_Tribunals_Servicehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Justice_(United_Kingdom)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Reform_Act_2005https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_functions_of_the_House_of_Lordshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devolutionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Committee_of_the_Privy_Councilhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty's_Most_Honourable_Privy_Councilhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nationshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts_of_England_and_Wales#cite_note-1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Reform_Act_2005https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Appeal_of_England_and_Waleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts_of_England_and_Wales#cite_note-2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_law_(common_law)

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• igh +ourt of -ustice (igh +ourt, formally er *ajesty's igh +ourt of -ustice

in England89)

• +rown +ourt

Court of !ppeal

#chematic of court system for England and Wales

!he +ourt of Appeal deals only with appeals from other courts or tribunals !he +ourt

of Appeal consists of two divisions: the +ivil

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the 4+entral +riminal +ourt4 !he +rown +ourt also hears appeals from *agistrates'

+ourts

!he +rown +ourt is the only court in England and Wales that has the jurisdiction to try

cases on indictment and when e&ercising such a role it is a superior court in that its

 judgments cannot be reviewed by the Administrative +ourt of the =ueenCs .ench

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A +ounty +ourt hearing is presided over by either a district or circuit judge and, e&cept

in a small minority of cases such as civil actions against the police, the judge sits alone

as trier of fact and law without assistance from a jury !he old county courts' divorce

and family jurisdiction was passed on 00 April 015 to the unified >amily +ourt

Until unification in 015, county courts were local courts in the sense that each one hasan area over which certain ?inds of jurisdiction, for e&ample proceedings for possession

of land must be started in the county court in whose district the property lies, but in

general any county court in England and Wales may hear any action and claims are

freFuently transferred from court to court

Special courts and tri#unals

%n addition, there are many other specialist courts !hese are often described as

4tribunals4 rather than courts, but the difference in name is meaningless >or e&ample,

an Employment !ribunal is an inferior court of record for the purposes of the law ofcontempt of court %n many cases there is a statutory right of appeal from a tribunal to a

 particular court or specially constituted appellate tribunal %n the absence of a specific

appeals court, the only remedy from a decision of a tribunal may be via judicial review

to the igh +ourt, which will often be more limited in scope than an appeal

E&amples of specialist courts are:

• Employment !ribunals (formerly %ndustrial !ribunals) with appeal to the

Employment Appeal !ribunal

• the Employment Appeal !ribunal, which is a superior court of record, andtherefore not subject to judicial review, appeals go to the +ourt of Appeal

• the >irstGtier !ribunal and the Upper !ribunal established under the !ribunals,

+ourts and Enforcement Act 011 have absorbed the function of many preG

e&isting tribunals

Coroners' courts

!he post of coroner  is ancient, dating from the 55th century, and coroners still sit today

to determine the cause of death in situations where people have died in potentiallysuspicious circumstances, abroad, or in the care of central authority !hey also have

 jurisdiction over treasure trove

Ecclesiastical courts

!he +hurch of England is an established church (ie it is the official state church) and

formerly had e&clusive or nonGe&clusive subject matter jurisdiction over marriage and

divorce cases, testamentary matters, defamation, and several other areas #ince the 56th

century, the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts has narrowed principally to matters

of church property and errant clergy Each

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Arches +ourt (in +anterbury) and the +hancery +ourt (in Dor?), and from them to the

+ourt of Ecclesiastical +auses /eserved (+E+/) >rom the +E+/ appeals lie to the

-udicial +ommittee of the Privy +ouncil

Military courts

• *ilitary +ourts of the United Kingdom (including the #ummary Appeal +ourt,

#ervice +ivilian +ourt, +ourt *artial and +ourt *artial Appeal +ourt)

%ther courts

• Election court (adGhoc courts hearing petitions against election results)

• +ourt of +hivalry (ancient and rarely convened court dealing with heraldry)

Criminal cases

!here are two ?inds of criminal trial: 'summary' and 'on indictment' >or an adult,

summary trials ta?e place in a magistrates' court, while trials on indictment ta?e place in

the +rown +ourt

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under 57 years of age do not have this right and will be tried in the youth court (similar

to a magistrates' court) unless the case is homicide or else is particularly serious

A magistrates' court is made up in two ways Either a group (?nown as a 'bench') of 'lay

magistrates', or a district judge, will hear the case A lay bench must consist of at least

three magistrates Alternatively a case may be heard by a district judge (formerly ?nownas a stipendiary magistrate), who will be a Fualified lawyer and will sit singly, but has

the same powers as a lay bench rom the magistrates' courts, an appeal can be ta?en to the +rown +ourt on matters of

fact and law or, on matters of law alone, to the Administrative +ourt of =ueen's .ench

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system J the actual cases will be heard in a county court or the igh +ourt depending

on their value

>or personal injury, defamation cases and in some landlord and tenant disputes the

thresholds for each trac? have different values

&nternational relationships

elationship "ith the European Court of Justice

!he European +ourt of -ustice acts only as a supreme court for the interpretation of

European Union law +onseFuently, there is no right to appeal at any stage in UK court

 proceedings to the E+- owever, any court in the UK may refer a particular point of

law relating to European Union law to the E+- for determination owever, once the

E+- has given its interpretation, the case is referred bac? to the court that referred it

!he decision to refer a Fuestion to the E+- can be made by the court of its own

initiative, or at the reFuest of any of the parties before it Where a Fuestion of European

law is in doubt and there is no appeal from the decision of a court, it is reFuired (e&cept

under the doctrine of acte clair ) to refer the Fuestion to the E+-; otherwise any referral

is entirely at the discretion of the court

elationship "ith the European Court of Human ights

%t is not possible to appeal the decision of any court in England and Wales to the

European +ourt of uman /ights (E+t/) Although it is freFuent to hear media

references to an 4appeal4 being ta?en 4to Europe4, what actually ta?es place is ratherdifferent

!he E+t/ is an international court that hears complaints concerning breaches of the

European +onvention on uman /ights and >undamental >reedoms An unsatisfied

litigant in England and Wales might complain to the E+t/ that English law has

violated his rights A decision in the E+t/ will not change English law, and it is up to

the overnment of the United Kingdom to decide what action (if any) to ta?e after an

adverse finding

+ourts in England and Wales are not bound to follow a decision of the E+t/, although

they should 4ta?e into account4 E+t/ jurisprudence when applying the +onvention

!he +onvention has always had an influence on decisions of courts in England and

Wales, but now the +onvention has two further effects:

5 a court, being a public body, must act in accordance with the +onvention /ights

found in the uman /ights Act 5667, which includes a reFuirement to construe

statutes in accordance with the +onvention; and

0 direct claims may be made under the uman /ights Act 5667 against a public

 body for breach of +onvention rights

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Court_of_Justicehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acte_clair&action=edit&redlink=1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Court_of_Human_Rightshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Act_1998https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Court_of_Justicehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acte_clair&action=edit&redlink=1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Court_of_Human_Rightshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Act_1998