the role of judges in civil courts

• The general role of a judge is to resolve disputes in a fair, unbiased way while applying the law to each case before them.
• In civil courts of first instance, the county and high courts, a judge will sit on their own to deal with all aspects of the case. The judge will be responsible for all pre-trial matters such as case management and setting timetables to make sure that the parties in the case are ready for trial at a set date.
• At trial, the jduge will:

  • Hear evidence from the witnesses
  • listen to legal arguments
  • look at any relevant case papers
  • decide the facts, and how the law applies to the facts
  • decide liability
  • in a contract or tort case, deciding the amount of damages
  • deciding who bears legal costs
• Appeal court judges in the civil court of appeal and the supreme courts have different roles. they do not hear evidence from witnesses, instead, they hear arguments on legal points in the case and decide if the decision made the trial should stand or if the appeal should be allowed.
• In the civil court of appeal, an appeal may be heard against the finding of liability or the remedy awarded. the court of appeal can either allow or dismiss the appeal or vary the amount of damages
• A case can only be appealed to the supreme court if there is an important point of law involved or an issue of general public importance. Five justices will normally sit to hear the appeal. often appeals will involve complicated and technical areas of law, and how legislation should be interpreted. any decision of the supreme court that is made on a point of law become precedent for lower courts to follow