Law Paper 1

• Civil law


  Legal issues, statutes and lawsuits not related to criminal law
• Aim of civil law

  To protect people and businesses in our society by setting out the rights and duties of businesses and individuals
• Purpose of civil law

  To find a solution or remedy for the injured party if a civil wrong is committed and the party at fault is found to be liable
• Outcome and remedies in civil law


  Compensation for the injured party or an injunction to stop the defendant continuing the activity
• Parties to a civil action


  Claimant (making a complaint) and defendant (arguing they are not at fault)
• Burden of proof in civil law

  Evidence must be presented to the court to show why the claimant should win their case
• Standard of proof in civil law

  Decision is made on the balance of probabilities (over 50% sure the defendant is liable)
• Terminology in civil law

  Sue, liable, not liable, remedies
• Civil courts


  County Court and High Court
• Case names in civil law

  Surname or business name of claimant and defendant
• Areas of civil law


  • Negligence in the law of tort
  • Contract law
• Court hierarchy in civil law

  • County Court and High Court are courts of first instance
  • Clear route from initial trial to final appeal
  • Important for doctrine of precedent
• Juries in civil cases


  • Juries can be used in cases involving libel, slander, malicious prosecution, fraud, false imprisonment
  • Judge can refuse jury trial if case too complex
• Procedure to get to civil court

  1. Parties may try to negotiate an agreed settlement through Alternative Dispute Resolution

  2. Claimant issues a claim form (N1) outlining details of claim

  3. Defendant can admit claim, dispute claim, or do nothing (claimant can then ask court for order)
• County Court


  Entirely civil law, hears around 2 million cases per year, main jurisdiction is contract, tort, recovery of land, equitable matters up to £350,000
• Small Claims Track in County Court


  Claim heard by District Judge, hearing allocated based on value of claim
• Starting a court case

  1. Go to one of the 20 District Registries or the main court in London

  2. Fill in a N1 claim form outlining the details of the claim
• Defendant's options when receiving a claim form


  • Admit the claim and pay the full amount
  • Dispute the claim
  • Do nothing, and the claimant can ask the court to make an order that the defendant pays the money and costs claimed
• County Court


  Entirely Civil Law court that hears around 2 million cases a year, with jurisdiction to hear all contract and tort cases, all cases for the recovery of land, and dispute over equitable matters such as trusts up to a value of £350,000
• Small Claims Track


  • Claim will be heard by a District Judge, with a maximum of 2-3 hours and a limited number of witnesses
  • Under £10,000 and Road traffic accident was increased from £1,000 to £5,000 on 31st May 2021
  • On the 6th April 2022, the small claims limit for all other types of personal injury claims will increase from £1,000 to £1,500
  • People are encouraged to represent themselves to keep costs down
  • Winner cannot recover the cost of their lawyer from the losing party
• Fast Track


  • Claims with a financial value of no more than £25,000
  • Allows the court to set down a strict timetable for pre-trial matters
  • If the parties do not follow the timetable, the claim can be thrown out or judgement in default can be awarded
  • Aim is for the case to be heard within 30 weeks
  • Heard by a Circuit Judge in the County Court
  • Hearing is limited to a maximum of one day in open court, with a limited number of witnesses
• Multi-Track


  • Any case not allocated to the other tracks
  • Heard in the County or the High Court
  • Heard by a Circuit Judge who can set a strict timetable, the disclosure of relevant documents, the number of witnesses and how long the case will last
  • The Judge can ask the parties to try an alternative method of dispute resolution
• Divisions of the High Court

  • King's Bench Division
  • Commercial Court
  • Mercantile Court
  • Admiralty Court
  • Technology and Construction Court
  • Administrative Court
  • Chancery Division
  • Family Division
• King's Bench Division


  • About 70 judges, with the Lord Chief Justice at the head
  • Cases are often expensive and can take a long time (on average about three years)
  • Within the QBD there is the Administrative Court which regulates the courts and deals with appeals when there has been a procedural error
• Commercial Court


  • Deals with matters such as banking and insurance
  • Cases are often dealt with by a judge considering paperwork and written submissions rather than a formal trial
• Mercantile Court


  • Deals with commercial and business disputes
• Admiralty Court


  • Deals with shipping matters, such as claims for damages caused by a collision at sea
  • The judges in this court are supported by shipping experts
• Technology and Construction Court


  • Deals with cases that require technical knowledge about construction, engineering and/or computing
• Administrative Court


  • Reviews decisions made by people or bodies such as local authorities and regulatory bodies
• Chancery Division


  • About 17 High Court Judges
  • Deals with matters such as insolvency, enforcing mortgages, disputes relating to trust property, copyright and patents, intellectual property matters and probate
  • Cases are heard by a single judge but high costs and excessive delays are also a problem
• Family Division


  • 17 High Court Judges assigned to it
  • Can hear all cases relating to children, matters relating to family, such as declaration nullity of marriage and also grants probate
  • Cases are heard by a single judge
• The Court of Appeal

  • 37 Lord Justices of Appeal headed by the Master of the Rolls
  • Mainly hears appeals from the three divisions of the High Court and the County Court for Multi-Track cases
  • Permission to appeal is required for a case to be heard here
• Supreme Court


  • The final appeal in the English legal system
  • Hears appeals from the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) and leapfrog appeals from the High Court
  • Cases are usually heard by a panel of between five and seven Law Lords
  • Permission or leave to appeal must be granted for a case to be heard here, which is only granted to about one in three cases
• Evaluation of the civil courts

  • The process is fair in that everyone is treated alike
  • The judge is impartial
  • Enforcement of the court's decision is easier
  • There is an appeal process
  • It may be possible to get legal aid
  • Cost of taking a case to court are often more than the amount claimed
  • There are many preliminary stages to go through that add to the length of the case
  • Even after the case is set down the wait is still long (usually one year for larger claims to be heard)
  • It is a complicated process
  • There is no guarantee of winning a case
  • The person who loses the case may have to pay the other side's legal costs
• Issues with civil courts

  • Precedent – judges must follow strict rules of precedent to decide results
  • Complexity – of the rules of procedure and language – failure to follow correct procedure may mean loss of the case
  • Delay – lengthy court cases and hearings plus possibility of more than one hearing
  • Adversarial – court hearing do not always consider all the evidence; lawyers may rely on strength of argument and persuasion to win their case
  • Result – there must be a winner and a loser in every case with little room to compromise
  • Cost – lawyers' fees; loser pays winner's costs, as well as their own
• Appeals from the County Court


  1. If the original case was heard by a District Judge, the appeal case will remain in the County Court but will be heard by a Circuit Judge

  2. If the case was heard by a Circuit Judge, the appeal case will be heard by a High Court Judge

  3. It is possible for a second/further appeal which will always be heard in the Court of Appeal

  4. Finally, there can be a further appeal from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court but only if the matter is something which involves a point of law of general public importance
• Appeals from the High Court


  1. The appeal usually goes to the Court of Appeal

  2. In rare cases there can be a leapfrog appeal direct to the Supreme Court

  3. The permission to grant a leapfrog appeal is given by the Supreme court and since 2015 it has only been granted when there is an issue of national importance or raises an issue of sufficient importance to warrant the leapfrog
• Objectives of civil justice reforms


  • Encourage settlement/avoid litigation
  • Encourage parties to be less adversarial/more cooperative
  • Reduce Complexity of litigation
  • Reduce Delay
  • Reduce Cost
• The financial limits for the small claims and fast track cases have been increased to avoid expensive trials
• The latest review in 2016 by Lord Briggs states that there should be an out of hours private mediation service in the County Court and that an online court be set up