civil courts and ADR

• civil law


  regulates disputes between private individuals or entitles
• county court


  county court handles smaller claims.
• high court


  cases involving higher value financial claims are dealt by the high court
• track system


  civil proceedings are allocated to one of three 'tracks' designed to deal with cases of different values and complexities.
• small claims


  this track involves claims of under 10,000 and personal injury claims under 1000. claimants are encouraged to represent themselves in order to keep the overall costs of the case down
• fast track


  this track involves claims of no more then 25,000. the track establishes a strict timetable for pre trial matters to ensure there is no time wasting and the aim is for the claim to be heard within 30 weeks of being received by the courts
• multi track


  this involves claims of more then 25,000. since it involves the most money it is likely to be heard by a more senior judge - either a circuit or a high court judge
• lord woolf


  access to justice, identified a number of principles which the civil justice system should meet in order to ensure access to justice
• ADR


  settling a complaint out of court with the assistance of an impartial dispute resolution body
• negotiation


  direct discussion of differences between parties involved in a law dispute, in an effort to resolve these issues
• tribunal


  specialised courts whose judges and members hear a wide range of cases, such as tax, employment, and immigration and asylum
• first tier tribunal


  operates in seven chambers and deals with about 300,000 cases a year
• upper tribunal


  operates in four chambers and hears appeals from first tier tribunals. There is further appeals to the court of appeal
• panel


  cases may be heard by a tribunal judge sitting with two other members who have expertise in this area
• advantage of ADR


  cheaper and quicker then courts
• disadvantages of ADR


  legal aid rarely available. there can be a delay
• appeals from the county court

  an appeal from a district judge is heard by a circuit judge. an appeal from circuit judge is heard by a high court judge
• appeals from high court

  normally go to the court of appeal civil division. a leap frog is possible where there is an issue of national importance
• advantages of using negotiation

  -quickest and cheapest option

  -informal way of settling a dispute between parties as no court and lawyers are involved
• disadvantages of using negotiation

  -requires confrontation with the other party

  - if the dispute is not settled, the case may go to court which may involve cost and the courts may insist the parties back to negotiation before trial
• mediation


  a neutral third party mediator attempts to resolve their issue, with both parties, without giving their opinion
• advantages of using mediation

  -parties have control of the proceedings and decisions.

  - based on common sense rather than decisive legal rules
• disadvantages of using mediation

  - will only work if both parties agree and cooperate.

  -many decisions may not ultimately be binding on both parties