English Legal System

• Common law

  A system of rigid rules laid down by royal courts following the Norman Conquest
• Application of common law

  • Judges travelled around the country to keep the King's peace
  • Judges made the law by amalgamating local customary laws into one 'law of the land'
  • Only remedy available is damages
• Equity

  • A system of law applied by the Lord Chancellor in situations where justice did not appear to be done under common law principles
  • Recognized and protected rights for which the common law gave no safeguards
  • Developed remedies such as specific performance, injunction, rescission
  • Where equitable rules conflict with common law rules then equitable rules will prevail
• Civil law


  Deals with the rights and duties of one individual to another
• Criminal law


  Concerned with establishing social order and protecting the community as a whole
• Differences between civil and criminal law


  • Basis of distinction
  • Meaning
  • Who files the suit
  • Standard/Burden of proof
  • Compensation
  • Citation of cases
  • Courts
• Magistrates' Courts


  • Have limited civil jurisdiction
  • Mostly deal with small domestic matters
  • Family proceedings
  • Enforcement of local authority charges and rates
  • Licenses
• County Court

  • Civil jurisdiction only
  • Deal with almost every kind of civil case
  • Contract and Tort claims
  • Equitable matters concerning trusts, mortgages and partnership dissolution
  • Disputes concerning land
  • Undefended matrimonial cases
  • Probate matters
  • Miscellaneous matters – eg. consumer cases
  • Some bankruptcy, company winding-up
• Small claims track

  • Claims of no more than £10000
  • Dealt with quickly and informally, often without the need for legal representation or for a full hearing
• Fast track

  • Claims of between £10000 to £25000
  • Trial is to last no longer than one day
  • Routine personal injury cases and consumer cases
  • Limited "disclosure", a period of 30 weeks is allowed to prepare for the trial
• Multi-track

  • Deals with cases that involve claims exceeding £25000
• King's Bench Division

  • Deals mainly with common law matters
  • Actions based on contract or tort
  • Some appeals from the county court
  • Appeals by way of case stated from magistrates' courts
  • Some appeals from the Crown Court
  • Supervisory role over inferior courts
  • Includes a separate Admiralty Court and a Commercial Court
  • May issue a writ of habeas corpus and prerogative orders
• Chancery Division

  • Deals with traditional equity matters
  • Trusts and mortgages
  • Revenue matter
  • Bankruptcy
  • Disputed wills and administration of estates of deceased persons
  • Partnership and company matters
  • Includes a separate Companies Court and a Patents Court
• Family Division

  • Deals with matrimonial cases, family property cases, proceedings relating to children, appeals from magistrates' courts and county courts on family matters
• Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

  • Can hear appeals from the High Court, County Courts and from special tribunals
  • May uphold or reverse the earlier division or order a new trial
• Supreme Court

  • Final court of appeal in civil cases in the UK
  • Hears appeals on points of law that have public and constitutional importance
  • Most appeals come from the Court of Appeal
  • Has a 'leapfrog' procedure whereby an appeal may go to the Lords directly from the High Court
• Magistrates' Court (Criminal)

  • Lowest ranked criminal courts
  • Try summarily (without a jury) all minor offences
  • Conduct committal proceedings for offences triable only on indictment
  • Cannot normally order sentences of imprisonment which exceed six months or fines exceeding £5000
  • Appeals go to the Crown Court on matters of fact or law
• Crown Court

  • Deals with more serious criminal offences
  • Indictable offences with a jury
  • Appeals from Magistrates' Courts
  • Committals for sentencing from Magistrates' Courts
  • Judge and jury must be present
  • Appeals on criminal matters to the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal
• Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal

  • Hears appeals from the Crown Court
  • May review a criminal case by the government or consider a point of law at the request of the Attorney General
  • Appeals lie to the Supreme Court