Civil courts and other forms of dispute resolution:

• Court of first instance:

  Civil disputes are generally between individuals, partnerships, companies and/or local or national Government departments. Any or all of the above may disagree about, for example, a contract, a negligence claim, or a landlord and tenant relationship. ​

  ​The dispute will be between the claimant and the defendant. The claimant will issue proceedings in a civil court by giving to the court a description of the claim on a set form, together with the court fee. This claim is then sent to the defendant for a response, usually in the form of a defence to the claim.​
• Court of first instance (Part 2):

  • There are two main civil courts in which civil claims may be issued: the County Court and the High Court. (The Magistrates’ Court is primarily a criminal court but does have some civil jurisdiction).​
  • ​These courts are known as courts of first instance, as claims may be commenced and decided there. If the decision of the court is disputed, then a party may be able to ask a higher court to reconsider the case – known as an appeal.​
• County Court


  Can try most civil claims of up to £100,000
• Typical cases heard in County Court

  • Negligence or other Tort based claims
  • Debt claims
  • Consumer disputes like breach of contract
  • Housing claims like possession of property
  • Landlord and tenancy matters
  • Bankruptcy and insolvency (business, cannot pay their debts)
• Claims in County Court

  • Heard in open court by a single judge, usually a Circuit Judge but some cases will be heard by a Recorder
  • If relatively low value, can be heard by a District Judge
  • The Judge will read the case papers before the hearing and can hear evidence and legal arguments in court
• Outcome of County Court hearing

  1. Liability - which side wins

  2. The compensation payable

  3. Any other remedy

  4. Who should pay for the costs of the case
• Small claims court:

  • Part of the County Court ​
  • Deals with claims less than £10,000 in value or 1,000 in personal injury claims)​
  • Informal procedure ​
  • Cases are heard by a District judge and lawyers are discouraged ​
  • Less legal argument and costs are not awarded. 
• High Court:

  • Claims heard in open court.​
  • Single judge of the High Court. ​
  • Judges assigned to one of the three divisions: the Queen’s Bench Division, the Family Division and the Chancery Division.​
  •  There are approximately 120 High Court Judges.​
  • The judge will read the case papers before a hearing and can hear evidence and legal arguments when is court. ​
  • At the end of a hearing, the judge will decide: ​
  • Liability – which side ‘wins’ ​
  • Compensation or remedy ​
  • Who should pay the costs of the case. ​
• Queen's bench division:

  • Largest of the three ​
  • Has the jurisdiction (official power to make legal decisions) on cases over £100,000 and smaller claims where there is a complicated matter. ​
  • Tort, Contract, Property​
  • Plus specialist Administrative Courts - applications for judicial review, case stated appeals in criminal cases decided at the Magistrates’ Court and habeas corpus (unlawful detention of a person)​
  • Circuit Commercial Courts (specialist business/commercial cases)​
• Chancery division:

  Chancery Division: historically, this court dealt with cases in which the rules of equity could be used. ​

  ​

  Disputes where sums over 100,000 are in issue. ​

  ​

  The modern version of this court deals with cases such as:​

  ​

  • Insolvency, both for companies and individuals.​
  • The enforcement of mortgages.​
  • Disputes relating to trust property.​
  • Copyright and patents.​
  • Intellectual property matters​
  • Contested probate actions.​

  ​There is also a special Companies Court which deals mainly with winding up companies. ​
• Chancery division (Part 2):

  There are currently 17 judges who sit in the Chancery Division. Cases will be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice, or in one of the eight specified Chancery centres around the country.​

  ​

  Cases are heard by a single judge and juries are never used in the Chancery Division. 
• Family division:

  Usually heard in private due to sensitive nature​

  • Cases where a child is to be made a ward of the state ​
  • Any case related to welfare of a child under the Children Act 1989​
  • Appeals from lower courts, such as the Family Proceedings Courts (part of the Magistrates’ Courts) and complicated family matters. ​
  • Cases with a foreign element like child abduction, forced marriage, FGM. ​
  • F v M (Rev 1) (2003) – case about the potential contact between father and children.  Held: Father (coercive and controlling) had very little to offer his children. ​
• Court claim


  Should only be considered as a last resort if a negotiated settlement cannot be reached or a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution has failed
• Pre-action protocols


  Parties are encouraged to give information to each other, in an attempt to prevent the need for so many court cases to be started
• Pre-action protocol procedure


  1. Before a claim is issued, especially in personal injury cases, a pre-action 'protocol' should be followed

  2. This is a list of things to be done

  3. If the parties do not follow the procedure and give the required information, they may be liable for certain costs if they then go on to make a court claim
• Types of cases:

  If the other person denies liability or refuses to use ADR, the only way to get compensation for the injuries will be to start a court case. ​

  Which court will depend on the amount of compensation being claimed. ​Less than £10,000 (or £1,000 in a personal injury claim). ​

  Can be started in the Small Claims Court​

  Less than £100,000 (0r £50,000 in a personal injury claim).​

  Must be started in County Court ​

  More than £100,000 (or more than £50,000 in a personal injury claim)​

  Can be started in either the County Court or, more likely, in the High Court ​
• Issuing a claim:

  A Claim form N1 has to be completed with the names and addresses of the parties, brief details of the reason for the claim and the amount of money being claimed. ​The form can be filed at: ​

  • A County Court office ​
  • The High Court if it is a high value claim ​
  • Online, for a debt claim 

  An allocation questionnaire will also need to be completed. Depending upon the amount being claimed and/or the complexity of the case a ‘track’ will be allocated i.e. where/who will hear the case.​
• The Small Claims Track: This track involves claims of under £10,000 and personal injury cases of under £1000. Claimants are encouraged to represent themselves in order to keep the overall costs of the case down. The ‘winner’ cannot recover the cost of their solicitor, if using one, from the losing party. The case is likely heard by a District Judge.  Time allocated to the hearing will be 2-3 hours and limited witnesses are allowed. ​
• Small claims track (Part 2):

  It was introduced as an informal and quick court to deal with minor civil cases. Cases are most often heard in an informal setting with all parties and the judge asking inquisitorial questions and asking the parties to present their case themselves to get to the truth. There are no strict rules of evidence, no cross-examination since there is not an adversarial nature to the hearing as there would be in a criminal case. The use of lawyers is not encouraged and expert witnesses are generally discouraged or not allowed. 
• • The Fast Track: This track involves claims of no more than £25,000​
  • 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 court. If the parties do not follow the timetable then the case may be thrown out. ​
  • The case is likely heard by a Circuit Judge – maximum one day in Court. ​
  • ‘fast’ means of dealing with higher-value claims in a more formal setting.​
  • Lawyers are allowed and limited expert witness are allowed.
• Multi-track:

  • This involves claims of more than £25,000. Since it involves the most money, it will be likely to be heard by a more senior judge – either a Circuit Judge or a High Court judge. Usually allocated to the County Court. ​
  • It is therefore clearly the most formal of the tracks and its procedure insists that the judge has a ‘hands-on’ approach to its case management. The gathering of evidence, control of expert witnesses are all in the hands of the judge to manage and a strict time table must be adhered to. ​
• Multi-track (Part 2):

  • If the case involves complicated points of law or evidence, or it involves more than £50,000 in value, it can be passed up to the High Court. 
• Appeal hearings:

  An appeal is when a party to a civil case is dissatisfied with the court’s decision and requests a higher court to review the earlier decision. ​

  ​Following the Access to Justice Act 1999, the majority of appeals will only be allowed to proceed if either the original court or the appeal court has given such authorisation. ​

  ​Permission is only granted if it involves a matter of importance or if the appeal has a good chance of success.​
• What is an appeal?

  • An appeal usually consists of legal arguments as to why the original decision should be altered. ​
  • An Appeal is usually made to the next highest court in the hierarchy and heard by a panel of three judges. ​
  • It is very rare for new evidence to be heard.  There must be legal grounds for an appeal – not ‘the judge got it wrong’.  ​
  • An appeal has to be made within 21 days of the original hearing. ​
  • The Appeal Court can agree with the original decision or reverse it. ​
• County court appeal process:

  If the original decision was made by a District Judge in Small Claims Court.​ An appeal would be heard by a Single Circuit Judge of the same court

  If the original decision was made by a Circuit Judge. An appeal can be made to a High Court Judge that is relevant to the case. ​

  An Appeal can bemade directly tothe Court ofAppeal if a caseraises an importantpoint orprincipleand the Court ofAppeal agrees tohear it. 
• Reasons for appeal


  • Error of law
  • Error of fact
  • Procedural unfairness
• First appeal from the three track tracks

  • Small claims appeal
  • Fast track appeal
  • Multi-track appeal
• Small claims appeal


  First appeal will be before a Circuit Judge sitting in the County Court
• Fast track appeal


  1. If heard at first instance by a District Judge the appeal will go to a Circuit Judge in the County Court

  2. If the matter was complex and initially heard before a Circuit Judge the appeal will be heard by a High Court Judge sitting in the High Court
• Multi-track appeal


  Where the case has been originally heard in the County Court
• Further appeal to the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) allowed but only in exceptional cases as set out in s.55 Access to Justice Act 1999
• Appeal from the high court

  1. Decision of a High Court judge

  2. Heard by the Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

  3. Case may be taken to the Supreme Court

  4. Permission granted by the Court of Appeal

  5. Supreme Court is the highest Court for hearing appeals
• Permission to appeal to Supreme Court

  Only given if there is a point of law of general public importance involved
• Very rare cases - a 'leap-frog' appeal may be made directly from the High Court to the Supreme Court if there is an issue of national importance involved
• Court of Appeal


  • Has a civil and criminal division
  • Hears about 2000 cases a year
  • Decisions are more likely to have an impact on the general public
• Supreme Court


  • Restricted in the cases it decides because of the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty
  • Limited in its powers of judicial review, unlike the constitutional courts of some other countries
  • Cannot overturn any primary legislation made by Parliament
• Ultra vires


  Beyond the powers of the powers in primary legislation
• The Supreme Court can overturn secondary legislation if that legislation is found to be ultra vires
• Arbitration:

  • Both parties agree to let their dispute be left to the judgement of a neutral arbitrator or panel of arbitrators, a 3rd party, who have experience in the field that is being disputed. ​
  • The 3rd party will make a binding decision called an ‘award’.  ​
  • The decision is legally binding (Arbitration Act 1996) and can only be appealed against in exceptional circumstances. ​
  • Decisions to arbitrate can be made before or at the time of a dispute.  ​
  • It may be a requirement to arbitrate by virtue of a Scott v Avery clause in a contract.
• Arbitration (Part 2):

  • The Court will usually refuse to deal with a dispute when there is a Scott and Avery clause, under the Arbitration Act 1996​
  • It is common to find a Scott and Avery Clause in building contracts, package holiday contracts and mobile phone contracts. ​
  • Legal representation is not always necessary.