Judicial organization in England and Wales

Superior courts.The highest court is the House of Lords, which exercises the judicial function of Parliament. In theory, appeal to the House of Lords is an appeal to the whole House but in practice, particularly since the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1876, created a group of salaried life peers, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, or ‘law lords’, there is an established convention dating from 1844 that lay peers do not participate in judicial sittings of the House. Appeals are referred to an Appellate Committee of the House. By that Act an appeal must be heard by at least three of the Lord Chancellor, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, and such peers as hold or have held high judicial office. The House has almost entirely appellate jurisdiction only, in civil and criminal cases from the Courts of Appeal in England and in Northern Ireland and in civil cases only from the Court of Session in Scotland.

The Court of Appealsits in both civil and criminal divisions. The Civil division hears appeals from the High Court, county courts, the Restrictive Practices court, certain special courts, and certain tribunals, such as the Lands Tribunal. The Criminal division hears appeals by persons convicted on indictment in the Crown Courts.

The High Courtin its civil jurisdiction is divided into three Divisions [Queen’s Bench, Chancery, and Family (formerly Probate, Divorce and Admiralty)] to each of which certain kinds of cases are assigned. Divisional courts of each of the divisions, consisting of two or more judges, have limited appellate jurisdiction in certain cases. The main civil jurisdiction is exercised by single judges hearing cases of the kind appropriate to the divisions to which the judges belong.The criminal jurisdiction of the High Court is exercised exclusively by the Queen’s Bench Division. A divisional court of two or three judges of that Division deals with appeals from a Crown Court and magistrates’ courts, and exercises the supervisory jurisdiction of the court.

The Crown Courtexercises criminal jurisdiction, and sittings are held regularly at major towns throughout England and Wales. It comprises judges of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court, circuit judges and Recorders (part-time judges). A judge of the Crown Court sits with two to four justices of the peace to hear appeals from magistrates’ courts. The Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, is a sitting of the Crown Court, having criminal jurisdiction only, over indictable offences committed in Greater London or on the high seas.

In addition to superior courts, there are inferior courts such as county courts and magistrates’ courts, which were established to make decisions in particular types of disputes. County courts have exclusively civil jurisdiction. Magistrates’ courts have civil jurisdiction in relation to certain debts, licenses, and domestic proceedings; in the exercise of criminal jurisdiction, one or more justices may sit as examining magistrates to conduct preliminary investigation.

Answer the following questions. Give full answers.

1. What is the difference between superior and inferior courts?

2. Who will hear a case in the House of Lords?

3. What courts exercise jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters?

4. What court deals with exclusively criminal matters?

5. What courts do not have appellate jurisdiction?

6. What courts exercise jurisdiction purely in civil matters?

Translate in writing Paragraph 1.

Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the information given in the text. Complete the box by printing your answers into it.

1. The House of Lords deals only with civil matters.

2. The Court of Appeal and the House of Lords exercise a purely appellate jurisdiction.

3. The decisions of the House of Lords are binding upon lower courts.

4. The Crown Court comprises both judges of the High Court and those of the House of Lords.

Complete the box by matching the verbs with words or phrases.

1. to exercise a. redress

2. to appeal b. a remedy

3. to deal with c. a case

4. to lodge d. points of law

5. to obtain e. a lawsuit

6. to advise on f. to a higher court

7. to stand g. the judicial function

8. to seek h. an appeal

9. to hear i. trial

10. to file j. criminal matters

Complete the box by matching the terms to their definitions.