Structure and Organisation of The Courts

It is interesting here to note the actual composition of the courts. Magistrates' courts are ruled over by justices of the peace, the majority of which are lay, although some of which have legal qualifications and are named stipendiary magistrates. The majority of criminal cases are heard within the magistrates' courts. Someone who has been convicted may turn to the crown Court to appeal. Appeal may also go further, to the House of Lords (Fig n[the crim jurisdiction and appeal procedure]).

The Crown Court can attribute its roots to as late as 1971. It is the highest criminal court for the most serious cases. The judges involved are high Court, circuit judges, recorders and justices of the peace. High Court judges are mainly from the Queen's Bench Division. The Lord Chancellor appoints circuit judges, and these sometimes sit in the county court to hear civil cases.

The jurisdiction of County courts is on the basis of a financial limit. The Order in Council may sometimes adjust this limit, although where cases go over this limit they must subsequently go to the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court. In some cases, those involved may be able to overcome this through having the case heard in the county court. Throughout England and Wales there are in excess of 300 county courts. Their greatest use is in hearing claims for damages resulting from tort or contract. The civil actions that are more complex, and deemed unsuitable for the county court are taken to trial in the High Court.

The High Court is the most powerful and came into being by the Judicature Act 1873, as part of the Supreme Court of Judicature. The Court is separated into the Queen's Bench Division, which is the largest and is made up of 63 judges; the Chancery Division; and the Family Division. It is usual for High Court judges to sit in London, although there are certain provisions for them to sit elsewhere throughout England and Wales. The main objectives of the High Court is the civil jurisdiction. The Queen's bench division is a civil court where cases heard involve contracts and tort. The Divisional Court of the Queen's Bench Division is made up of at least two High Court judges. The jurisdiction of this court involves the applications for judicial review which are used to oversee the work undertaken by various public bodies. This particularly relevant in environmental law due to the fact that it gives rise to effective remedial action in regulating any abuse by a certain public body. This will be enlarged upon later.

Appeals may also be heard by the Divisional Court via the Crown or magistrates' court. This Court is also empowered with the facility of punishing contempts of court.

The Lord Chancellor supplemented by a certain judges and 29 Lords Justices of Appeal make up the Court of Appeal. This Court is split into two- the Civil Division led by the led by the master of the Rolls and the Criminal Division, led by the Lord Chief Justice.

In those cases which are non EU law related, the House of Lords is the highest court in the United Kingdom. EU law and its impact will be discussed later in unit.n. The Lord Chancellor heads the House of Lords, supplemented with up to eleven Lords. All appeals heard within this court are heard by a minimum of three Law Lords, and more often than not, five in the most influential cases.