Ehsan Kabir Solicitor | The Legal Profession and the Court System

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The Legal Profession and the Court System

• Ehsan Kabir Solicitor

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By the end of this lesson you will be able to
explain

• Categories of English law
• Sources of Law
• The Court System
• The Legal Profession

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Categories of English law

• Criminal Law - Crime
• Civil Law - Tort.

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Sources of English Law

• Case (or Common) Law - made by judges.
• It has evolved over centuries from the judgment
  of cases appearing before the courts.
• These judgments set precedents against which
  future cases are judged
• Legislation - statutes/Acts of Parliament
• Primary Legislation
• Subordinate Legislation Statutory Instruments
• European Community Law (which is binding in all
  UK Legal systems).

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Sources of English Law

• Legislation - which includes statutes/Acts of
  Parliament
• Primary Legislation
• Subordinate Legislation Statutory Instruments

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HOUSE OF COMMONS
HOUSE OF LORDS
BILL
ROYAL ASSENT
FIRST READING Introduces Bill
SECOND READING Debate on principles
ACT OF PARLIAMENT
COMMITTEE STAGE Examines in detail
REPORT STAGE Tells House amends
THIRD READING Formal vote taken
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Sources of English Law

• Legislation - which includes statutes/Acts of
  Parliament
• Primary Legislation
• Subordinate Legislation Statutory Instruments
• Case (or Common) Law - made by judges. It has
  evolved over centuries from the judgment of cases
  appearing before the courts. These judgments set
  precedents against which future cases are judged
• European Community Law (which is binding in all
  UK Legal systems).

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The Court System

• The County Court
• The Magistrates Court
• The Crown Court
• The High Court
• The Court of Appeal
• The Supreme Court
• The European Court of Justice
• The European Court of Human Rights.

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The County Court

• landlord and tenant disputes, eg, possession
  (eviction), rent arrears, repairs
• consumer disputes, eg, faulty goods or services
• personal injury claims (injuries caused by
  negligence), eg, traffic accidents, falling into
  holes in the pavement, accidents at work
• undefended divorce cases and proceedings to end a
  registered civil partnership
• some domestic violence cases, but these may also
  be heard in the magistrates court
• race, sex, age, disability discrimination cases
• debt problems, eg, a creditor seeking payment
• employment problems, for eg, wages or salary
  owing or pay in lieu of notice.

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The Magistrates Court

• Magistrates courts deal with criminal and some
  civil cases
• All criminal cases start in the magistrates'
  court
• Summary offences
• Start Finish in the magistrates' court
• involve a maximum penalty of six months
  imprisonment and/or a fine of up to 5,000
• defendant is not entitled to trial by jury.

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Civil cases in the magistrates court

• Magistrates can deal with a limited number of
  civil cases as follows-
• some civil debts, eg, arrears of income tax,
  national insurance contributions, council tax and
  VAT arrears
• licences, eg, granting, renewing or taking away
  licences for pubs and clubs
• some matrimonial problems, eg, maintenance and
  removing a spouse from the matrimonial home
• welfare of children, eg, local authority care or
  supervision orders, adoption proceedings and
  residence orders.

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The Crown Court

• More serious criminal offences which will be
  tried by judge and jury
• Appeals from the magistrates court - which are
  dealt with by a judge and at least two
  magistrates
• Convictions in the magistrates court that are
  referred to the Crown Court for sentencing.
• Imprisonment and fines in the Crown Court are
  more severe than in the magistrates court.

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The High Court

• Deals with civil cases
• Hears appeals in criminal cases
• Has the power to review the actions of
  individuals or organisations to make sure they
  have acted legally and justly.

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Divisions of The High Court

• The Family Division deals with complex defended
  divorce cases, dissolution of civil partnerships,
  wardship, adoption, domestic violence
• The Queens Bench Division deals with large and/or
  complex claims for compensation. It also deals
  with a limited number of appeals from magistrates
  courts or Crown Courts, as well as reviewing the
  actions of organisations to see whether they have
  acted legally, and with libel and slander actions
• The Chancery Division deals with trusts,
  contested wills, winding up companies,
  bankruptcy, mortgages, charities, contested
  revenue (usually income tax) cases etc.

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The Court of Appeal

• Deals with civil and criminal
• Civil appeals from High and county court and
  Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Lands
  Tribunal.
• Criminal appeals against convictions in the Crown
  Court, and points of law referred by the Attorney
  General following acquittal in the Crown Court or
  where the sentence imposed was unduly lenient.

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The Supreme Court

• The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in
  the UK for civil cases, and for criminal cases
  from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• It hears cases of the greatest public or
  constitutional importance affecting the whole
  population.

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The House of Lords

• Was the highest court in the UK until 1 October
  2009 when the Supreme Court was established
• The Lords dealt mainly with appeals from the
  Court of Appeal, or direct from the High Court,
  where the case involves a point of law or general
  public importance
• Appeals were mostly about civil cases although
  the Lords did deal with some criminal appeals.

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The European Court of Justice

• If your problem is one which is covered by
  European law, your case may be referred to the
  European Court of Justice (ECJ), based in
  Luxembourg. This may happen if European
  legislation has not been implemented properly by
  a national government, if there is confusion over
  its interpretation, or if it has been ignored.
• You must first pursue your case through the
  national legal system, but the national court can
  (and in some cases must) refer an issue to the
  ECJ for guidance (a ruling). The case is then
  sent back to the national court to make a
  decision based on the ruling of the ECJ.

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The European Court of Human Rights

• The European Court of Human Rights, based in
  Strasbourg, deals with cases in which a person
  thinks their human rights have been contravened
  and for which there is no legal remedy within the
  national legal system.

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The Legal Profession

• Solicitors. The Law Society is the governing body
• Barristers. The Bar Council is the governing
  body.

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Thank You