Criminal Courts and Legal System Structure

The Criminal Courts

The lesson focuses on the court structure within the English Legal System.
Key questions to be addressed:
- Which courts operate in the system?
- What are the functions of these courts?
- What are appeals, and where do they go?

Courts serve two primary functions:
- To conduct criminal proceedings.
- To resolve civil disputes.

A criminal case is initiated by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on behalf of the state against a citizen accused of breaking the law.
Parties involved: the Defence (D) and the Prosecution (P).

Civil disputes generally occur between individuals, partnerships, companies, and/or local or national government departments.
Examples of civil disputes include contract disagreements, negligence claims, or landlord and tenant relationship issues.
Parties involved: the Claimant and the Defendant.

Aspect	Criminal Law	Civil Law
Purpose	To maintain law and order, enforce laws made by Parliament.	To settle disputes between parties and uphold individual rights.
Initiating Party	Prosecution, on behalf of the people.	Claimant.
Standard of Proof	Beyond all reasonable doubt.	Balance of probabilities.
Decision	Guilty or Not Guilty.	Liable or Not Liable.
Decision Maker	Magistrate/Jury (Judge gives the sentence).	Judge (in rare cases, a jury may be used).
Court Powers	Prison, fines, community orders.	Award damages (compensation), injunctions, specific performance.

Magistrates Court (Youth Court).
Crown Court.
County Court.
High Court
- King’s Bench Division (QBD).
- Family Division.
- Chancery Division.
Court of Appeal
- Criminal Division.
- Civil Division.
Supreme Court (formerly House of Lords).
European Court of Justice (ECJ) / European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The hierarchy from lowest to highest is:

Reasons for needing more than one criminal court:
1. Depends on the severity or complexity of the case.
2. The possible sentence.
3. To deal with appeals.
All criminal cases start in either the Magistrates’ Court or Crown Court, which are the courts of FIRST INSTANCE.

Category of Offence	Place of Trial	Examples of Offences
Summary	Magistrates’ Courts	Driving without insurance, common assault, criminal damage under £5000.
Triable Either Way	Magistrates’ Courts or Crown Court	Theft, assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Indictable (serious cases: triable before judge & jury)	Crown Court	Murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery.

Defendants are asked to enter a plea.
Sentencing powers:
- Generally up to six months’ imprisonment for a single offence (12 months in total).
- Unlimited fine amount (since 2015).
Serious cases exceeding the Magistrates' sentencing power are heard in the Crown Court.
The Crown Court has unlimited sentencing power.
Deals with criminal offences involving adult defendants.
Tasks include:
- Issuing arrest and search warrants.
- Deciding on bail.
- Trying summary offences.
- Trying either way offences.

Specialized form of Magistrates’ Court dealing with young offenders (under 18s).
Hearings are not open to the general public.
Procedure is adapted to consider the defendant's age.

Deals exclusively with serious criminal cases.
Responsibilities include:
- Trying indictable offences.
- Trying either-way offences.
- Sentencing cases sent by the Magistrates’ Court (limited sentencing powers).
- Hearing appeals from the Magistrates’ Court against conviction or sentence.
Appeals from the Crown Court go to the Court of Appeal (CoA).

Both the Defence and Prosecution can appeal a decision.
Reasons for appeal:
- Appeal against conviction or lack of conviction.
- Appeal against sentence.
- Appeal based on a point of law (how the law was applied to the facts).
The court where the case starts (Magistrates’ or Crown Court) determines where the appeal is heard.
Some appeals require permission (leave) to appeal.
Courts that hear appeals are known as APPELLATE COURTS.

Less serious (summary) offences begin in the Magistrates' Court.
Appeals are generally heard at the Crown Court if the Defendant (D) appeals against conviction and/or sentence.
If the D or Prosecution (P) appeals on a point of law, it goes to the High Court, King's Bench Divisional (KBD).
Further appeals on a point of law of public importance are heard at the Supreme Court.

Trials begin at the Crown Court for more serious (indictable) offences.
Appeals are heard at the Court of Appeal (COA) if either:
- D appeals sentence and/or conviction.
- D or P appeals on a point of law.
Appeals based on a point of law may also be heard at the KBD.
Further appeals are heard at the Supreme Court only on matters of public interest.

The High Court hears criminal appeals based on a point of law in the KBD – Divisional Court.
Heard by a bench of two or more judges.
The Court of Appeal (COA) also hears appeals on a point of law.
The COA can:
- Order a new trial.
- Quash a conviction.
- Substitute the offence (e.g., murder for manslaughter).

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the final court of appeal for English, Welsh, Northern Ireland law and Scottish civil law.
It hears cases that refer to a point of law of public importance.
It decides how the law should be interpreted and how it should function.

ECJ (Luxembourg):
- Ensures EU law is applied uniformly throughout Europe.
- Hears cases about EU law against member states.
ECHR (Strasbourg, France):
- Hears cases related to possible infringements of human rights.
- The Human Rights Act 1998 sets out legal requirements that the UK must ensure for its citizens.
- Failure to comply can lead to legal action by citizens.

Independent public body that reviews possible miscarriages of justice in criminal courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Refers cases to the appeal courts.
Figures (as of July 2024):
- 31,034 cases completed.
- 848 cases referred to appeal
- 828 appeals heard by the courts.
- 587 appeals allowed (1.9% success rate).