COUNTY COURT AND HIGH COURT

JURISDICTION- COUNTY COURT

  • can try most civil claims up to £100k in value

  • typical claims heard: negligence, nuisance (tort), breach of contract (contract), recovery of land up to any value, eviction (tenancy matters), bankruptcy, inheritance up to £30k

  • claims heard in open court by single judge (usually circuit judge, can be recorder)

  • if case straightforward and of relatively low value, can be heard by District Judge

  • judge reads papers before hearing, and hears evidence and legal arguments in court

  • end of hearing, judge decides: liability, compensation payable (if any), any remedies, who should pay costs

  • small claims track part of county court, deals with claims less than £10k (£1k personal injury) in informal way. Cases heard by District judges and lawyers discouraged. As a result, less legal arguments and costs not awarded.

JURISDICTION- HIGH COURT

  • claims are also heard in open court by a single judge.

  • judge is assigned to one of three divisions: King’s Bench, Chancery, or Family and only hears cases relating to the work of the division. ( pre-trial and post-trial are the same as in the county court. )

  • The King’s Bench is the largest division and hears a variety of cases (including tort/contract claims over j£100,000 and smaller claims involving a complicated point of law). The Administrative Court (a specialist court of KBD) hears applications for judicial review and applications for habeas corpus and case-stated appeals in criminal cases from either the Magistrates' or Crown's Courts.

  • The Chancery deals with disputes involving business/property where over £100,000 is in issue; disputes over trusts; disputes over partnership; contentious probate claims. The Chancery has specialist courts including the Insolvency and Companies List.

  • cases in the Family Division are often sensitive matters and are heard in private. It has jurisdiction to hear cases where:foreign elements such as international child abduction, forced marriage, and FGM are involved; a child is made a ward of the court and those relating to welfare of children (Children Act 1989); appeals from lower courts (Family Proceedings) and complicated family cases transferred from the County Court.

PRE TRIAL PROCEDURES

  • a court claim is considered and pursued as a last resort - after negotiation settlements can't be reached or a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) fails

  • appropriate pre-action protocol must be followed before any court claim is issued as it explains conduct and steps the court expects involved parties to take before any court action starts

  • amount of compensation claimed decides which court is used in the case

  • a claim lower than £10,000 or £1,000 in personal injuries must be started in the Small Claims Court; claims lower than £100,000 or £50,000 in personal injury begin in the County Court; Claims of over £100,000 or £50,000 in personal injury may be started in the County Court, but are more likely to begin in the High Court.

  • when issuing a claim, a "claim form N1" is completed with names/addresses of the parties, brief details of the reason for the claim, and the compensation being claimed

  • it may be filed at a County Court office, online for a debt claim, or in the High Court if it's of high value. A fee is charged to issue a claim based on the amount being claimed.

  • court serves the claim on the defendant who has a choice of actions: to end the case by admitting to the claim and pay the full amount to the claimant; admit the claim and pay in instalments; dispute it and file a defence to determine why the claim shouldn't be paid in full or in part; file an Acknowledgement of Service confirming the claim but ask for time to file a defence. However, should a defendant fail to respond, the claimant may apply for judgement in default - the claim is "won" and attempts are made to force the defendant to pay the claim.

THREE TRACKS

  • when a claim is defended, a judge allocates it to an appropriate case management track.

  • the Small Claims Track involves claims less than £10,000 or £1,000 in personal injury

  • lawyers are not encouraged and a district judge hears the claim

  • a maximum of 2-3 hours is allocated to a hearing and each party is allowed a limited number of witnesses.

  • the Fast Track involves claims from £10,000 to £25,000

  • a case will have a strict timetable at a max of 30 weeks. A claim is thrown out or judgement in default awarded if parties don't follow the timetable

  • the hearing is a max of 1 day in open court with a limited number of witnesses (typically heard by a Circuit Judge).

  • each of the parties may have a lawyer to represent them.

  • the Multi Track involves claims from £25,000 to £50,000 and they are usually allocated to the County Court with the hearing held before a Circuit Judge

  • the judge sets a strict timetable, disclosure of relevant documents, how long cases last, and the number of witnesses

  • if the case involves complicated points of the law or evidence, or it involves more than £50,000 in value it may be transferred to the High Court.