ENGLISH COURT

English courts are arranged in a structure according to three steps of criteria. First does the court deal with civil or criminal matters. This division is central to English law, though it is not easy to explain with any precision. Criminal law rules cover offences such as murder, theft and assaults, offences against the consumer (food and drug offences, false trade description, offences involving firearms and other weapons, crime against public order and state security and, of course, the many road traffic offences. These cases may be seen as disputes between the alleged offender and the state, representing the community at large. Civil law comprises all legal rules which are not part of the criminal legal code.

Asecond distinguishing feature is often said to lie in the different aims of the two branches of the law. The traditional aims of the criminal law are the apprehension and disposition of wrongdoers, whilst the aims of civil law are usually stated to be those restitution, or compensation. The problems with this distinction appear when we consider that there are some cases in which civil awards may be intended by the court to be punitive. Such cases are rare, but may arise, for example, when a defendant may make a profit from wrongful conduct, over and above the amount of compensation which he or she must pay to the claimant. The publishers of a defamatory book, for example, may enjoy more profits than might otherwise accure, simply because publicity surrounding the case might induce more people to buy the offending book. And there are instances  in criminal law where compensation may be payable by a convicted person to the victim: we noted above that the power of criminal courts (sentencing) act 2000 provides that compensation orders may be made by criminal courts against any person convicted of damaging other people’s property or causing some other type of loss.

Despite these difficulties, there does remain, for example, for practical purposed a broad distinction between civil and criminal law along the lines of their respective aims and remedies, and this distinction is firmly embedded in the court structure. The civil courts, with one or two exception, deal exclusively with civil matters,the most important exception is probably one queen’s bench division of the high court, which has some criminal jurisdiction by way of appeals from magistrates court and crown courts through the case stated procedure. Here, the appeal is made by either defendant or prosecution (the only instance where the latter can appeal from anacquittal) over a point of law raised by, say, the interpretation of the statute, where a decision of a higher court is required to te clarify the matter. On the criminal side, magistrates courts have some civil jurisdiction, mainly involving liquor, gaming and betting licences, and actions for certain debts, as well as some family law matters, notably separation oders upon marriage breakdown and question of custody and adoption of children.

The second criterion affecting the position of a given court in the overall structure is that concerning the extent of the courts jurisdiction. The country court, for instance, at the lowest rung of the civil court ladder, deals with actions in contract and tort, proceedings involving mortgages, estates of deceased person and other equity matters. Although there is now no financial restriction on the jurisdiction of the country court (that is to say, cases involving any amount of claim-value may be heard there), the civil procedure rules 1998 provide that,with one or two exception, civil claims involving no more than £5,000 will be dealt with by means of the small claims track, as opposed to the fast track or multi-track which are intended for case involving higher claim-values and/or greater complexity. On the criminal side, the magistrates court, dealing in the main with minor criminal offences, has limited jurisdiction regarding is the imposition of sanctions for cases heard in that court. The consolidating power of the criminal courts (sentencing) act 2000 contains provision for sentences for various crimes which may attract imprisonment or fines. Such provision, it must be stressed, relate to the courts summary jurisdiction, and the vast majority of the criminal cases, being of a relatively minor or trivial nature, are dealth with by these courts. For offences of more serious nature and in those cases where the accused elects to be tried on indictment (that is with jury), the case must go before the higher crown court. We may note here that magistrates courts also hold preliminary examinations in all criminal cases. This a procedure to ascertain whether, on the face of the evidence, there is a case against the accused. If so, then the case will be dealt with either summarily or on indictment, depending on the offence and upon the circumstances.

 The third criterion affecting the position of the court in the hierarchy is the question whether the court is one of first instance (where the original trial take place) or whether it is a court of appeal. Magistrates court and country courts are both courts of the first instance; and the court of appeal and the house of lords are both appellate courts only. The courts which lie in the between these levels of the structure may, depending on the case before them, be either of first instance or appellate jurisdiction. The three divisions of the high court – chancery, queens bench, and family – are civil courts ( excepting the criminal jurisdiction of the queens bench as noted above) which deal, in the main, with first instance trials