1. B.A BUSINESS STUDIES BUS361 BUSINESS LAW

2. Lecture 2 The Court Structure

3.  Magistrates’ Courts  The Crown Court  The Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court  The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

4. Role of Magistrates in Criminal Cases:  Hearing applications for bail  Committal proceedings  Trial  Appeals

5.  Cost  Weight of numbers  Local knowledge

6.  Inconsistency  Role of the clerk

7.  Courts Act 1971  Criminal Court of first instance  Trial by jury  Indictable offences  Offences traible either way  Appellate jurisdiction as well  Three tiers (First tier, Second tier, Third tier)

8.  Role of the jury trial – exaggerated  Why preserve two criminal courts of first instance?

9.  Three High Court Judges  Supervisory Role

10.  Formed in 1966  Appeals against sentence may be dealt with by two and other applications by one judge.  The court hears appeals of both fact and law.

11.  County Courts  Magistrates’ Court  High Court – Chancery Division  Family Division  Court of Appeal – Civil Division

12.  Created in 1846  Less important civil  C.L.S.A 1990 and the CIivl Procedure Rules 1999.  Contract, tort, especially personal injuries, property, divorce and other family matters, bankruptcy, admiralty, equity and race relations etc.

13.  Significant civil case load  Family cases  Licensing  Overlap with the county court and the High Court.

14.  Successor to the Chancellor’s court, dispensing equity.  Claims - property, trusts, wills, partnerships, revenue, contentious probate and bankruptcies are heard.  Two specialist court, Patent and Companies.

15.  Created in 1970  It hears divorce cases and ancillary matters and Children Act cases.

16. Hears appeals concerning civil law and family justice from the High Court, Tribunals and certain cases from the County Courts.

17.  In 2009, the Supreme Court replaced the House of Lords as the highest court in England, Wales and Northern Ireland  F inal court of appeal in the UK for civil cases  It hears appeals in criminal cases from England, Wales and Northern Ireland  Appeals are normally heard by 5 Justices but there can be as many as 9  Cases of public and/or constitutional importance  Reasons for creation

18.  European Court of Justice  European Court of Human Rights

19.  Alternatives to Courts  History  What are tribunals?  Status  Appeals  Controls of the tribunals

20.  Speed  Cost  Informality  Flexibility  Specialization  Relief of congestion in the ordinary courts  Awareness of policy  Privacy

21.  Lack of openness  Unavailability of legal aid  Involvement of interested parties  Reasons for decisions not always given  Too complex  Lack of accessibility  Problems with controls over tribunals

22. Most formal and established type of Alternative Dispute Resolution

23.  Cost  Accessibility  Speed  Expertise  Conciliation of the parties

24.  Imbalance of power  Lack of legal expertise  No system of precedent  Enforceability

25. Thank you for your attention!