Introduction
The England and Wales court system is one of the oldest in the world, dating back to medieval times, and has, over the centuries, evolved into a complex and layered hierarchical system. Despite its complexity, the Court is an essential administrative unit and plays a vital justice role in the two countries. The Court is divided into various sections, each tasked to perform specific functions in the two countries’ judicial structures.
England and Wales make one of the three legal jurisdictions in the United Kingdom. The other two countries comprise Scotland and Northern Ireland. The research will divulge that in the England and Wales court system, the Supreme Court is the uppermost in the hierarchy and serves jurisdiction over other courts in criminal and civil cases. An evaluation of this court system reflects the commitment of its drafters to ensuring fairness, justice, and transparency in the court processes.
This study aims to critically assess this legal system with two main focuses. First, the study will comprehensively analyze this court system, discussing its functions, various jurisdictions, and the roles played by the civil and criminal court systems. Under this, the lower courts shall first be discussed, and then the higher ones where pleas of the minor courts are taken will be delineated.
The focus will then be moved to analyzing the appeal system in England and Wales, looking at the organization of the petitions from the county courts to higher courts like the Supreme Court. The study will prove that the Magistrates’ Courts are the lowest on the ladder, whereas the Supreme Court of England and Wales is the highest. Although the judicial system in the two countries is the same as many others, the study will focus on some notable variations between the United States and the Scottish systems.
Overview of the Court System
The court system in England and Wales is hierarchical and well-ordered, with a variety of courts designed to perform specific civil and criminal justice duties. The Supreme Court, established in 2009, leads the judicial power in the two countries and the highest appeal court (Chamberlain et al., 2021). The second in the hierarchy is the Court of Appeal in London, United Kingdom, at the Royal Courts of Justice (Masood and Lineberger, 2019). The Court is divided into two, where one section handles Civil litigations while the other is the criminal division.
Appeal courts in England and Wales address all the requests from the counties’ high and tribunal courts. They are also tasked with clarifying controversial matters in the law to ensure its consistency. The High Court is the central principal civil Court divided into three major divisions: the Queen’s Bench division, which deals with civil matters; the Chancery handles commercial and aspects related to equality; and the Family division, which deals with family-related litigations. The county court is the principal criminal Court, and the magistrate courts are the most basic courts accessible to all public members.
Lower Courts
The lower courts within England and Wales are essential in helping the local communities in the regions access fair and equitable justice. These courts are dedicated to ensuring accessibility of justice and depend significantly on the commitment of the communities where they are located (Adams, Caplan, and Lockwood, 2023). They seek to resolve cases that reduce the backlog on higher courts efficiently. The magistrates for these courts are generally volunteers who have excellent knowledge of the diverse populations they are presiding over.
Magistrate Courts
The most easily accessible and lowest Court in this region is the Magistrate Court. Every community member can get a magistrate court in their neighborhood as the administrative bodies strive to ensure they are well distributed geographically. Some of the common cases that can be found in these courts include minor burglaries, break-ins, assaults, stabbings, traffic problems, and other criminal offenses. The Magistrate courts in England also handle a few civil litigations, especially divorce, child-related issues, and land disputes (Adams, Caplan, and Lockwood, 2023).
A district judge or a volunteer magistrate usually presides in these courts. The fact that a volunteer justice heads these sessions shows that the community is at the forefront of ensuring that swift justice is provided for all people. The Magistrate courts deal with the real problems affecting people at the grassroots level, making them an essential component of English and Welsh law.
Country Courts
One of the most burdened courts is the country courts, which seek to address a wide array of civil litigations at the grassroots levels. Among the most common disputes handled in these courts are contractual issues, tort laws, and disputes relating to property ownership. The country courts are also responsible for settling family-related concerns, such as divorces and probates (Saksena, 2023). These courts are presided over by a legally trained English law professional appointed by the Queen or King. The judges for these courts do need to have more law experience compared to volunteer magistrates who lead the magistrate courts.
Youth and Family Courts
Youth courts in this judicial system are designed to handle legal concerns for people who are aged below 18 years. The criminal charges procedures followed in these courts vary substantially from those of other general courts. These courts are often confused with family courts that deal with domestic-related issues such as divorce, family violence, child custody, and adoption matters (Phoenix, 2023). Family courts are generally sensitive, and people entrusted to preside over them are made aware of factors to maintain privacy issues whenever necessary.
Crown Court
The crown court is not considered a conventional minor court since it has jurisdiction over the magistrate court and is entrusted with handling severe criminal cases. The processes in this Court are designed to ensure that trials remain fair and transparent. Unlike the three lower courts discussed in the subsequent session, judges in the crown must be experienced people capable of expressing legal professional competency.
The crown courts are independent of governing political bodies and the countries’ police (Adams, Caplan, and Lockwood, 2023). The courts are considered to be public offices open to the members of the public unless stated otherwise. The Court deals with some of the most essential issues in society but has recently struggled with a backlog of cases. Public perceptions of the crown courts in Wales and England have been negative, with the courts accused of corruption and lack of transparency.
Superior Courts
High Court
The High Court is a critical constituent of English law, holding key divisions of civil, family, business, and administrative litigations. It is a well-divided court and, unlike the lower courts, does not harbor confusion among the judges on the functions they are to perform. The High Court generally deals with high-value cases. The most critical component for these courts is that they set precedents in law that could be followed in future decision-making by judges (Sime, 2019). In England and Wales, high courts are subjected to regular judicial reviews, ensuring their operations are constantly in line with the existing laws (Babuta and Oswald, 2020). However, most courts are generally not sufficiently funded, leading to difficulties in caseload management.
Court of Appeal
The primary role of the Court of Appeal is to act as an applet court where it addresses applications from the Crown, High, and various tribunal courts. The Court of Appeal is responsible for providing legal clarifications where necessary and seeks to eliminate possible contradictions. Its clarifications are not subject to questioning by the lower courts and form part of the precedents.
A committee in the Court of Appeal is responsible for reviewing and correcting errors that may have been made in the lower courts (Adams, Caplan, and Lockwood, 2023). These reviews are essential for English and Welsh law as they facilitate the accuracy and consistency of the legal processes. The Court of Appeal is given jurisdiction over civil and criminal petitions in the two countries. In the overall hierarchy, the Court of Appeal appears below the Supreme Court and above the High Court.
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the highest in England and Wales, and its roles are pivotal in the administration of justice. The primary role of this Court is to act as the final Court of Appeal, where essential criminal and civil litigations are heard (Adams, Caplan, and Lockwood, 2023). It is also responsible for interpreting the Constitution and ensuring the legal laws align with constitutional principles. The High Court decisions are crucial since they set a precedent for the lower courts.
In the two countries, the Supreme Court owns the power to conduct reviews in the judiciary and make sure that all public entities are run legally. The Court works on constitutional cases, civil, and criminal petitions, and matters affecting public interest. The Court stands at the apex of the judicial system; its decisions are legally appealing and above the Court of Appeal in the hierarchy.
Specialist Tribunals
Employment Tribunal
The employment tribunal is a specialized court that primarily handles disputes between employees and employers. The goal of establishing this tribunal was to ensure that people in the workplace access an informal place to raise their concerns. This tribunal has jurisdiction over various matters such as contract breaches, unfair termination, wage-related problems, and working hours conditions (Mattison and Cooper, 2021). The formality adopted in the tribunals is less than that of traditional courts. Employment tribunals are significant in the two countries as they help solve problems and create a balance between employers and employees.
First-Tier Tribunal
The first-tier tribunals deal with land disputes among people living in England and Wales. This tribunal has jurisdiction over property disputes, landlord and tenant problems, valuation issues, and purchase disagreements (Adams, Caplan, and Lockwood, 2023). This tribunal has the power to handle both commercial and personal properties. Like the employment tribunal, the first-tier tribunal operates in a manner that is less formal than other traditional courts. The tribunal is essential since it helps solve land disputes and prevents the overcrowding of the other general courts in the countries.
Appeal Process in the Courts and Tribunals
Courts in England and Wales provide persons who are not content with the judgments of a particular court a chance to petition a higher court. In criminal cases, if an individual is not pleased with the verdict made in the Magistrate court, they can always plea in a Crown Court. When people are unsatisfied with the decisions made at the Crown Court, they could request at the Court of Appeal in the criminal division (Kelly, 2021). Considering the civil cases, when people are not content with the decisions of the High Court, they can make requests to the Court of Appeal civil division.
Petitions for decisions chosen at the High Court can be made at the Supreme Court in England and Wales. However, the Supreme Court is known to be selective of the choices, going for only cases with national significance. Concerning appeals in the tribunal courts, appeals from special tribunal courts, such as education, go to the Upper tribunal courts. If requests persist, the cases are taken to the Court of Appeal in the administrative division (Kelly, 2021). Some requests from the tribunals that have a significance on law and the Constitution may be taken to the Supreme courts of the nations.
Comparison Analysis with Other Countries
In England and Wales, the Supreme Court is the last Court for the appeal and where law is interpreted. This aspect is not different from the case in the United States. The Court of Appeal in England deals with requests from the high and the tribunal courts. Similarly, this is the case in the United States, where the Court of Court works on the pleas from the district courts.
The High Court is the principal trial court for civil litigations and is the equivalent of the United States district courts that work on federal trials. Magistrate courts in England and Wales are similar to those in the United States as they manage less serious matters and preliminary hearings (Singh, 2022). The comparable to the Employment Tribunal discussed earlier in the United States is the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which works on employment concerns in the country.
Compared with Scotland, the Supreme Court in the three United Kingdom countries has the Supreme Court as its last authority and appellate section. The equivalent of the High Court discussed in this essay in Scotland is the Court of Session, which serves as the principal civil Court in the country. Scotland also has an employment and property tribunal with an almost identical structure to England and Wales (Nason and Pritchard, 2020). The European Court of Human Rights has duties that mirror the Supreme Court and decisions used to affect the entire U.K. However, this is not the case now, as its jurisdiction over the U.K. was limited after Brexit.
Conclusion
The hierarchical structure of the court and tribunal system in England and Wales is complex and compelling. The system supports two major types of courts, with the first being criminal while the other is civil. The Court has lower courts that comprise the county and magistrate courts. In addition, it has higher courts, which include the High Court, Court of Appeal, as well as Supreme Court.
In this case, most courts handle a combination of civil and criminal, except county courts, which work on criminal cases, and high courts, which deal with high-value civil cases. The Court of Appeals contains various criminal, civil, and tribunal petitions departments. However, the highest Court in the land is the Supreme, which works on the requests of national importance.
Reference List
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