The UK has three legal systems, operating in England and Wales, in Scotland and in Northern Ireland and three systems of criminal justice.
Unlike many countries there is no single criminal or penal code in the UK, but rather an emphasis on the independence of prosecuting authorities and the judiciary. Civil law is concerned mostly with disputes between individuals or corporate bodies. Cases must be proved on the balance of probabilities (more than a 50 per cent probability that the defendant is liable) rather than the beyond reasonable doubt standard applied in criminal cases.
It is important to emphasise that, when making decisions in cases, judges do not begin with a blank sheet of paper. They are bound by
strict rules known as 'the doctrine of precedent'. Under this doctrine decisions of courts in previous cases are considered as a source of law which will influence or bind courts in later similar cases.
In both criminal and civil cases, the courts make decisions on an adversarial rather than an inquisitorial basis. In formal terms it is not the business of any court to find out the truth. Its job is simply to decide yes or no to a particular proposition (in criminal cases, that a certain person is guilty of a certain crime) after it- has heard arguments and evidence from both sides (in criminal cases these sides are known as the defense and the prosecution). In all three countries many areas of law developed over the centuries as courts made decisions and these decisions became a body of laws, established principles and procedures.
Judicial organizations in England and Wales. There is a strict hierarchy of courts in England and Wales, with the European Courf of Justice (ECJ) at the top and Magistrates' Courts at the bottom. This hierarchy is important because lower courts are bound to follow the precedents set by higher courts. A precedent set by the ECJ, for example, must be followed by all courts since the ECJ is at the top of the hierarchy. That court has the highest authority to decide points of EU law.
The second court down the hierarchy is the House of Lords, which exercises the judicial function of Parliament. The decisions of the House of Lords are binding on all other courts except the ECJ. In.theory appeal to the House of Lords is an appeal to the whole HouseAmt in practice lay peers do not participate in judicial sittings of the House. An appeal must be heard by at least three oT the Lord Chancellor, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, and such peers as hold or have held high judicial office. The House of Lords has almost entirely appellate jurisdiction.
Below the House of Lords in the hierarchy is the Court of Appeal. It sits in both civil and criminal divisions. The Civil division hears appeals from the High Court, county courts and some special courts and tribunals. The Criminal division hears appeals by persons convicted on indictment in the Crown Courts.
The High Court in its civil jurisdiction is divided into three Divisions (Queen's Bench, Chancery and Family) to each of which certain kinds of cases are assigned. Divisional courts of each of the divisions consist of two or more judges and have limited appellate jurisdiction in certain cases. The main civil jurisdiction is exercised by single judges hearing cases of the kind appropriate to the divisions to which the judges belong.
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The criminal jurisdiction of the High Court is exercised exclusively by the Queen's Bench Division, which deals with appeals from a Crown Court and has the supervisory jurisdiction of the court.
The Crown Court is the superior English criminal court, which * hears all cases tried by jury and appeals from magistrates' courts. It exercises criminal jurisdiction and sittings are held regularly at major towns throughout England and Wales. It comprises judges of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, circuit judges and Recorders (part-time judges).
The lowest courts in the hierarchy are county courts and magistrates' courts.
County courts have exclusively civil jurisdiction, which is limited in extent and in area, and which is entirely statutory. These courts handle family proceedings, such as divorce, domestic violence and matters affecting children.
Magistrates' courts are the lowest courts of first instance with limited civil and criminal jurisdiction. All criminal prosecutions begin here. There are two kinds of magistrates:
a) Justices of the Peace (lay magistrates) and
b) Stipendiary magistrates.
Justices of the Peace are laypersons appointed by the Lord Chancellor. They are local people, with some knowledge of the areas for which they are appointed, who are prepared to give up a certain amount of their time to the discharge of their judicial duties. They are unpaid (though they may receive out-of-pocket expenses when adjudicating). A single lay justice has a very limited jurisdiction.
Stipendiary magistrates are full-time paid magistrates. They also are appointed by the Lord Chancellor and must be barristers or solicitors of at least 7 years standing. A stipendiary magistrate has all the powers of two or more lay Justices of the Peace.
The jurisdiction of magistrates' courts falls under three main headings:
a) as a court of trial:
Offences tried at magistrates' courts include: petty theft, criminal damage, common assault, drunkenness, driving a motor-car without a driving license, driving without insurance, failing to obey traffic signs, parking offences, etc.
b) as a court of preliminary investigation:
The magistrates' court must decide whether the case is serious enough to be sent to the Crown Court.
c) miscellaneous:
In addition magistrates' courts perform some administrative functions in regard to liquor licensing, theatre and cinematograph licensing, etc.
The judicial system of Northern Ireland is similar to that of England and Wales, except in the case of offences involving acts of terrorism.
Scotland has its own legal system, separate from the rest of the Kingdom. Although it also uses an adversarial system of legal procedure, the basis of its law is closer to Roman and Dutch law. The names of several officials in Scotland are also different from those in England and Wales. A very noticeable feature is that there are three, not just two possible verdicts. As well as 'guilty' or 'not guilty', a jury may reach a verdict of 'not proven', which means that the accused person cannot be punished but is not completely cleared of guilt either.
