List of courts in England and Wales

This is a list of Courts in England and Wales. For information about the different types of Courts see Courts of England and Wales.

Contents

Civil Courts

The Highest Court of Appeal is the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, followed by the Court of Appeal. The Highest Court in which originating process may be issued is the High Court of England and Wales. The High Court has several district registries as well as the Central Office located at the Royal Courts of Justice.

District Registries of the High Court

England

Wales

County Courts

Main articles: List of county courts in England and Wales and List of former county courts in Wales

When the county court system was created as a result of the County Courts Act 1846, there were 491 county courts in England and Wales. As of 2008, there are now 217 county courts, including the Patents County Court.

Criminal Courts

Crown Courts

Main article: List of crown courts in England and Wales

The Crown Court deals with serious criminal charges and with less serious charges where the accused has elected trial at the Crown Court instead of trial at a magistrates' court. The Crown Court also hears appeals against conviction and sentence from magistrates.[1] There are 91 locations in England and Wales at which the Crown Court regularly sits.[2] Crown Court centres are designated in one of three tiers: first-tier centres are visited by High Court judges for criminal and also for civil cases (in the District Registry of the High Court); second-tier centres are visited by High Court judges for criminal work only; and third-tier centres are not normally visited by High Court judges. High Court judges hear 2% of cases at the Crown Court, but 27% of the most serious (Class 1) cases. Circuit Judges and Recorders sit at all three tiers, hearing 88% and 10% of the cases respectively. When the Crown Court is conducting a trial, the judge sits with a jury of twelve; when hearing appeals from magistrates, the judge sits with two (or sometimes four) magistrates.[1]

The Crown Court system was established by the Courts Act 1971, which came into force on 1 January 1972, following the recommendations of a Royal Commission chaired by Lord Beeching. Previously, criminal cases that were not dealt with by magistrates were heard by Assize courts and Quarter Sessions courts, in a system that had changed little in the preceding centuries.[3] The Crown Court system is administered by Her Majesty's Courts Service, an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Justice. England is divided into six regions by HMCS (London, Midlands, North East, North West, South East and Western), with the whole of Wales forming a seventh region.[4]

Section 78 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 provides that the Crown Court can conduct business at any location in England and Wales, in accordance with directions given by the Lord Chancellor.[5] This power is sometimes used to enable court sittings to take place away from one of the regular Crown Court venues. For example, in 2007, a sitting of the Crown Court was held at one of the oldest court buildings in England or Wales, the former courthouse in Beaumaris, Anglesey, which was built in 1614 and closed in 1997.[6]

Magistrates' Courts

See: local justice areas.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Judicial and Court Statistics 2007, Chapter 6" (pdf). Ministry of Justice. http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/judicial-court-stats-chapter6.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-16. 
  2. ^ Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, 4 December 2007, columns 1179W–1181W.
  3. ^ Zander, Michael (2007). Cases and Materials on the English Legal System. Cambridge University Press. p. 16. ISBN 9780521675406. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6LApn6-3S80C&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=%22Crown+Court%22+category+1&source=web&ots=YamDkrY70K&sig=8bqA892896ndEiHp848JKsn5gqg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA16,M1. 
  4. ^ "HMCS Framework Document" (pdf). HMCS. April 2008. pp. 2. http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/files/Framework_Document_Fina_Version_01-04-08.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-16. 
  5. ^ Jackson, Richard Meredith; Spencer, J. R. (1989). Jackson's Machinery of Justice. Cambridge University Press. p. 176. ISBN 9780521317672. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-t6RzJj71GMC&pg=PA176&lpg=PA176&dq=%22crown+court%22+section+78+%22supreme+court+act%22&source=web&ots=FX-je1NGiH&sig=l-2U0ylHy_y9FAts6nLd5zxluu8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result. 
  6. ^ "Historic court reopens for a day". BBC News. 14 September 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/6993909.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-17. 

External links