The English Court System

3.                                                                      The English Court System

Every jurisdiction organizes the administration of justice in different ways. In England, the basic division between criminal and civil law is reflected in the court system. Look and study the chart below.

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              The most common type of law court in England and Wales is the Magistrates court. There are 700 Magistrates Courts and 30.000 magistrates. In less serious criminal cases (which comprise over 90% of criminal cases), the case is sent for trial in one of these courts.

              If the case involves a serious crime, it is heard in the Crown Court which has 90 branches in different towns and cities. Appeals are heard by higher courts. For example, appeals from Magistrates Court are heard in Crown Court. Matters of important legal dispute arising in the Crown Court may be appealed to the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division.

              Civil cases start in a County Court. There are over 250 of these courts around the country. They deal with divorce and bankruptcy matters. More substantial civil claims are heard in the High Court. Under the system of appeals in civil cases, it is possible to appeal from a County Court or the High Court to the Court of Appeal, Civil Division.

              The highest Court of appeal in England and Wales is the House of Lords (Scotland has its own High Court in Edinburgh which hears all appeals from Scottish courts). From the Court of Appeal, there can be an appeal to the House of Lords on fact or law, but usually appeal is only allowed on matters of legal importance.

              Certain cases may be referred to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. This court was set up under the Treaty of Rome of 1957, by which the European Community was established. The court can overrule all the courts on matters of Community law.

              The legal system also includes Juvenile Courts (which deal with offenders under 17) and Coroners Courts (which investigate violent, sudden or unnatural deaths). There are administrative tribunals which make quick, cheap and fair decisions with much less formality. Tribunals deal with professional standards, disputes between individuals, and disputes between individuals and government departments (for example, over taxation). 

The Court System of the USA

                                   US Courts of Appeals                                                                      State Courts of Last Resort

                                          (36. 000 cases )                                                                              (60. 000 cases )

                                                                                                                                            State Intermediate Appellate

                                                                                                                                                                Courts

                                                                                                                                                          (130.000 cases)

                  US District Courts                                                                               State Trial Courts

                  (94 Courts)                                                                          (27.000.000 cases)

           (280.000 cases)

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The American court

The American court system is complex. It functions as the federal system of government. Each state runs its own court system, and no two are identical. In addition, there is a system of courts for the national government. These federal courts coexist with the state courts.

Individuals fall under the jurisdiction of two different court systems, their state courts and federal courts. They can sue or be sued in either system, depending mostly on what their case is about. The vast majority of cases are resolved in the state courts.

The federal courts are organized in three tiers, like a pyramid. At the bottom of the pyramid are the US district courts, where litigation begins. In the middle are the US courts of appeals. At the top is the US Supreme Court. To appeal means to take a case to a higher court. The courts of appeals and the Supreme Court are appellate courts, with few exceptions, they review cases that have been decided in lower courts. Most federal courts hear and decide a wide array of cases; the judges in these courts are known as generalists.