Civil courts

Civil cases are heard in county courts and the High Court. There are some 250 county courts, which hear most ordinary civil actions. Each court is assigned at least one circuit judge and one district judge. The circuit judge usually hears the high-value claims and matters of greater importance and complexity. The district judge hears uncontested matters and small-value claims. Most small claims are about the money that one person owes to another. For such claims there are special arbitration facilities and simplified procedures.

The High Court deals with the more complicated civil cases and with most appeals from the county courts. The High Court is divided into three divisions: the Family Division, which is concerned with family law, including adoption and divorce; the Chancery Division, which deals with corporate bankruptcy, disputes in the running of companies, disputes between landlords and tenants, intellectual property matters, interpretation of contested wills; and the Queen’s Bench Division, which is concerned with contract and tort cases.

Appeals from the High Court and county courts are heard in the Court of Appeal (Civil division), and may go on to the House of Lords, the final national court of appeal in civil and criminal cases. The Court of Appeal normally consists of three judges. Each one delivers a judgment, and the majority opinion prevails.

Juvenile Courts

Most cases involving people under 18 are heard in juvenile courts. These are specialist magistrates’ courts which either sit apart from other courts or are held at a different time. The hearing and the whole atmosphere is less formal, the dock is abolished, the accused youngster and their parents sit near to the magistrate and on the same level. The court is not open to the public and the press cannot publish any of the actual names of the offenders or write of them in such a way that they would be identifiable with the offender.

Ex. 57 Study the differences between barristers and solicitors in Britain and fill in the table:

	The distinctive feature	Requirements to enter the profession	Rights and responsibilities	Professional body
Solicitors	Only solicitors may deal directly withy the public
Barristers	Only barristers may fight a case in the higher courts

Barristers and Solicitors

There are two kinds of lawyers in Britain: solicitors and barristers. People who need the personal assistance of a lawyer go to solicitors. There are about 50,000 solicitors, solicitors’ offices (mostly partnerships) are found even in very small towns, and they deal with most people’s legal problems. A much criticised ancient rule has until now forbidden solicitors to act as advocates in the higher courts, so if any criminal matter is to go before a crown court a client’s solicitor must hire a barrister to act as advocate in the court. A solicitor is bound contractually to his or her client and can be sued for negligence.

In England and Wales, before you can take the professional examinations to become a solicitor, you have to be one on the following: a law graduate with a university degree in law; a non-law graduate with a degree in any other subject; a non-graduate with practical experience in a law firm. After passing professional examinations, a candidate serves a two-year period of work experience, called a training contract, in a solicitor’s office. Once qualified in this way, a newly admitted solicitor is supervised for a period of three years. The Law Society of England and Wales is the governing body of the profession and has disciplinary powers over practicing solicitors. It also regulates admission, education and training.

There are only about 5,000 barristers (advocates in Scotland), who advise on legal problems submitted through solicitors or other recognised professional bodies and present cases in all courts. Barristers do not have public offices, they work in what is known as “chambers”. Barristers must be members of the General Council of the Bar (“the Bar”), which upholds professional standards and has certain disciplinary powers.

The barristers form the “senior” part of the legal profession, and have kept many ancient traditions. Every barrister belongs to one of four institutions called by the curious name “Inns of Court”. Physically these are rather like colleges at Oxford and Cambridge, and all are grouped close together, along with London’s main central courts, in a compact area a little to the west from St Paul’s Cathedral. Each Inn has a hall where aspiring barristers who have joint it must have dinner at least six times in each of the twelve terms (trimesters). They also have to complete their legal training there and pass the Bar examinations, and work for a time as “pupils” in the chambers of established barristers. Newly-qualified barristers earn very little, but once they are established they can earn a great deal if they are successful.

There is no judicial profession in England. All judges are appointed by the Lord Chancellor from among experienced barristers.