The Court Structure in England and Wales

The law in England and Wales is divided into criminal law and civil law. Criminal law mostly involves the rules laid down by the state for citizens, while civil law governs the relationships and transactions between citizens. Administrative law is a special sort of civil law that mainly concerns the interactions of citizens with the state, especially where the state is making decisions affecting individual citizens. Administrative law cases are mostly heard in tribunals specific to the subject, while civil and criminal cases are heard in the main court system.

Most minor criminal cases, called summary offences, are heard in local magistrates' courts either by a panel of lay magistrates assisted by a legally-trained clerk, or by a legally-trained district judge sitting alone. Magistrates' courts also house family proceedings courts and the youth courts. The most serious offences, called indictable-only offences, are passed on by the magistrates' courts to the Crown Court to be heard, usually by a judge and jury. Some cases fall in between, called either-way cases, and may be heard in either court. Only Crown Court judges have the power to pass sentences above a certain level of severity, and so some cases may be transferred from magistrates' courts for sentencing once a verdict has been reached. There are 78 Crown Court centres throughout England and Wales.

The majority of civil actions are heard in the 218 county courts, which also handle some family and bankruptcy hearings. The manner in which each case is dealt with depends on the value of the claim, so that the time and cost spent on the case is appropriate to its value.

The High Court sits at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as well as at some major court centres around the country. The work is handled by three divisions, depending on its subject:

• Chancery Division: equity, trusts, tax, bankruptcy

• Queen's Bench Division: contract, tort, commercial matters

• Family Division: divorce, children, probate.

The Divisional Court of the High Court sits in the Family and Chancery Divisions, and hears appeals from the magistrates' courts and county courts. The Administrative Court in the Queen's Bench Division deals with a variety of judicial review matters.

The Court of Appeal also sits at the Royal Courts of Justice. The Criminal Division hears appeals from Crown Court cases, while the Civil Division receives appeals from the High Court, tribunals and, in certain cases, county courts.

For most legal cases in England and Wales, the House of Lords is the final point of appeal, although a small number of cases each year may be referred to the European Court of Justice, which has jurisdiction on matters of European Community law. All appeals to the House of Lords are about the meaning of the law, rather than the evidence in a case. The Appellate Committee of the House of Lords receives appeals from the courts in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, and in civil cases from Scotland; in addition, they sit as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to hear appeals from those Commonwealth countries whose legal systems are still linked to the UK.