Basis of Major Civil Cases - Essay Example

Civil Cases Explain the basis on which civil cases are allocated to a small claims track, the fast track and multi track Thecourt has been given a range of case management powers. These powers are necessary to fairly, expeditiously and effectively deal with cases. It uses the overriding objective provided by the Civil Procedure Rules, which are designed to make accessibility to justice easy. This civil procedure allows the court to analyze issues early enough, control progress, and manage the cases. The court has powers to make a decision whether the cases should be dismissed or continue to trial. To do so, courts have to allocate cases to various tracks depending on the worth of the case (Freer, 2006). There are various factors in consideration before a case is allocated; case complexity, parties involved, financial worth of the claim, oral evidence, significance of claim to other people, kind of remedy being sort, and views of other parties. Small claims track Cases allocated to this track are worth £10,000 or less (Freer, 2006). These are the straightforward cases which do not require a prehearing procedure like in the case of a normal trial. Small claims cases incur a small legal cost. Cases in small claims include accident claims, consumer disputes, ownership of goods disputes, and disputes between tenants and landlords. Some cases however are not included in this claim even though they are worth less than the stated amount. These include, personal injury claim whose value for loss and suffering is more than £ 1,000, repair claims by tenants of more than £ 1,000, and disputed allegation claims (Freer, 2006). Cases allocated to the small claims track have restrictions on recovery costs and evidence. Hearing is short and the concerned parties represent themselves. Fast claims track Fast claims cases are worth up to £ 25,000 in value (Freer, 2006). They have certain conditions that make them allocated to this claim. It is a requirement that the cases should not last for than one day, and that parties should have expert representatives in two areas of the case. Normal cases to allocate to the fast track include; personal injuries with a value of up to £25,000, personal injuries with claims of pain worth more than £1,000, and repair claims by tenants worth more than £1,000 (Freer, 2006). As the trial is restricted to one day, it does not allow opening speeches. Multi claims track The multi claims track involves cases which have a value exceeding the fast track limit or other cases that have less value but are termed to be complex or too important to be allocated to the fast track and small claims. In essence multi track cases have a value exceeding £25,000 (Freer, 2006). Multi track cases also include any cases that are commenced by use of the alternative procedure in CPR (Civil Procedure Rules) 1998. The courts have the power to fix a flexible approach to these cases to ensure effectiveness. The court controls the evidence provided in multi track cases by indicating the nature in which evidence should be provided. Unlike fast track cases, the court does not automatically set the date for trial; rather it does this as soon as it is considered practicable. The High Court only hears this category of cases. Identify the main sources of European Union (EU) law European Union law is a body of legislations and treaties that directly or indirectly affect its member states. The legal order in European Union is different from the international law, and it forms a fundamental part of the member states legal system. The European Union law has its sources of law which form its legal order. These sources are of varied nature thus a hierarchy was established. The main sources of European Union law are primary, secondary and supplementary law. The primary law is the highest in the hierarchy and the secondary and supplementary follow respectively. Primary law sources are seen to come from treaties; Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, 1958 and Treaty on EU, 1993 (Horspool & Humphreys, 2012). The treaties outline competency distribution between member states and the Union, and establishment of the powers of the European institutions. Primary sources of European Law are the determinants of the legal framework within which European policies are implemented. These treaties have been amended over the last few decades, the latest being the Treaty of Lisbon established in 2009 (Foster, 1988). Secondary law sources in the EU comprise of agreements and unilateral acts. These are based on the treaties and include regulations, directives, opinions, recommendations and decisions. Regulations are directly applicable and are entirely binding to member states soon after their enforcement. They are compiled by those concerned, for example member states, private persons or Union institutions. Regulations are higher than national laws; they are made to ensure uniform application in all member states. Directives on the other hand are binding depending on the results to be achieved by member states. Legislators are required to adopt an act that transposes directives and set their objectives in line with the national law. Directives can not be applied directly. Opinions and recommendations provide guidelines on the interpretation of the Union law. Decisions are binding and address issues specific to member states. Supplementary law includes general law principles, international laws and case laws form the court of justice. Supplementary law acts as bridge to the gaps left by primary and secondary laws. General Law principles are developed by case law and are mostly unwritten. These principles give the court power to implement rules in various domains which are not mentioned by the treaties. International law acts as an inspiration in the development of case laws. This is because the court cites customs and written law in the development of case laws. Explain why the United Kingdom is subject to these laws The United Kingdom is subject to the European law. This came about after the accession of UK to European communities in 1973 (Foster, 1988). This accession had a great impact on the concept of parliamentary sovereignty in the European communities. The European Communities Act of 1972 was incorporated in the United Kingdom law thus obliging the government of UK to incorporate future legislative acts of communities into their domestic laws (Foster, 1988). Section 2 of the Communities Act states that “All such rights, powers, liabilities, obligations and restrictions from time to time created or arising under the Treaties, and all such remedies and procedures from time to time provided for by or under the Treaties, as in accordance with the Treaties are without further enactment to be given legal effect or used in the United Kingdom shall be recognized and available in law, and be enforced, allowed and followed accordingly; and the expression ‘enforceable Community right and similar expressions shall be read as referring to one to which this subsection applies.” This made European law a binding source of UK law and thus EU law must prevail. Reference List Foster, N., 1988. The effect of the European Communities Act 1972 s. 2 (4). MLR, Volume 51, p. 775. Freer, R. D., 2006. Introduction to Civil Procedure. Aspen: Aspen Publishers. Horspool, M. & Humphreys, M., 2012. European Union Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Read More