Doctrine of Judicial Precedent - Essay Example

The court system of the United Kingdom is divided into the criminal, and; the civil.

            The Criminal Division. The criminal division is composed of the Magistrates Court and the Crown Court (See Fig. 1). The determination of which court handles which case is decided on the kind and gravity of the offense.

            The Magistrates Court tries both civil and criminal cases. The offenses tried by it are summary in nature and the least serious of all offenses. It can also try either way-cases – cases which can be tried either in the magistrates’ courts or in crown courts. The magistrates are staffed by either lay magistrates or professional district judges. The difference between them is that the former pre-qualify on the basis of “good citizenship” working on a part-time basis while the latter are lawyers who sit as full-time judges. The former sits in threes with the aid of a legally qualified clerk whilst the latter sits alone (Kelly et al 2005 p. 51; Whincup 2006 p. 7).

            The Crown Court is part of the Supreme Court together with the Court of Appeal and the High Court. It is a single court that sits in 90 centers, unlike the magistrates’ court which is a local court.  A Crown Court center is divided into three tiers: the first tier deals with both civil and criminal cases; the second tier hears criminal cases, and; the third tier hears criminal cases presided by circuit judges and recorders (Kelly et al 2005 p. 52). The Crown Court has a two-fold jurisdiction: original criminal indictable cases, and; appeal cases from summary convictions in the magistrates’ courts. If the accused enters a plea of not guilty, the Crown Court judge hears the case with a jury of twelve. The Court also hears either way-offenses (Kelly et al 2005 p. 52).

            The Civil Division. The civil division, on the other hand, is composed of the Magistrates’ Court, County Court, and the High Court.

            The Magistrates’ Courts, aside from having jurisdiction over criminal cases as stated earlier, have also civil jurisdiction. This civil jurisdiction is largely confined to domestic issues like adoption, affiliation, guardianship, and the maintenance and separation issues in separation and divorce proceedings between husbands and wives (Whincup 2007 p. 7).

            The County Court is part of the national system and hears minor civil disputes, claims for contract breaches, and torts up to £50,000. A lone judge sits, sometimes joined by a jury. It also hears small claims (below £5000) although the task is relegated to a registrar who is the court’s administrative officer and follows a less stringent procedural method (Whincup 2007 p. 7).

            The High Court deals with the most important civil cases with its approximately 100 judges appointed so by the Lord Chancellor. It has three divisions, namely: the Queen’s Bench Division; Family Division, and; Chancery. The QB hears contract breaches and tort cases and is seated in London although it sits in provincial centers once in a while. The FD deals with family issues like divorce, adoption, wardship, and the like. The Chancery, headed by the Vice-Chancellor, hears cases concerning “administration of land, probate, intestacies, trusts, mortgages, patents, company law” (Whincup 2007 p. 9).

Appeals

          The Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal has two divisions: the Criminal Division, and; the Civil Division. The Criminal Division hears appeals from the Crown Court. It consists of one Lord Chief Justice and two High Court judges. The Civil Division, on the other hand, hears appeal cases from the High Court and purely question of law on civil issues from the County Court (Whincup 2005 p. 12)

            The House of Lords. There are five Law Lords who hear cases either from the Court of Appeal or the High Court. There are three pre-requisites to an appeal: leave of court from the court of the last origin; a certification from the originating court that the case involves a point of law of general public importance, and; satisfaction on the part of the originating court or the HL itself that the issue warrants the consideration of the HL (Kelly et al 2005 p. 55).

The major rule is that the decision of a court binds only the lower courts and sometimes itself but the decision of a lower court never binds a higher court. The general rules are: the decisions of the House of Lords bind the Court of Appeal, the High Court, and the County Court but not itself; the decisions of the Court of Appeal bind itself, the High Court and the County Court; the decisions of the High Court bind the County Court but not itself, and; the decisions of the County Court do not bind itself (Marsh & Soulsby 2002 p. 13).