Restrictions

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 417.

Lower courts

Apart from the limited civil functions of Magistrates Courts (for example, prevention of family violence), the lowest court in a civil action is a County Court, of which there is one in every town in England and Wales. The judges are always professionals. They may hear matters such as contract and tort disputes, actions regarding claims to land or those regarding the property of a dead person. Cases involving larger amounts of money are heard by one of the divisions of the High Court. The Chancery Division, for example, deals with disputes about trusts, the property of the dead and bankruptcy, among other things. Appeals from the High Court, and most appeals from the County Courts, go to the Court of Appeal.

Some County Courts have authority to grant divorces, but when one of the parties disputes the divorce, it must be transferred to the Family Division of the High Court.

In addition to the courts mentioned above, there are numerous special courts which have been established to make decisions in particular types of dispute. For example, special industrial tribunals deal with disputes over contracts and sexual discrimination in employment matters.

In Britain, as in other nations with democratic systems of government, most court cases are open to the public. This means that any member of the public may witness a court case, although he does not have the right to speak and may be ordered from the court if he tries to interrupt proceeding. But there are some proceedings which are closed. For example, a judge may order that no member of the public be present in a case where a child is giving evidence of sexual abuse which he or she has suffered. The public is also sometimes excluded if the judge feels that a witness member of a jury is being threatened by someone watching the proceedings.

There are also restrictions on who may conduct a case in court. In most countries, an ordinary member of the public has the right to present his own case himself. However, although this sometimes happens in lower courts, most people choose to be presented by a professional lawyer, especially in a higher court.