There are a number of different courts in the UK
Magistrates Courts
All criminal cases will start in the Magistrates’ court, but more serious criminal matters are sent to the Crown Court. Appeals from the Crown Court will go to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division and potentially the UK Supreme Court.
Crown Court
A Crown Court deals with serious criminal cases, for example, murder, rape and robbery
It also deals with:
- appeals against a magistrates’ court conviction or sentence
- cases passed from a magistrates’ court for trial or sentencing
County Courts
The county courts deal with civil cases that do not involve family matters or failure to pay council tax, and typically relate to debt (these generally being issued for a specified amount of money), the repossession of property, personal injury (these generally being issued for an unspecified amount of money), the return of goods and insolvency. Particularly important, complex or substantial cases are instead dealt with in the High Court. Civil cases will usually start in the County Court. Appeals will go to the High Court and then to the Court of Appeal – although to different divisions of those courts.
High Court
The High Court of Justice in England and Wales is a senior court dealing with the most serious administrative, civil, and family cases. It has three divisions: King’s Bench Division, Family Division, and Chancery Division. It also has a supervisory role over lower courts and tribunals.
Family Courts
Family courts handle legal cases involving family-related matters, such as divorce, child custody, and domestic violence. They are designed to be less formal than other courts, with proceedings often involving magistrates and sometimes without legal representation for all parties involved. The primary goal is to resolve disputes and make decisions that are in the best interests of the family, particularly children
Tribunals
The tribunals system has its own structure for dealing with cases and appeals, but decisions from different chambers of the Upper Tribunal, and the Employment Appeals Tribunal, may also go to the Court of Appeal.
Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal is the second most senior court in England and Wales. It has two divisions the civil division and the criminal division.
The civil division hears appeals against certain decisions by:
- the Family Court
- all 3 divisions of the High Court of Justice and their specialist courts, including the Administrative Court
- the County Court
The criminal division hears appeals from proceedings in the Crown Court.
- convictions in the Crown Court
- sentences given by the Crown Court (even if the conviction was in a magistrates’ court)
- confiscation orders imposed by the Crown Court
This court also hears other types of appeal from proceedings in the Crown Court, including cases referred by the Attorney General where there is concern that the sentence given by the Crown Court may have been too lenient.
They also hear appeals from decisions made by ‘service courts’ (military courts) and are known as the ‘Court Martial Appeal Court’ when we do.
Court of Protection
Donors, Attorneys and Deputies use The Court of Protection, this court was established under the terms of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, which came into force on 1 October 2007. It is a specialist court which makes specific decisions or appoints other people known as deputies to make decisions on behalf of people who lack the capacity to do so for themselves. the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and the Court of Protection work together to protect people who lack capacity. The OPG is the administrative arm of the Court of Protection.
The courts structure covers England and Wales; the tribunals system covers England, Wales and, in some cases, Northern Ireland and Scotland.