Билеты по английскому для юристов

Тема 10.

Civil courts.

The most important civil courts are the county courts, which deal with minor cases, and the High Court, before which more serious matters are brought.

Most appeals go to the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) in London.

The Civil Division can provide legal remedy against judgements of the High Court and the county courts.

More than 500 county courts are grouped into over 50 circuits with at least one judge for each such circuit.

The judges called 'circuit judges' since the Court Act of 1971 are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Lord Chancellor.

They must be barristers with at least seven years of experience.

The High Court of Justice is above the county courts.

It has several divisions.

The Chancery Division consists of the Lord Chancellor and ten judges, and deals with questions of company law, bankruptcy, trusts, the administration of the estates of people who have died, tax and some other matters affecting finance and property.

The Family Division deals with divorce and questions arising out of wills well as questions affecting children (adoption, or guardianship, for example).

There are about 30 judges in the Chancery and Family Divisions of the High Court of Justice, who deal only with civil cases, almost all in London.

The Queen's Bench Division consists of the Lord Chief Justice and about fifty other judges.

They divide their time between civil work in London, the Central Criminal Court (or “Old Bailey"), also in London, and visits to the provincial Crown Courts.

The High Court judges still wear robes and big wigs in court.

They are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, and retire at age 75.

The Queen's Bench Division with the widest jurisdiction is both the main civil court for disputes involving more than 5,000 pounds, and the main criminal court.

It also deals with suits for libel.

The Division also takes appeals from lower courts, mostly the Magistrates' Courts.

The Queen's Bench Division includes a Commercial Court that specializes in large commercial disputes, and an Admiralty Court for shipping cases.

These three divisions were unified into one High Court in a major judicial reform in 1875, but they are still in many respects separate.

High Court judges try civil cases alone, except for a few cases like defamation false imprisonment or fraud.

Тема 12.

Courts of Appeal.

The intermediate appellate tribunal is the Court of Appeal.

The Master of the Rolls and fourteen Lords Justices constitute this court.

The Lord Chief Justice, who presides over the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, normally sits when criminal appeals are tried.

The appointments are for life, subject to mandatory retirement at age 75.

The Court of Appeal has two divisions - Civil and Criminal.

The Civil Division hears appeals from the High Court as well as from county courts and a few more specialized courts.

The Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal is competent to deal with appeals against decisions of the first instance made by the Crown Court.

Criminal appeals are usually heard by three judges.

The Lord Chief Justice frequently presides in the Criminal Division.

In the Civil Division senior Lord Justice ( or the Master of the Rolls) normally presides over the other two Lords Justices.

The decisions are based on documents supplemented by the arguments of barristers.

Appeals against decisions of the Court of Appeal can be lodged with the House of Lords.

The House of Lords, in addition to being a part of the legislature, is the highest court in the land.

The judges of the House of Lords are Lords of Appeal in Ordinary.

They are ten in number.

The president of the House of Lords as a court is the Lord Chancellor.

So, he is the highest judge in the kingdom.

The other Law Lords are judges from English courts or from Scottish or Northern Irish judiciary.

Five Lords of Appeal in Ordinary normally deal with any particular case.

They sit in a small room in Westminster Palace. The Lords express their opinion on the case and vote at hand.

A person accused of an offence is sure of a fair and open trial, and enjoys good protection against the possibility of an unfair decision.

Justice, both civil and criminal, operates with reasonable speed, and the excellent system of free legal aid and advice to people with low income is of great benefit.

Magistrates' Courts

Magistrates' Courts are the people's courts, formerly known as police courts, the lowest tier in the criminal justice system.

There are around 28,000 lay magistrates sitting in the 700 or so courts in England and Wales (the system is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland). They deal with more than two million cases a year, and perform a variety of other functions as well.

Their main job is to deliver 'summary justice' to people charged with less serious crimes (grave offences are dealt with at the Crown Court).