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This page provides information about the many courts which directly or indirectly affect our law A. Certain international courts  The International Court of JusticeThe International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by Chapter XIV of the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. The court is based in The Hague. The court's role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorised UN organs and specialised agencies. The court has judges who are elected for terms of office of 9 years by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council.  European Court of Human RightsThe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was drawn up within the Council of Europe and was opened for signature in Rome on 4th November 1950 and entered into force in September 1953. The United Kingdom was among the first signatories and lawyers from the U.K. were involved in the drafting of the Convention. The Human Rights Act 1998 is particularly important with regard to enforcement of human rights law within the U.K. The court is the final judicial authority on the interpretation of the Convention and Protocols to the Convention. European Court of Human Rights Blog  Court of Justice of the European UnionThe U.K. entered what was then the "Common Market" by virtue of the European Communities Act 1972. In doing so, the jurisdiction of what was then the "European Court of Justice" (or ECJ) was accepted by the U.K. The ECJ was renamed "Court of Justice of the European Union" by the Lisbon Treaty 2008. The court is the ultimate judicial authority within the European Union and it has the powers allocated to it by the various European Treaties. The key role of the court is to ensure the effective and unform application of Community legislation and to prevent divergent interpretations. In the discharge of its role, the court has developed doctrines such as the "Supremacy of EU law" - see the EU pages on this webiste. National courts may, and sometimes must, refer to the court and ask it to clarify a point concerning the interpretation of Community law, so that they may ascertain, for example, whether their national legislation complies with that law. A reference for a preliminary ruling may also seek the review of the validity of an act of community law.  International Criminal CourtThe ICC is an independent, permanent court set up to try persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern: namely, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The ICC is based on a treaty which, at 24th March 2010, had 111 signatories. [The USA is a notable absentee from the list]. The ICC is a court of last resort. It will not act if a case is investigated or prosecuted by a national judicial system unless the national proceedings are not genuine - for example, if formal proceedings were undertaken solely to shield a person from criminal responsibility. In addition, the ICC only tries those accused of the gravest of crimes. In all of its activities, the ICC observes the highest standards of fairness and due process. The jurisdiction and functioning of the ICC are governed by the Rome Statute - see Legal Texts. B. National Courts  Supreme Court of the United KingdomThis court came into being on 1st October 2009 under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and replaced the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. The court is the final appellate court in the U.K. and deals with civil cases from the whole of the U.K. and criminal cases for the U.K. apart from Scotland. There are 12 Justices of the Supreme Court. The court normally sits with 5 Justices but there can be 7 or 9. The larger compositions are used for particularly important cases - e.g. where there are significant constitutional issues. Supreme Court  Appellate Committee of the House of LordsThis was the final appellate court for the whole of the U.K. in civil cases and for all criminal cases except those from Scotland. This court ceased to exist under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and the House delivered its last judgments on 30th July 2009. The judges were referred to as Lords of Appeal in Ordinary - colloquially referred to as "The Law Lords" and each one was also granted a peerage. When sitting as a court they were techically the "Appellate Committee of the House of Lords" and their judgments were referred to as "Speeches" as though they were speaking in the House of Lords chamber. Until the Constitutional Reform Act, the Lord Chancellor was entitled to preside over the Appellate Committee and many did so prior to the time of Lord Falconer of Thoroton. Lord Falconer did not ever sit in the appellate committee. Until 1966 the House of Lords regarded itself as bound by its own previous decisions but this meant that only an Act of Parliament could reverse a judicial decision of the House of Lords. In 1966 this was changed by a Practice Direction but the power to go against their previous decisions was used sparingly.  Judicial Committee of the Privy CouncilThe Judicial Committee dates from the Judicial Committee Act 1833 and it is a committee of the Privy Council. The Judicial Committee "advises" Her Majesty on legal questions put before it and it is convenient to refer to it as a "court". The judges offer their "opinions" as to the case. Nevertheless, in practice, the opinions are determinative of the issue in question. In practice, it is the final court of appeal for UK overseas territories and Crown Dependencies and for those remaining Commonwealth countries which have retained the appeal to "Her Majesty in Council" or, in the case of Commonwealth Republics, to the Judicial Committee. The court normally sits in London and in the same building as the Supreme Court of the U.K. However, the court has sat in the Bahamas. For a period it was also the final appeal for determining "devolution issues" under the U.K. devolution statutes of 1998 but that jurisdiction was transferred to the Supreme Court. The Privy Council has certain other domestic jurisdiction within the U.K. For further details see Jurisdiction. Judicial Committee of the Privy Council  Senior Courts of England and WalesThe term "Senior Courts" refers to the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice and the Crown Court of England and Wales. Originally, following the Judicature Acts 1873-75, the term Supreme Court of Judicature was used. In 1981 this became the Supreme Court of England and Wales. However, that term was unsustainable once the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom came into being. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 altered the name to "Senior Courts" and renamed the Supreme Court Act 1981 the Senior Courts Act 1981. Court of Appeal - Civil Division: Hears appeals in civil matters from the High Court and from County Courts as well as from certain tribunals. Appeal from the Civil Division is to the Supreme Court of the U.K. but leave is required for such appeals. The Master of the Rolls is President of the Divsvion and there is a Vice-President and a number of Lords Justice of Appeal. Court of Appeal - Criminal Division: Hears appeals in criminal cases from the Crown Court. It also hears references made by the Attroney-General. Such references relate to points of criminal law. The Attorney-General may also bring cases to the court if he considers the sentence to be unduly lenient. Appeal from the Criminal Division is to the Supreme Court of the U.K. but leave is required. The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is President of the Division. There is a Vice-President and Lords Justice of Appeal. Historically, the Criminal Division is the successor to the Court of Criminal Appeal (created 1908). In turn, this was predated by the Court for Crown Cases Reserved which was concerned only with points of criminal law. The court's powers are addressed by the Criminal Appeals Act 1968 See Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Report for 2009-10 published 16th December 2010. The High Court of Justice: Came into being under the Judicature Acts 1873-75. Those Acts were a major reform and brought together pre-existing courts of common law; the court of chancery and certain other jurisdictions. The court now has 3 basic divisions: Queen's Bench; Chancery and Family. Each Division has a President. When the court was created, there was a Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division ("Wills, Wives and Wrecks"). This survived until the early 1970s when its work was distributed among the other divisions. Within the High Court there are certain specialist courts - the Administrative Court (for judicial review hearings); the Technology and Construction Court; the Commercial Court and the Admiralty Court. The High Court sits in London and at other places - e.g. Civil Justice Centre, Manchester. |
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