The Crown Court of England and Wales

The Crown Court deals with:

1. Indictable-only offences - these are the most serious criminal offences such as murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery etc;
2. Either-way offences transferred from the Magistrates' Courts;
3. Appeals from Magistrates' Courts against either conviction or sentence or both;
4. Committals for sentence from the Magistrates' Courts - this can occur if the Magistrates, having heard details of a case, conclude that they do not have sufficient powers to sentence the offender

Trials in 1 and 2 above will be held before a Judge and a Jury (of 12).  The importance of the jury was emphasised by House of Lords in R v Abdroikof [2007] UKHL 37 .  Nevertheless, there is provision in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for non-jury trial in certain situations though the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) has made it clear that this will be used only as a last resort (see KS v R 2010 and J, S, M v R 2010).  The principal legislation relating to juries is the Juries Act 1974.  Historically, in order to convict a defendant, the verdict of a jury had to be unanimous.  Under the Juries Act 1974, a majority verdict (10 out of 12) is permitted in some circumstances.

Judges in the Crown Court are either High Court Judges, Circuit Judges or Recorders.  Which level of judge hears a case depends basically on the seriousness of the case.  Appeals against conviction or sentence from Magistrates' Courts (item 3 above) are heard by a Judge sitting with (usually) two Magistrates (Justices of the Peace).  Committals for sentence (Item 4 above) are dealt with by a judge alone.

The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC)

SIAC came into being as a result of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 which was enacted to make the U.K.'s process in relation to certain immigration matters compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights.  Under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 s.35, SIAC became a "superior court of record".

SIAC has been criticised as being a form of "secret" court.  Nevertheless, anonymised judgments are published.  See "The SIAC, Deportation and European Law" - Simon Crowther, Cambridge Student Law Review 2010 Volume 6 No. 1 at page 226.

The Upper Tribunal

The "Upper Tribunal" was established by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Acr 2007 and is a "superior court of record".  This Act brought about a major restructuring of the many tribunals which existed.  This subject merits a separate page on this website.

The Court of Protection

Before 1st October 2007 there was an Office of the Supreme Court of Judicature which was referred to as the Court of Protection.  It had the function of managing the affairs of people who were incapable of managing their own property and affairs.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 made major changes to the law relating to mental capacity and Part 2 of the Act set up an entirely new Court of Protection which is a "superior court of record" and it may sit at any place in England and Wales on any day at any time.  The court is staffed by professional judiciary and has its own President and Vice-President.  There is also a "Senior Judge of the Court of Protection".  The court has the same powers, rights, privileges and authority as the High Court.

Magistrates' Courts

The Magistrates' Courts are an "inferior court" and their jurisdiction is entirely statutory.  They handle the vast majority of criminal cases apart from those which are dealt with by the Crown Court.

Magistrates have involvement in 3 types of criminal case:

Summary offences - less serious cases (e.g. many motoring offences such as speeding; driving with excess alcohol etc).  In these cases, the defendant is not entitled to trial by jury in the Crown Court.

Either-way offences - these may be tried either by Magistrates or by the Crown Court.  Examples are theft and handling stolen goods; assault occasioning actual bodily harm etc.  A defendant is entitled to insist on his right to trial in the Crown Court (judge and jury).  Similarly, the magistrates can decide that the case is sufficiently serious that their powers of sentencing are not going to be sufficient and that the case should therefore be dealt with by the Crown Court. In order to transfer the case to the Crown Court, committal proceedings are held.

Indictable-only offences - e.g. murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery etc.  These cases are only triable at the Crown Court but the defendant's first appearance before a court continues to be at the Magistrates' Court which must "send" the defendant for trial to the Crown Court.  The requirement to "send" the case has replaced committal proceedings for all indictable-only offences: Crime and Disorder Act 1998 s51.

Magistrates' Courts have a Family Proceedings Court to enable the more minor family law cases to be heard.  The Magistrates' Courts also house the Youth Courts which deal with criminal cases against children or young persons.  Magistrates (or Justices of the Peace) who sit on family cases or youth cases received additional training and have to specially authorised by a process which stems from the Courts Act 2003 sections 59 and 60.

A number of civil matters are also heard by magistrates - e.g. appeals from decisions of local authorities about licensing of outlets for alcoholic drinks etc.

The judiciary in the Magistrates' Courts is normally either Justices of the Peace (JP) who usually sit in benches of three or District Judges (Magistrates' Courts) who sit alone.

County Courts

County Courts are an "inferior court".  The jurisdiction of County Courts is entirely statutory and covers almost the whole field of civil law.  The general jurisdiction in civil law is mostly concurrent with that of the High Court but personal injury claims for less than £50,000 and money claims for less than £15,000 must be started in the County Court.  Some statutes give the County Court exclusive jurisdiction - e.g. most cases arising under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and most actions by mortgage lenders and landlords.

Examples of County Court work:

• Landlord and Tenant Disputes - e.g. rent arrears; eviction etc
• Consumer Disputes - e.g. fault goods or services
• Personal injury claims - e.g. road traffic accidents; accidents at work etc
• Undefended Divorce Cases - (some County Courts only)
• Proceedings to dissolve a civil partnership - (some County Courts only)
• Children - e.g. actions by local authorities for Care Orders etc. under the Children Act 1989 - (certain County Courts only)
  
• Certain domestic violence matters - e.g. non-molestation orders - (Note: Magistrates also have some jurisidiction in this area)
• Discrimination Cases - e.g. based on race, sex. disability
• Debt - e.g. creditor seeking payment
• Employment problems - e.g. action for wages owed etc.  (Note: Some employment matters are heard by Employment Tribunals).

Small claims - for cases involving under £5,000 there is a simpler "small claims" procedure.

A number of County Courts have specialist jurisdiction - e.g. in Admiralty cases (County Courts Act 1984 s26 and 27).  Certain County Court locations are able to hear Technology and Construction claims - see Civil Procedure Rules Part 60.  Some County Courts can also deal with bankruptcy and insolvency matters as well as cases relating to wills and trusts (contested probate actions and equity) where the value of the trust, fund or estate does not exceed £30,000.  A further important jurisdiction exists in Family Law matters which divide into "Private Law" and "Public Law" cases.  Private Law matters are disputes between individuals - e.g. a dispute between parents relating to where a child will live.  Public Law cases involve local authorities which are statutorily charged with bringing "care proceedings" where children are considered to be suffering or at risk of suffering "significant harm."  Public law proceedings can lead to a child being placed for adoption.  The Magistrates Family Proceedings Courts also have jurisdiction in private and public law cases though they tend to deal with the more straightforward cases.
 
The judiciary in County Courts will be Circuit Judges or District Judges.

Coroners and their Courts

Coroners have a long history going back to at least 1194.  A Coroners  Court is required to hold an inquest into the death of any person within the Coroner's jurisdiction who has (a) suffered a violent or unnatural death or (b) suffered a sudden death where the cause is unknown or (c) died in prison.  The purpose of the inquest is to determine how, when and where the deceased came by his death - Coroners Act 1988 s115.  The inquest is an enquiry into the cause of death and it does not determine civil or criminal liability.  Coroner's Courts are unusual in the English legal system since they operate on "inquisitorial lines as opposed to "adversarial" lines.  In some circumstances, a Coroner is required to sit with a jury (of 7 to 11) but, for most inquests, the Coroner will sit alone.

Many aspects of Coroners and their courts have been the subject of considerable adverse comment in recent times.  This has led to either important decisions of the appellate courts or to reform by legislation.

In R (Middleton) v West Somerset Coroner [2004] UKHL 10 and in R (Sacker) v West Yorkshire Coroner [2004] UKHL 11, the House of Lords held that determining "how" a person died required an investigation into "what circumstances".  Here, the House of Lords read the Coroners Act 1988 in a way which was compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.  These cases offer a good example of the court applying their duty of interpretation under the Human Rights Act 1988 s.3.

A further and major reform of the Coronial system is set to take place under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.  The Act itself contains a number of problematic features.

See also Coroners Resources

The Court Martial

The purpose of the Armed Forces Act 2006 was to replace the separate service disciplinary regimes by a single regime applicable to all the Armed Forces of the Crown. The new system came into force from 1st October 2009 and the former separate service discipline Acts have been repealed (e.g. Army Act 1955).  The 2006 Act retained key features of the former system in that minor offences continue to be dealt with summarily by Officers Commanding and more serious matters are tried by a Court Martial.

Since 1951 there has been a Courts-Martial Appeal Court - which is essentially the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).  Further appeal would lie to the Supreme Court of the U.K.

An overview of Service Discipline may be seen here.

Ecclesiastical Courts

Courts within the Church of England:    a considerable range of courts developed and they had jurisdiction in matters relating to wills (probate); marriage and divorce.  In the 19th century, this jurisdiction was transferred to the normal civil courts - e.g. High Court.  The church continues to have courts which exist for internal management purposes.  The Province of Canterbury has the Arches Court of Canterbury.  The Province of York has the Chancery Court of York.  There is also a Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved.  Each Diocese has a Consistory Court.  A further development has been a system of disciplinary tribunals created by the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003.  The tribunals took over from consistory courts matters relating to discipline of the clergy.  It is interesting that legislation relating solely to the Church of England is prepared by the General Synod but must be approved by Parliament and receive Royal Assent.  Such legislation is referred to as a "Measure" as opposed to an Act.   Further information is available here.  A great deal more information about the ecclesiastical courts is available here.


An appeal is possible from the Court of Arches of Canterbury or the Chancery Court of York to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.  Such appeals have to relate to non-doctrinal matters and they are very rare.

Terminology Relating to Courts

Superior and Inferior Courts - The term "Superior Court" is used in contrast to "inferior courts" such as Coroners, County Courts and Magistrates' Courts.  Inferior courts have their jurisdiction limited by either subject matter or by monetary amounts.  Precisely what designation as a "superior court" entails is not entirely clear though superior courts usually have unlimited jurisdiction within their sphere of work.  A major question is whether they are amenable to judicial review - this is discussed below.

Courts of Record - the origin of this phrase seems to go back to the fact that certain courts originally recorded their records on vellum.  In modern times, a court of record is one which has power to punish for contempt as a method of enforcement of court orders.  Certain other courts (which are not courts of record) have limited contempt powers usable as a means of enforcing order in the courtroom.

A considerable number of courts are referred to as a "Superior Court of Record" - e.g. the Special Immigration Appeals Tribunal (SIAC) and the Upper Tribunal - see above on this page.  The Supreme Court of the U.K. is a superior court of record because of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 s.40.  The Court of Appeal and the High Court are superior courts of record - see, respectively,  Senior Courts Act 1981 s.15 and s.19.

This terminology offers little clarity to the law and ought to be consigned to history.