The System of Courts in Great Britain

Pre-reading task: Read the text and answer the following questions:

1. Which courts try major criminal cases?

2. When was the Supreme Court of the UK formed?

3. What was the highest court of the UK before 2009?

 

The structure of the court system in Britain is many-layered. The courts in Great Britain are divided into two large groups: criminal courts and civil courts. Besides, there are many special tribunals – independent judicial bodies - set up by Parliament.

Criminal courts are Magistrates' Courts and Crown Courts. Magistrates' Courts are the courts of first instance. Cases involving minor offences begin and end there. Cases involving more serious offences normally start in Magistrates' Courts before being referred to higher courts - Crown Courts - for trial. Crown Courts try serious cases such as murder, rape, arson, armed robbery, fraud, and so on.

Civil courts include county courts as the courts of first instance, and the High Court as a higher court. Jurisdiction of county courts is now statutorily unlimited, and the number of cases tried at this level is vast.

The High Court of Justice consists of three separate subdivisions: the Queen's Bench Division, the Chancery Division and the Family Division. They are independent of each other and deal with different cases, both criminal and civil.

Appeals against decisions of the High Court and the Crown Court may be taken to the Court of Appeal with its Criminal and Civil divisions.

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 established the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to replace the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. The main reason for the establishment of this court is to separate legislative and judicial powers in the country. The Supreme Court took over the judicial functions of the House of Lords and started to operate in October 2009.

Notes:

Crown Court - суд короны (суд по уголовным делам)

High Court of Justice - Высокий Суд правосудия

Queen's Bench Division - Отделение королевской скамьи Высокого Суда правосудия (рассматривает важнейшие уголовные дела и некоторые категории гражданских дел)

Chancery Division - Канцлерское отделение Высокого Суда правосудия (рассматривает гражданские дела)

Family Division - Отделение Высокого Суда правосудия по семейным делам, разводам и завещаниям

Court of Appeal - Апелляционный суд

Lords of Appeal in Ordinary - лорды-судьи, судебные лорды; члены палаты лордов, назначаемые для рассмотрения апелляций.

 

Exercise 14

Match each word or phrase on the left to the Russian equivalent on the right:

1.tribunal	a. незначительное правонарушение
2. minor offence	b. убийство
3. county court	c. поджог
4. murder	d. изнасилование
5. rape	e.суд; трибунал; суд специальной юрисдикции
6.arson	f. вооруженный разбой
7. armed robbery	g. суд графства

 

Exercise 15

Match each word or phrase on the left to the correct definition on the right:

1. criminal court	a) a court that handles non-criminal legal matters
2. civil court	b) a court of summary jurisdiction held before two or more justices of the peace
3. court of first instance	c) the lowest civil tribunal, having limited jurisdiction, mostly for the recovery of small debts
4. Magistrates' Court	d) a court of criminal jurisdiction holding sessions in towns throughout England and Wales
5. tribunal	e) includes the Chancery, Family, and King's Bench or Queen's Bench Divisions
6. county court	f) the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases, which also hears appeals in criminal cases from England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
7. Crown Court	g) a body established to settle certain types of dispute
8. High Court of Justice	h) a court to which appeals are made on points of law resulting from the judgment of a lower court
9. Court of Appeal	i) a court having jurisdiction over criminal cases
10. Supreme Court	j) a court in which legal proceedings are begun or first heard

Exercise 16