Structure of the English Court System

Sunday, September 13, 2009

The chart above shows a simplified version of the English court system. The House of Lords is the final court of appeal for civil and criminal cases from England and Wales. A case in the House of Lords is not heard by the entire house; rather, there is a maximum of twelve Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, also called Law Lords, who judge the cases. Generally five judges hear each appeal.

The Court of Appeal in both its civil and criminal divisions has only appellate jurisdiction, while the High Court of Justice and the Crown Court have both appellate and original jurisdiction. They will hear on original jurisdiction civil and criminal cases considered too serious to be heard by either the Magistrate's Courts (criminal) or the County Courts (civil). Terence Ingman, The English Legal Process (11th ed, 2006) (KD7111 .I53 2006) provides a detailed discussion of the organization and procedure of the courts.