High Court

When we speak of the Royal Courts of Justice, usually we mean the High Court and the Court of Appeal, housed in an imposing building on the Strand in London. The Supreme Court of Judicature Acts 1873, created the High Court by bringing together the Courts of civil jurisdiction which had been formed shortly after the Conquest. The High Court was constituted in five divisions - Chancery; Probate, Divorce and Admiralty. ("wills, wives and wrecks"); Queen's Bench; Common Pleas and Exchequer. Common Pleas and Exchequer were merged into the Queen’s Bench Division in 1880. The Courts Act 1971, abolished the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, dividing its responsibilities among Queen's Bench, Chancery and a newly created Family Division.

This divisional structure is partially illusory. Each of the three divisions theoretically has equal jurisdictional competency, although the Rules of the Supreme Court express an allocation of matters to separate divisions. Matrimonial cases in the High Court are heard in the Family Division, and Chancery is assigned numerous matters which have a traditional equity nature. A High Court judge assigned to any division, nevertheless, may exercise jurisdiction over an issue which under the Rules of the Supreme Court technically is allocated to another division.

The Chancery Division, presided over by the Lord Chancellor, almost always sits in London. Chancery judges are not noted for travelling on circuit, although the Courts Act permits sessions of any division to be held anywhere in England or Wales. Chancery tends to concentrate on issues of an equitable nature earlier assigned to its predecessor, the Court of Chancery, including estate administration, trusts, mortgages, certain interests in land, partnership dissolution and bankruptcy of companies and some revenue matters. It has a limited appellate jurisdiction, allowing a single judge to hear appeals from the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, or two judges to sit for appeals of bankruptcy decisions from county courts. By far the most are revenue appeals.

The Family Division - a president is its chief judge - has original jurisdiction of matrimony, legitimacy, adoption, guardianship and various disputes between spouses. Its limited appellate jurisdiction involves guardianship, adoption, matrimonial and affiliation appeals from magistrates' and county courts.

The broadest civil jurisdiction, original and appellate, is assigned to the Queen's Bench Division. It also is given limited criminal appeals. The Queen's Bench broader jurisdiction, encompassing many contract and tort actions, is attributable to its being the successor to three of the original divisions of the early High Court - Queen's Bench, Common Pleas and Exchequer. Additionally, it is charged with admiralty jurisdiction, a unique function evolving from the transfer of admiralty issues from the former Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division to Queen's Bench in the 1971 reform.

By far the largest number of cases before the High Court are heard in London. Although the widely dispersed county courts dispose of most minor civil rnatters, the more complex cases of higher value tend to he tried in London, much due to the concentration of barristers in London. But the High Court judges in the Queen's Bench Division do sit throughout the country, often hearing High Court cases on a circuit which has scheduled additionally the same judge to sit for criminal matters in local Crown Courts.

Civil appellate jurisdiction of the Queen's Bench is limited, involving a single judge deciding certain appeals from tribunals and from interlocutory orders of Queen’s Bench Division masters. Two or more Queen’s Bench Division judges may hear some civil appeals from magistrates’ courts, or from the limited civil jurisdiction of the Crown Courts.

The Queen’s Bench Division is the only division of the High Court with any criminal jurisdiction. Two or three judges may sit as an appelate court in limited appeals from the magistrates’ courts or Crown Courts.

Crown Courts

The Crown Court is a superior court of criminal jurisdiction on a level comparable to the civil jurisdiction of the High Court. The divisions of the High Court have evolved over centuries, however, while the Crown Court was created by the Courts Acts 1971. It is, nevertheless, part of an evolutionary process of criminal courts. Hearing indictable offences, the more serious crimes, the Crown Court has replaced Quarter Sessions and Assizes. The latter were local courts, their organization and administration varying throughout the country. Special criminal courts convened in several of the larger cities. The Central Criminal Court Act 1834, created the famous Assize Court for Greater London, popularly known as the "Old Bailey."

The geographic distribution of the English population was altered when urbanization accelerated in the late 18th century, and the very different characteristics of local criminal courts became apparent. Uniformity was thought desirable and best achieved through a national system of criminal courts with some consistency in structure and administration. The Courts Act 1971 established a single superior criminal court, made part of the Supreme Court of Judicature and designated the Crown Court. The Crown Court is convened throughout the year in contrast to the abolished Quarter Sessions.

There was no unification of judicial qualification when the court structure was changed; the Crown Court cannot be said to have its own judges. The judges rather consist of all the judges of the High Court, plus Circuit judges, Recorders and Justices of the Peace. They sit alone. It is possible for a collegiate form to convene, but it does not happen. A Justice of the Peace may serve if there is also a judge of the High Court present, but the former sit principally when there is a hearing on an appeal or an issue of committal for sentence. Supplementary to the jurisdiction of the Crown Court over the principal indictable offences, are its roles for appeals to the magistrates' courts and as a sentencing tribunal after conviction in a magistrates' court. A magistrates' court may transfer sentencing to the Crown Court if the magistrates believe that their own sentencing powers are inadequate considering the severity of the crime.