Assess the hierarchical structure of the court system in England and Essay - 2

Assess the hierarchical structure of the court system in England and Wales. To what extent does the common law doctrine of bindi - Essay Example This essay will look at how far this doctrine applied in England and Wales. England and Wales court structure The UK does not have a unified court system in that England and Wales share one system whilst Scotland and northern Ireland each have got two distinct judicial systems. This essay is more concerned with the court hierarchy system in England and Wales, which comprises of: Magistrates’ court these courts are local with seating both qualified and lay magistrates that hear mainly criminal but also civil matters before them at first instance. County courts are staffed by a circuit judge or a district judge and they are all over England and Wales hearing civil matters. The crown court sits to hear criminal matters and may use jury during the trial process. These courts sit in various parts of England and Wales, sittings which are presided over by a circuit judge or a district judge. The high court of justice this court mainly hears civil matters but it also has criminal juri sdiction. It has its sittings in London although this is not permanent since the court may hear cases before it held anywhere in England and Wales. The High Court of Justice is divided into three divisions i. Family division including its divisional court hears appeals from magistrates courts. ii. Queen’s Bench division hears commercial matters, incorporating and administrative court. iii. Chancery division hears civil cases on appeal from the county courts Each of these divisions has different types of work they undertake that notwithstanding they also have jurisdiction to hear appeals from lower courts and a judge sitting in this capacity, the court is referred to as ‘divisional court of the High court’. The divisional courts hear appeals from tribunals and courts below them in the hierarchy. During the High Court sittings, it is presided over by the High Court Judges. Court of appeal this court has two divisions the civil division, which hears civil cases on a ppeal, which have primarily emanated from High Court and the criminal division hearing criminal cases on appeal from the crown court. This court sits in London with senior judges –Lord Justices of Appeal- presiding. The Supreme Court this is the final court of appeal of all civil and criminal cases in England, Northern Ireland and Wales since 1st October 2009. Cases reaching before it must have gone through relevant procedures in a lower court. The Supreme Court has 12 justices who are separate from both parliament and government. Other influential courts (Slapper, Gary, and David 163 - 183) Common law doctrine of binding precedent in court hierarchy The basis of this doctrine is the principle of stare decisis which requires that a later court to use the same reasoning as an earlier court; in essence a particular set of facts should give rise to a particular legal outcome therefore the fairness principle means that cases with similar facts should be similarly decided (Malleso n, 66 -67). The court hierarchy is central to the understanding of this doctrine in the sense that the higher the courts’ position the more far-reaching are the effects of its decisions generally. The lower courts are described to be bound by the decisions of higher courts. This means that the lower court will follow the decisions of the highest court this feature of courts is described as binding precedent. Rules of Binding precedent as they apply 1. The House of Lords In England and Wales, court