High Court and County Court allocation
Where are civil cases usually heard? Senior courts of England & Wales
1. High Court – for higher value/more • High Court
complex cases or cases which raise a • Crown Court
point of public importance • Senior Court Costs Office
2. County Court • Court of Appeal
3. Magistrates Court – in very limited
circs Supreme Court = final appeal court for ALL
4. Tribunals – sometimes for civil cases in the UK
employment, land and taxation
matters
Main types of Courts
1) High Court 2) County Court
Trials are conducted by High Court judges Cases tend to be heard by
(My Lord/My Lady) – practitioners of at least • Circuit Judges (assisted in their work
7 years standing and legal experience OR from time-to-time by Recorders) for
have been a circuit judge for more than 2 the more serious cases
years • District Judges for the majority of
day-to-day interim case management
Also deals with Interim Applications matters
o May exercise trial jurisdiction
in cases
3) Chancery Division (ChD) § up to £25k
Usually deals w/ § / possession claims for
• ALL claims relating to land the recovery of land
• mortgage claims § / applications for an
• claims arising out/in connection w/ assessment of
trust property damages w/o any
• company matters financial limit
• insolvency including personal
insolvency 5) Family Division (FamD)
• probate Usually deals w/
• intellectual property cases • Family matters including those relating
to children, money matters, divorce,
matters arising under particular
4) Queen’s Division (QBD) legislation
Usually deals w/ • BUT most fam matters now dealt w/ in
• Contract or tort arising for personal the Family Court (some HC judges sit
injury and judicial review in FC)
NB: ChD and QBD have their own range of specialise courts covering matters e.g.,
• Bankruptcy
• Company law matters
• Business and financial matters
• Patents
• Intellectual property
Much of the work of the ChD and specialist divisions of QBD is NOW gathered tgt under the
umbrella of the Business and Property Courts.
, The specialist courts of the High Court
Construction and Deals with:
Technology Court • Building, construction and engineering disputes
• Professional negligence involving engineers, architects, surveyors
(part of QBD) and accountants
• Claims against local authorities in relation to construction of buildings
• Claims of a technical nature relating to computer systems and
matters of this kind
A claim falling under these categories can ONLY be brought as a TCC claim
IF
(a) It involves issues/questions which are technically complex
(b) A trial by a TCC judge is desirable
No financial limit BUT case law has est that a claim should X be issued in
TCC unless its value is >£250,000
Commercial Court Deals with commercial claims arising out of trade and commerce including:
• Business contracts
• The importation of exportations of goods
• Carriage of goods by land, sea, air or pipeline
• Insurance
• Banking and financial services
• Commodities and arbitration
Circuit Commercial Concerned with commercial/business claims in a broad sense
Courts Generally, deals w/ claims that are less complex/have a lower value than the
cases heard in the Comm Courts but would benefit from the expertise of a
specialist circuit Comm judge
Admiralty Court Deals with admiralty matters such as:
• Collision claims
• Claims relating to the ownership, possession or damage to a ship
Companies Court Deals with ALL kinds of claims relating to companies including corporate
insolvency
Patents Court Hears disputes in relation to:
• Patents
• Registered trademarks
• Other IP rights
Intellectual Property Deals with:
Enterprise Court • Patents
• Registered trademarks
• Other IP rights
• Deals w/ less complex cases up to value of £500k – relatively big
jurisdiction
Administrative and Main business = judicial review proceedings
Planning Court
Business and Property Includes matters such as:
Court • The sale or transfer of land
• Execution of trusts
• Administration of estates
• Bankruptcy
• Dissolution of partnerships
• Intellectual property disputes
• Company work
Where are civil cases usually heard? Senior courts of England & Wales
1. High Court – for higher value/more • High Court
complex cases or cases which raise a • Crown Court
point of public importance • Senior Court Costs Office
2. County Court • Court of Appeal
3. Magistrates Court – in very limited
circs Supreme Court = final appeal court for ALL
4. Tribunals – sometimes for civil cases in the UK
employment, land and taxation
matters
Main types of Courts
1) High Court 2) County Court
Trials are conducted by High Court judges Cases tend to be heard by
(My Lord/My Lady) – practitioners of at least • Circuit Judges (assisted in their work
7 years standing and legal experience OR from time-to-time by Recorders) for
have been a circuit judge for more than 2 the more serious cases
years • District Judges for the majority of
day-to-day interim case management
Also deals with Interim Applications matters
o May exercise trial jurisdiction
in cases
3) Chancery Division (ChD) § up to £25k
Usually deals w/ § / possession claims for
• ALL claims relating to land the recovery of land
• mortgage claims § / applications for an
• claims arising out/in connection w/ assessment of
trust property damages w/o any
• company matters financial limit
• insolvency including personal
insolvency 5) Family Division (FamD)
• probate Usually deals w/
• intellectual property cases • Family matters including those relating
to children, money matters, divorce,
matters arising under particular
4) Queen’s Division (QBD) legislation
Usually deals w/ • BUT most fam matters now dealt w/ in
• Contract or tort arising for personal the Family Court (some HC judges sit
injury and judicial review in FC)
NB: ChD and QBD have their own range of specialise courts covering matters e.g.,
• Bankruptcy
• Company law matters
• Business and financial matters
• Patents
• Intellectual property
Much of the work of the ChD and specialist divisions of QBD is NOW gathered tgt under the
umbrella of the Business and Property Courts.
, The specialist courts of the High Court
Construction and Deals with:
Technology Court • Building, construction and engineering disputes
• Professional negligence involving engineers, architects, surveyors
(part of QBD) and accountants
• Claims against local authorities in relation to construction of buildings
• Claims of a technical nature relating to computer systems and
matters of this kind
A claim falling under these categories can ONLY be brought as a TCC claim
IF
(a) It involves issues/questions which are technically complex
(b) A trial by a TCC judge is desirable
No financial limit BUT case law has est that a claim should X be issued in
TCC unless its value is >£250,000
Commercial Court Deals with commercial claims arising out of trade and commerce including:
• Business contracts
• The importation of exportations of goods
• Carriage of goods by land, sea, air or pipeline
• Insurance
• Banking and financial services
• Commodities and arbitration
Circuit Commercial Concerned with commercial/business claims in a broad sense
Courts Generally, deals w/ claims that are less complex/have a lower value than the
cases heard in the Comm Courts but would benefit from the expertise of a
specialist circuit Comm judge
Admiralty Court Deals with admiralty matters such as:
• Collision claims
• Claims relating to the ownership, possession or damage to a ship
Companies Court Deals with ALL kinds of claims relating to companies including corporate
insolvency
Patents Court Hears disputes in relation to:
• Patents
• Registered trademarks
• Other IP rights
Intellectual Property Deals with:
Enterprise Court • Patents
• Registered trademarks
• Other IP rights
• Deals w/ less complex cases up to value of £500k – relatively big
jurisdiction
Administrative and Main business = judicial review proceedings
Planning Court
Business and Property Includes matters such as:
Court • The sale or transfer of land
• Execution of trusts
• Administration of estates
• Bankruptcy
• Dissolution of partnerships
• Intellectual property disputes
• Company work
