What do you know about the System of Courts in Great Britain? Would you like to work as a lawyer in the British Court System? Why?

Do you know what the highest court in the British Judicial System is? And where is it situated?

Vocabulary notes:

superior court	суд вищої (загальної) інстанції
to hear cases	слухати справи
county court	суд графства
The Court of Appeal	Апеляційний суд
The High Court	Високий суд
to convict	визнавати винним
indictment	акт обвинувачення
proceeding	судочинство
sentence	вирок суду
sitting	засідання суду
assize	виїзна сесія
inferior court	суд нижчої інстанції
The Crown Court	Суд Корони
summarily	без участі присяжних
indictable offence	злочин, що підлягає судовому переслідуванню
to be referred	бути переданим до розгляду
to assign	призначати
to be remitted	бути полегшеним
appropriate	відповідний
supervisory	наглядацький
circuit judge	суддя виїзної сесії
to be charged	бути звинуваченим / притягнутим до
statutory	уставний, дисциплінарний
stipendiary, salaried	оплачуваний
debt	борг
quarter session	квартальна сесія

JUDICIAL ORGANIZATION

Superior courts. The highest court is the House of Lords, which exercises the judicial function of Parliament. In theory appeal to the House of Lords is an appeal to the whole House but in practice, particularly since the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1876, created a group of salaried life peers, or ‘law lords’. Lay peers do not participate in judicial sittings of the House. Appeals are referred to an Appellate Committee of the House. By that Act appeal must be heard by at least three of the Lord Chancellor, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, and such peers as hold or have held high judicial office.

The Court of Appeal sits in both civil and criminal divisions. The Civil division hears appeals from the High Court, county courts and certain special courts, and certain tribunals, such as the Lands Tribunal. The Criminal division hears appeals by persons convicted on indictment in the Crown Courts.

The High Court in its civil jurisdiction is divided into three Divisions (Queen’s Bench, Chancery, and Family) to each of which certain kinds of cases are assigned. Divisional court consisting of two or more judges, have limited appellate jurisdiction in certain cases. The main civil jurisdiction is exercised by single judges hearing cases of the kind appropriate to the divisions to which the judges belong.

The criminal jurisdiction of the High Court is exercised exclusively by the Queen’s Bench Division. A divisional court of two or three judges of that Division deals with appeals from a Crown Court and magistrates’ court and also exercises the supervisory jurisdiction.

The Crown Court, created in 1972, replaces the former assizes and quarter sessions. It exercises criminal jurisdiction and sittings are held regularly at major towns throughout England and Wales. It comprises judges of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court, circuit judges and Recorders (part-time judges). They sit singly with juries trying persons charged on indictment with crimes. A judge of the Crown Court sits with two to four justices of the peace to hear appeals from magistrates’ court.

Inferior courts. County courts have exclusively civil jurisdiction, which is limited in extent and in area, and which is entirely statutory. The judges are persons who also hold office as Circuit judges of the Crown Court.

Magistrates’ courts consist of a stipendiary magistrate or of two to seven (usually two or three) lay justices of the peace; a single lay justice has a very limited jurisdiction.

Magistrates’ courts have civil jurisdiction in relation to certain debts, licences, and domestic proceedings. A magistrates’ court may try summarily many minor statutory offences, and also certain offences if the prosecutor applies for the case to be heard summarily, the court agrees it is a suitable mode of trial and the defendant does not elect jury trial. Cases may be appealed to the Crown Court or defendants remitted for sentence to the Crown Court.

Notes to the text:

Lord Chancellor is the chief judicial officer in the British Constitution. He (she) is a peer and Cabinet Minister, Speaker of the House of Lords, president of the Supreme Court and of the House of Lords sitting as a final court of appeal. He appoints magistrates. Recommends people for high judicial office.

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. The title of a judge with a life peerage who exercises the judicial functions of the House of Lords.

Old Bailey is the popular name for the Central Criminal Court.

Task 1. Give the Ukrainian equivalents of the following word-expressions:

Superior courts, judicial function, to exercise, the House of Lords, sitting, to hold judicial office, to hear cases (appeals), county court, convicted on indictment, Crown Court, limited jurisdiction, deal with, throughout England and Wales, magistrates’ court, part-time judges, try person, inferior courts, indictable offence, statutory offence, sentence.

 

Task 2. Give the English equivalents of the following word-expressions:

Суд вищої інстанції, засуджувати (судити), суди графств, звинувачення, суд обмеженої юрисдикції, апеляційний суд, звинувачений (підзахисний), слухання по справі, вирок суду, обвинувальний акт, Карний суд, судочинство, засідання суду, палата Лордів, Високий Суд, магістратські суди.

 

Task 3. Choose the correct word in brackets and complete the sentence:

 

1. The House of Lords has (general / limited) appellate jurisdiction.

2. The civil division (hears/ exercises) appeals from the High Court.

3. The Crown Court was (created/ limited) in 1972.

4. The Crown Court (comprises/ deals with) judges of the Queen’s Bench Division.

5. The Crown Court (exercises/implements) criminal jurisdiction.

6. County courts have exclusively (civil/ criminal) jurisdiction.

7. Magistrates’ courts (consist of/ exercise) a stipendiary magistrate.

8. Magistrates’ courts have civil jurisdiction in relation to (debts, murders)

Task 4. Match the English and the Ukrainian equivalents:

the Court of Appeal to constitute a,,precedent” the final tribunal High Court court of general jurisdiction to preside over court county courts limited jurisdiction Crown Court temporary appointment to try cases stipendiary magistrates magistrates courts

обмежена юрисдикція Суд Корони найвищий (остаточний) суд суди графств головувати у суді Високий Суд тимчасове призначення розглядати справи створити,,прецедент’’ Апеляційний Суд суд загальної юрисдикції магістратські суди магістрати, які отримують платню

 

Task 5. Match the words and their definitions:

1. indictable offence 2. division   3. circuit judge   4. jurisdiction   5. indictment   6. salaried peer   7. justice of the peace 8. appeal   9. hold an office

a) a person who judges less serious cases in a local law court b) to be in post c) a person who receives a regular fixed payment d) an offence which could be tried by jury in the Crown Court e) the separate sections of the High Court and the Court of Appeal f) a judge who makes journey round a particular area to hear civil and criminal cases in the county court and Crown Court of a district of England and Wales g) to take a question to a higher court where it can be heard again h) a formal document of accusation which is read out in court the power of a court to hear and decide a case

 

Task 6. Complete the sentence using the following words and phrases:

summarily, hears, hold office, civil, exercises, sittings, magistrate, jurisdiction

1. The Criminal division… appeals by persons convicted on indictment in the Crown Courts.

2. The House of Lords… the judicial function of Parliament

3. The Crown Court exercises criminal jurisdiction and… are held regularly.

4. The House has almost entirely appellate… only, in civil and criminal cases from the Courts of Appeal in England and in Northern Ireland and in civil cases only from the Court of Session in Scotland.

5. Magistrates’ courts consist of a stipendiary…

6. County courts have exclusively … jurisdiction.

7. The judges are persons who also … as Circuit judges of the Crown Court.

8. A magistrates’ court may try… many minor statutory offences.