Civil claims arise when an individual or a

business believes that their rights have been Civil courts

Used for disputes under
claim form called N1.infringed in some way.
decision on track- Defendant can:
5,000, personal injury and made by the District
photocopy
UK Supreme
Some of the main areas of civil law are
housing 1,000
Court
Judge in the County admit the claim and pay The form is taken to
County Court District Judge Court or the Master the full amount
the court office and a contract, tort, family, employment, and
Court of Appeal
company law.
fee is paid.
in the High Court. The defendant may
(Civil Division)
Fast track
The Overriding Objective
dispute the claim. must
The tracks are:
The
1st
rule
of
the
CPR
lays
down
an
send
an
Form
N9
or
a
The small claims
overriding objective which is to underpin the
defence to the court
5,000 to 25,000 BUT if
track
High Court
whole system. This overriding objective is that
within 14 days of
complex - County Court
The fast track
QBD; Family;
the rules should enable the courts to deal with
receiving the claim
The multi-track
Chancery
cases
justly.
This
prevails
over
all
other
rules
Multi track
neither of these things,
in case of a conflict.
County Court
claimant can ask the
court for order that
Circuit judge- County Court
ADR
defendant pays money
Usually 15,000 to 25,000
and costs claimed an
High Court
These are the methods/ways of resolving a
order in default.
Usually over 50,000
dispute without the need to go to court. The main
ways/methods of ADR are: Negotiation /
Once a claim is
Procedures
defended, the court will
Conciliation / Mediation / Arbitration
allocate the case to the
Civil Courts
most suitable track or
Circuit judges sit cases in the Crown
Role of the
way of dealing with it.
Court and in the County Court.
County Court

Small claims

Allocation of tracks Defending a claim

Issuing a claim

Civil cases all come here first.

The main types are:
All contract and tort claims;
All cases for the recovery of
land
Disputes over trusts,
partnerships and inheritance
up to 30,000.
They try cases in all three
tracks and has a higher
workload than the High Court.
Most cases are heard in
public courts except family
related cases.
The winning party may claim
costs against the losing party
and this would include the
costs of legal representation.

Role of the High

Court
Queens Bench Division
contract and tort cases that are usually over
50,000.
Chancery Division
This division is mainly concerned with insolvency,
mortgages, trust property, probate and copyright
and patents.
Cases in this court are heard by a single judge.
Family Division
This division is mainly concerned with wardship
cases, all cases coming under the Children Act
1989, defended divorces and nullity of marriages.
Divisional Courts
Each division of the High Court also has a
divisional court above it that has appellate
jurisdiction. The divisional court for the QBD the
Administrative Court also hears cases for judicial
review.

Appeal routes- high court

District judges- Hears civil cases in the
County Court, and criminal cases in the
Magistrates

House of Lords
Court of Appeal (Civil Division
Leapfrog
High Court
Appeal

Appeal routes- county court

Court hearings are not always the

best methods of resolving a dispute,
and their disadvantages mean that,
for some types of problem, ADR may
be more suitable.
Following Lord Woolfs reforms of
the civil justice system, ADR should
play a more important role in solving
all types of civil disputes.
Problems with court hearings
The adversarial process,
Technical cases,
Inflexible,
Imposed solutions,
Publicity.