Summary Rules of language

The legal system: the civil courts
Civil claims – claims made in the civil courts when an individual or a
business believes that their rights have been infringed in some way.
Some of the main areas of civil law are –
- Civil law
- Contract law – company may be claiming that money is owed to
them
- Law of tort – an individual may be claiming compensation for injuries
- Family law – this may involve a parent wanting child custody
- Employment law – cases where there may be discrimination involved
- Company law – problems with company contracts
The two courts in which civil cases are tried in are:
- The County Court
- The High Court
County Court
 Can try nearly all civil cases
 All contract and tort claims
 All cases for the recovery land
 Disputes over equitable matters such as trusts up to value £350,000
 Heard by circuit or district judges
 On rare occasions the judge can sit with a jury of 8. This will only
happen when for defamation cases or for the torts of malicious
prosecution or false imprisonment
High Court
 Power to hear any civil case
 Has three divisions – specialize in hearing certain types of cases
- Queen’s bench division
- Chancery division
- Family division