© strawberrywaffles 2025
Courts
Judiciary
Tribunal judiciary
- Senior President of Tribunals: independent & statutory leader
o Immigration and Asylum & Tax: UK-wide leadership
o The rest are just for England & Wales
- Tribunal / Chamber President: day to day judicial administration
- Tribunal judges
- Tribunal members: non-legally qualified ‘lay’ members
High Court Judges
- Can sit in High Court, Crown Court and Family Court
- Appointed by monarch on recommendation of Lord Chancellor
- Must satisfy judicial appointment eligibility condition on a 7 year basis or be Circuit
Judges who have held office for at least 2 years
- High Court judges can be called upon to hear cases in the District Registries of the
High Court (anywhere) and in the Royal Courts of Justice (London)
High Court Masters
- Procedural judges – deal with preliminary matters until it is ready for trial
- Senior Master
- 9x King’s Bench Division masters
- Chief Master
- 5x Chancery masters
Court of Appeal Judges:
- Heads of Division
o Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales aka Head of Judiciary and President
of the Courts of England and Wales
▪ Heads the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
o Master of Rolls – heads the Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
o President of KBD
o President of Family Division
o Chancellor of the High Court
- Lord Justices of Appeal
,© strawberrywaffles 2025
Court hierarchy, appeal system & jurisdiction
Tribunals – no jurisdiction in criminal matters
- Upper Tribunal hears appeals from First Tier Tribunal (FTT)
o Upper Tribunal has same status as High Court
- 7 chambers in the First Tier Tribunal
o War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber
o Social Entitlement Chamber
o Health, Education & Social Care Chamber
o General Regulatory Chamber
o Tax Chamber
o Immigration & Asylum Chamber
o Property Chamber
- Employment Tribunal is also on first-tier level but not a chamber of FTT
- 4 chambers in the Upper Tribunal:
o Administrative and Appeals Chamber
▪ War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber
▪ Social Entitlement Chamber
▪ Health, Education & Social Care Chamber
▪ General Regulatory Chamber
o Tax and Chancery Chamber
o Immigration and Asylum Chamber
o Lands Chamber
- Tribunal and civil justice systems are not hermetically sealed – cases can, if
necessary, be transferred between them
Coroner’s Courts – investigation of deaths with unknown/unnatural causes
- Coroners’ investigations: inquests
- Juries convened in some cases e.g. deceased died in state custody
- Coroners require legal experience but are not members of the judiciary
o Barristers, solicitors or medical practitioners of not less than 5 years, who
continue in their legal/medical jobs if not a coroner
- Coroner’s decision: verdict
- Solicitors have automatic right of audience in coroners’ courts
Public inquiries – convened by government departments
- Public inquiry held under Inquiries Act 2005 – inquiry has
,© strawberrywaffles 2025
o Legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence
o Legal safeguards & procedures
o Statutory framework for appointment of a chair and other inquiry personnel,
the taking of evidence and the production of a report and recommendations
- Nothing to compel the government to act on the recommendations of a statutory
public inquiry
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
- Final appeal court for UK overseas territories, Crown dependencies, some
Commonwealth countries, and some professional bodies
- Hears both civil and criminal matters
- Not binding but highly persuasive
- Membership not limited to SC justices
Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC)
- Reviews alleged miscarriages of justice
- Power to send case back to CA for review if it considers there is a ‘real possibility’
that CA will overturn the conviction/sentence
- If decision was made in Magistrates’ Court or Youth Court, CCRC can send it back to
the Crown Court for review – usually a re-hearing
- Commission usually has to identify new evidence or a new legal argument that
makes the case look significantly different
Appeals from the County Court (civil cases):
- Deputy District Judges (most junior – fee paid)
- District Judges (most common County Court judges)
- Circuit Judges
- High Court
o KBD: both criminal and civil cases
- Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
o High Court decision can only be appealed here with permission
- Supreme Court
o Only if it deals with a point of law of general public importance
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
, © strawberrywaffles 2025
- Hears appeals from High Court, County Court (if judgment was given by a Circuit
Judge), and certain tribunals e.g. Employment Appeal Tribunal, Immigration Appeal
Tribunal
- Headed by Master of Rolls
Supreme Court
- Need permission to appeal to SC
- Only if case is of general public importance
- Has jurisdiction to hear appeals from all 4 constituent countries of the UK
- ‘leapfrog appeal’: High Court judgments can be appealed directly to SC when
o Decision concerns a point of law of general public importance, and
o Decision relates to national importance / decision is so significant that a SC
hearing is justified / benefits of earlier consideration by the SC outweigh the
benefits of consideration by CA
Rights of audience
- Automatic rights of audience in lower courts e.g. Magistrates’ Court, County Court
- Solicitors cannot advocate in High Court or above
o Automatic rights of audience in chambers, not open court, in High Court
- Must pass training and assessments to obtain Higher Rights of Audience from SRA if
solicitors want to advocate in High Court, CA, SC
o Solicitor-advocates have widest rights of audience
- No automatic rights of audience in Crown Court
o BUT solicitor who acted in original trial (magistrates’ court) has rights of
audience to appeal to the Crown Court
Courts
Judiciary
Tribunal judiciary
- Senior President of Tribunals: independent & statutory leader
o Immigration and Asylum & Tax: UK-wide leadership
o The rest are just for England & Wales
- Tribunal / Chamber President: day to day judicial administration
- Tribunal judges
- Tribunal members: non-legally qualified ‘lay’ members
High Court Judges
- Can sit in High Court, Crown Court and Family Court
- Appointed by monarch on recommendation of Lord Chancellor
- Must satisfy judicial appointment eligibility condition on a 7 year basis or be Circuit
Judges who have held office for at least 2 years
- High Court judges can be called upon to hear cases in the District Registries of the
High Court (anywhere) and in the Royal Courts of Justice (London)
High Court Masters
- Procedural judges – deal with preliminary matters until it is ready for trial
- Senior Master
- 9x King’s Bench Division masters
- Chief Master
- 5x Chancery masters
Court of Appeal Judges:
- Heads of Division
o Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales aka Head of Judiciary and President
of the Courts of England and Wales
▪ Heads the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
o Master of Rolls – heads the Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
o President of KBD
o President of Family Division
o Chancellor of the High Court
- Lord Justices of Appeal
,© strawberrywaffles 2025
Court hierarchy, appeal system & jurisdiction
Tribunals – no jurisdiction in criminal matters
- Upper Tribunal hears appeals from First Tier Tribunal (FTT)
o Upper Tribunal has same status as High Court
- 7 chambers in the First Tier Tribunal
o War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber
o Social Entitlement Chamber
o Health, Education & Social Care Chamber
o General Regulatory Chamber
o Tax Chamber
o Immigration & Asylum Chamber
o Property Chamber
- Employment Tribunal is also on first-tier level but not a chamber of FTT
- 4 chambers in the Upper Tribunal:
o Administrative and Appeals Chamber
▪ War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber
▪ Social Entitlement Chamber
▪ Health, Education & Social Care Chamber
▪ General Regulatory Chamber
o Tax and Chancery Chamber
o Immigration and Asylum Chamber
o Lands Chamber
- Tribunal and civil justice systems are not hermetically sealed – cases can, if
necessary, be transferred between them
Coroner’s Courts – investigation of deaths with unknown/unnatural causes
- Coroners’ investigations: inquests
- Juries convened in some cases e.g. deceased died in state custody
- Coroners require legal experience but are not members of the judiciary
o Barristers, solicitors or medical practitioners of not less than 5 years, who
continue in their legal/medical jobs if not a coroner
- Coroner’s decision: verdict
- Solicitors have automatic right of audience in coroners’ courts
Public inquiries – convened by government departments
- Public inquiry held under Inquiries Act 2005 – inquiry has
,© strawberrywaffles 2025
o Legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence
o Legal safeguards & procedures
o Statutory framework for appointment of a chair and other inquiry personnel,
the taking of evidence and the production of a report and recommendations
- Nothing to compel the government to act on the recommendations of a statutory
public inquiry
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
- Final appeal court for UK overseas territories, Crown dependencies, some
Commonwealth countries, and some professional bodies
- Hears both civil and criminal matters
- Not binding but highly persuasive
- Membership not limited to SC justices
Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC)
- Reviews alleged miscarriages of justice
- Power to send case back to CA for review if it considers there is a ‘real possibility’
that CA will overturn the conviction/sentence
- If decision was made in Magistrates’ Court or Youth Court, CCRC can send it back to
the Crown Court for review – usually a re-hearing
- Commission usually has to identify new evidence or a new legal argument that
makes the case look significantly different
Appeals from the County Court (civil cases):
- Deputy District Judges (most junior – fee paid)
- District Judges (most common County Court judges)
- Circuit Judges
- High Court
o KBD: both criminal and civil cases
- Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
o High Court decision can only be appealed here with permission
- Supreme Court
o Only if it deals with a point of law of general public importance
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
, © strawberrywaffles 2025
- Hears appeals from High Court, County Court (if judgment was given by a Circuit
Judge), and certain tribunals e.g. Employment Appeal Tribunal, Immigration Appeal
Tribunal
- Headed by Master of Rolls
Supreme Court
- Need permission to appeal to SC
- Only if case is of general public importance
- Has jurisdiction to hear appeals from all 4 constituent countries of the UK
- ‘leapfrog appeal’: High Court judgments can be appealed directly to SC when
o Decision concerns a point of law of general public importance, and
o Decision relates to national importance / decision is so significant that a SC
hearing is justified / benefits of earlier consideration by the SC outweigh the
benefits of consideration by CA
Rights of audience
- Automatic rights of audience in lower courts e.g. Magistrates’ Court, County Court
- Solicitors cannot advocate in High Court or above
o Automatic rights of audience in chambers, not open court, in High Court
- Must pass training and assessments to obtain Higher Rights of Audience from SRA if
solicitors want to advocate in High Court, CA, SC
o Solicitor-advocates have widest rights of audience
- No automatic rights of audience in Crown Court
o BUT solicitor who acted in original trial (magistrates’ court) has rights of
audience to appeal to the Crown Court
