Introduction to Criminal Law
The focus of the module is the criminal law of England and Wales
Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions
- Criminal Investigation: Police
- Prosecutions: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
- Defence lawyers: Solicitors or Barristers
Criminal Trials and Sentencing
- Plea and Trial: Judge/Jury/Magistrates
- Sentencing: Judge/Magistrates
- Crown Court: a trial judge will adjudicate on matters of law and sum up the case for
the jury
- A jury of 12 people will hear and decide on the facts. Their job is not to
decide on matters of law, they only decide on matters of facts. They must
apply the law as directed by the trial judge. The trial judge is the tribunal of
law and the jury is the tribunal of fact. The jury is responsible for deciding
whether a defendant
- Magistrates Court: the case will be heard by a bench of three lay magistrates who
receive advice on the law from a legal adviser or by a single professional judge
called a district judge.
- Standard/Burden of Proof
- The CPS must establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant has
committed the offence
- Beyond reasonable doubt in the criminal standard of proof, and that contrasts to the
civil standard of proof
- The civil standard of proof is the balance of probabilities.
- So in a civil matter, the standard of proof is much lower. It is the balance of
probabilities, which means that something is more likely than not to be true.
- In a civil trial, we do not have to be sure, we simply have to think that it is more
likely to be true than not.
Criminal Courts Structure
- There is no jury in the magistrate’s court. Magistrates
are laypeople, they are not professional judges, laypeople
who are not legally qualified, but they are advised in court
by a court clerk who is legally qualified
- Magistrates or crown court cases will not be used for
this module as there are lots of these cases and they are
unreported. This means that the decisions taken by the
crown court and magistrates court are not published.
- The module will comprise of the Criminal Division in the
Court of Appeal and The Supreme Court cases.
- The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal.
- Before 2010, The Supreme Court was called the House
of Lords.
- The Judicial Committee of the Privvy Council is the
, court of final appeal for many Commonwealth countries and UK overseas territories and crown
dependencies.
Criminal Law and other sources of law
The main sources of criminal law in England and Wales are statutes and cases.
However, other sources include:
- Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights
(ECHR) into domestic law as part of the Public Law module.
- Since the incorporation of the HRA, certain of the ECHR provisions have conflicted with
parts of English law that governs elements of the criminal justice system.
- The EU has a minor influence on the criminal law of member states such as cross-border
problems like human trafficking, terrorism and etc.
The focus of the module is the criminal law of England and Wales
Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions
- Criminal Investigation: Police
- Prosecutions: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
- Defence lawyers: Solicitors or Barristers
Criminal Trials and Sentencing
- Plea and Trial: Judge/Jury/Magistrates
- Sentencing: Judge/Magistrates
- Crown Court: a trial judge will adjudicate on matters of law and sum up the case for
the jury
- A jury of 12 people will hear and decide on the facts. Their job is not to
decide on matters of law, they only decide on matters of facts. They must
apply the law as directed by the trial judge. The trial judge is the tribunal of
law and the jury is the tribunal of fact. The jury is responsible for deciding
whether a defendant
- Magistrates Court: the case will be heard by a bench of three lay magistrates who
receive advice on the law from a legal adviser or by a single professional judge
called a district judge.
- Standard/Burden of Proof
- The CPS must establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant has
committed the offence
- Beyond reasonable doubt in the criminal standard of proof, and that contrasts to the
civil standard of proof
- The civil standard of proof is the balance of probabilities.
- So in a civil matter, the standard of proof is much lower. It is the balance of
probabilities, which means that something is more likely than not to be true.
- In a civil trial, we do not have to be sure, we simply have to think that it is more
likely to be true than not.
Criminal Courts Structure
- There is no jury in the magistrate’s court. Magistrates
are laypeople, they are not professional judges, laypeople
who are not legally qualified, but they are advised in court
by a court clerk who is legally qualified
- Magistrates or crown court cases will not be used for
this module as there are lots of these cases and they are
unreported. This means that the decisions taken by the
crown court and magistrates court are not published.
- The module will comprise of the Criminal Division in the
Court of Appeal and The Supreme Court cases.
- The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal.
- Before 2010, The Supreme Court was called the House
of Lords.
- The Judicial Committee of the Privvy Council is the
, court of final appeal for many Commonwealth countries and UK overseas territories and crown
dependencies.
Criminal Law and other sources of law
The main sources of criminal law in England and Wales are statutes and cases.
However, other sources include:
- Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights
(ECHR) into domestic law as part of the Public Law module.
- Since the incorporation of the HRA, certain of the ECHR provisions have conflicted with
parts of English law that governs elements of the criminal justice system.
- The EU has a minor influence on the criminal law of member states such as cross-border
problems like human trafficking, terrorism and etc.
