1.
Crown Court Church
–
A Scottish Presbyterian congregation was first established in London during the reign of King James I of England and VI of Scots, following the Union of the Crowns in 1603. More tangible records date from 1711, when Crown Court Church was established near Covent Garden, the church was extensively rebuilt in 1909, but remained on the same site. Crown Court Church is the older of the two Church of Scotland congregations in London, the other being St Columbas in Pont Street, Knightsbridge. The church entrance is difficult to find, but is located in Russell Street, off Covent Garden, next to the Fortune Theatre, the Reverend Philip Majcher was inducted as the new minister on 18 December 2007. The previous minister, the Reverend Sigrid Marten, moved to London Road Church, Edinburgh
Crown Court Church
–
Main entrance, Russell Street
2.
Courts of England and Wales
–
The United Kingdom does not have a single unified legal system—England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Northern Ireland a third. Additionally, the Military Court Service has jurisdiction over all members of the forces of the United Kingdom in relation to offences against military law. The Supreme Court is the highest appeal court in almost all cases in England, before the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 this role was held by the House of Lords. The Supreme Court is also the highest court of appeal for devolution matters, the Privy Council is the highest court of appeal for a small number of Commonwealth countries, colonies and the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. There are a number of smaller jurisdictions, such as appeals from ecclesiastical and professional bodies. The judges who sit on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council are also the members of the Supreme Court, the Senior Courts of England and Wales were originally created by the Judicature Acts as the Supreme Court of Judicature. It was renamed the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 1981 and it consists of the following courts, Court of Appeal High Court of Justice Crown Court The Court of Appeal deals only with appeals from other courts or tribunals. Its decisions are binding on all courts, including itself, apart from the Supreme Court, the High Court of Justice functions both as a civil court of first instance and a criminal and civil appellate court for cases from the subordinate courts. It consists of three divisions, the Queens Bench, the Chancery and the Family divisions, the divisions of the High Court are not separate courts, but have somewhat separate procedures and practices adapted to their purposes. Although particular kinds of cases will be assigned to each depending on their subject matter. However, beginning proceedings in the division may result in a costs penalty. The Crown Court is a court of both original and appellate jurisdiction which in addition handles a limited amount of civil business both at first instance and on appeal. It was established by the Courts Act 1971 and it replaced the assizes whereby High Court judges would periodically travel around the country hearing cases, and quarter sessions which were periodic county courts. The Old Bailey is the name of Londons most famous criminal court. Its official name is the Central Criminal Court, the Crown Court also hears appeals from magistrates courts. The Crown Court is a court in respect of the other work it undertakes, viz. inter alia, appeals from the magistrates’ courts. They hear minor criminal cases, as well as certain licensing appeals, youth courts are run on similar lines to adult magistrates courts but deal with offenders aged between the ages of ten and seventeen inclusive. Youth courts are presided over by a specially trained subset of experienced adult magistrates or a district judge, youth magistrates have a wider catalogue of disposals available to them for dealing with young offenders and often hear more serious cases against youths
Courts of England and Wales
–
The
Middlesex Guildhall houses the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Courts of England and Wales
Courts of England and Wales
–
Crown Court and
County Court in
Oxford.
3.
English law
–
English law is the common law legal system governing England and Wales, comprising criminal law and civil law. English law has no formal codification, the essence of English common law is that it is made by judges sitting in courts applying statute, and legal precedent from previous cases. A decision of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the highest civil court of the United Kingdom, is binding on every other court. Some rulings are derived from legislation, others, known as law, are based on rulings of previous courts. For example, murder is a common law rather than one established by an Act of Parliament. Common law can be amended or repealed by Parliament, murder, for example, the first schedule of the Interpretation Act 1978, defines the following terms, British Islands, England, and United Kingdom. The use of the term British Isles is virtually obsolete in statutes and, for interpretation purposes, England includes a number of specified elements, Wales and Berwick Act 1746, section 3 formally incorporated Wales and Berwick-upon-Tweed into England. But section 4 Welsh Language Act 1967 provided that references to England in future Acts of Parliament should no longer include Wales, but Dicey & Morris say It seems desirable to adhere to Diceys definition for reasons of convenience and especially of brevity. It would be cumbersome to have to add or Wales after England, the adjacent islands of the Isle of Wight and Anglesey are a part of England and Wales by custom, while Harman v Bolt 47 TLR219 expressly confirms that Lundy is a part of England. The adjacent territorial waters by virtue of the Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act 1878, great Britain means England, Wales, Scotland, their adjacent territorial waters and the islands of Orkney and Shetland, the Hebrides and, by virtue of the Island of Rockall Act 1972, Rockall. V Canon Film Sales Ltd.1 WLR1597 and Chloride Industrial Batteries Ltd, V F. & W. Freight Ltd.1 WLR823. British Islands – but not British Isles – means the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, compare with American convention, which includes of, as in Civil Rights Act of 1964. For example, the Pleading in English Act 1362 was referred to as 36 Edw,15, meaning 36th year of the reign of Edward III, chapter 15, though in the past this was all spelt out, together with the long title. Common law is a term with historical origins in the system of England. This may be a legacy of the Norman conquest of England, an example is the Law Merchant derived from the Pie-Powder Courts, named from a corruption of the French pieds-poudrés implying ad hoc marketplace courts. In 1276, the concept of time immemorial often applied in common law was defined as being any time before 6 July 1189, one of the major challenges in the early centuries was to produce a system that was certain in its operation and predictable in its outcomes. Too many judges were either partial or incompetent, acquiring their positions only by virtue of their rank in society, thus, a standardised procedure slowly emerged, based on a system termed stare decisis which roughly means let the decision stand. The doctrine of precedent which requires similar cases to be adjudicated in a like manner, thus, the ratio decidendi of each case will bind future cases on the same generic set of facts both horizontally and vertically in the court structure
English law
–
The
Royal Courts of Justice on the
Strand in
London is the seat of the
High Court of Justice and the
Court of Appeal.
4.
Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)
–
The Ministry of Justice is a ministerial department of the UK Government headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. The department is responsible for areas of constitutional policy not transferred in 2010 to the Deputy Prime Minister, human rights law. The ministry was formed in May 2007 when some functions of the Home Secretary were combined with the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the latter had replaced the Lord Chancellors Department in 2003. Its stated priorities are to reduce re-offending and protect the public, to access to justice, to increase confidence in the justice system. Responsibility for devolution was then transferred to the position of Deputy Prime Minister. The Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice have joint responsibility for a commission on a British bill of rights, the vast majority of the Ministry of Justices work takes place in England and Wales. The ministry has no responsibility for devolved criminal justice policy, courts, the ministry is therefore responsible for all aspects of the criminal law, including the scope and content of criminal offences. The prison population in England and Wales has risen because politicians of both parties wanted to show they were tough on criminals and this led to overcrowding and increase in other problems like violence, self-harm and suicide. The Ministry of Justice is the department that facilitates communication between the Crown dependencies i. e. Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, and the UK Government. These are self-governing possessions of the British monarch, through her titles as Duke of Normandy in the Channel Islands and it processes legislation for Royal Assent passed by the insular legislative assemblies and consults with the Islands on extending UK legislation to them. It also ensures that relevant UK legislation is extended to the islands smoothly, the Ministry has outlined its aims for the 2011–15 Parliament in its structural reform plan, which commits the department to,1. Develop court reforms to improve the resolution of disputes, maximise efficiency and improve services and work with others to make delivery of justice more effective. Assure better law Assure that law-making is transparent and accountable, safeguarding civil liberties, Reform how the ministry delivers its services Reform the way the Ministry of Justice works. Reassess its ways of working to develop more efficient shared services, match its provision ever more closely to demand, reduce duplication, the departmental board has overall responsibility for delivery of the structural reform plan. It publishes progress against the plan on the 10 Downing Street website, official website Ministry of Justice resources for legal professionals Ministry of Justice organogram from data. gov. uk
Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)
–
Headquarters,
102 Petty France,
London
Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)
–
Ministry of Justice
Welsh: Y Weinyddiaeth Gyfiawnder
5.
Secretary of State for Justice
–
On 9 May 2007, the Department for Constitutional Affairs was abolished, and a Ministry of Justice was created in its place. The Ministry of Justice is also responsible for certain functions transferred from the Home Office, the then Lord Chancellor, Charlie Falconer, was appointed to the post of Secretary of State for Justice on the abolition of his position as Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. The Home Secretary, John Reid, told Parliament that future Secretaries of State for Justice would be MPs rather than peers and he was replaced by Conservative MP Ken Clarke. In the Cabinet reshuffle of August 2012 Chris Grayling MP was promoted to Lord Chancellor and, by convention, after the 2015 UK General election, the position was given to former Government Chief Whip Michael Gove MP. Michael Gove was sacked after Theresa May became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 14 July 2016 and succeeded by Liz Truss
Secretary of State for Justice
–
Incumbent
Michael Gove since 8 May 2015
Secretary of State for Justice
–
Arms of
Her Majesty's Government
6.
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
–
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the supreme court in all matters under English and Welsh law, Northern Ireland law and Scottish civil law. It is the court of last resort and the highest appellate court in the United Kingdom, the Supreme Court was established by Part 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and started work on 1 October 2009. Its jurisdiction over devolution matters had previously exercised by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Because of the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, the Supreme Court is much more limited in its powers of review than the constitutional or supreme courts of some other countries. It cannot overturn any primary legislation made by Parliament, however, it can overturn secondary legislation if, for example, that legislation is found to be ultra vires to the powers in primary legislation allowing it to be made. Such a declaration can apply to primary or secondary legislation, the legislation is not overturned by the declaration, and neither Parliament nor the government is required to agree with any such declaration. The current President of the Supreme Court is Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, the Supreme Courts focus is on cases that raise points of law of general public importance. The Supreme Court also determines devolution issues, ordinarily, all twelve justices do not all hear every case. Typically a case is heard by a panel of five justices, the justices are also members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and spend some of their time in that capacity. The creation of a Supreme Court for the United Kingdom was first mooted in a paper published by the Department of Constitutional Affairs in July 2003. Space within the House of Lords was at a constant premium, the main argument against a new Supreme Court was that the previous system had worked well and kept costs down. Reformers expressed concern that this second main example of a mixture of the legislative, judicial, officials who make or execute laws have an interest in court cases that put those laws to the test. When the state invests judicial authority in those officials or even their colleagues, it puts the independence. Lord Phillips said such an outcome was a possibility, but was unlikely, the reforms were controversial and were brought forward with little consultation but were subsequently extensively debated in Parliament. During 2004, a committee of the House of Lords scrutinised the arguments for. The Government estimated the set-up cost of the Supreme Court at £56.9 million, the Supreme Court was established by Part 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and started work on 1 October 2009. Its jurisdiction over devolution matters had previously held by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The first case heard by the Supreme Court was HM Treasury v Ahmed, at issue was the extent to which Parliament has, by the United Nations Act 1946, delegated to the executive the power to legislate
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
–
The
Middlesex Guildhall in
London is the location of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
–
Badge of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
–
Court 1 in the Supreme Court building
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
–
Justices
7.
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
–
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest judicial bodies in the United Kingdom. The Judicial Committee consists of judges appointed as Privy Councillors, predominantly Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. It is often referred to as the Privy Council, as in most cases appeals are made to Her Majesty in Council. The panel of judges hearing a case is known as the Board. The report of the Board is always accepted by the Queen in Council as judgment, in Commonwealth republics retaining the JCPC as their final court of appeal, appeals are made directly to the Judicial Committee itself. In the case of Brunei, appeals are made to the Sultan of Brunei, formerly the Judicial Committee gave a unanimous report, but since the Judicial Committee Order 1966 dissenting opinions have been allowed. The Judicial Committees permanent home is in London, in the United Kingdom, in this renovated building, Court 3 is used for Privy Council sittings. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has jurisdiction in the domestic matters. Appeals from the courts in non-doctrinal faculty cases. Appeals from the High Court of Chivalry, Appeals from the Court of Admiralty of the Cinque Ports. Appeals from the Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, disputes under the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975. Additionally, the government may refer any issue to the committee for consideration, in other courts in the United Kingdom, judgments of the Judicial Committee are only of persuasive authority and are not binding as a matter of law. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the Court of Final Appeal for the Church of England. It hears appeals from the Arches Court of Canterbury and the Chancery Court of York, except on matters of doctrine, ritual or ceremony, which go to the Court for Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved. By the Church Discipline Act 1840 and the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 all archbishops and bishops of the Church of England became eligible to be members of the Judicial Committee. Prior to the coming into force of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, on 1 October 2009 this jurisdiction was transferred to the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The New Zealand associated states of Cook Islands and Niue, the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey, including Guernseys own dependencies of Alderney and Sark, and appeals from the Staff of Government Division on the Isle of Man. The United Kingdoms Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, in Cyprus, Appeal is directly to the Judicial Committee from three independent Commonwealth republics, Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago, and also, if the case involves constitutional rights, Kiribati
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
–
Court 3 in
Middlesex Guildhall, the normal location for Privy Council hearings
8.
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
–
Within the English legal system, the Court of Appeal is second only to the Supreme Court. Established in 1875, the Court of Appeal today comprises 39 Lord Justices of Appeal, the Court has two divisions, Criminal and Civil, led by the Lord Chief Justice and Master of the Rolls respectively. Criminal appeals are heard in its Criminal Division, and civil appeals in the Civil Division, the Criminal Division also hears appeals from the Crown Court, while the Civil Division hears appeals from the County Courts and High Court of Justice. Leave to appeal is required either the lower court or the Court of Appeal itself. The appeal system before 1875 was chaotic and this was the subject of a review by the Judicature Commission, established in 1867 to consider the creation of a Supreme Court which was published in 1869. The recommendation was that there should be a system of appeal from all of the High Court divisions. This was instituted by the Judicature Acts, with the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 giving an almost limitless right of appeal to the Lords. The new legal structure provided a single Court of Appeal, which heard appeals from all the various Divisions of the new unified High Court of Justice, after the opening of the Royal Courts of Justice in 1882 the Court of Appeal transferred there, where it remains. The appeals from the County Courts were seen similarly, involving an appeal to the High Court of Justice, the process of leapfrogging, which they had recommended, was eventually brought into force with the Administration of Justice Act 1969. A separate Court of Criminal Appeal had been established in 1908, in 1966 this was merged with its older namesake, establishing the present-day structure of a single Court of Appeal with two Divisions. In the early 1960s there was an exchange between judges and academics in the United Kingdom and United States comparing the process of used in both nations. After a trial in the Court of Appeal, despite the success of this, the court which Lord Denning presided over from 1962 to 1982 was under no pressure and had no inclination to modernise, with liaisons and management handled by clerks with little knowledge. This changed in 1981 with the appointment of a Registrar, John Adams, an academic and lawyer, in July 1996, Lord Woolf published Access to Justice, a report on the accessibility of the courts to the public. Woolf identified civil litigation as being characterised by excessive cost, delay and complexity, and managed to replace the diverse rules with a single set of Civil Procedure Rules. Bowman noted a growing workload and delays, with 14 months between setting down and disposing of a case in 70 percent of cases, the rest taking even longer than that – some had five years. Bowmans recommendations were enacted through statutory provisions, such as Part IV of the Access to Justice Act 1999. In Tanfern Ltd v Cameron-MacDonald 1 WLR1311, Brooke LJ laid down the procedural methods of the Court of Appeal post-Woolf and Bowman. With a few exceptions, such as cases where the liberty of the subject is an issue, permission is required to appeal, the Civil Division deals with all non-criminal cases, and has been part of the Court since its establishment in 1875
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
–
Royal Courts of Justice,
Strand,
City of Westminster,
London
9.
Master of the Rolls
–
The position dates from at least 1286, although it is believed that the office probably existed earlier than that. The Master of the Rolls was initially a clerk responsible for keeping the Rolls, or records, of the Court of Chancery, the Keeper was the most senior of the dozen Chancery clerks, and as such occasionally acted as keeper of the Great Seal of the Realm. The post evolved into a one as the Court of Chancery did. He retained his functions as the nominal head of the Public Record Office until the Public Records Act 1958 transferred responsibility for it to the Lord Chancellor. One residual reminder of this role is the fact that the Master of the Rolls of the day continues to serve, ex officio, the Master of the Rolls was also previously responsible for registering solicitors, the officers of the Senior Courts. One of the most prominent people to hold the position was Thomas Cromwell, on 3 October 2016, Sir Terence Etherton succeeded Lord Dyson as Master of the Rolls. Category, Masters of the Rolls Hanworth, Lord, some Notes on the Office of Master of the Rolls. The Judges of England 1272–1990, a list of judges of the superior courts
Master of the Rolls
–
Thomas Cromwell, a highly influential figure during the reign of
Henry VIII
Master of the Rolls
–
Sir Thomas Egerton, who served as
Lord Keeper and
Lord Chancellor for 21 years
Master of the Rolls
–
Sir John Trevor, the last
Speaker of the British House of Commons to resign in over 400 years until the resignation of
Michael Martin in 2009
Master of the Rolls
–
Sir Nathaniel Lindley, who made key judgments in a variety of important cases and was the last
Serjeant-at-Law appointed, the last to sit as a judge and the last surviving.
10.
High Court of Justice
–
Her Majestys High Court of Justice in England is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC for legal citation purposes and it has three main divisions, the Queens Bench Division, the Chancery Division, and the Family Division. The jurisdictions overlap in some cases, and cases started in one division may be transferred by order to another where appropriate. Most High Court proceedings are heard by a judge, but certain kinds of proceedings, especially in the Queens Bench Division, are assigned to a Divisional Court. Exceptionally the court may sit with a jury, but in practice only in defamation cases or cases against the police. Litigants are normally represented by counsel, but may be represented by solicitors qualified to hold a right of audience, in principle the High Court is bound by its own previous decisions, but there are conflicting authorities as to what extent. In criminal matters appeals from the Queens Bench Divisional Court are made directly to the Supreme Court, the High Court is based at the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in the City of Westminster, London. It has district registries across England and Wales and almost all High Court proceedings may be issued, the High Court is headed by the Lord Chief Justice. The High Court is organised into three divisions, the Queens Bench Division, the Chancery Division, and the Family Division, a list of hearings in the High Courts divisions is published daily. The Queens Bench Division – or Kings Bench Division when the monarch is male – has two roles and it hears a wide range of common law cases and also has special responsibility as a supervisory court. Until 2005, the head of the QBD was the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Igor Judge was the first person to hold this office, appointed in October 2005. A single judge first decides whether the matter is fit to bring to the court, in addition, the Queens Bench Divisional Court hears appeals on points of law from the Magistrates Court and from the Crown Court. These are known as appeals by way of case stated, since the questions of law are considered solely on the basis of the facts found, other specialised courts of the Queens Bench Division include the Technology and Construction Court, Commercial Court, and the Admiralty Court. The specialised judges and procedures of these courts are tailored to their type of business, appeals from the High Court in civil matters are made to the Court of Appeal, in criminal matters appeal from the Divisional Court is made only to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Chancery Division deals with law, trusts law, probate law, insolvency. It has specialist courts which deal with patents and registered designs, all tax appeals are assigned to the Chancery Division. The head of the Chancery Division was known as the Vice-Chancellor until October 2005, the first Chancellor was Sir Andrew Morritt, who retired in 2013 to be succeeded by Sir Terence Etherton. In 2016, Sir Geoffrey Vos succeeded Sir Terence as Chancellor on the appointment as Master of the Rolls
High Court of Justice
–
Royal Courts of Justice on
the Strand
11.
Chancellor of the High Court
–
The Chancellor of the High Court is the head of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. Before October 2005, when certain provisions of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 took effect and he nominally acted as the Lord Chancellors deputy in the English legal system, however, he was in effect the head of the Chancery Division. Despite the change of title, the duties of the office did not change, from 1813 to 1875, puisne judges of the Court of Chancery were also called Vice-Chancellors. A similar position existed in Ireland between 1867 and 1904 when the office was abolished, surprisingly throughout that period it was held by one man, after Lancelot Shadwell left office, the three Vice-Chancellors were to be of equal status, with the of England dropped. In 1851, the law was changed so that a successor to Wigram could be named and this restriction was lifted by section 52 of the Master in Chancery Abolition Act 1852. Under its provisions the Vice-Chancellor was appointed by the Lord Chancellor and was responsible to the latter for administering the division, the Senior Courts Act 1981 made the position one appointed by the Queen and made the Vice-Chancellor vice-president of the Chancery Division. As one of the roles of the office was president of the Chancery Division. The name change took effect on 1 October 2005, but some of the responsibilities did not transfer until 3 April 2006
Chancellor of the High Court
12.
High Court judge (England and Wales)
–
High Court judges are referred to as puisne judges. High Court Judges wear red and black robes, upon appointment all High Court judges are knighted, or in the case of female judges made Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire. So, for example, Nigel Bridge became Sir Nigel Bridge, in court, a High Court judge is referred to as My Lord or Your Lordship if male, or as My Lady or Your Ladyship if female. High Court judges use the title in office of Mr Justice for men or, normally, when, however, Dame Alison Russell was appointed in 2014, she took the title Ms Justice Russell. The style of The Honourable is also used during office, for example, Sir Joseph Bloggs would be referred to as The Hon Mr Justice Bloggs Kt. and Dame Jane Bloggs DBE as The Hon Mrs Justice Bloggs DBE, for as long as they continue to hold office. When there is already or has recently been a judge with the same surname as a new appointee. Many judges have done this, such as Mr Justice Christopher Clarke, when referring to a High Court judge in a legal context, the judge is identified by use of the surname, followed by the letter J. For example, Mr Justice Bloggs or Mrs Justice Bloggs would be referred to as Bloggs J, where several judges are listed the double letters JJ are used, for example, Bloggs, Smith and Jones JJ. High Court judges, as with the other Senior Judiciary are appointed by The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 a new Judicial Appointments Commission has removed the appointment of judges from the political arena. High Court judges, as with other judges, are now appointed on the basis of open competition, High Court judges, as with all judges in England and Wales, hold office during good behaviour, this is laid down in the Bill of Rights 1689. A High Court judge can only be removed by the Queen upon an Address of both Houses of Parliament, formerly, High Court judges could only be appointed from among barristers of at least 10 years standing. Before the qualifications changed, a typical appointee had in the region of twenty to thirty years experience as a lawyer. Only four solicitors had been appointed as puisne judges – Michael Sachs in 1993, Lawrence Collins in 2000, Henry Hodge in 2004, Collins was elevated further to the Court of Appeal in 2007 and became a law lord in 2009. A few distinguished academics have made it on to the High Court bench, including Mrs Justice Hale and, more recently. List of High Court Judges of England and Wales Judicial titles in England and Wales Judiciary of England and Wales
High Court judge (England and Wales)
–
Red-robed High Court judges in procession at
Llandaff Cathedral in 2013
13.
County court
–
Since 2014, England and Wales have had what is officially described as a single civil court named the County Court, with unlimited financial jurisdiction. However it should be understood there are County Court buildings and courtrooms throughout England and Wales. It is a civil court in the sense of a single centrally organised and administered court system. County court districts did not have the boundaries as counties. Today the court sits in many County Court centres, currently corresponding to the old county courts. County Court matters can be lodged at a court in person, cases are normally heard at the court having jurisdiction over the area where the claimant lives. Most matters are decided by a judge or circuit judge sitting alone. Civil matters in England do not have juries, judges in the County Court are either former barristers or former solicitors, whereas in the High Court they are more likely to have formerly been a barrister. Civil claims with an amount in controversy under £10,000 are dealt with in the County Court under the small claims track. Claims between £5,000 and £25,000 that are capable of being tried within one day are allocated to the fast track and claims over £25,000 to the multi track. These tracks are labels for the use of the court system - the actual cases will be heard in the County Court or the High Court depending on their value, for personal injury, defamation, and some landlord-tenant dispute cases the thresholds for each track have different values. Appeals are to a judge, the High Court of Justice or to the Court of Appeal. In debt cases, the aim of a claimant taking County Court action against a defendant is to secure a County Court judgment and this is a legal order to pay the full amount of the debt. County Court judgments are recorded in the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines and this information is used in consumer credit scores, making it difficult or more expensive for the defendant to obtain credit. In order to avoid the record being kept for years in the register, if the debt was not fully paid within the statutory period, the entry will remain for six full years. County court is the given to the intermediate court in some Australian states. They hear indictable criminal offences except for treason, murder, in some states the same level of court is called a district court. Below them are the magistrates courts, above them are the state supreme courts
County court
–
Crown Court and county court in Oxford.
14.
County Court Business Centre
–
The County Court Business Centre is a centre of the County Court of England and Wales created to deal with claims by the use of various electronic media. Unlike other County Court centres the CCBC does not physically hear cases, if any case might require a hearing it is transferred to another centre. The increasing ubiquity of computers and Internet access led to discussion of allowing greater use of information technology to run court proceedings. In January 1990 the Claim Production Centre was created, with the power to issue and this is currently enshrined within Rule 7.10 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. All claims issued through the CPC were originally issued in the name of a county court in the way as claims issued in the traditional manner. In March 1992 the CCBC was created to remove the burden of routine matters in simple CPC cases from the county court. The current definition of such matters is contained in Practice Direction 7C, currently both the CPC and CCBC are located in Northampton. Use of the CCBC is available only to members, Membership is free and is available to anyone who successfully demonstrates they can meet the IT requirements of the CCBC. Continued use of the CCBC is subject to the Rules of Membership, cases can be issued through the CCBC in two different ways. Money Claim Online was created in February 2002 and it provides users who wish to issue a limited number of claims to commence and manage County Court proceedings using a website, and to pay court fees online using a credit card. Fees for all of these cases can be paid in a lump sum, previously files could be submitted on floppy disk or magnetic tape. For this reason long-standing users of the CCBC may still refer to the file as the tape. In 2012 a secure email transfer system was implemented as an interim measure until the new SDT system was completed, once this was done the secure email transfer option was removed. CCBC users may poll the SDT API to request updates on the status of their cases, as well as issuing claim forms, the CCBC also handles requests for judgments and warrants of execution in the same manner. Claim forms issued by the CCBC are served upon the defendant in the manner as other courts. However, the pack also includes a password to allow the defendant to file their response via a website. Where the defendant contests some, or all, of the claim, Rule 7 allows for limits to be placed on the types of claim that may be issued via the CCBC. In addition the CCBC cannot be used to issue claims under Part 8 of the CPR, Northampton Bulk Centre Money Claim Online Civil Procedure Rules 1998 online
County Court Business Centre
15.
Judiciary of England and Wales
–
There are various levels of judiciary in England and Wales — different types of courts have different styles of judges. At 31 March 2006 there were 1,825 judges in post in England and Wales, some judges with United Kingdom-wide jurisdiction also sit in England and Wales, particularly Justices of the United Kingdom Supreme Court and members of the tribunals judiciary. By statute, judges are guaranteed continuing judicial independence, the following is a list of the various types of judges who sit in the Courts of England and Wales, Since 3 April 2006, the Lord Chief Justice has been the overall head of the judiciary. Previously he was second to the Lord Chancellor, but that office lost its functions under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. The Lord Chief Justice is also the head of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal and he was also President of the Queens Bench Division of the High Court, but on becoming head of the judiciary that responsibility was transferred to a new office. Although the Lord Chancellor is no longer a judge, he still exercises disciplinary authority over the judges and he also has a role in appointing judges. In law reports, the Lord Chief Justice is referred to as Smith LCJ or Lord Smith CJ, and the Lord Chancellor as Smith C. In court, the Lord Chief Justice wears a black gown with gold lace along with a short wig during criminal cases. Ceremonially, the Lord Chief Justice wears the red robe with white trim along with a gold chain, the Master of the Rolls is head of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal. The other Heads are in charge of the three divisions of the High Court, the Chancellor of the High Court is President of the Chancery Division of the High Court. Until 2006 this role was held by the Lord Chancellor. The Vice-Chancellor was renamed Chancellor of the High Court when the Lord Chancellors judicial role was abolished, the Heads of Division are referred to in law reports as Smith MR, Smith P, Smith P, and Smith C respectively. Vice-Chancellors from pre-2006 Chancery cases were referred to as Smith VC, in court, the Heads of Division wear a black damask gown with gold lace along with a short wig during criminal cases and the black civil gown with gold tabs during civil cases. Ceremonially, the Heads of Division wear red gowns with white trim along with full wigs except for the Master of the Rolls who wears the black gown with gold lace. Judges of the Court of Appeal are known as Lords Justices, before swearing in they may be addressed as The Honourable Lord Justice Smith, and after swearing in as the Right Honourable Lord Justice Smith. Female Lord Justices are known as Lady Justices, addressed as My Lord or My Lady. In law reports, referred to as Smith LJ, and, for more than one judge, Smith, formerly, Lords Justices of Appeal could only be drawn from barristers of at least 10 years standing. The Lord Justices wear black gowns and court coats and short wigs during criminal cases
Judiciary of England and Wales
–
Three Lords Justices in their ceremonial robes in procession at
Llandaff Cathedral in 2013
Judiciary of England and Wales
16.
High Court of Chivalry
–
Her Majestys High Court of Chivalry is a civil court in all matters under English and Welsh law relating to the jurisdiction of heraldry. The court has been in existence since the century, however. The sole judge is now the hereditary Earl Marshal of England, in Scotland, these types of cases are heard in the Court of the Lord Lyon, which is a standing civil and criminal court, with its own Procurator Fiscal under the Scottish legal system. The court was known as the Curia Militaris, the Court of the Constable. During this time the court heard well over a thousand cases, the case itself was that the Palace theatre had been displaying the arms of the Manchester Corporation both inside and on its seal and this usage implied that it was linked with the citys council. The Corporation had requested that the theatre stop using it, the court ruled in favour of the Corporation. Since 1832, appeals from the High Court of Chivalry are to be directly by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Sittings by these Commissioners became known as the High Court of Delegates by the time of the 1832 Act. Since then the office of Lord High Constable of England has only been appointed to perform ceremonial duties during a Coronation and there has only been the Earl Marshal acting as the sole judge
High Court of Chivalry
–
A session of the Court of Chivalry being held in the
College of Arms, depicted in 1809.
17.
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
–
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. The Lord Chief Justice is also the nominal President of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal and Head of Criminal Justice, but can appoint another judge to these positions under the 2005 Act. The Lord Chief Justices equivalent in Scotland is the Lord President of the Court of Session, there is also a Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, successor to the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland of the pre-Partition era. The current Lord Chief Justice is Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, who took over the role on 1 October 2013, although the Court of the Kings Bench had existed since 1234, the title of chief justice was not used until 1268. In the intermediary period, one of the justices would be considered the senior judge, the suffix and Wales, now found in statutes and elsewhere, was unilaterally appended by Lord Bingham of Cornhill between 1996 and 2000. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 made the Lord Chief Justice the President of the Courts of England and Wales, vesting the office with many of the powers formerly held by the Lord Chancellor. While the Lord Chief Justice retains the role of President of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal, the first Lord Chief Justice to act as head of the judiciary under the provisions of the CRA was Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers. The CRA also provides that the Lord Chief Justice is chosen by a specially appointed committee convened by the Judicial Appointments Commission
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
–
The Judiciary of England and Wales
18.
High Court judge
–
High Court judges are referred to as puisne judges. High Court Judges wear red and black robes, upon appointment all High Court judges are knighted, or in the case of female judges made Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire. So, for example, Nigel Bridge became Sir Nigel Bridge, in court, a High Court judge is referred to as My Lord or Your Lordship if male, or as My Lady or Your Ladyship if female. High Court judges use the title in office of Mr Justice for men or, normally, when, however, Dame Alison Russell was appointed in 2014, she took the title Ms Justice Russell. The style of The Honourable is also used during office, for example, Sir Joseph Bloggs would be referred to as The Hon Mr Justice Bloggs Kt. and Dame Jane Bloggs DBE as The Hon Mrs Justice Bloggs DBE, for as long as they continue to hold office. When there is already or has recently been a judge with the same surname as a new appointee. Many judges have done this, such as Mr Justice Christopher Clarke, when referring to a High Court judge in a legal context, the judge is identified by use of the surname, followed by the letter J. For example, Mr Justice Bloggs or Mrs Justice Bloggs would be referred to as Bloggs J, where several judges are listed the double letters JJ are used, for example, Bloggs, Smith and Jones JJ. High Court judges, as with the other Senior Judiciary are appointed by The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 a new Judicial Appointments Commission has removed the appointment of judges from the political arena. High Court judges, as with other judges, are now appointed on the basis of open competition, High Court judges, as with all judges in England and Wales, hold office during good behaviour, this is laid down in the Bill of Rights 1689. A High Court judge can only be removed by the Queen upon an Address of both Houses of Parliament, formerly, High Court judges could only be appointed from among barristers of at least 10 years standing. Before the qualifications changed, a typical appointee had in the region of twenty to thirty years experience as a lawyer. Only four solicitors had been appointed as puisne judges – Michael Sachs in 1993, Lawrence Collins in 2000, Henry Hodge in 2004, Collins was elevated further to the Court of Appeal in 2007 and became a law lord in 2009. A few distinguished academics have made it on to the High Court bench, including Mrs Justice Hale and, more recently. List of High Court Judges of England and Wales Judicial titles in England and Wales Judiciary of England and Wales
High Court judge
–
Red-robed High Court judges in procession at
Llandaff Cathedral in 2013
19.
List of Crown Court venues in England and Wales
–
The Crown Court also hears appeals against conviction and sentence from magistrates. There are 91 locations in England and Wales at which the Crown Court regularly sits, high Court judges hear 2% of cases at the Crown Court, but 27% of the most serious cases. Circuit Judges and Recorders sit at all three tiers, hearing 88% and 10% of the cases respectively. When the Crown Court is conducting a trial, the judge sits with a jury of twelve, when hearing appeals against decisions of a Magistrates Court, the judge sits with two magistrates. The Crown Court system was established by the Courts Act 1971, previously, criminal cases that were not dealt with by magistrates were heard by assize courts and Quarter Sessions courts, in a system that had changed little in the preceding centuries. The Crown Court system is administered by Her Majestys Courts Service, England is divided into six regions by HMCS, with the whole of Wales forming a seventh region. Section 78 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 provides that the Crown Court can conduct business at any location in England and Wales and this power is sometimes used to enable court sittings to take place away from one of the regular Crown Court venues. List of courts in England and Wales List of county courts in England and Wales Crown Court - what it does
List of Crown Court venues in England and Wales
–
The Central Criminal Court, better known as the
Old Bailey, is the
crown court for the
City of London.
List of Crown Court venues in England and Wales
–
Blackfriars Crown Court
List of Crown Court venues in England and Wales
–
Brighton Law Courts
List of Crown Court venues in England and Wales
–
Cambridge Crown Court
20.
Circuit judge (England and Wales)
–
There are currently over 600 circuit judges throughout England and Wales. The office of judge was created by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced the former offices of Chairman of Quarter Sessions. Circuit judges are styled His or Her Honour Judge X and are referred to as His or Her Honour and they are sometimes referred to as purple judges on account of their purple colour dress robes. Part-time circuit judges are known as Recorders but are also addressed as Your Honour, Circuit judges rank below High Court judges but above District judges. They may be appointed to sit as deputy High Court judges, some are also eligible to sit in the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal, though they are the more senior circuit judges. Until April 1,2005 there were six circuits in England and Wales, namely the Midland, Northern, North Eastern, South Eastern and Western circuits. On that date, following the creation of Her Majestys Courts Service, formerly, circuit judges could only be drawn from barristers and solicitors of at least 10 years standing. When hearing criminal cases, circuit judges wear a robe with lilac trim, bands, a short horsehair wig. For civil cases the tippet is lilac and neither bands nor wigs are worn, when sitting at the Old Bailey, and for some types of High court work, circuit judges wear a black silk gown over a court coat or a waistcoat. On ceremonial occasions they wear violet robes with a lilac trim, in Rumpole and the Reign of Terror by John Mortimer, Horace Rumpole dismisses the idea of being a circuit judge, Circus judge is what I call them. Judicial Roles - Circuit Judge, judiciary. gov. uk
Circuit judge (England and Wales)
–
Circuit judges in their ceremonial robes in procession at
Llandaff Cathedral in 2013
21.
Recorder (judge)
–
A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions. In the courts of England and Wales the term Recorder has two distinct meanings, the senior circuit judge of a borough or city is often awarded the title of Honorary Recorder. However, Recorder is also used to denote a barrister or solicitor who sits as a circuit judge. In England and Wales, originally a recorder was a magistrate or judge having criminal. Such incorporated bodies were given the right by the Crown to appoint a recorder and he was a person with legal knowledge appointed by the mayor and aldermen of the corporation to record the proceedings of their courts and the customs of the borough or city. Such recordings were regarded as the highest evidence of fact and it carried a great deal of prestige and power of patronage. He is a senior Circuit Judge sitting at the Central Criminal Court, the ancient recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of honorary recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges. At each Crown Court centre, a judge is appointed Resident Judge, leads the team of judges who sit there. In the larger city court centres, the Resident Judge is usually a Senior Circuit Judge who is recruited and appointed specifically to that post, an exception is the Corporation of the City of London which still follows ancient custom as stated above. In the many towns and cities where the resident judge is not a senior circuit judge. The resident judge is deployed specifically to that post by the Lord Chief Justice from the ranks of the circuit bench and they then hold office as Resident Judge for a set period, normally four years, although such appointments are renewable. Whilst the appointment of an honorary recorder has lain with the council since the Courts Act 1971. Some new positions have been created since 1971, for example for the Borough of Redbridge. This should not be done, however, when the judge is sitting in the Crown Court in another city or town, Honorary Recorders who are also Senior Circuit Judges are authorised by the Lord Chief Justice to wear red robes when sitting in court. These robes are based on the design of the worn by judges of the County Courts. They were designed for the Recorders of Manchester and Liverpool when Crown Courts were established in cities in 1956. The right to them in court was extended in the 1980s to the other Senior Circuit Judges appointed as Honorary Recorders. Accordingly, when sitting in court, Honorary Recorders who are not Senior Circuit Judges continue to wear the robes of a Circuit Judge sitting in the Crown Court
Recorder (judge)
–
The red-robed Honorary Recorder of Cardiff at a ceremonial event with her fellow Circuit Judges
22.
Magistrates of England and Wales
–
They are called justices of the peace or magistrates. These magistrates were termed lay magistrates to distinguish them from professional magistrates known as stipendiary magistrates, district judges sit alone to hear cases and are permanently employed by the Ministry of Justice. Magistrates are not paid, apart from an allowance for loss of earnings, mileage, a practising solicitor or barrister may sit part-time as a deputy district judge. Retired district judges may sit as deputies. District judges are addressed in court as sir or madam. In law reports, they are referred to as DJ Smith, Magistrates generally sit in threes in order to give judgement on a variety of cases in magistrates courts, youth courts and family proceedings courts. The lead magistrate, known as the chairman, is addressed in court as sir or madam or your worship. In law reports, they are referred to as John Smith JP, Magistrates deal with less serious criminal cases, such as minor theft, criminal damage, assaults, public disorder and motoring offences. All magistrates sit in adult criminal courts as benches of three, mixed in gender, age and ethnicity whenever possible to bring a broad experience of life to the bench. All three members of the bench have equal decision-making powers but only the chairman speaks in court, a qualified legal adviser, also known as the court clerk, sits with the bench in the court room and is available to them at all times during the court sitting. The term bench is also used collectively to describe a group of magistrates assigned to a local justice area. Today, in England and Wales, the word is used to describe a justice of the peace, the office of justice of the peace has its origins in the 12th century when Richard I appointed keepers of the peace in 1195. The title justice of the peace derives from 1361, in the reign of Edward III, an Act of 1327 had referred to good and lawful men to be appointed in every county in the land to guard the Peace. Justices of the peace still retain the power confirmed to them by the Justices of the Peace Act 1361 to bind over unruly persons to be of good behaviour. The bind over is not a punishment, but a preventive measure, over the following centuries, justices acquired many administrative duties, such as the administration of the Poor Laws, highways and bridges, and weights and measures. It was relatively common for these magistrates to write out, on the spot, the 19th century saw elected local authorities taking over many of these duties. There is one remnant of these duties, the jurisdiction over the licensing of pubs and clubs. Towards the end of the 18th century, the absence of a police force
Magistrates of England and Wales
–
Richard I
Magistrates of England and Wales
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An example of magistrates' once wide-ranging powers - a proclamation made to quell rioters in Ely, 1816
Magistrates of England and Wales
–
Robert Henry Bullock-Marsham, stipendiary magistrate sitting at Bow Street, 1905
23.
Attorney General for England and Wales
–
Her Majestys Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the legal adviser of the Crown and its government in England. The current Attorney General is Jeremy Wright, MP, the position of Attorney General existed since at least 1243, when records show a professional attorney was hired to represent the Kings interests in court. The position first took on a role in 1461 when the holder of the office was summoned to the House of Lords to advise the government there on legal matters. In 1673 the Attorney General officially became the Crowns adviser and representative in legal matters, the beginning of the twentieth century saw a shift away from litigation and more towards legal advice. The job of the Attorney General is a one. Duties include superintending the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office, since the passing of the Law Officers Act 1997 duties can be delegated to the Solicitor General, and any actions are treated as if they came from the Attorney General. During the early days of the office the holder was largely concerned with representing the Crown in litigation, the office first took on a political element in 1461, when the holder was summoned by writ to the House of Lords to advise the government on legal matters. This was also the first time that the office was referred to as the office of the Attorney General, during the constitutional struggle centred on the Royal Declaration of Indulgence in 1672 and 1673 the Attorney General officially became the Crowns representative in legal matters. In 1890 the ability of an Attorney General to continue practising privately was formally taken away, despite this change, until the passing of the Homicide Act 1957 the Attorney General was bound to prosecute any and all poisoning cases. The Attorney General is a minister who leads the Attorney Generals Office. As a government minister, the Attorney General is directly answerable to Parliament, as well as the government as a whole, he also advises individual departments. By convention, he represents the government in case in front of the International Court of Justice. The Attorney General also superintends the Crown Prosecution Service and appoints its head, an example of a consent case is the Campbell Case, which led to the fall of the first Labour government in 1924. The Attorney General also superintends the Government Legal Department, the Serious Fraud Office, and he or she is also officially the leader of the Bar of England and Wales, although this is merely custom and has no duties or rights attached to it. The Attorney Generals duties have long been considered strenuous, with Sir Patrick Hastings saying that to be a law officer is to be in hell, list of Attorneys General for England and Wales Solicitor General for England and Wales Attorney Generals Office. The governance of Britain, a consultation on the role of the Attorney General, predecessors of the Federal Attorney General, The Attorney General in England and the American Colonies. The American Journal of Legal History, media related to Attorneys General for England and Wales at Wikimedia Commons Texts on Wikisource, Attorney-General
Attorney General for England and Wales
–
Incumbent
Jeremy Wright since 15 July 2014
Attorney General for England and Wales
–
Arms of
Her Majesty's Government
24.
Crown Prosecution Service
–
The Crown Prosecution Service is the principal public prosecuting agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, from 1829 onwards, as the police forces were formed, they began to take on the burden of bringing prosecutions against suspected criminals. Police forces continued to be responsible for the bulk of cases, sometimes referring difficult ones to the Director, the Royal Commissions recommendation was not implemented by all police forces however, and so in 1978 another Royal Commission was set up, this time headed by Sir Cyril Philips. It reported in 1981, recommending that a single unified Crown Prosecution Service with responsibility for all public prosecutions in England, in 1997, Sir Iain Glidewell was commissioned by the government to investigate reform of the CPS. The inquiry reported in June 1998, finding that 12% of charges brought by police were discontinued by the CPS, and that there were failures to communicate between the police and CPS. The CPS undertook more than 800,000 prosecutions in 2012–13, the conviction rate was 86 per cent in the magistrates courts and 80 percent in the Crown Courts. The CPS has implemented such as the Core Quality Standards with the intention of maintaining and raising standards. Self-employed barristers are also paid to represent the prosecution in court in more complicated cases, the number of employees prior to the spending review was approximately 9,000. Headquartered in London and York, the CPS manages the organisation, the Director of Public Prosecutions is assisted by the CPS Chief Executive in running the organisation. Most of its casework is dealt with by the thirteen CPS Areas, CPS Direct provides charging advice/authorisation by phone and electronically to police forces at all hours. Most charging decisions by the CPS are now made by CPS Direct, welfare, Rural and Health Division – Benefit fraud, regulation of medicinal products and offences investigated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Attorney General oversees the work of the CPS, meeting regularly with the DPP, the Attorney answer for the CPS’s performance and conduct in Parliament. However, the Attorney has no role in the running of the organisation or in deciding whether a suspect should be prosecuted. The CPS is an independent prosecuting authority and government ministers have no influence over its decision making, the only exceptions to this rule are when a case involves matters of national security or the Attorney must personally consent to a prosecution. Due to the Attorney’s limited role in the CPS’s casework, the use of nolle prosequi is now rare, questionable incidents, such as the dropping of the case against John Bodkin Adams for what was believed to be purely political reasons, have not been repeated in modern times. Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate is responsible for inspecting the work of the CPS, the current Chief Inspector of the CPS is Kevin McGinty. The CPS will often provide confidential advice to investigators on the viability of a prosecution in complex or unusual cases and this includes clarifying the intent needed to commit an offence or addressing shortcomings in the available evidence. Unlike in many jurisdictions, the CPS has no power to order investigations or direct investigators to take action
Crown Prosecution Service
–
Ministerial
25.
Barristers in England and Wales
–
Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, the work of senior legal professionals in England and Wales is divided between solicitors and barristers. Both are trained in law but serve differing functions in the practice of law, historically, the superior courts were based in London, the capital city. To dispense justice throughout the country, a judge and court personnel would periodically travel a circuit to deal with cases that had arisen there. Some would go on circuit with the court to act on behalf of those requiring representation, by contrast, solicitors were essentially local to one place, whether London or a provincial town. Likewise, it became either useful or normal to engage an appropriate barrister when highly specialist advice was required, many barristers have largely paper practices and rarely or never make court appearances. Historically, practising at the bar was a more socially prestigious profession than working as a solicitor, many leading eighteenth and nineteenth-century politicians were barristers, few were solicitors. In the 20th century, solicitors closed the gap greatly, especially in terms of earnings and these differences have been eroded by recent deliberate changes, although in many fields of legal practice, the distinction is largely retained in practice. Barristers have full rights of audience to appear in all courts, solicitors, on the other hand, have traditionally been able to appear only as advocates in the lower courts and tribunals. The bulk of work continues to be handled by solicitors. Solicitors who attain these rights are known as solicitor-advocates, not only is this division traditional, in higher-value civil or more serious criminal cases, it is often tactically imperative to engage a specialist advocate. Until 2004, barristers were prohibited from seeking or accepting instructions directly by the clients whom they represent, the involvement of a solicitor was compulsory. Theoretically, this prohibition has been removed, in certain areas, barristers may now accept instructions from a client directly. Only a solicitor, however, may undertake any work that requires funds to be held on behalf of a client and this is known as the cab-rank rule, since the same rule applies to licensed taxi-cabs. Modifying conditions include that the barrister is available to take the case, a barrister who specialises in, for example, crime is not obliged to take on employment law work if he is offered it. He is entitled to reject a case which he feels is too complicated for him to deal with properly, barristers work in two main contexts, in self-employed practice or in employed practice. Most barristers are in self-employed practice, but operate within the framework of a set of Chambers. Under a tenancy agreement, they pay a certain amount per month or a percentage of their incomes, or a mixture of the two, to their chambers, which provides accommodation and clerical support
Barristers in England and Wales
26.
Law Society of England and Wales
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The Law Society of England and Wales is the professional association that represents and governs the lawyers profession for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training lawyers as well as serving as a board for law reform. Members of the Society are often consulted when important issues are being debated in Parliament or by the executive, the Society was formed in 1825. The Hall of The Law Society is in Chancery Lane, London, but it also has offices in Cardiff to deal with the Wales jurisdiction and Assembly, a president is elected annually to serve for one year. The current president is Robert Bourns, barristers in England and Wales have a similar professional body, the General Council of the Bar, commonly known as the Bar Council. London was dropped from the title in 1825 to reflect the fact that the Law Institution had national aspirations, the Society was founded on 2 June 1825, when a committee of management was appointed. A new Charter in 1845 defined the Society as an independent, private body servicing the affairs of the profession like other professional, literary, by further Royal Charter in 1903 the name of the Society was changed to simply The Law Society. The Society first admitted women members in 1922, although merged, the AWS will operate separately from the Law Society. In 1834, the Society first initiated proceedings against dishonest practitioners, by 1907, the Society possessed a statutory disciplinary committee, and was empowered to investigate solicitors accounts and to issue annual practising certificates. In 1983, the Society established the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors to deal with complaints about solicitors, Complaints regarding the conduct of solicitors are now dealt with by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. However complaints regarding poor service are the remit of the Legal Ombudsman, the Solicitors Act 1860 enabled the Society to create a three-tier examination system. In 1903, the Society established its own Law Society School of Law, by 1922 The Law Society required a compulsory academic year for all clerks. Following the recommendations of the Clementi Review The Law Society split its representative, the regulatory body for solicitors is the Solicitors Regulation Authority. It is a Board of The Law Society although it regulates and enforces regulation completely independently of the Law Society, Law Society Gazette Solicitors Regulation Authority Legal Complaints Service Law Society of Scotland Law Society of Northern Ireland Lexcel Official website
Law Society of England and Wales
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The coat of arms of the Law Society.
Law Society of England and Wales
–
The Law Society
27.
Solicitor
–
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor, for example, in England and Wales a solicitor is admitted to practise under the provisions of the Solicitors Act 1974. With some exceptions, practising solicitors must possess a practising certificate, there are many more solicitors than barristers in England, they undertake the general aspects of giving legal advice and conducting legal proceedings. Some legal graduates will start off as one and then qualify as the other. Since the replacement of the aspect of the House of Lords with the Supreme Court the full title of a solicitor is Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England. The term attorney is still used under English law to refer to someone legally appointed or empowered to act for another person. Currently, the term is most commonly used to refer to someone so appointed under a power of attorney, practitioners in specialist professions, notably intellectual property, are also referred to as attorneys, for example Registered Patent Attorney or Registered Trade Mark Attorney. Minor criminal cases are tried in Magistrates Courts, which constitute by far the majority of courts, more serious criminal cases still start in the Magistrates Court and may then be transferred to a higher court. The majority of cases are tried in county courts and are almost always handled by solicitors. In the past, barristers did not deal with the public directly and this rigid separation no longer applies. Solicitor advocates with extended rights of audience may now act as advocates at all levels of the courts, conversely, the public may now hire and interact with a barrister directly in certain types of work without having to go to a solicitor first. Registered Patent Attorneys and Registered Trade Mark Attorneys also have rights of audience in intellectual property matters, Solicitors in England and Wales who wish to practise must pay an annual fee to obtain a Practising Certificate. This fee is paid to the Law Society of England and Wales, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, though funded by these fees, acts independently of the Law Society. Together, the two make up the complete system of professional regulation for solicitors. Complaints about solicitors if not satisfactorily resolved by the firm may be made to the Legal Ombudsman. The training and qualification required to enter the profession by being admitted as a solicitor is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, there are two graduate routes of entry into the profession. Prospective solicitors holding a law degree proceed to enroll with the Law Society as a student member. Those holding a degree but one which is a qualifying degree must in addition have completed a conversion course prior to enrolling on the Legal Practice Course
Solicitor
28.
County Court
–
Since 2014, England and Wales have had what is officially described as a single civil court named the County Court, with unlimited financial jurisdiction. However it should be understood there are County Court buildings and courtrooms throughout England and Wales. It is a civil court in the sense of a single centrally organised and administered court system. County court districts did not have the boundaries as counties. Today the court sits in many County Court centres, currently corresponding to the old county courts. County Court matters can be lodged at a court in person, cases are normally heard at the court having jurisdiction over the area where the claimant lives. Most matters are decided by a judge or circuit judge sitting alone. Civil matters in England do not have juries, judges in the County Court are either former barristers or former solicitors, whereas in the High Court they are more likely to have formerly been a barrister. Civil claims with an amount in controversy under £10,000 are dealt with in the County Court under the small claims track. Claims between £5,000 and £25,000 that are capable of being tried within one day are allocated to the fast track and claims over £25,000 to the multi track. These tracks are labels for the use of the court system - the actual cases will be heard in the County Court or the High Court depending on their value, for personal injury, defamation, and some landlord-tenant dispute cases the thresholds for each track have different values. Appeals are to a judge, the High Court of Justice or to the Court of Appeal. In debt cases, the aim of a claimant taking County Court action against a defendant is to secure a County Court judgment and this is a legal order to pay the full amount of the debt. County Court judgments are recorded in the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines and this information is used in consumer credit scores, making it difficult or more expensive for the defendant to obtain credit. In order to avoid the record being kept for years in the register, if the debt was not fully paid within the statutory period, the entry will remain for six full years. County court is the given to the intermediate court in some Australian states. They hear indictable criminal offences except for treason, murder, in some states the same level of court is called a district court. Below them are the magistrates courts, above them are the state supreme courts
County Court
–
Crown Court and county court in Oxford.
29.
Oxford
–
Oxford is a city in the South East region of England and the county town of Oxfordshire. With an estimated 2015 population of 168,270, it is the 52nd largest city in the United Kingdom, the city is situated 57 miles from London,69 miles from Bristol,65 miles from both Southampton and Birmingham and 25 miles from Reading. The city is known worldwide as the home of the University of Oxford, buildings in Oxford demonstrate notable examples of every English architectural period since the late Saxon period. Oxford is known as the city of dreaming spires, a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold, Oxford has a broad economic base. Its industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing and a number of information technology and science-based businesses. Oxford was first settled in Saxon times and was known as Oxenaforda, meaning Ford of the Oxen. It began with the establishment of a crossing for oxen around AD900. In the 10th century, Oxford became an important military frontier town between the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and was on several occasions raided by Danes, Oxford was heavily damaged during the Norman Invasion of 1066. Following the conquest, the town was assigned to a governor, Robert DOyly, the castle has never been used for military purposes and its remains survive to this day. DOyly set up a community in the castle consisting of a chapel. The community never grew large but it earned its place in history as one of Britains oldest places of formal education and it was there that in 1139 Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his History of the Kings of Britain, a compilation of Arthurian legends. Mary at Oseney and to the canons serving God in that place and we have made this concession and confirmation in the Common council of the City and we have confirmed it with our common seal. These are those who have made this concession and confirmation, a grandson of King John established Rewley Abbey for the Cistercian Order, and friars of various orders all had houses of varying importance at Oxford. Parliaments were often held in the city during the 13th century, the Provisions of Oxford were instigated by a group of barons led by Simon de Montfort, these documents are often regarded as Englands first written constitution. Richard I of England and John, King of England the sons of Henry II of England, were born at Beaumont Palace in Oxford, on 8 September 1157 and 24 December 1166 respectively. A plaque in Beaumont Street commemorates these events, the University of Oxford is first mentioned in 12th century records. Of the hundreds of Aularian houses that sprang up across the city, what put an end to the halls was the emergence of colleges. Oxfords earliest colleges were University College, Balliol and Merton and these colleges were established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Greek philosophers
Oxford
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From top left to bottom right: Oxford skyline panorama from St Mary's Church; Radcliffe Camera; High Street from above looking east; University College; High Street by night; Natural History Museum and Pitt Rivers Museum.
Oxford
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The
Radcliffe Camera, completed in 1748
Oxford
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Royal proclamation granting Lord Mayoralty to Oxford.
Oxford
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Photochrom of the High Street, 1890–1900
30.
Reading, Berkshire
–
Reading is a large, historically important town in Berkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The 19th century saw the coming of the Great Western Railway, Today Reading is a major commercial centre, with involvement in information technology and insurance, and, despite its proximity to London, has a net inward commuter flow. The first evidence for Reading as a settlement dates from the 8th century, by 1525, Reading was the largest town in Berkshire, and tax returns show that Reading was the 10th largest town in England when measured by taxable wealth. By 1611, it had a population of over 5000 and had grown rich on its trade in cloth, the 18th century saw the beginning of a major iron works in the town and the growth of the brewing trade for which Reading was to become famous. During the 19th century, the town rapidly as a manufacturing centre. It is ranked the UKs top economic area for economic success and wellbeing, according to such as employment, health, income. Reading is also a regional retail centre serving a large area of the Thames Valley. Every year it hosts the Reading Festival, one of Englands biggest music festivals, sporting teams based in Reading include Reading Football Club and the London Irish rugby union team, and over 15,000 runners annually compete in the Reading Half Marathon. In 2015, Reading had an population of 232,662. The town is represented in Parliament by two members, and has been continuously represented there since 1295, for ceremonial purposes the town is in the county of Berkshire and has served as its county town since 1867, previously sharing this status with Abingdon-on-Thames. It is in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway. Reading is 75 miles east of Bristol,25 miles south of Oxford,42 miles west of London,17 miles north of Basingstoke,13 miles south-west of Maidenhead and 20 miles east of Newbury. Reading may date back to the Roman occupation of Britain, possibly as a port for Calleva Atrebatum. However the first clear evidence for Reading as a settlement dates from the 8th century, the name probably comes from the Readingas, an Anglo-Saxon tribe whose name means Readas People in Old English, or less probably the Celtic Rhydd-Inge, meaning Ford over the River. In late 870, an army of Danes invaded the kingdom of Wessex, on 4 January 871, in the first Battle of Reading, King Ethelred and his brother Alfred the Great attempted unsuccessfully to breach the Danes defences. The battle is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and that account provides the earliest known record of the existence of Reading. The Danes remained in Reading until late in 871, when they retreated to their quarters in London. After the Battle of Hastings and the Norman conquest of England, William the Conqueror gave land in, in its 1086 Domesday Book listing, the town was explicitly described as a borough
Reading, Berkshire
–
From top left: the
Town Hall and
St Laurence's Church, the
Maiwand Lion, the Town Centre skyline from the
Royal Berkshire Hospital,
Reading Abbey and
The Oracle
Reading, Berkshire
–
The earliest map of Reading, published in 1611 by
John Speed
Reading, Berkshire
–
View of Reading from
Caversham by
Joseph Farington in 1793
Reading, Berkshire
–
Reading
Crown Court
31.
London
–
London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
London
–
Palace of Westminster,
Buckingham Palace and
Central London skyline
London
London
London
–
The name London may derive from the
River Thames
32.
High Court of Justice of England and Wales
–
Her Majestys High Court of Justice in England is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC for legal citation purposes and it has three main divisions, the Queens Bench Division, the Chancery Division, and the Family Division. The jurisdictions overlap in some cases, and cases started in one division may be transferred by order to another where appropriate. Most High Court proceedings are heard by a judge, but certain kinds of proceedings, especially in the Queens Bench Division, are assigned to a Divisional Court. Exceptionally the court may sit with a jury, but in practice only in defamation cases or cases against the police. Litigants are normally represented by counsel, but may be represented by solicitors qualified to hold a right of audience, in principle the High Court is bound by its own previous decisions, but there are conflicting authorities as to what extent. In criminal matters appeals from the Queens Bench Divisional Court are made directly to the Supreme Court, the High Court is based at the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in the City of Westminster, London. It has district registries across England and Wales and almost all High Court proceedings may be issued, the High Court is headed by the Lord Chief Justice. The High Court is organised into three divisions, the Queens Bench Division, the Chancery Division, and the Family Division, a list of hearings in the High Courts divisions is published daily. The Queens Bench Division – or Kings Bench Division when the monarch is male – has two roles and it hears a wide range of common law cases and also has special responsibility as a supervisory court. Until 2005, the head of the QBD was the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Igor Judge was the first person to hold this office, appointed in October 2005. A single judge first decides whether the matter is fit to bring to the court, in addition, the Queens Bench Divisional Court hears appeals on points of law from the Magistrates Court and from the Crown Court. These are known as appeals by way of case stated, since the questions of law are considered solely on the basis of the facts found, other specialised courts of the Queens Bench Division include the Technology and Construction Court, Commercial Court, and the Admiralty Court. The specialised judges and procedures of these courts are tailored to their type of business, appeals from the High Court in civil matters are made to the Court of Appeal, in criminal matters appeal from the Divisional Court is made only to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Chancery Division deals with law, trusts law, probate law, insolvency. It has specialist courts which deal with patents and registered designs, all tax appeals are assigned to the Chancery Division. The head of the Chancery Division was known as the Vice-Chancellor until October 2005, the first Chancellor was Sir Andrew Morritt, who retired in 2013 to be succeeded by Sir Terence Etherton. In 2016, Sir Geoffrey Vos succeeded Sir Terence as Chancellor on the appointment as Master of the Rolls
High Court of Justice of England and Wales
–
Royal Courts of Justice on
the Strand
33.
Senior Courts of England and Wales
–
The United Kingdom does not have a single unified legal system—England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Northern Ireland a third. Additionally, the Military Court Service has jurisdiction over all members of the forces of the United Kingdom in relation to offences against military law. The Supreme Court is the highest appeal court in almost all cases in England, before the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 this role was held by the House of Lords. The Supreme Court is also the highest court of appeal for devolution matters, the Privy Council is the highest court of appeal for a small number of Commonwealth countries, colonies and the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. There are a number of smaller jurisdictions, such as appeals from ecclesiastical and professional bodies. The judges who sit on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council are also the members of the Supreme Court, the Senior Courts of England and Wales were originally created by the Judicature Acts as the Supreme Court of Judicature. It was renamed the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 1981 and it consists of the following courts, Court of Appeal High Court of Justice Crown Court The Court of Appeal deals only with appeals from other courts or tribunals. Its decisions are binding on all courts, including itself, apart from the Supreme Court, the High Court of Justice functions both as a civil court of first instance and a criminal and civil appellate court for cases from the subordinate courts. It consists of three divisions, the Queens Bench, the Chancery and the Family divisions, the divisions of the High Court are not separate courts, but have somewhat separate procedures and practices adapted to their purposes. Although particular kinds of cases will be assigned to each depending on their subject matter. However, beginning proceedings in the division may result in a costs penalty. The Crown Court is a court of both original and appellate jurisdiction which in addition handles a limited amount of civil business both at first instance and on appeal. It was established by the Courts Act 1971 and it replaced the assizes whereby High Court judges would periodically travel around the country hearing cases, and quarter sessions which were periodic county courts. The Old Bailey is the name of Londons most famous criminal court. Its official name is the Central Criminal Court, the Crown Court also hears appeals from magistrates courts. The Crown Court is a court in respect of the other work it undertakes, viz. inter alia, appeals from the magistrates’ courts. They hear minor criminal cases, as well as certain licensing appeals, youth courts are run on similar lines to adult magistrates courts but deal with offenders aged between the ages of ten and seventeen inclusive. Youth courts are presided over by a specially trained subset of experienced adult magistrates or a district judge, youth magistrates have a wider catalogue of disposals available to them for dealing with young offenders and often hear more serious cases against youths
Senior Courts of England and Wales
–
The
Middlesex Guildhall houses the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Senior Courts of England and Wales
–
Crown Court and
County Court in
Oxford.
34.
Criminal law
–
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It regulates social conduct and proscribes whatever is threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety and it includes the punishment of people who violate these laws. Criminal law varies according to jurisdiction, and differs from civil law, the first civilizations generally did not distinguish between civil law and criminal law. The first written codes of law were designed by the Sumerians, another important early code was the Code Hammurabi, which formed the core of Babylonian law. Only fragments of the criminal laws of Ancient Greece have survived, e. g. those of Solon. In Roman law, Gaiuss Commentaries on the Twelve Tables also conflated the civil and criminal aspects, assault and violent robbery were analogized to trespass as to property. Breach of such laws created an obligation of law or vinculum juris discharged by payment of compensation or damages. The criminal law of imperial Rome is collected in Books 47–48 of the Digest, the first signs of the modern distinction between crimes and civil matters emerged during the Norman Invasion of England. The development of the state dispensing justice in a court clearly emerged in the century when European countries began maintaining police services. From this point, criminal law had formalized the mechanisms for enforcement, Criminal law is distinctive for the uniquely serious potential consequences or sanctions for failure to abide by its rules. Every crime is composed of criminal elements, capital punishment may be imposed in some jurisdictions for the most serious crimes. Physical or corporal punishment may be imposed such as whipping or caning, individuals may be incarcerated in prison or jail in a variety of conditions depending on the jurisdiction. Length of incarceration may vary from a day to life, government supervision may be imposed, including house arrest, and convicts may be required to conform to particularized guidelines as part of a parole or probation regimen. Fines also may be imposed, seizing money or property from a convicted of a crime. Five objectives are widely accepted for enforcement of the law by punishments, retribution, deterrence. Jurisdictions differ on the value to be placed on each, retribution – Criminals ought to Be Punished in some way. This is the most widely seen goal, Criminals have taken improper advantage, or inflicted unfair detriment, upon others and consequently, the criminal law will put criminals at some unpleasant disadvantage to balance the scales. People submit to the law to receive the right not to be murdered and if people contravene these laws, thus, one who murders may be executed himself
Criminal law
–
The
Old Bailey in
London (in 1808) was the venue for more than 100,000 criminal trials between 1674 and 1834, including all death penalty cases.
Criminal law
–
An English court room in 1886, with
Lord Chief Justice Coleridge presiding
Criminal law
–
International Criminal Court in
The Hague
35.
England and Wales
–
The devolved National Assembly for Wales was created in 1999 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under the Government of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree of self-government in Wales. The powers of the Assembly were expanded by the Government of Wales Act 2006, which allows it to pass its own laws, there is no equivalent body for England, which is directly governed by the Parliament and the government of the United Kingdom. During the Roman occupation of Britain, the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit, at that time, most of the native inhabitants of Roman Britain spoke Brythonic languages, and were all regarded as Britons, divided into numerous tribes. After the conquest, the Romans administered this region as a single unit and this aimed to replace Welsh criminal law with English law. Welsh law continued to be used for civil cases until the annexation of Wales to England in the 16th century, the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 then consolidated the administration of all the Welsh territories and incorporated them fully into the legal system of the Kingdom of England. Prior to 1746 it was not clear whether a reference to England in legislation included Wales and this specified that in all prior and future laws, references to England would by default include Wales. The Wales and Berwick Act was repealed in 1967, although the definition of England it created is preserved for acts passed prior to its repeal. Since the Acts repeal what was referred to as England is now England and Wales, while references to England, England and Wales are treated as a single unit, for most purposes, because the two form the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England. The continuance of Scots law was guaranteed under the 1706 Treaty of Union that led to the Acts of Union 1707, thus, most laws applicable to England also applied to Wales. However, Parliament now passes laws applicable to Wales and not to England, examples are the Welsh Language Acts 1967 and 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998. Measures and Acts of the National Assembly for Wales passed since the Government of Wales Act 2006 also apply in Wales, following the Government of Wales Act, effective since May 2007, the National Assembly for Wales can legislate on matters devolved to it. Following a referendum on 3 March 2011, the Welsh Assembly gained direct law-making powers and this was the first time in almost 500 years that Wales had its own powers to legislate. Each piece of Welsh legislation is known as an Act of the Assembly, outside of the legal system the position is mixed. Some organisations combine as England and Wales, others are separate, some religious denominations organise on the basis of England and Wales, most notably the Roman Catholic Church, but also small denominations, e. g. the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Prior to the disestablishment of the Church in Wales in 1920, the Electoral Commission maintains a register of political parties, organised according to where the party operates. The order of precedence in England and Wales is distinct from those of Northern Ireland and Scotland, the national parks of England and Wales have a distinctive legislative framework and history. Courts of England and Wales Judiciary of England and Wales Cultural relationship between the Welsh and the English Geography of Wales Geography of England British Isles
England and Wales
–
The Roman province of
Britannia in 410
England and Wales
–
Location of England and Wales (dark green) – in
Europe (green & dark grey) – in the
United Kingdom (green)
England and Wales
–
The
Royal Courts of Justice of England and Wales
36.
South Eastern Circuit
–
There are currently over 600 circuit judges throughout England and Wales. The office of judge was created by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced the former offices of Chairman of Quarter Sessions. Circuit judges are styled His or Her Honour Judge X and are referred to as His or Her Honour and they are sometimes referred to as purple judges on account of their purple colour dress robes. Part-time circuit judges are known as Recorders but are also addressed as Your Honour, Circuit judges rank below High Court judges but above District judges. They may be appointed to sit as deputy High Court judges, some are also eligible to sit in the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal, though they are the more senior circuit judges. Until April 1,2005 there were six circuits in England and Wales, namely the Midland, Northern, North Eastern, South Eastern and Western circuits. On that date, following the creation of Her Majestys Courts Service, formerly, circuit judges could only be drawn from barristers and solicitors of at least 10 years standing. When hearing criminal cases, circuit judges wear a robe with lilac trim, bands, a short horsehair wig. For civil cases the tippet is lilac and neither bands nor wigs are worn, when sitting at the Old Bailey, and for some types of High court work, circuit judges wear a black silk gown over a court coat or a waistcoat. On ceremonial occasions they wear violet robes with a lilac trim, in Rumpole and the Reign of Terror by John Mortimer, Horace Rumpole dismisses the idea of being a circuit judge, Circus judge is what I call them. Judicial Roles - Circuit Judge, judiciary. gov. uk
South Eastern Circuit
–
Circuit judges in their ceremonial robes in procession at
Llandaff Cathedral in 2013
37.
Legislative
–
A legislature is a deliberative assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. Legislatures form important parts of most governments, in the separation of model, they are often contrasted with the executive. Laws enacted by legislatures are known as legislation, legislatures observe and steer governing actions and usually have exclusive authority to amend the budget or budgets involved in the process. The members of a legislature are called legislators, each chamber of legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a number of legislators present to carry out these activities. Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are delegated to committees made up of small selections of the legislators. The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties, the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs, the internal organization of a legislature is also shaped by the informal norms that are shared by its members. Legislatures vary widely in the amount of power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries, militaries. In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary Powers Index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures, such a system renders the legislature more powerful. Legislatures will sometime delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies, legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators, who vote on proposed laws. For example, a legislature that has 100 seats has 100 members, by extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a seat, as, for, example, in the phrases safe seat and marginal seat. In parliamentary systems of government, the executive is responsible to the legislature which may remove it with a vote of no confidence, names for national legislatures include parliament, congress, diet and assembly. A legislature which operates as a unit is unicameral, one divided into two chambers is bicameral, and one divided into three chambers is tricameral. In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is considered the upper house. In federations, the upper house typically represents the component states. This is a case with the legislature of the European Union. Tricameral legislatures are rare, the Massachusetts Governors Council still exists, tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. Legislatures vary widely in their size, among national legislatures, Chinas National Peoples Congress is the largest with 2987 members, while Vatican Citys Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7
Legislative
–
The
Congress of the Republic of Peru, the country's national legislature, meets in the
Legislative Palace in 2010.
38.
City of London
–
The City of London is a city and county within London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, the City is now only a tiny part of the metropolis of London, though it remains a notable part of central London. Administratively, it one of the 33 local authority districts of Greater London, however, the City of London is not a London borough. The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City and is colloquially known as the Square Mile. Both of these terms are often used as metonyms for the United Kingdoms trading and financial services industries. The name London is now used for a far wider area than just the City. London most often denotes the sprawling London metropolis, or the 32 London boroughs and this wider usage of London is documented as far back as 1888, when the County of London was created. The local authority for the City, namely the City of London Corporation, is unique in the UK and has some unusual responsibilities for a local council and it is also unusual in having responsibilities and ownerships beyond its boundaries. The Corporation is headed by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, the current Lord Mayor, as of November 2016, is Andrew Parmley. The City is a business and financial centre. Throughout the 19th century, the City was the primary business centre. London came top in the Worldwide Centres of Commerce Index, published in 2008, the insurance industry is focused around the eastern side of the City, around Lloyds building. A secondary financial district exists outside of the City, at Canary Wharf,2.5 miles to the east, the City has a resident population of about 7,000 but over 300,000 people commute to and work there, mainly in the financial services sector. It used to be held that Londinium was first established by merchants as a trading port on the tidal Thames in around 47 AD. However, this date is only supposition, many historians now believe London was founded some time before the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD. They base this notion on evidence provided by both archaeology and Welsh literary legend, archaeologists have claimed that as much as half of the best British Iron Age art and metalwork discovered in Britain has been found in the London area. One of the most prominent examples is the famously horned Waterloo Helmet dredged from the Thames in the early 1860s and now exhibited at the British Museum. Also, according to an ancient Welsh legend, a king named Lud son of Heli substantially enlarged and improved a pre-existing settlement at London which afterwards came to be renamed after him, the same tradition relates how this Lud son of Heli was later buried at Ludgate
City of London
–
The City of London skyline in December 2013
City of London
–
The
Waterloo Helmet, c. 150–50 BC, found in the
River Thames
City of London
–
A surviving fragment of the
London Wall, built around 200 AD, close to
Tower Hill
City of London
–
Plaque near
Southwark Bridge noting the activities around the time of
King Alfred.
39.
Old Bailey
–
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street on which it stands, is a court in London and one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court. The Old Bailey has been housed in several structures near this location since the 16th century, the Crown Court sitting at the Central Criminal Court deals with major criminal cases from within Greater London and in exceptional cases, from other parts of England and Wales. Trials at the Old Bailey, as at other courts, are open to the public, however, the court originated as the sessions house of the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of the City of London and of Middlesex. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt in 1674, with the court open to the weather to prevent the spread of disease. In 1734 it was refronted, enclosing the court and reducing the influence of spectators and it was rebuilt again in 1774 and a second courtroom was added in 1824. Over 100,000 criminal trials were carried out at the Old Bailey between 1674 and 1834, in 1834, it was renamed as the Central Criminal Court and its jurisdiction extended beyond that of London and Middlesex to the whole of the English jurisdiction for trials of major cases. The court was intended as the site where only criminals accused of crimes committed in the City. However, in 1856, there was public revulsion at the accusations against the doctor William Palmer that he was a poisoner and murderer and this led to fears that he could not receive a fair trial in his native Staffordshire. The Central Criminal Court Act 1856 was passed to enable his trial to be held at the Old Bailey, in the 19th century, the Old Bailey was a small court adjacent to Newgate gaol. Hangings were a spectacle in the street outside until May 1868. The condemned would be led along Dead Mans Walk between the prison and the court, and many were buried in the walk itself, large, riotous crowds would gather and pelt the condemned with rotten fruit and vegetables and stones. In 1807,28 people were crushed to death after a pie-sellers stall overturned, the present Old Bailey building dates from 1902 but it was officially opened on 27 February 1907. It was designed by E. W. Mountford and built on the site of the infamous Newgate gaol, above the main entrance is inscribed the admonition, Defend the Children of the Poor & Punish the Wrongdoer. King Edward VII opened the courthouse, on the dome above the court stands a bronze statue of Lady Justice, executed by the British sculptor F. W. Pomeroy. She holds a sword in her hand and the scales of justice in her left. During the Blitz of World War II, the Old Bailey was bombed and severely damaged, in 1952, the restored interior of the Grand Hall of the Central Criminal Court was once again open. The interior of the Great Hall is decorated with paintings commemorating the Blitz, running around the entire hall are a series of axioms, some of biblical reference. This part of the building houses the shorthand-writers offices
Old Bailey
–
The Central Criminal Court, widely known as the Old Bailey from the street on which it stands
Old Bailey
–
Entrance door to the Old Bailey.
Old Bailey
–
Lady Justice statue on the top of the court building
Old Bailey
–
South Block extension
40.
Act of Parliament
–
Acts of Parliament, also called primary legislation, are statutes passed by a parliament. Act of the Oireachtas is an equivalent term used in the Republic of Ireland where the legislature is known by its Irish name. It is also comparable to an Act of Congress in the United States, a draft Act of Parliament is known as a bill. In territories with a Westminster system, most bills that have any possibility of becoming law are introduced into parliament by the government. This will usually happen following the publication of a paper, setting out the issues. A bill may also be introduced into parliament without formal government backing, in territories with a multicameral parliament, most bills may be first introduced in any chamber. However, certain types of legislation are required, either by convention or by law. For example, bills imposing a tax, or involving public expenditure, are introduced into the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, Canadas House of Commons, conversely, bills proposed by the Law Commission and consolidation bills traditionally start in the House of Lords. Once introduced, a bill must go through a number of stages before it can become law, in theory, this allows the bills provisions to be debated in detail, and for amendments to the original bill to also be introduced, debated, and agreed to. In bicameral parliaments, a bill that has been approved by the chamber into which it was introduced then sends the bill to the other chamber, broadly speaking, each chamber must separately agree to the same version of the bill. Finally, the bill receives assent, in most territories this is merely a formality. In some countries, such as in Spain and Portugal, the term for a bill differs depending on whether it is initiated by the government, again, the second reading of a Government bill is usually approved. A defeat for a Government bill on this reading signifies a major loss, if the bill is read a second time, it is then considered in detail Consideration in detail, This usually takes place on the floor of the House. Generally, committees sit on the floor of the House and consider the bill in detail, third reading, A debate on the final text of the bill, as amended. Very rarely do debates occur during this stage, passage, The bill is then sent to the other House, which may amend it. If the other House amends the bill, the bill and amendments are posted back to the original House for a further stage, the State of Queenslands Parliament is unicameral and skips this and the rest of the stages. Consideration of Senate/Representatives amendments, The House in which the bill originated considers the amendments made in the other House and it may agree to them, amend them, propose other amendments in lieu, or reject them. However, the Senate may not amend money bills, though it can request the House to make amendments, a bill may pass backwards and forwards several times at this stage, as each House amends or rejects changes proposed by the other
Act of Parliament
–
A graphic representation of the legislative procedure in the United Kingdom.
41.
Circuit judge (UK)
–
There are currently over 600 circuit judges throughout England and Wales. The office of judge was created by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced the former offices of Chairman of Quarter Sessions. Circuit judges are styled His or Her Honour Judge X and are referred to as His or Her Honour and they are sometimes referred to as purple judges on account of their purple colour dress robes. Part-time circuit judges are known as Recorders but are also addressed as Your Honour, Circuit judges rank below High Court judges but above District judges. They may be appointed to sit as deputy High Court judges, some are also eligible to sit in the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal, though they are the more senior circuit judges. Until April 1,2005 there were six circuits in England and Wales, namely the Midland, Northern, North Eastern, South Eastern and Western circuits. On that date, following the creation of Her Majestys Courts Service, formerly, circuit judges could only be drawn from barristers and solicitors of at least 10 years standing. When hearing criminal cases, circuit judges wear a robe with lilac trim, bands, a short horsehair wig. For civil cases the tippet is lilac and neither bands nor wigs are worn, when sitting at the Old Bailey, and for some types of High court work, circuit judges wear a black silk gown over a court coat or a waistcoat. On ceremonial occasions they wear violet robes with a lilac trim, in Rumpole and the Reign of Terror by John Mortimer, Horace Rumpole dismisses the idea of being a circuit judge, Circus judge is what I call them. Judicial Roles - Circuit Judge, judiciary. gov. uk
Circuit judge (UK)
–
Circuit judges in their ceremonial robes in procession at
Llandaff Cathedral in 2013
42.
Barristers
–
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation and their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the philosophy, hypothesis and history of law, and giving expert legal opinions. Often, barristers are also recognised as legal scholars, Barristers are distinguished from solicitors, who have more direct access to clients, and may do transactional-type legal work. It is mainly barristers who are appointed as judges, and they are hired by clients directly. In England and Wales, barristers may seek authorisation from the Bar Standards Board to conduct litigation and this allows a barrister to practise in a dual capacity, fulfilling the role of both barrister and solicitor. A barrister, who can be considered as a jurist, is a lawyer who represents a litigant as advocate before a court of appropriate jurisdiction, a barrister speaks in court and presents the case before a judge or jury. In some jurisdictions, a barrister receives additional training in law, ethics. In contrast, a solicitor generally meets with clients, does preparatory and administrative work, in this role, he or she may draft and review legal documents, interact with the client as necessary, prepare evidence, and generally manage the day-to-day administration of a lawsuit. Barristers usually have particular knowledge of law, precedent. When a solicitor in general practice is confronted with a point of law. In most countries, barristers operate as sole practitioners, and are prohibited from forming partnerships or from working as a barrister as part of a corporation, however, barristers normally band together into chambers to share clerks and operating expenses. Some chambers grow to be large and sophisticated, and have a corporate feel. In some jurisdictions, they may be employed by firms of solicitors, banks, in contrast, solicitors and attorneys work directly with the clients and are responsible for engaging a barrister with the appropriate expertise for the case. Barristers generally have little or no contact with their lay clients. All correspondence, inquiries, invoices, and so on, will be addressed to the solicitor, in court, barristers are often visibly distinguished from solicitors by their apparel. For example, in Ireland, England, and Wales, a barrister usually wears a wig, stiff collar, bands. Since January 2008, solicitor advocates have also been entitled to wear wigs, in many countries the traditional divisions between barristers and solicitors are breaking down. Barristers once enjoyed a monopoly on appearances before the courts, but in Great Britain this has now been abolished
Barristers
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A barrister's wigs, Parliament Hall, Edinburgh
Barristers
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Illustration of an early 20th-century English barrister
Barristers
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Margaret Battye, 1930s Australian court dress
Barristers
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Gray's Inn,
London
43.
Lord Beeching
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As a result of the report, just over 4,000 route miles were removed from the system on cost and efficiency grounds, leaving Britain with 13,721 miles of railway lines in 1966. A further 2,000 miles were lost by the end of the 1960s, Beeching was born in Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, the second of four brothers. His father was Hubert Josiah Beeching, a reporter with the Kent Messenger newspaper, his mother a schoolteacher, shortly after his birth, Beechings family moved to Maidstone where his brothers Kenneth and John were born. All four Beeching boys attended the local Church of England primary school, Maidstone All Saints, and won scholarships to Maidstone Grammar School, Beeching and his elder brother Geoffrey attended Imperial College of Science & Technology in London, where both read physics and took First Class honours degrees. His younger brothers both attended Downing College, Cambridge, Beeching remained at Imperial College where he undertook a research Ph. D under the supervision of Sir George Thomson. In 1938 he married Ella Margaret Tiley, whom he had known since his schooldays and they initially set up home in Solihull, and remained married for the rest of his life. His first post was with the Shell Design Section where he had an equivalent to that of army captain. Whilst with Armament Design, Beeching worked under the Departments Superintendent and Chief Engineer, Sir Frank Smith, Beeching continued his work with armaments, particularly anti-aircraft weaponry and small arms. He was then appointed to the Terylene Council, and subsequently to the board of ICI Fibres Division, in 1953 he went to Canada as vice-president of ICI Ltd, and was given overall responsibility for a terylene plant in Ontario. He returned after two years to become chairman of ICI Metals Division on the recommendation of Sir Frank Smith, in 1957 he was appointed to the ICI board as Technical Director, and for a short time also served as Development Director. Smith declined but recommended Beeching in his place, a suggestion which Marples accepted, Stedeford and Beeching clashed on a number of issues connected with Beechings proposal to drastically prune Britains rail infrastructure. In spite of questions being asked in Parliament, Sir Ivans report was not published until much later, on 15 March 1961 Ernest Marples announced in the House of Commons that Beeching would be the first Chairman of the British Railways Board from 1 June. The Board was the successor to the British Transport Commission, which was broken up by the Transport Act 1962, Beeching was given a leave of absence for five years by ICI in order to carry out this task. At that time the Government was seeking outside talent to sort out the problems of the railway network. There was widespread concern at the time that, despite investment in the 1955 Modernisation Plan. Passenger and goods traffic was declining in the face of increased competition from the roads, by 1960. It would be Beechings task to find a way to returning the industry to profitability as soon as possible, on 27 March 1963, Beeching published his report on the future of the railways, entitled The Reshaping of British Railways. He called for the closure of one-third of the countrys 7,000 railway stations, passenger services would be withdrawn from around 5,000 route miles accounting for an annual train mileage of 68 million and yielding, according to Beeching, a net saving of £18m per year
Lord Beeching
–
The Right Honourable The Lord Beeching
44.
Courts Act 1971
–
The Courts Act 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom the purpose of which was to reform and modernise the courts system of England and Wales. It established the Crown Court, introduced the posts of circuit judge and recorder, many of its provisions have since been repealed by the Senior Courts Act 1981, but the essential structure described in the Act is still in place. The first part of the Act concerns the new Crown Court and it is established as part of the Supreme Court of Judicature, replacing courts of assize and Quarter Sessions. The appellate jurisdiction of courts is transferred, and the new court given exclusive jurisdiction in trial on indictment. It is described as a court of record for England. This section has now superseded by the Senior Courts Act 1981. The post of judge is introduced in the second part of the Act. They sit in the Crown Court and county courts, are appointed by the monarch on the Lord Chancellors advice, the Lord Chancellor may also sack a circuit judge on the grounds of incapacity or misbehaviour. Judges are to have a salary and pension, and must take an oath of office, the act also introduces part-time Crown Court judges, known as recorders, who are similarly appointed by the Lord Chancellor. The fourth part of the Courts Act governs the selection of juries and related rules, halsburys Statutes, Civil Procedure, Sweet & Maxwell,2006, Volume 2, 9B-83 - 9B-93
Courts Act 1971
45.
Stenotype
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A stenotype, stenotype machine, shorthand machine or steno writer is a specialized chorded keyboard or typewriter used by stenographers for shorthand use. Some stenographers can reach 300 words per minute, the Web site of the California Official Court Reporters Association gives the official record for American English as 375 wpm. The stenotype keyboard has far fewer keys than a conventional alphanumeric keyboard, multiple keys are pressed simultaneously to spell out whole syllables, words, and phrases with a single hand motion. This system makes real-time transcription practical for court reporting and live closed captioning, because the keyboard does not contain all the letters of the English alphabet, letter combinations are substituted for the missing letters. There are several schools of thought on how to record sounds, such as the StenEd, Phoenix. An American shorthand machine was patented in 1879 by Miles M. Bartholomew, a French version was created by Marc Grandjean in 1909. The direct ancestor of todays stenotype was created by Ward Stone Ireland about 1913, most modern stenotype keyboards have more in common with computers than they do with typewriters or QWERTY computer keyboards. Most contain microprocessors, and many allow sensitivity adjustments for each individual key and they translate stenotype to English internally using user-specific dictionaries, and most have small display screens. They typically store a full work in non-volatile memory of some type. These factors influence the price, along with economies of scale, as of October 2013, student models, such as a Wave writer, sell for about US$1,500 and top-end models sell for approximately US$5,000. Machines that are 10 to 15 years old still resell for upwards of $350, the Open Steno Project has written free open-source software, such as Plover, and has developed cheap open-source hardware for stenography. Stenotype keys normally are made of a hard, high-luster acrylic material with no markings, the keyboard layout of the American stenotype machine is shown at the right. In home position, the fingers of the hand rest along the gap between the two main rows of keys to the left of the asterisk. These fingers are used to generate initial consonants, the fingers of the right hand lie in the corresponding position to the right of the asterisk, and are used for final consonants. The system is roughly phonetic, for example the cat would be written by a single stroke expressing the initial K, the vowel A. To enter a number, a user presses the bar at the top of the keyboard at the same time as the other keys. The illustration shows which lettered keys correspond to which digits, numbers can be chorded just like letters can. They read from left to right across the keyboard and its possible to write 137 in one stroke by pressing the number bar along with SP-P, but it takes three separate strokes to write 731
Stenotype
46.
Barrister
–
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation and their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the philosophy, hypothesis and history of law, and giving expert legal opinions. Often, barristers are also recognised as legal scholars, Barristers are distinguished from solicitors, who have more direct access to clients, and may do transactional-type legal work. It is mainly barristers who are appointed as judges, and they are hired by clients directly. In England and Wales, barristers may seek authorisation from the Bar Standards Board to conduct litigation and this allows a barrister to practise in a dual capacity, fulfilling the role of both barrister and solicitor. A barrister, who can be considered as a jurist, is a lawyer who represents a litigant as advocate before a court of appropriate jurisdiction, a barrister speaks in court and presents the case before a judge or jury. In some jurisdictions, a barrister receives additional training in law, ethics. In contrast, a solicitor generally meets with clients, does preparatory and administrative work, in this role, he or she may draft and review legal documents, interact with the client as necessary, prepare evidence, and generally manage the day-to-day administration of a lawsuit. Barristers usually have particular knowledge of law, precedent. When a solicitor in general practice is confronted with a point of law. In most countries, barristers operate as sole practitioners, and are prohibited from forming partnerships or from working as a barrister as part of a corporation, however, barristers normally band together into chambers to share clerks and operating expenses. Some chambers grow to be large and sophisticated, and have a corporate feel. In some jurisdictions, they may be employed by firms of solicitors, banks, in contrast, solicitors and attorneys work directly with the clients and are responsible for engaging a barrister with the appropriate expertise for the case. Barristers generally have little or no contact with their lay clients. All correspondence, inquiries, invoices, and so on, will be addressed to the solicitor, in court, barristers are often visibly distinguished from solicitors by their apparel. For example, in Ireland, England, and Wales, a barrister usually wears a wig, stiff collar, bands. Since January 2008, solicitor advocates have also been entitled to wear wigs, in many countries the traditional divisions between barristers and solicitors are breaking down. Barristers once enjoyed a monopoly on appearances before the courts, but in Great Britain this has now been abolished
Barrister
–
A barrister's wigs, Parliament Hall, Edinburgh
Barrister
–
Illustration of an early 20th-century English barrister
Barrister
–
Margaret Battye, 1930s Australian court dress
Barrister
–
Gray's Inn,
London
47.
Witness box
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A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as courts, the judge generally sits behind a raised desk, known as the bench. Benches in U. S. federal courtrooms and some state courtrooms are usually bullet-resistant to protect judges from courtroom shootouts, behind the judge are the great seal of the jurisdiction and the flags of the appropriate federal and state governments. Judges usually wear a black robe. An exception was the late U. S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, adjacent to the bench are the witness stand and the desks where the court clerk and the court reporter sit. The courtroom is divided into two parts by a known as the bar. The bar may be an actual railing, or an imaginary barrier, the bailiff stands against one wall and keeps order in the courtroom. On one side is the bench, the tables for the plaintiff, the defendant, and their respective counsel. Apart from the parties to the case and any witnesses, only the lawyers can literally pass the bar, there is usually a podium or lectern between the two tables where the lawyers may stand when they argue their case before the judge. There is usually a space between the bench and the counsel tables, because of the court clerk and court reporters tables in front of the bench. This space is called the well, instead, if documents need to be given to or taken from the judge, attorneys are normally expected to approach the court clerk or bailiff, who acts as an intermediary. During trials, attorneys will ask the permission to traverse the well or approach the bench for sidebar conferences with the judge. The other side of the bar is open to the general public, seating for the gallery can either be pew style benches or theater seats. The theater seats are directly above the gallery, giving sight over the entire courtroom, all of the above applies only to trial courts. Appellate courts in the United States are not finders of fact, so they do not use juries or receive evidence into the record, that is the trial courts job. Therefore, in a court, there is neither a witness stand nor a jury box. The walls are partially or completely wood-paneled. This is a matter of style and tradition, but some jurisdictions have elected to construct courtrooms with a modern appearance
Witness box
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A small courtroom in
Bern,
Switzerland
Witness box
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The Interior of the United States Supreme Court
Witness box
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Historic courtroom still in use in
Brockville,
Ontario, Canada
48.
Northumberland
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Northumberland is a county in North East England. The northernmost county of England, it borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham and Tyne and Wear to the south, to the east is the North Sea coastline with a 64-mile long distance path. The county town is Alnwick although the county council is in Morpeth, the northernmost point of Northumberland and England is at Marshall Meadows Bay. The county of Northumberland included Newcastle upon Tyne until 1400, when the city became a county of itself, Northumberland expanded greatly in the Tudor period, annexing Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1482, Tynedale in 1495, Tynemouth in 1536, Redesdale around 1542 and Hexhamshire in 1572. Islandshire, Bedlingtonshire and Norhamshire were incorporated into Northumberland in 1844, Tynemouth and other settlements in North Tyneside were transferred to Tyne and Wear in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. Lying on the Anglo-Scottish border, Northumberland has been the site of a number of battles, the county is noted for its undeveloped landscape of high moorland, now largely protected as the Northumberland National Park. Northumberland is the most sparsely populated county in England, with only 62 people per square kilometre, Northumberland originally meant the land of the people living north of the River Humber. The present county is the core of that land, and has long been a frontier zone between England and Scotland. During Roman occupation of Britain, most of the present county lay north of Hadrians Wall, the Roman road Dere Street crosses the county from Corbridge over high moorland west of the Cheviot Hills into present Scotland to Trimontium. Northumberland has a rich prehistory with many instances of art, hillforts such as Yeavering Bell and stone circles like the Goatstones. Most of the area was occupied by the Brythonic-Celtic Votadini people, with another large tribe, later, the region of present-day Northumberland formed the core of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia, which united with Deira to form the kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century. Lindisfarne saw the production of the Lindisfarne Gospels and it became the home of St Cuthbert, bamburgh is the historic capital of Northumberland, the royal castle from before the unification of the Kingdoms of England under the monarchs of the House of Wessex in the 10th century. The Earldom of Northumberland was briefly held by the Scottish royal family by marriage between 1139–1157 and 1215–1217, Scotland relinquished all claims to the region as part of the Treaty of York. The Earls of Northumberland once wielded significant power in English affairs because, as powerful and militaristic Marcher Lords, Northumberland has a history of revolt and rebellion against the government, as seen in the Rising of the North against Elizabeth I of England. These revolts were led by the Earls of Northumberland, the Percy family. Shakespeare makes one of the Percys, the dashing Harry Hotspur, after the Restoration of 1660, the county was a centre for Roman Catholicism in England, as well as a focus of Jacobite support. Northumberland was long a wild county, where outlaws and Border Reivers hid from the law, however, the frequent cross-border skirmishes and accompanying local lawlessness largely subsided after the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England under King James I and VI in 1603. Northumberland played a key role in the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century on, many coal mines operated in Northumberland until the widespread closures in the 1970s and 1980s
Northumberland
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Long Crag summit
Northumberland
Northumberland
–
River Coquet.
Northumberland
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Housedon Hill
49.
County Durham
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County Durham is a county in North East England. The county town is Durham, a cathedral city, the largest settlement is Darlington, closely followed by Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees. It borders Tyne and Wear to the north east, Northumberland to the north, Cumbria to the west, historically, the county included southern Tyne and Wear, including Gateshead and Sunderland. The county has a mixture of mining and farming heritage, as well as a railway industry. Its economy was based on coal and iron mining. It is an area of regeneration and promoted as a tourist destination, in the centre of the city of Durham, Durham Castle and Durham Cathedral are a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site. Many counties are named after their town, and the expected form here would be Durhamshire. Thus County Durham is a form of County of Durham. The situation regarding the name with regards to present-day local government is less clear. The structural change legislation which in 2009 created the present unitary council refers to the county of County Durham, the former postal county was named County Durham to distinguish it from the post town of Durham. The ceremonial county of Durham is administered by four unitary authorities, the ceremonial county has no administrative function, but remains the area to which the Lord Lieutenant of Durham and the High Sheriff of Durham are appointed. The Borough of Hartlepool, until 1 April 1996 the borough was one of four districts in the relatively short-lived county of Cleveland, the part of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees that is north of the centre of the River Tees. Stockton was also part of Cleveland until that countys abolition in 1996, the remainder of the borough is part of the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. Durham Constabulary operate in the area of the two districts of County Durham and Darlington. Ron Hogg was first elected the Durham Police and Crime Commissioner for the force on 15 November 2012, the other areas in the ceremonial county fall within the police area of the Cleveland Police. Air Ambulance services are provided by the Great North Air Ambulance, the charity operates 3 helicopters including one at Durham Tees Valley Airport covering the County Durham area. Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team, based at the Durham Constabulary base in Barnard Castle, respond to search, Cuthbert between Tyne and Tees or the Liberty of Haliwerfolc. The bishops special jurisdiction rested on claims that King Ecgfrith of Northumbria had granted a substantial territory to St Cuthbert on his election to the see of Lindisfarne in 684
County Durham
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Durham palatinate plaque.
County Durham
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Flag
County Durham
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High Force waterfall on the
River Tees
County Durham
–
The
Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in
Darlington
