 |
|
To most people, the legal system in the UK may seem a very large, very frightening organisation that you only come into contact with under less than happy circumstances.
Criminal justice and Criminal case consists of the state (Crown) prosecuting an individual for allegedly committing a crime against society as a whole.
The basic structure of the legal system within England and Wales consists of the Magistrates' court, that deal with the majority of minor and petty offences; the Crown Court, which deals with all criminal cases that go to trial.
The Crown Court can present cases for appeal at the Court of Appeal, and if the case involves some important change in the actual law, then it may go to the House of Lords, the highest court in England and Wales.
What is the magistrates’ court?
The majority of criminal cases (97%) are dealt with at Magistrates' Court, where two or three lay magistrates (unpaid, unqualified members of the public who are appointed to the position) deal with minor offences that require fines, civil proceedings that can be dealt without trial, or they will refer complicated cases to the Crown or County Courts.
The Magistrates' Courts are managed by independent Magistrates' Courts Committees that are directly accountable to the Lord Chancellor. Some Magistrates' Courts are specifically designated to deal with cases related to children and young people under the age of 18. These Youth Courts consist of specially trained justices, and unlike other Magistrates' Courts, they are closed to the public.
For more information on the magistrates’ court click here
Links
Crown Courts
Although most criminal proceedings begin within Magistrates' Courts, the Crown Court presides over more serious cases such as robbery, murder or rape.
Crown Courts deal with the most serious offences, which are triable by judge and jury. For more information about the courts click here
On average defendants will have to wait about three months for their case to come to trial, and this wait will sometimes be in custody. The average time taken to conduct a trial is about one and a half court days. There are, on average, about 120,000 defendants annually, and about one quarter of these will plead not guilty.
If someone is convicted of an offence and feels they have been unjustly accused or wish to change their sentence, they can make an appeal depending on which court they were convicted by.
The CPS prosecute the majority of the criminal cases that are heard within the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Courts.
A list of Criminal Courts can be found here :
A diagram of the Court structure can be found here :
XHIBIT enables the public to view a hearing’s progress via the Internet and on public display screens in the court building.
Court Forms & Guidance
- Click here for information on court forms and general guidance
Map
Click here for a plan of the court system showing you how each court relates to the other. For example, if a case starts in the County Court, the arrows show you it can either go into the Crown Court, the High Court or the Court of Appeal.
General Links
Text Size :
|
North Wales Race Equality Network |