Feature of Judicial System of England
Introduction;-
In England justice is available to all people whether they are rich of poor. This is due to the independence of judiciary and the rule of law. When we talk about the judicial functions of the British parliament we mean judicial functions of the house of lords. The rights and liberty of every individual is protected by judiciary in England.
Salient Features;-
Following are the salient features of British Judicial system.
1)Rule of Law;-
The Rule of law is outstanding feature of British Judicial system. It means that none of the persons is above or below the law and all persons are equal in the eyes of the law courts will apply the same law on all subjects.
2)Speedy Justice;-
Speedy Justice is another feature of U.K judicial system, cases are disposed off quickly. It is because judges possess greater discretion (Carefulness /judgment) in dealing with legal technicalities and judicial rules of procedure are made by a special rule committee.
3)Independence of Judiciary;-
The Courts of U.K are free from all the pressures and decides the cases on merits.
4)Neutrality;-
The courts are neutral in U.K and they never support any party, neither plaintiff nor defendant. The courts complete the requirement of justice in neutral manners.
5)Equality;-
The courts in U.K represent the principle of equality. It is the duty of prosecution to prove its case beyond reasonable doubts and on its own merits.
6) Jury System;-
Jury system is another unique feature of British Judiciary. In all serious criminal cases the accused must be tried not by a judge alone but also by a jury which is group of laymen who are appointed to assist the judges in administration of justice. In all civil cases involving an accusation against the moral character of either of the parties, that party may demand a verdict (Decision) by a jury.
7) Dual System of Bar;-
The lawyers are divided into tow parties in U.K. the solicitor and the barristers. While the solicitors deal with the clients and prepare cases, it is the barristers, who argue them in the courts.
8)No Judicial Review;-
Courts in England have no powers of judicial review. On account of the sovereignty of parliament, the institution of judicial review does not exist in England. No court of law can declare ultra vires a law passed by the British Parliament on account of its unconstitutionality,
Organization of Courts in England;-
The courts in England are divided into two branches. The civil courts and the criminal courts. Comprehensive details on subject matter are listed below.
A)Civil Courts;-
Civil courts deal with private law or disputes between one citizen and another. Organization of the civil courts in England is reflected below.
(1)County Courts;-
At the bottom of civil courts is the county court. The whole country is divided in about 337 counties and each county has a court.A county court has one or more circuit judges, assigned by the Lord chancellor.
(2) High Court of Justice.;-
It is situated in London. It is an appellate court against the decisions of county courts. The cases which don’t fall in the jurisdiction of county courts are trailed in High Court of Justice. The high court of justice, also known as the supreme court of judicature is divided into three divisions.
(a) Queen’s Bench Division;-
The Queen’s bench division deals with ordinary civil cases.
(b) Chancery Division;-
The Chancery deals with cases of Equity.
(c)Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division;-
This division deals with cases of marriages, will and ships.
(3) House of Lords;-
House of lords is highest court of appeal in civil matters. It consists of ten lords of appeal in ordinary.
(4) Court of Appeal;-
Appeals from county courts and the three divisions of the High Courts of Justice lie with the court of appeal. The presiding judge is called Master of the Role. It consists of 14 lord’s justice of appeal and of lord chancellor and all three presidents of Bench division of the High Court of Justice.
B)Criminal Courts;-
Criminal courts deal with branches of public law. The organization of criminal courts is distributed as under.
(1)Justice of Peace and Stipendiary Magistrates;-
At the lowest level of the criminal courts are the justice of peace and stipendiary magistrate. The honorary judges are appointed on the various localities to decide the criminal cases of pity nature. Theses judges are called justice of peace.
(2)The Court of Assizes;-
These are the local courts to try the criminal cases and is branch of the high court. Cases in these courts are head by a judge and a jury. The president of this court is a judge of the high court. This court is conducted in each county twice a year. It has jurisdiction on the various heinous offences such as imprisonment or death.
(3)The Quarter Session Courts;-
This court consists of all the justices of peace in a county. All the justices may or may not participate in a session of this court but two justices are necessary to constitute the quorum. Cases involving death sentences or other very serious cases are not head by this court.
(4)Courts of Criminal Appeal;-
Appeals from the quarter session and assizes lie with the court of criminal appeal. This court consists of the lord chief justice and the judges of the queen’s bench. General three judges hear the appeal.
(5) Judicial Committee of the Privy Council;-
It reviews cases referred to it by various British colonies. In fact it does not decide cases but gives advice to the king.
Conclusion;-
Judiciary plays a vital role in united kingdom for providing justice to the people. Its also protect the rights and liberty of the people of united kingdom as every person is equal in the eye of law. For centuries past, the judicial organization in Britain was a bewildering (Confusing) collection of courts but now the courts are arranged into a hierarchical order of lower & high criminal and civil courts.
