Role of the judge in civil cases

In England and Wales civil justice predominantly gets taken to county court where the case will be dealt with and whenever there is a much more complex case then it will be taken to High Court. Jurisdiction can cover a lot of things – from simple claims for instance goods being damaged or debt recovery, to a much harsher and more serious claim for instance amongst various companies.

There are hearings in civil cases that take place in the open court where the public can be present, as well as hearings that take place in judges’ private room where the public cannot attend, decisions from the judge which happen in private will be based on the papers alone.

Many civil cases won’t even end up in court, however the ones that do usually won’t go to full trail. Most of which go through mediation (which is a procedure that happens outside court in order to come to a conclusion about the case) or through customary complaint processes. When a case gets through to court, main goal will be to keep it simple. On the other hand for claims that are much smaller there are much quicker and inexpensive methods for resolving cases – (via small claim courts).

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The judges under civil jurisdiction are not able to send the losing party to prison the reason for this being that they don’t have the power to do so. Normally, only sometimes, they’re able to give financial damages to the party that is successful, but the amount given depends on the situation of their claim.

Prior to the civil case that takes place the judge has to read appropriate case documents and get to know their details. A lot of civil cases which happen at court don’t have a jury (the key exceptions are libel as well as slander trials), so this means the judge needs to hear them on their own, come to a conclusion depending on facts, use applicable law to it and lastly to come up with a reasonable judgement.

The judges can in fact manage civil cases when they begin, assisting to make certain they carry on rapidly and efficiently.

Including:

• Supporting parties in order to cooperate with one another
• Being in control of the case progress
• Assisting parties to resolve a case

Rarely, parties approve appropriate facts and as a result it is not crucial for a judge to be listening to the proof live. The judge makes sure that every party has a chance to speak. At the time of the case the judge begins to ask questions (which will be based on any doubts on the judges mind) and it will be clarified by the parties involved. The judge is able to make a decision on all matters of the process that can occur at the time of the hearing.

After the judge hears all the facts provided by the parties, he/she will then come up with the judgement. This can happen as soon as possible or it may take a while but this depends on how complex the case is. If the case is more complex the judgement can take a while.

Civil judges are not able to give punishment to a party simply because they don’t have power to do so. When a judge comes to a conclusion that claimant has been entitled to damages then, he/she has to come up with the amount. The claimant could ask for injunction.

Once the judgement is delivered, the judge will need to work out the case cost. This could involve lawyer fees, court fees, travelling costs, earning costs etc. The common rule would be that the successful party’s costs will be paid by the unsuccessful party but the judges have their own views regarding this. The decision made by the judge for this will be extremely crucial to the parties. The judge could decide that for instance, the party that is unsuccessful would only have to pay a fraction of successful party’s cost.

Judges that are sitting in Queen’s Bench Division in high court will manage common law business for diverse kinds of tort:

• Doing wrong towards a person
• Doing wrong towards a property
• Doing wrong that could be towards people and property

Queen bench division judges sit in Employment Appeals Tribunal also. High court judges

Circuit judges usually have to deal with problems associated with civil, criminal work, family. They have to deal with various civil as well as family cases, they can specialise in specific parts of law e.g. commercial.

Recorders Civil – fee-paid judges within county courts. Several recorders civil are able to deputise for specialist civil circuit judges e.g. Chancery division. Statuatory jurisdiction for Recorders is similar to the one of circuit judges, though recorders don’t hear appeals from district judges.

District judges – they’re full time judges they usually have to deal with a lot of cases that take place in County courts of England and Wales. They have to deal with civil cases which involve individual injury cases, damage claims as well as injuctions.  Most of them deal with bankruptcy petitions too.

The deputy district judge has been chosen to sit at County court or at High court district registry. Their jurisdiction is in a way same as full time district judge but their authority is limited to some extent when it comes to dealing with family cases which involves children. A Deputy has to retire at the age of 65.

References

Websites

• Judiciary.uk. (2019). Civil. [online] Available at: https://www.judiciary.uk/about-the-judiciary/the-justice-system/jurisdictions/civil-jurisdiction/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2019].
• Hierarchy Structure. (2019). Hierarchy of Civil Courts in England | courts hierarchy structure. [online] Available at: https://www.hierarchystructure.com/hierarchy-of-civil-courts-in-england/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2019].
• InBrief.co.uk. (2019). Where does a civil court case begin? – InBrief.co.uk. [online] Available at: https://www.inbrief.co.uk/claim-preparations/civil-case-start/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2019].
• Johnson, M. (2019). Civil courts and civil procedure rules. [online] Rocket Lawyer. Available at: https://www.rocketlawyer.co.uk/article/civil-courts-and-civil-procedure-rules.rl [Accessed 2 Jan. 2019].
• Judiciary.uk. (2019). County Court. [online] Available at: https://www.judiciary.uk/you-and-the-judiciary/going-to-court/county-court/ [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].
• Judiciary.uk. (2019). District judge. [online] Available at: https://www.judiciary.uk/about-the-judiciary/who-are-the-judiciary/judicial-roles/judges/district-judge-role/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2019].
• Judiciary.uk. (2019). Circuit judge. [online] Available at: https://www.judiciary.uk/about-the-judiciary/who-are-the-judiciary/judicial-roles/judges/ciruit-judge/ [Accessed 7 Jan. 2019].

Books

• Rivlin, Geoffrey (2015). First steps in the law. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p182-184.