Assess the hierarchical structure of the court system in England and Essay

Assess the hierarchical structure of the court system in England and Wales. To what extent does the common law doctrine of bindi - Essay Example The court system is a hierarchical structure that begins from the bottom at the County Courts and Magistrate Courts, the High Court and Crown Court, the Court of Appeal, and the highest court which is the Supreme Court (Jones, 2011). The hierarchical structure serves two fundamental purposes. First, it enables the formation of a lineage of consistent and uniform decisions through the binding system of judicial precedent, which requires judges at lower courts to consider and follow decisions of judges at higher courts in making their judgements. Second, it enables defendants to appeal against decisions made at lower courts by forwarding their appeals to higher courts. This paper discusses the hierarchical structure of the court system in England and Wales, and the extent to which it engages with the common law doctrine of binding precedents. The Structure of the Court System in England and Wales The court system in England and Wales is hierarchical in structure (Jones, 2011). This â⠂¬Å"means that certain courts are superior to other courts† (Jones, 2011, p. 17). The lowest courts, which are the County and Magistrate Courts, try civil and criminal cases that are not too serious respectively. At the second rank are the Crown Court and the High Court. The Crown Court tries criminal cases, while the High Court tries civil cases with a limited scope over criminal cases. This rank is followed by the Court of Appeal. This court hears appeals from both civil and criminal cases that have been tried at lower levels be it at Magistrate or County Courts, Crown Court or the High Court. At the highest tier of the system is the Supreme Court. This court is the ultimate appellate court and hears appeals for both civil and criminal cases (Jones, 2011). In this structure, Magistrate and County Courts are regarded as inferior courts, while the rest of the courts are regarded as superior courts (Jones, 2011). The courts in the hierarchy follow the doctrine of binding preced ent, and this can be seen from the way cases are handled between lower and higher courts. The following diagram shows the structure of the English court system: Cited in Jones, 2011, p. 17 Magistrate Courts Magistrate Courts are located at the bottom of the hierarchy. Within England and Wales, there are about 1500 Magistrate Courts (Jones, 2011). They are a crucial component of the criminal justice system, as they deal with cases that are criminal in nature. Magistrate Courts have three lay magistrates who hear the cases brought before the court and rely on the counsel of a Clerk, who is legally qualified in providing advice on the law, to make decisions regarding procedure and sentencing (Jones, 2011). The jurisdiction of a Magistrate Court in a criminal trial depends on the nature of the offence, often its seriousness. This is the yardstick used to determine whether a case should be heard at the Magistrate Court or Crown Court. When a case before the magistrate court is too seriou s, or when the sentence that the magistrates need to impose needs to be sufficiently severe, the case is forwarded to the Crown Court. County Courts County Courts also lie at the bottom of the hierarchy. There are approximately 220 County Courts in England and Wales, which deal with cases involving civil disputes (Jones, 2011). The bench of a County Court comprises of a Circuit Judge who hears more