Critically assess the hierarchical structure of the court and tribunal system in England and Wales. To what extent are appeals accommodated within this system?

The question is in two parts and it is important for you to remember that both parts must be addressed in your answer.

The first part is more important and you should give more weight to this in your answer. You should provide a comprehensive analysis of the court system and a description of the principal civil and criminal courts. You need to describe the function of each court, the type of cases that it deals with and the place of each court in the overall hierarchy. It would be helpful to deal with the civil courts separately from the criminal courts. It would also be helpful to provide a detailed analysis of the civil courts of first instance such as the county court and the High court, as these are the courts which principally engage with disputes arising in a business environment.

 

The recommendation is to initially discuss the lower courts, (such as the county court and the magistrates court), before providing an analysis of the superior courts. Some of the superior courts (such as the Supreme Court), have a jurisdiction over both civil and criminal cases.

 

There are numerous types of specialist tribunals which mostly have a civil jurisdiction. It would be advisable to provide a detailed description of one or two of the more important types of tribunals, such as the Employment tribunal and/or the Lands tribunal.

 

The second part of the question asks you to provide an analysis of how appeals are accommodated. Less weight should be given to this part of the question. In answering this part, you should show an understanding of the main routes of appeal and what courts engage with appeals. It is expected that you show an understanding of the jurisdiction of the principal appellate courts, such as the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. When discussing appeals within the tribunal system you should show how appeals from the tribunal system are ultimately routed to the principal appellate courts.

 

The assignment question asks you to focus on the court and tribunal structure in England and Wales. You can make a comparison with the court systems in other jurisdictions such as Scotland, the USA or any other country. You are also permitted (and indeed encouraged) to make reference to any other court outside of England and Wales which hears appeals from the English jurisdiction. An example would be the European Court of Human Rights.

 

You are being asked to provide a critical assessment of the court and tribunal system. This means that you should avoid providing an answer which is purely descriptive. An example of criticality is an assessment of whether the appeals process works in a satisfactory manner. Another example of criticality would be a discussion of whether the civil court structure provides a satisfactory mechanism for the resolution of business disputes. You should avoid providing diagrams in support of your work as diagrams are purely descriptive.

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETION OF THE ASSIGNMENT:  

 

You should present the assignment in the form of an essay of not more than 2250 words. You will be expected to refer to the recommended textbook, Law for Business Students, Adams, A. (11^th Edition) and/or Business Law, MacIntyre, E. (9^th Edition). Credit will be given where you have clearly shown independent research by reference to other relevant textbooks, internet resources and legal journals/articles – In such event you should provide a detailed bibliography identifying your sources. The bibliography does not form part of the overall word count.

 

Your assignment must be electronically submitted to Blackboard by 11.59pm on Tuesday 10^th November 2020. No other method of submission will be accepted. You are strongly recommended to complete your assignment in good time for the deadline.

 

 

ASSESSMENT:

The written assignment will be marked out of 100. Your assignment counts towards 60% of the overall mark for the LAW5A4 Module.

 

In order to achieve a pass grade, you will be expected to provide a sound analysis of the hierarchical structure of the court system in England and Wales coupled with a description of the principal courts. You will also be expected to assess the civil tribunal system and how it fits into the overall structure. Finally you will need to display an understanding of how appeals are accommodated within both the court and tribunal systems.

 

Marks will be given for:

 

• Quality of response to the presented question.
• Demonstrating a broad knowledge and general understanding of the main areas covered by the presented question.
• Demonstrating awareness and understanding of the specific issues raised by the presented question.
• Collection, comparison and synthesising relevant information from different sources.
• Presentation of an analytical conclusion in response to the presented question.