Magistrates

The lowest court in criminal law is magistrate court. There are about 430 magistrates’ court in England and Wales. The great bulk of the criminal work of the country performed in the magistrates courts. All criminal starts at magistrates court even the most serious, 97% of the criminal dealt with magistrates’ court and remained 3% of the cases dealt by crown courts. Magistrates court also known as justice of the peace. They are local courts so, nearly in every town there are a magistrate court, while in big cities have several courts. The cases are heard by magistrate court is either by lay magistrates or by district judges. And also a legally qualified clerk attached to each magistrate to help the magistrate.

As we have said that all the criminal cases starts with magistrate court and they have jurisdiction in a variety of matters. The magistrates have a very workload and their function is to try all summary cases and transfer cases to the crown court for trial. The courts acts as filter they filter the weak cases before it arrive at the crown court. More over there are youth court that deals with younger person’s cases who are aged ten to seventeen.

Not only the magistrates deals criminal case they deals some the civil cases such as licensing pubs and restaurants, enforcing council tax, and family cases including orders for protection against violence and maintenance order bare in mind that magistrates court cannot grant divorces.

Juries and lay people sit in magistrate court. Juries and lay have a long history in the English legal system, dating back to Justice of the Peace Act 1361.thier role was, as now, dealing with criminals. But they are also as said exercise the administrative function. There are at least 30,000 lay magistrates hearing over one million criminal cases a year - 98% of the criminal trials and the remaining in the crown courts. not only the magistrates hearing the cases in the magistrates courts the district judges who are professional in the legal system hear the cases. the district judges receives salary and appointed by the Queen in recommendation of Lord Chancellor. in order to qualify and appoint as district judge the candidate need have seven years advocacy.

magistrates are appointed by lord chancellor in the name of Crown by advisory of  Local Advisory Committee. the (LAC) is a committee that is responsible for appointing and interviewing candidate for magistrates. Names of people who are interested becoming magistrate are put forward by interested bodies such as political parties, trade union and other and also individual can apply to become a magistrate as well as these parties.   the only qualifications that needed in order to be a magistrate are that applicant must be under 65 and within 15 miles of the commission area the applicant wan to be appointed. despite there is no need for specific qualification for being magistrate but there are some characteristic set up by lord chancellor such as being of good character , have personal integrity, exercises sound common sense, team player  and ability to weigh up evidence.   apart from this there are some people who not eligible to be appointed. these include people serious crime convection, but the convection for minor motoring offence would not disqualify.

Presentation

Tribunal

Tribunals are either domestic or administrative. They are like court hearings, without that formality, there is not a judge but there is an attempt to hear the case. They are taking the issues seriously and the proceeding is more quickly than full hearing in the court.

Domestic court is used within the professions. This is determining question relating to the professional conduct of their member, such as bar council and law society has tribunal.

Administrative tribunals are dealing with the claim which involves the claim of right and duties, such as dispute between employers and employees. And the other example of the administrative tribunal is to deal with the fixed obligations like tenants and landlords.

ADR

Different type of ADR

Alternative dispute resolution is simply an informal court that allows the parties to control the dispute themselves.

Negotiation is one of ADR. Negotiation is an informal method of dealing with problems between parties. The parties negotiate between them until they reach to an agreement. It happens usually before the litigation begun. This is to avoid going to court or other formal method of dispute resolution. And also negotiation undertake when the claim form has been issued in order to avoid full hearing in the court.

Arbitration: in many commercial and business contracts the parties inset a clause sating that, in the case of a dispute the matter will be referred to arbitration. This means that an independent adjudicator can be appointed by parties to determine the issue. The arbitrator is an expert in the appropriate technical field. An example of this is the travel agencies who are part of ABTA.

Mediation: this is a modern form of dispute resolution, which is quite informal and is there to bring parties together by finding the common ground. This is formally known as marriage guidance council.