Hierarchy of Courts in England and Wales

Importance of Court Hierarchy

• Understanding the hierarchy is crucial for law students to answer questions on examinations.
• Courts follow a strict judicial precedent theory.
• Appellate judges are constrained by previous decisions.

Key Components of the Court Structure

Supreme Court

• Highest court in the UK, replacing the House of Lords in 2009.
• Decisions are binding on all lower courts.
• Not bound by its own past decisions.

Appellate Courts

• Hear appeals from lower courts.
• European Court of Justice:
  • Binding on questions of European law.
  • Can overrule its own past decisions.
• European Court of Human Rights:
  • Not binding, but UK law should be read to align with it post-Human Rights Act 1998.

Court of Appeal

• Two divisions: Civil and Criminal.
• Required to follow the European Court of Justice and Supreme Court decisions.
• Bound by their own past decisions with some exceptions.

Divisional Courts

• Include Queen's Bench, Chancery, and Family Courts.
• Bound by superior courts.
• Follow similar exemptions like the Court of Appeal.

Courts of First Instance

• Original trials conducted here.
• Rarely set precedents.

High Court

• Bound by superior courts and binds lower courts.

Inferior Courts

• Include Crown Court, County Court, and Magistrates Court.
• Follow higher court rulings.

The Practice Statement

• Introduced in 1966 to allow more flexibility in following precedents.
• Primarily used for civil cases over criminal cases.
• Encourages deviation from past decisions if deemed appropriate.
• Not much used post-1966, but significant in key cases like Miliangos v George Frank Textiles Ltd (1976).

Usage in Criminal Law

• Rarely applied to criminal cases due to emphasis on certainty.
• Used in R. v. Shivpuri (1986) to correct an error quickly.

Court of Appeal vs. Supreme Court

• Debates on whether the Court of Appeal should follow Supreme Court decisions.
• Supreme Court decisions are generally binding, but exceptions exist for Human Rights cases.

Human Rights Cases

• Court of Appeal can diverge from Supreme Court decisions in alignment with the European Court of Human Rights.

Key Cases Referenced

• Conway v. Rimmer (1968) - First use of the practice statement.
• Miliangos v George Frank Textiles Ltd (1976) - Overruled previous currency damages decision.
• Pepper v Hart (1993) - Overruled ban on using Hansard for statutory interpretation.
• Horton v. Sadler (2006) - Departure from previous decision on personal injury law.
• R. v. Shivpuri (1986) - Corrected a recent criminal law error.

Notable Judges

• Lord Denning - Attempted to diverge from House of Lords decisions.
• Lord Reid - Advocated for maintaining consistency in law.