CIVILCIVIL PROCEEDINGSPROCEEDINGS XII SEMINARIO DE ESTUDIO COMPARADO DE SISTEMAS JUDICIALES Y DE COOPERACIÓN JUDICIAL JUDICIALES Y DE COOPERACIÓN JUDICIAL Águilas 2010 INTERNACIONAL A TRAVÉS DEL LENGUAJE JURÍDICO CIVIL PROCEEDINGS Introduction Civil courts Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) The trial or public hearing The judgment Enforcement of the judgment Appeal routes ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 2 IntroductionIntroduction:: webweb pagespages • Her Majesty’s Court Service: http://www.hmcourts- service.gov.uk/ • Ministry of Justice: http://www.justice.gov.uk/ • The Judiciary of England and Wales: http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/ • Judgments (for the most senior courts, typically Court of Appeal / High Court of Justice decisions): http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/judgment_guidance/judgments/i ndex.htm ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 3 IntroductionIntroduction:: webweb pagespages • County Court Judgments: http://www.registry- trust.org.uk/ • The UK Statute Law Database: http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/ • United Kingdom Legislation: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/uk.htm • Civil Bench Book http://www.jsboard.co.uk/civil_law/cbb/index1.htm ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 4 CASE NAMES ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 5 IntroductionIntroduction:: civilcivil casecase namesnames • Brown v Smith (two neighbours): Literally: “Brown versus Smith” Orally: “Brown and Smith” • Judicial review cases: Mr. Brown is unhappy with Hardfordshire City Council for failing to take action against his neighbour Mr. Smith. He brings an action against the Council: R v Hardfordshire City Council, ex parte Brown • In certain family and property actions (e.g. a case concerning a child): Re Smith or Re S ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 6 IntroductionIntroduction:: civilcivil casecase namesnames • Examples: ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 7 LEGAL BASIS, PARTIES & VOCABULARY ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 8 LegalLegal basisbasis • CAUSE OF ACTION • RIGHT OF ACTION Both refer to the legal basis of the claim made Î injury to some legal right. - “No cause of action”: on the law. If you haven’t got cause of action your claim will be struck out. - “No merit”: on the facts of the case ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 9 PartiesParties • Parties to the suit: ¾Claimant (CPR 1998; formerly plaintiff): injured party. “Petitioner” in divorce proceedings. Appeal stage: apellant. ¾Defendant (adversary) // “Respondent” in divorce proceedings. Appeal stage: respondent. ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 10 VocabularyVocabulary • “ACTION”: term used at the initial stage (e.g. ‘cause of action’, ‘right of action’, ‘no cause of action’). • “CASE”: term used beyond the initial stage (e.g. ‘the case at issue’, ‘the instant case’, ‘as in the present case’. • “CASE” and “LAWSUIT”: both normally connote a civil case. ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 11 WRONGS, TORTS & REMEDIES ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 12 DisputesDisputes • Most disputes concern: • Breach of contract • Tort (wrongful act independent of a contract) • Property rights • Successions or contentious probates • Industrial or intellectual property FRAUD and ASSAULT under English law: both a crime and a tort. ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 13 WrongsWrongs • Civil courts hear cases brought by persons who claim to have suffered some wrong, harm or injury: • Personal injury • Loss of or damage to property • Damage to reputation • Damage to rights (infringement of rights) ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 14 RulesRules • Depending on nature of the claim and rights alleged to have been infringed, the proceedings may follow rules based on: ¾common law principles/equitable principles (contract, tort). ¾statutory principles (traffic accidents, accidents at work). ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 15 TortsTorts • There are several types of tort (civil wrongs) including: ¾ wrongs against the person only (e.g. defamation of character, libel); ¾ wrongs against property only (e.g. trespass); ¾ wrongs which may be against people or property (e.g. negligence or nuisance). • Some matters may involve both contract and tort, e.g. personal injury cases which show negligence and breach of a contractual duty of care. • Others may be crimes as well as torts (e.g. assault). ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 16 TortsTorts • Four most frequent torts in common law: – Negligence (duty of care) – Defamation: slander (oral)+ libel (written) – Nuisance (e.g. dangerous objects, harmful substances, noise in excess, etc.) – Trespass (e.g. housebreaking, burglary – inhabited houses) ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 17 TortsTorts • TORT: “non-contractual civil wrong”; “wrongful act, independent of a contract, for which a civil action will lie” (ilícito civil extracontractual; daño, agravio). • The law of torts defines the obligations imposed on the members of society to their fellows and provides for compensation for harms produced by breach of such obligations. ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 18 RemediesRemedies • Claimant seeks a remedy: ¾ Damages (common law remedy). Usual remedy Î sufficient to redress claimant, no other remedy allowed “so far as money can make it” ¾ Relief (equitable remedy; e.g., exemption from a charge, duty or liability). ¾ Account of profit (assessment of profit obtained Î commercial and industrial property cases). ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 19 RemediesRemedies • EQUITABLE REMEDIES: ¾ Specific performance. ¾ Rescission (of a contract). ¾ Injunction (court order, usually issued to the defendant, to do or refrain from doing something until court reaches final judgment in the matter). ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 20 CIVIL COURTS ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 21 COURTS EXERCISING CIVIL COURTS EXERCISING JURISDICTION CRIMINAL JURISDICTION THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UK COURT OF APPEAL Civil Division Criminal Division HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE CROWN COURT Chancery Family Queen’s criminal Division Division Bench Division Divisional Divisional Administrative Senior Court Court Court courts COUNTY Inferior courts COURTS MAGISTRATES’ COURTS TRIBUNALS ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 22 CountyCounty CourtsCourts • Majority of civil litigation takes place here. Subject to nature of the claim: debt repayment, personal injury, breach of contract (concerning goods or property), family issues (divorce or adoption), housing disputes (mortgage, etc.). • District judges. ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 23 HighHigh CourtCourt ofof JusticeJustice • QUEEN’S (OR KING’S) BENCH DIVISION: Admiralty Court + Commercial Court + Technology and Construction Court, TCC. ¾ Contract and tort (civil wrongs), judicial reviews and libel. Also claims for judicial review of administrative decisions or decisions of inferior tribunals. • CHANCERY DIVISION: Patents Court & Companies Court. ¾ Company law, partnership claims, conveyancing, land law, probate, patent and taxation cases. • FAMILY DIVISION. ¾ Family law and probate cases. DIVISIONAL COURTS: appeals. ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 24 CourtCourt ofof AppealAppeal ofof EnglandEngland andand WalesWales • Civil Division: ¾Appeals from: • HCJ (three divisions); • County Courts (sometimes); • Certain Tribunals (Employment Appeal Tribunal, Land Tribunal, Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, Social Security Commissioners). ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 25 CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 26 CivilCivil ProcedureProcedure RulesRules 19981998 “PROCEDURAL RULES” • Prior to April 1999: ¾ Rules of the Supreme Court (“White Book”) Î RSC (HCJ, Civil Division of Court of Appeal + House of Lords). ¾ County Court Rules (“Green Book”) Î CCR (civil courts of first instance). REENACTED AS SCHEDULES TO CPR 1998 • CPR, as of April 1999. “The Woolf Report”, Access to Justice, published by The Rules Committee, under chairmanship of Lord Woolf. ¾ Accompanied by Practice Directions (PD; they are guidelines) PD 29, para.6 J paragraph 6 of the Practice Direction to Rule 29. ¾ Older rules recodified as schedules to new rules. RSC J Schedule 1; CCR J Schedule 2 ¾ Order (norma) Æ Part (título). ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 27 CivilCivil ProcedureProcedure RulesRules 19981998 http://www.justice.gov.uk/civil/procrules_ fin/index.htm ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 28 CivilCivil ProcedureProcedure RulesRules 1998:1998: PrinciplesPrinciples • All proceedings before courts must be dealt with: ¾ Efficiently. ¾ Fairly (=imparcialidad). ¾ Openly (transparencia; principio de publicidad. Reporting restrictions). ¾ Consistently (=coherencia). ¾ Without undue delays (=sin dilaciones indebidas). … IN DUE PROCESS OF LAW ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 29 CivilCivil ProcedureProcedure RulesRules 19981998 • Overriding objective: “all cases should be dealt with justly”: (1) to ensure that parties are on an equal footing; (2) to save expense; (3) to deal with cases in a way proportionate to: (1) amount involved, (2) importance of the case, (3) complexity of issues & (4) financial position of each party; (4) to ensure that cases dealt with expeditiously (no undue delays) and fairly; (5) to allot (assign) to cases an appropriate share of court’s resources. ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 30 CivilCivil ProcedureProcedure RulesRules 19981998 Measures: 1. Simplification of legal language (plain English). 2. Use of Information Technology (IT). 3. Case management. Procedural judges Î strict control of times (stages) and procedure. 4. Unification of procedure. 5. Tracking. ÁguilasÁguilas 2010 2010 31 CivilCivil ProcedureProcedure RulesRules 19981998 (1) Simplification of legal language • Reduction of technicalities J expression within the understanding of competent speakers not trained in law. • Leaflets available to prospective litigant: outlining of essential procedures, likely stages, costs, tracking, statements, etc.