English Courts

By Author: Henry Ford
Total Articles: 189
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In their view of New Zealand legal history, Spiller and Boast argue that “With the advantage of hindsight, it is possible to impose an artificial degree of order upon the development of the English courts, and the law they administered; artificial because it seeks to describe in static terms what were dynamic processes…” This statement reflects on the course of the development of English courts which took the course of development of common law. Common law has been used as a reference point upon which the legal system of England, Wales, and other common wealth countries are based on. Common law are developed by judges following the decisions that are made in courts and tribunals which imply that they are quite dynamic in contrast to other laws which are developed through legislative statutes or by the actions of the executive branch. Therefore, the course of development of English courts has been facilitated by the dynamic nature of the common laws. Common law system can be defined as a legal system which facilitates enforcement of common laws based on the fact that it is quite unfair to treat similar facts in a different ...
... way in different occasions. This means that the common law is used as body of reference that guides the future decision to be made on similar cases. It mandates that when there is a disagreement on court decision, the parties are supposed to follow reasoning of the prior decision and from that make the current decision. However, if the case presented is different from previous ruling, the judge is at liberty to make law through creating precedent . The new decision made becomes the precedent and will be used by future courts in case ruling. The above analysis of the common law can be used as a reference point to understand how the English court systems have evolved over time. The dynamic nature of the common law has led to evolution of a dynamic court structure which comprise of different courts wielding different levels of power. The decisions made by one court are binding only to a given jurisdiction as the dynamic nature of the system has delegated judicial court power to different levels of courts. For example it can be found out that in most jurisdictions, the decision made by appellate courts are biding to the lower courts and goes to a length to influence the future decision which are made by same appellate court. However, the decision made by lower court are only non-binding authority and cannot influence the decision of the higher court or future decision that will be made on the lower courts .
The current variation and levels of power observed in English courts can also be reflected in the development of common law. Common law, which has been practiced for centuries in England and Wales, can be traced to have originated from three English courts. There was the King’s Bench, Exchequer, and Court of Common Please. In their earlier practices, these courts competed against the other for jurisdiction and in the process they developed a distinctive body of doctrine, which evolved to common law. This means that while common law has influenced the development of the modern English courts, it was also a product of earlier court system, which was made of three competing courts .
The Kings Court was the most powerful of the three courts. It drew its authority from the monarchial powers and was principle court in administration of criminal justice. The King’s Bench was considered the senior court in England and the most powerful of all courts. The court was headed by Lord Chief Justice, a common feature in the modern English courts. However, this court did not survive for long as it was abolished in 1875 through the Supreme Court of Judicature Act of 1873. All jurisdiction of the court was passed to High Court of Justice, the Queen’s Bench division. The exchequer of please, which was also referred to as Court of Exchequer was one of the earlier courts that emerged in England. It was mainly based on natural law and later adopted the common law. Originally, it was part of the Kings Council but was split in 12th century to become an independent court by itself. The Court of Exchequer remained an important feature of the English alongside the Chancery, as strong and efficient courts which engulfed other four courts which held similar jurisdiction before the civil war. However there were arguments against having Chancery and Court of Exchequer with similar jurisdiction and therefore it was dissolved in 1880. Court of common please was also known as Common Bench or the Common Place. It was one the court that led to development of common law and was created in order to relieve pressure that was being experienced by Court of King’s Bench . It was considered the third highest common law court in England until the court was abolished in 1875. Although it was ranked below other courts, it was a place of innovation and contributed much to the development of common law and modern courts. It introduced procedural changes in the court systems, which were implemented in other courts.
With time, it is evident that the court system in England underwent structural changes in the 19th century. By 1700s, there was evident amalgamation of the three courts to level their power. This was taking place in line with the developments taking place in the common law. The three courts adopted procedures which though they were perceived different in form and cost, they were very similar . Before the structural changes that saw the dissolving of the three courts, it was common to speak of twelve judges, where three judges were drawn from each court, as equal. The three courts had same jurisdiction but case load were not similar. During 1800s, there was growing concerns over the existence of the three courts as it was evident that evenness would not be achieved. Therefore a commission was set up that recommend the abolition of Welsh Court with an aim of harmonizing the court system, although the central courts were not touched. However, in 1873, the Supreme Court of Judicature Act was enacted and this brought all central courts into one single Supreme Court of Judicature. Under the Supreme Court of Judicature, the three central courts became three of the five division s that makes up the Supreme Court. This was a temporary political arrangement that was meant to avoid crisis by retiring the three Chief Justices who headed the three courts.

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