Courts' jurisdiction

UK court system

The court system in the UK is made up of a number of different courts that includes:

The county courts
The magistrates’ courts
The Crown Court
The Royal Courts of Justice
Youth Court
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

Court jurisdiction is the power of the relevant court to hear cases and make judgments in its particular geographical area. Individual cases are allocated to the appropriate court depending on the nature of its subject-matter.

Some courts have exclusive court jurisdiction. For instance, serious criminal cases are heard by the Crown Court but not by the county or magistrates’ court. If a case can be heard in several types of court, they are said to have concurrent jurisdiction.

Magistrates' court

The magistrates’ court has civil jurisdiction with the power to:

Judge cases involving families and children
Grant alcohol and gambling licences
Hear council tax cases
Issue maintenance orders

The magistrates’ court also has some criminal court jurisdiction. The criminal offences that this court hears are divided into three categories:

Summary offences such as drink driving or public disorder
Tri-able either-way offences such as assault or theft. These cases can also be heard in the Crown Court
Indictable offences such as rape or manslaughter. The initial hearing in these cases will take place at the magistrates’ court, but the case will then move to the Crown Court as it has ultimate court jurisdiction in these serious cases

If you would like to obtain legal advice about court jurisdiction, Contact Law can put you in touch with a local specialist solicitor free of charge. So, if you have any questions or would like our help in finding local solicitors please call us on 0800 1777 162 or complete the web-form above.