County Court

INTRODUCTION

County courts deal with civil disputes. They exist to provide a speedy and inexpensive method of settling disputes locally. There are many county courts all across the country and certainly in every city or large town. The types of cases that these courts deal with include money claims, landlord and tenant cases, repossessions cases, bankruptcy cases, companies winding up and of course divorce and family disputes. Circuit judges deal with the serious cases and District judges deal with the less important cases.

HISTORY

County courts came into existence under the County Courts Act 1846 and originally dealt with small civil claims within their designated areas. The general powers of the county courts come from the County courts Act 1984 along with various other Acts of Parliament and statutory Instruments, which give other special powers.

COURT RULES

County court procedure deals with many issues. Virtually all aspects of county court procedure are contained in a book called the "County Court Practice". This is commonly known as the "Green Book" because of its green colour.

CIRCUIT JUDGES

These deal with the more serious cases that crop up in the County court and Crown court. England and Wales is divided into six areas or "circuits" and these judges operate within their particular circuit. These judges are usually former barristers.

DISTRICT JUDGES

These are judges that sit in the County Court and deal with a wide variety of civil law cases. They deal with both administrative and legal matters. These types of judges are usually former solicitors.

COURT STAFF

These are civil servants and consist of a Chief Clerk assisted by a number of clerical administrative clerks. These administer the courts services and are all under the control of the Chief Clerk and ultimately the District Judge. There are also Court Bailiffs who are responsible for the personal service of documents and in certain cases, enforcing judgements. The court staff are often very helpful although they cannot give legal advice.

SMALL CLAIMS COURT

This is a section of the county court that deals with small value cases usually under £5,000. The rules and procedures are a lot more informal. Hearings are usually in a room not a court. Formal rules of evidence do not apply. There is often no need for legal representation.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Please refer to other sections of this site. The court also provides a number of useful and easy to read leaflets and booklets, which explain procedure and gives instructions on what to do.