County Court

About the court

The County Court deals with civil (non-criminal) matters.

Unlike criminal cases – in which the state prosecutes an individual – civil court cases arise where an individual or a business believes their rights have been infringed.

Types of civil case dealt with in the County Court include:

  • Businesses trying to recover money they are owed;
  • Individuals seeking compensation for injuries;
  • Landowners seeking orders that will prevent trespass.

Civil matters, for example, pub licensing, can also be dealt with by magistrates. More complex cases or those involving large amounts of money will appear at the High Court; the vast majority of civil cases take place in the County Court.

All County Court centres can deal with contract and tort (civil wrong) cases and recovery of land actions. Some hearing centres can also deal with bankruptcy and insolvency matters, as well as cases relating to wills and trusts (equity and contested probate actions) where the value of the trust, fund or estate does not exceed £30,000, matters under the Equality Act 2010, and actions which all parties agree to have heard in a County Court (e.g. defamation cases).

In most County Court centres, District Judges hear contested civil cases with values up to £25,000 and, in many centres, they will also deal with higher value claims with the permission of a Designated Civil Judge. Where it is only the amount in dispute, with the liability for payment having already been resolved, there is no such limit.

Some County Court centres will also have a sitting Circuit Judge who will also hear cases with values of between £10,000 and £25,000, but they are more likely to deal with higher value claims, those with complex issues or cases which may require several days of court time.

Case management of claims is undertaken almost exclusively by the District Judge.

As well as hearing cases, District Judges generally keep an overview of a case to make sure it is running smoothly. They also deal with repossessions and assess damages in uncontested cases.

County Court judgments may call for the payment or return of money or property. Successful litigants may ask the court to enforce the judgment through one of a range of procedures, including writs and warrants of control (that permit bailiffs to take control of goods).

Who sits in a County Court

Circuit judges

Circuit Judges are appointed to one of seven regions of England and Wales, and sit in the Crown Court and County Court within their particular region.

Fee paid judges

Various fee-paid (non-salaried judges) sit occasionally in the County Court – Deputy District Judges, Deputy Circuit Judges and Recorders.

District judges

District Judges are full-time judges who deal with the majority of cases in the County Court. They are deployed on appointment to a particular circuit and may sit at any of the County Court or District Registries of the High Court on that circuit.

A judge hearing a civil case

Before trying a civil case the judge reads the relevant case papers and becomes familiar with their details.

The vast majority of civil cases tried in court do not have a jury (libel and slander trials are the main exceptions) and the judge hears them on his own, deciding them by finding facts, applying the relevant law to them – and there may be considerable argument about what that law actually is – and then giving a reasoned judgment.

Judges also play an active role in managing civil cases once they have started, helping to ensure they proceed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

This includes:

  • encouraging the parties to co-operate with each other in the conduct of the case;
  • helping the parties to settle the case;
  • encouraging the parties to use an alternative dispute resolution procedure if appropriate and;
  • controlling the progress of the case.

Occasionally, the parties will have agreed the relevant facts and it will not be necessary for the judge to hear any live evidence. The issues may concern the law to be applied or the terms of the judgment to be given. But more often than not, written and live evidence will be given by the parties and their witnesses and the live witnesses may be cross-examined. The judge ensures that all parties involved are given the opportunity to have their case presented and considered as fully and fairly as possible. During the case the judge will ask questions on any point they feel needs clarification. The judge also decides on all matters of procedure which may arise during a hearing.

Judgment

Once the judge has heard the evidence from all parties involved and any submissions (representations) they wish to put forward, they deliver their judgment. This may be immediately, or if the case is complicated, at a later date.

Civil judges do have the power to punish parties if, for example, they are in contempt of court but, generally, civil cases do not involve the imposition of any punishment.

If the judge decides that the claimant is entitled to damages, they will have to go on to decide the amount. Or the claimant may have asked for an injunction – for example, to forbid the defendant from making excessive noise by playing the drums in the flat upstairs in the early hours of the morning, or a declaration – an order specifying the precise boundary between 2 properties about which the parties had never been able to agree. The task of the judge to is to decide on what is the appropriate remedy, if any, and on the precise terms of it.

Costs

When the judgment in the case has been delivered, the judge will usually deal with the costs of the case. This may include the fees of any lawyers, court fees paid out by the parties, fees of expert witnesses, allowances to litigants in person (those who have acted without lawyers), earnings lost and travelling and other expenses incurred by the parties and their witnesses. The general rule is that the unsuccessful party will have to pay the successful party’s costs but the judge has a wide discretion to depart from this rule. The judge’s decision on this part of the case will be very important to the parties. They may decide, for example, that the unsuccessful party should pay only a proportion of the successful party’s costs or that each party should bear their own costs. The judge may hear representations about this at the end of the case.