LEGAL SYSTEM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

LEGAL SYSTEM - Essay Example The legal system comprises of the various concerned parties of the legal framework namely the court of laws, the lawyers, the plaintiffs, the official staffs of the court of law, the judges and also the society at large as often the judgment are held as records for future purposes and it becomes binding among the people. It was believed that the civil justice system in the United Kingdom was one of the best systems in the world. But like many other nations, any court case called for extensive use of scarce resources like time and money. In order to avoid those, a committee under the chairmanship of Lord Woolf came up with certain recommendations, popularly known as Woolf Reforms, which envisaged reducing the use of time and money in the legal system. This paper aims to provide a critical view of the legal system of United Kingdom especially of the civil justice system with respect to the Woolf Reforms. The United Kingdom comprises of three different jurisdictions namely England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, all with different court system and distinct court system. The civil justice procedure, for which Lord Woolf had elaborate recommendations commences with the County Courts at the bottom of the system. The High Courts of the United Kingdom are basically divided into three divisions like Queens Bench, Family and Chancery. High Courts act as the court of appeals for minor cases as well as court of first instance for major cases. One can appeal the cases also to Court of Appeal (Civil Division). In the United Kingdom, it is the House of Lords that act as the supreme court of appeal where the Law Lords or the thirteen judges designated for the appeal hear the cases. The other indispensable part of the legal framework also comprises of the civil court Judicial Committee of the Privy Council that looks after the matters of the civil justice that arises in the overseas territ ories of United