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UK Court Structure

Supreme Court sits at the top as the final court of appeal for all UK civil cases and criminal cases from England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.  Previous to 2009 the Supreme Court was known as The House of Lords. Cases flow upward to it from the Court of Appeal, which has two divisions: Criminal Division (receiving appeals from the Crown Court) and Civil Division (receiving appeals from High Court and other civil courts). The High Court, positioned below, has three divisions: King's Bench Division (Handling administrative law, general civil jurisdiction, and Admiralty Court matters), Family Division (handling matrimonial matters and appeals from the magistrates' courts), and Chancery Division (business and property matters, bankruptcy and Companies Court, Patents Court). Cases progress upward from lower courts: Crown Court (trying indictable offenses), County Court (civil proceedings), Magistrates' Courts (handling summary offenses with some cases flowing to Crown Court), and Tribunals (specialised matters). 

 Court Structure for the England and Wales flowchart showing Judicial hierarchy (taken from HM's Courts & Tribunal Service website)

 

From 9th September 2022 the Queen’s Bench Division (QBD) of the High Court will now be known as the King’s Bench Division (KBD).