Courts of St Thomas
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Current revision as of 19:40, 15 August 2006
The Courts of St Thomas are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice within St Thomas and her dependent territories. They are constituted and governed by the law of St Thomas and are subordinate to the Parliament of St Thomas. The day-to-day head of the courts is the Lord Chief Justice, a role previously fulfilled by the First Lord of State.
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[edit] Supreme Court of St Thomas
The Supreme Court of St Thomas is the highest court of appeal for all legal matters and was created by the Supreme Juridstriction Act 1995 which removed the judicial powers of the Council of Lords (the upper House of the St Thomas legislature) and granted the creation of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is headed by the Lord Supreme of Justice, who is whilst the most senior judge in the country, is not the Head of the Judiciary. There are an additional seven members of the Supreme Court.
[edit] Council of Lords
Whilst the Council of Lords had the bulk of its Judicial powers removed in 1995 it still holds judicial authority in certain aspects of law. These include being the highest Court of Appeal for the former St Thomas territory of Mullaghmore, ecelesiatical law and law generaly lated to the procedure and conduct of parliament and elections to it. Any judicial cases heard by the Council of Lords are not heard by the full council but instead by a committee usualy compiled of qualified judges or barristers that are also peers.
The Council of Lords is also hears impeachment trials however impeachment is no longer a commonly used law convention in St Thomas.
[edit] Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal is the main court of appeal for all judicial matters in St Thomas and in common practice lies only below the Supreme Court in the order of seniority of the courts. The Court is divided into two Divisions: the Civil Division and the Criminal Division. The Master of the Rolls presides over the Civil Division, while the Lord Chief Justice does the same in the Criminal Division.
The Civil Division hears appeals from the Chancery Division and Family Divisions of the High Courts aswell as cases from the civil courts. The Criminal Division hears appeals from the Kings Bench Division of the High Court and the Crown Court.
[edit] High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice (or simply the High Court) are the main trial courts in the legal system of St Thomas. The Court is headed by the Lord Chief Justice and is split in to three divisions eahc hereing cases in a number of different areas. Appeals from the High Court are made to the Court of Appeal.
[edit] Kings Bench Division
The Kings Bench Division is the cirminal division of the High Court. It heres certain high-profile cases that would normaly be heard by the Crown Courts including all cases of Treason. Judges of the Kings Bench Division also excercise juridstriction when sitting in the Crown Court. The Kings Bench division also oversees all lower courts and government authority on behalf of the monarch. Generally, unless other appeal processes are laid down in law, anyone who wants to challenge any decision of a lesser court, tribunal, government authority or state authority brings a claim for judicial review in the King's Bench Division. The Head of the King's Bench Division is the President of the Kings Bench Division of the High Court.
[edit] Chancery Division
The Chancery Division of the High Court heres most financialy related cases. These include cases in areas such as business law, trusts law, probate law, land law in relation to issues of equity in cases in value over £50,000. Civil cases of lower value are heard by the Civil Courts who the Chancery Division also recieved appeals from. The Head of the Chancery Division is the Chancellor of the High Court.
[edit] Family Division
The Family Division heres cases in relation to divorce, family, children, probate and medical treatment and as such its decisions can concern life and death. The Family Division heres appeals from the Family Division of the Civil Courts aswell as certain cases under the Medical Treatment Act 1996 and divorce and probate cases with a value of more than £50,000. The head of the Family Division is the President of the Family Division.
[edit] Crown Court
The Crown Court is the main criminal justice court in St Thomas hearing the majority of criminal cases. Cases to the Crown Court are always transfered from the magistrates courts. They can be cases where the magistrates have not accepted juridstriction in a case (they do not have enough power) or the magistrates have heard a case but do not have enough sentencing powers. Appeals from the Crown Court are sent to either the Court of Appeal for direct appeal or the High Court for re-trial.
[edit] Civil Court
The Civil Court heres all civil cases with a value of under £50,000 and those not delegated to the Family Division of the High Courts under the Medical Treatment Act 1996. Magistrates will refer all civil cases that may be presented before them to the Civil Courts and all private prosecutions are recieved before the Civil Courts. Cases which the Civil Courts do not have juridstriction over are transferd to the respective divisions in the High Court with direct appeals going to the Court of Appeal.
[edit] Magistrates Court
The Magistrate Court or court of petty sessions is the lowest level of court in the courts system of St Thomas. All cases brought by the Crown Prosecution Service (Criminal or Civil) are initialy heard by the magistrates court which sits either as three lay magistrates or a circuit judge. The magistrates have the power to fine up to £5,000 or 12 months imprisonment. When the magistrates do not have juridstriction over a case (there sentencing powers are too little or it is a civil case) then the case is transfered to the Crown Court or Civil Court respestively. Points of Law or Appeals from the Magistrates Court are heard by the Kings Bench Division of the High Court.
