County Court

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Law of England and Wales

This article is part of the series:
Courts of England and Wales
Civil courts
Privy Council

House of Lords

:Lords of Appeal in Ordinary

Court of Appeal

:Master of the Rolls

:Lord Justice of Appeal

High Court of Justice

:Chancellor of the High Court

:President of the Queen's Bench

:President of the Family Division

:High Court judge

County Courts

:District Judge

Criminal courts
House of Lords

:Lord of Appeal in Ordinary

Court of Appeal

:Lord Chief Justice

:Lord Justice of Appeal

High Court of Justice

:President of the Queen's Bench

:High Court judge

Crown Court

:Circuit Judge

:Recorder

Magistrates' Court

:District Judge

:Justice of the Peace

Criminal justice
Attorney General

Director of Public Prosecutions

:Crown Prosecution Service

Barristers and solicitors
Bar Council

:Barrister

Law Society of England and Wales

:Solicitor

::Solicitor Advocate

Crown Court and County Court in Oxford.

England and Wales

The County Court is the workhorse of the civil justice system in England and Wales. See Courts of England and Wales for a full list of the types of courts, and List of Courts in England and Wales for the locations of County Courts in England and Wales.

The vast majority of civil cases are heard in the County Courts, and most major towns have one. The governing statute is the County Courts Act 1984 and procedure is governed by the Civil Procedure Rules, which are common to all English civil law courts.

The County Court system in its present form has existed for about 150 years. The County courts generally hear matters with a financial value of £50,000 or under (US$80,000 and €80,000).

Appeals are to the High Court of Justice or to the Court of Appeal.

County Court matters can be lodged via the internet (in some cases). Most matters are decided by a District Judge or Circuit Judge sitting alone. Civil matters in England (with minor exceptions, e.g. in some actions against the police) do not have juries.

Deputy District Judges are often part time, generally a local solicitor taking their first steps on the route to becoming a judge. Judges in the County courts are either former barristers or solicitors, whereas in the High Courts they are more likely to have formerly been a barrister.

Australia

County Court is the name given to the intermediate court in some Australian States (see for example County Court of Victoria). They hear indictable (serious) criminal offences excluding treason, murder and manslaughter. Their civil jurisdiction is also intermediate, typically being for civil disputes where the amount claimed is greater than a few tens of thousands of dollars but less than a few hundreds of thousands of dollars. The limits vary between States. In some States the same level of Court is called a District Court. Below them are the Magistrates' (or Local) Courts. Above them are the State Supreme Courts.

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