CHAPTER VIII
THE CIVIL COURTS
THE GENERAL SYSTEM—DIFFERENT COURTS—RULES OF PRACTICE MADE BY LORD CHANCELLOR—JURIES, COMMON AND SPECIAL—JUDGES AND HOW APPOINTED—JUDGES' PAY—COSTS—COURT NOTES—SOME DIFFERENCE IN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN METHODS.
The general system of the English courts may be indicated without detailing the exact limitations of jurisdiction which would be too technical for present purposes.
Prior to 1873 there were a large number of courts with various titles, which had grown up through centuries of custom and legislation. But they were nearly all abolished by an Act of Parliament, or rather their functions were merged into the present far simpler system. In this radical re-arrangement, however, two courts—the highest and the lowest—survived; the House of Lords and the County Courts remain as they were.
Thus came into being the Supreme Court of Judicature, composed of two branches—the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal. The High Court is the one of immediate interest because here are begun all litigations of every description, excepting the minor matters which go to the County Courts, or, perhaps, to the Registrar's Court.
The High Court is separated into three parts known as the King's Bench Division, devoted to jury trials which constitute the great bulk of business, the Chancery Division, where equity suits are considered, and the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division which deals, as its name implies, with the estates of deceased persons, with divorce, and with marine matters.
Each of these three divisions has a chief; the Lord Chief Justice of England presides over the King's Bench Division and the Lord Chancellor over the Chancery Division, while the head of the Probate and Admiralty Division, enjoys no higher title than that of "President." The number of judges in the different divisions is fixed by legislation and is determined by the extent of the business in each. In every court, except appeal courts, the evidence is heard by a single judge—of course in a separate court room—with the assistance of a jury in the King's Bench Division, but, except in divorce cases, usually without any jury in the other tribunals which are equity courts.
It was the evident intention of Parliament to fuse equity and common law practice, but experience has not proved that this is very feasible, so that the line which separates the two is nearly as distinct as it ever was. Nevertheless, a certain amount of progress has been made in this direction—probably all that would be wise—particularly in the admission of equitable defenses in common law actions and in the facility with which, on the other hand, an equity court is enabled to obtain the verdict of a jury upon disputed facts without the old and cumbersome method of remitting the whole case to a common law court for a trial upon a special issue.