"What's a Circuit Judge"?

...is a question I was asked today. You can find out about Circuit Judges here. They generally hear the more complex civil cases in the County Court and sometimes the High Court.

Also, have a look at a day in the life of a Circuit Judge for an insight into what they get up to! If you're feeling brainy you can read a report into the performance of the Manchester Civil Courts here. The foreword to this is written by the Designated Civil Judge for Manchester, HHJ Holman - his title means he's responsible for ensuring that the Woolf Reforms are working properly here!

Civil Courts: Cost, delay, complexity... is it better now?

The Woolf Report is something you need to know about as part of the Civil Courts topic. Remember that the key theme here is access to justice - in other words, can the public easily use the justice system?

Before Lord Woolf (above) reported on the civil justice system, it was in a bit of a mess, and very difficult to use. Some of the problems are referred to here. Things have improved since then - have a look at this powerpoint by Kennedys solicitors on the impact of "Woolf" and future reforms.

Following Woolf, the Civil Procedure Rules have been introduced. These are the first reference point for lawyers running civil cases and they are all online here.

The Middleton Report into the Civil Court system is also available to view here.

TASK: Find out from the website given here what the overriding objective of the CPR is and note it down!

Remember: you need to know what the problems of the system were, and how well Woolf has addressed these - what has and hasn't improved? TASK: Make a list!