Magistrates' courts of England and Wales

E89520

civil court court system criminal court

The Magistrates' courts of England and Wales are lower criminal and some civil courts where lay or professional magistrates handle the vast majority of criminal cases and certain family and licensing matters.

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Observed surface forms (4)

Surface form	Occurrences
Magistrates’ courts of England and Wales	1
magistrates' courts in Northern Ireland	1
magistrates' courts of England and Wales	1
magistrates’ courts of England and Wales	1

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	civil court ⓘ court system ⓘ criminal court ⓘ
administeredBy	Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service ⓘ surface form: HM Courts and Tribunals Service
alsoKnownAs	magistrates' courts ⓘ summary courts ⓘ
alternativeToPanel	single district judge (magistrates' courts) ⓘ
appealTo	Court of Appeal of England and Wales ⓘ Crown Court of England and Wales ⓘ surface form: Crown Court High Court of Justice of England and Wales ⓘ surface form: High Court of Justice
canImpose	banning orders ⓘ community orders ⓘ disqualification from driving ⓘ fines ⓘ
composition	district judges (magistrates' courts) ⓘ lay magistrates ⓘ
country	England ⓘ Wales ⓘ
handles	TV licence evasion cases ⓘ anti-social behaviour orders (historically) ⓘ council tax non-payment cases ⓘ either-way offences at first instance ⓘ family proceedings ⓘ licensing matters ⓘ preliminary hearings for indictable-only offences ⓘ some civil cases ⓘ summary offences ⓘ the vast majority of criminal cases ⓘ traffic and motoring offences ⓘ youth criminal cases ⓘ
hasSpecialistDivision	Family Court of England and Wales ⓘ surface form: family proceedings court (historically, now family court jurisdiction) youth court ⓘ
hearsAppealsFrom	local authority decisions in licensing matters ⓘ
jurisdiction	England and Wales ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
legalBasis	Courts Act 2003 ⓘ magistrates’ courts ⓘ surface form: Magistrates' Courts Act 1980
maximumImprisonmentPower	12 months for two or more either-way offences (subject to statutory changes) ⓘ 6 months for a single either-way offence (subject to statutory changes) ⓘ
partOf	judiciary of England and Wales ⓘ surface form: Courts of England and Wales
presidingOfficer	district judge (magistrates' courts) ⓘ lay magistrate ⓘ
proceduralLaw	Civil Procedure Rules (for some matters) ⓘ Criminal Procedure Rule Committee ⓘ surface form: Criminal Procedure Rules
roleInSystem	filter for cases going to the Crown Court ⓘ first instance criminal court ⓘ
supervisedBy	Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales ⓘ
typicalPanelSize	three lay magistrates ⓘ
uses	sentencing guidelines of the Sentencing Council ⓘ

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

English law → hasCourtSystem → Magistrates' courts of England and Wales ⓘ

Crown Court of England and Wales → higherCourtFor → Magistrates' courts of England and Wales ⓘ

this entity surface form: magistrates’ courts of England and Wales

courts of the United Kingdom → includesCourt → Magistrates' courts of England and Wales ⓘ

this entity surface form: magistrates' courts of England and Wales

courts of the United Kingdom → includesCourt → Magistrates' courts of England and Wales ⓘ

this entity surface form: magistrates' courts in Northern Ireland

judiciary of England and Wales → overseesCourt → Magistrates' courts of England and Wales ⓘ

this entity surface form: Magistrates’ courts of England and Wales