The law, police and courts

What the police do and how crime gets reported

The police in the UK work to prevent crime, keep order and protect the public, and they are expected to act without favour towards any political party, race or religion. Most forces are organised locally, and officers on the beat are supported by police community support officers, known as PCSOs, who patrol neighbourhoods, reassure residents and deal with minor problems but do not have full police powers such as the power to arrest. Anyone who wants a career that helps the community, or simply wants to understand how the system protects them, should know that both regular officers and PCSOs rely on the public reporting what they see.

There are two main ways to contact the police, and knowing which to use matters. The number 999 is for genuine emergencies, meaning a crime that is happening right now, a threat to life or violence taking place or about to take place. For anything less urgent, such as reporting a theft discovered after the event, damage to property or general concerns about crime in the area, the police ask people to ring 101 instead, which keeps the emergency line free for cases that cannot wait. Crimes can also be reported online or in person at a police station, and doing so gives the police the information they need to investigate and helps build an accurate picture of crime in an area.

Arrest, suspects' rights and the presumption of innocence

A central idea in the British legal system is that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. This means that when someone is accused of a crime, the burden of proving they committed it falls on the prosecution, not on the accused to prove their innocence. A suspect does not have to say anything to convince the police or a court that they are innocent; it is up to the state to establish guilt.

The police may arrest someone if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that person has committed, is committing or is about to commit an offence. Once arrested, a suspect must be told clearly why they are being held and what will happen next. They have the right to free legal advice, and if they cannot afford a solicitor of their own, one will be provided for them. A suspect also has the right to have someone told of their arrest, such as a family member or friend, and they have the right to remain silent during police questioning, although in some circumstances staying silent can later be taken into account by a court.

After police have investigated, a decision on whether to bring formal charges and prosecute a suspect in England and Wales is generally taken by the Crown Prosecution Service, working separately from the police who carried out the investigation. This separation between investigating a crime and deciding whether to prosecute it is meant to keep the process fair. If a case goes to trial, the presumption of innocence continues to apply, and a jury or magistrate must be satisfied that guilt has been proved before convicting anyone.

Criminal offences and criminal law

Criminal law deals with offences against the state or against society as a whole, even though the victim is usually an individual. Examples of criminal offences include theft, assault, drug dealing and murder. When someone is prosecuted for a criminal offence, the case is brought in the name of the state, and a defendant found guilty can face punishments such as a fine, a community sentence or imprisonment, depending on how serious the offence is.

Criminal law is different from civil law, which deals with disputes between individuals or organisations, such as disagreements over contracts, property or employment, and which normally results in compensation rather than punishment. Criminal cases in England and Wales are heard first in a magistrates' court or, for more serious offences, in the Crown Court, while civil disputes go through separate civil courts. This distinction matters because the rules of evidence, the standard of proof and the possible outcomes differ sharply between the two systems, even though the same behaviour can sometimes give rise to both a criminal prosecution and a civil claim.

Civil law and how it differs from criminal law

Civil law exists to settle disagreements between people, businesses or organisations rather than to punish wrongdoing against society as a whole. Where a criminal case asks whether someone broke the law and deserves punishment, a civil case asks who is right in a dispute and what should be done to put things right. The person or organisation bringing a civil case is called the claimant, and the party being sued is the defendant, rather than the prosecutor and defendant used in criminal cases.

The outcome also looks different. A criminal court can fine someone or send them to prison, but a civil court usually orders the losing side to pay compensation, known as damages, or to do or stop doing something specific, through an order the court can enforce. Civil cases are decided on the balance of probabilities, meaning the court decides which side's version of events is more likely to be true, a lower bar of proof than the criminal standard of being sure beyond reasonable doubt.

Civil disputes in England and Wales are generally dealt with in the county court, while more serious or higher value civil cases can go to the High Court. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate civil court systems, reflecting the fact that each nation runs its own courts within the UK.

Common civil disputes: contracts, family, employment and TV licences

Many civil cases arise from contract disputes, where one side claims the other has failed to keep to the terms of an agreement, such as not paying for goods or services that were supplied, or not delivering what was promised. Family disputes are also handled through the civil courts, covering matters such as divorce, arrangements for children after a separation, and disagreements over money or property between family members.

Employment disputes cover disagreements between workers and employers, for example over unfair dismissal, discrimination at work or unpaid wages. Many of these are dealt with by a specialist tribunal rather than an ordinary court, though they still follow civil rather than criminal rules and usually result in compensation if the worker's claim succeeds.

Not having a valid television licence stands out as an unusual case: watching or recording live television broadcasts without one is treated as a criminal offence under the Communications Act 2003, and cases are heard in the magistrates' court rather than a civil court. Someone convicted faces a fine of up to £1,000, and if that fine goes unpaid the court can eventually imprison the person, though the prison sentence is for non-payment of the fine rather than for the original licence offence.

Housing disputes and personal injury claims

Housing disputes make up another common category of civil case, covering disagreements between landlords and tenants over matters such as unreturned deposits, rent arrears or a landlord's failure to keep a property in good repair. These cases are brought in the civil courts because they involve one party seeking a remedy from another, rather than any breach of the criminal law.

Personal injury claims allow someone who has been hurt through another person's carelessness or fault, for instance in a road accident or a workplace incident, to sue for compensation. The claim usually seeks to cover both the injury itself and related losses such as medical costs or lost earnings, and it is decided using the same balance of probabilities test applied throughout civil law, so the injured person only needs to show that their version of events is more likely than not to be true.

Tribunals as an alternative to court

Not every legal dispute needs a courtroom. Tribunals are a separate, more informal way of settling certain kinds of disagreement, usually where one side is challenging a decision made by a public body or an employer. They tend to be quicker, cheaper and less formal than a court, and the person hearing the case often sits alongside members who bring practical experience of the subject rather than a purely legal background.

Tribunals deal with a wide range of matters, including immigration and asylum decisions, social security and benefit disputes, tax disagreements, and claims about school admissions or special educational needs. A claimant does not usually need a solicitor to bring a case, which makes tribunals a more accessible route for many people than the ordinary court system.

If either side is unhappy with a tribunal's decision, they can generally appeal, though usually only on a point of law rather than simply because they dislike the outcome. Appeals from most tribunals go up through the tribunal system itself before reaching the higher courts.

Where criminal cases are heard: magistrates' courts and the Crown Court

Every criminal case in England and Wales starts at a magistrates' court, whatever the offence. Magistrates' courts deal with less serious crimes from start to finish and also handle the early stages of more serious ones before deciding whether to send them onward.

Cases are usually decided by a panel of three magistrates, also called Justices of the Peace, who work as volunteers from the local community without needing a legal qualification, sitting alongside a legally trained adviser. There is no jury. Magistrates decide both whether the defendant is guilty and, if so, the punishment. In Northern Ireland, this role is instead carried out by a legally qualified, salaried District Judge or Deputy District Judge.

Serious offences such as murder, rape or robbery move up to the Crown Court, where a judge presides and a jury of ordinary citizens decides guilt or innocence. This is also where defendants who plead guilty at magistrates' court but face a punishment beyond a magistrates' powers are sent for sentencing, and it hears appeals against magistrates' court decisions. In Scotland the equivalent serious cases go instead to the Sheriff Court or, for the gravest crimes such as murder, the High Court of Justiciary, reflecting Scotland's separate legal system.

Where civil cases are heard: the County Court and the High Court

Most civil claims begin in the County Court, which handles everyday disputes over unpaid debts, disagreements between landlords and tenants, personal injury and family matters. Cases here are decided by a judge alone, with no jury, and the court can order one side to pay compensation or take some other action to put things right.

Larger, more complex or higher-value civil claims go instead to the High Court, which also hears certain civil appeals from the County Court. As well as trying cases directly, the High Court can review whether a public body or official has acted lawfully, a check on government power known as judicial review. A further appeal from either court's decisions can reach the Court of Appeal and, ultimately, the Supreme Court.

Appeals and the highest court: the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court

The Court of Appeal sits above the High Court and the Crown Court in England and Wales, and it splits into two separate divisions. The Civil Division deals with appeals in civil and family cases, mostly from the High Court, while the Criminal Division deals only with appeals from the Crown Court against conviction or sentence. Cases are usually decided by a panel of three judges rather than by a single judge sitting alone.

Above the Court of Appeal sits the Supreme Court, the final court of appeal for the whole United Kingdom. It took over this role from a committee of the House of Lords, opening in October 2009 under changes made by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, a reform designed to separate the country's most senior judges from Parliament. It hears civil appeals from all three parts of the UK and criminal appeals from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, though only a small number of Scottish criminal cases reach it. Twelve judges, called Justices, sit on the Supreme Court, and a case is typically heard by five of them, though as many as nine may sit for cases of particular constitutional importance. The Supreme Court only takes on cases that raise a point of law of major public importance, so it hears far fewer cases each year than the courts below it.

Youth courts and coroners

Young people accused of a crime are not tried in an ordinary magistrates' court. Instead, those aged between 10 and 17 normally appear before a youth court, a special type of magistrates' court staffed by magistrates or judges trained to deal with young defendants. Its hearings are more private than adult courts and members of the public are not allowed in. A young defendant can end up in the Crown Court instead if the charge is extremely serious, such as murder, or if they are jointly charged with an adult.

Coroners deal with deaths rather than crimes. A coroner is a judicial officeholder, often a lawyer or doctor, who investigates deaths that are sudden, violent or unexplained, including deaths where the cause is unknown or where the person died in prison or police custody. Where the cause of death cannot otherwise be established, the coroner holds an inquest, a formal public inquiry into how, when and where the person died. An inquest does not decide whether anyone is criminally responsible; its purpose is simply to establish the facts of the death, and a jury is only used in specific cases, such as deaths in custody.

Scotland and Northern Ireland's separate court systems

Scotland runs its own court system, separate from that of England and Wales, reflecting its distinct legal tradition. Its most serious criminal cases already go to the High Court of Justiciary, and Scotland also has a distinctive verdict system: alongside guilty and not guilty, a Scottish jury can return a verdict of not proven, which acquits the accused in the same way as not guilty but signals the jury was not convinced of innocence either. On the civil side, Scotland's highest civil court is the Court of Session, based in Edinburgh, which hears larger and more complex civil claims in a similar role to the High Court in England and Wales.

Northern Ireland has its own separate courts too, though its structure of magistrates' courts, a Crown Court and a High Court closely mirrors the pattern used in England and Wales, aside from the use of paid District Judges rather than lay magistrates. Northern Ireland also has its own Court of Appeal, which hears appeals from its Crown Court and High Court before any further appeal to the UK Supreme Court in London.

Judges, magistrates and juries in the courtroom

A judge's job is to make sure a trial follows the correct legal procedure, to interpret and apply the law, and to decide on the sentence when someone is found guilty. In the Crown Court a judge oversees the trial and directs the jury on points of law, while in the County Court and High Court a judge hears the case alone and decides the outcome without a jury. Judges are legally qualified and are usually appointed from the ranks of experienced solicitors or barristers, in England and Wales through the Judicial Appointments Commission, which selects candidates on merit rather than political favour.

Magistrates hear the great majority of criminal cases, sitting as volunteers rather than paid professionals. Anyone can apply regardless of legal background: no formal qualifications are needed, though applicants must show sound judgement, reliability and the ability to listen fairly to both sides. Magistrates are appointed following interviews and must commit to sitting regularly, and they can serve from age 18 up to a retirement age set by the Lord Chancellor.

A jury's role is to weigh up the evidence presented at trial and reach a verdict of guilty or not guilty; in England and Wales a jury has twelve members. People qualify for jury service if they are on the electoral register, are old enough and have lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for at least five years since the age of 13. Selection is random, and jury service is a civic duty rather than a voluntary role: those summoned must attend unless they have a valid reason to be excused, such as illness. Because jurors are ordinary members of the public rather than legal professionals, the system rests on the idea that a defendant should be judged by people drawn from the community rather than by the state alone.

Legal professionals: solicitors, barristers and advocates

Solicitors are usually the first point of contact for someone needing legal help. They give general legal advice, prepare documents and correspondence, and handle the day-to-day management of a case, whether that involves a house purchase, a divorce or a dispute with an employer. Most solicitors work from an office, either in a private firm, in a company's in-house legal team or within government, and many clients never need anything more than a solicitor's help to resolve their matter.

Barristers specialise in advocacy, meaning they are trained to argue a case in front of a judge and, where there is one, a jury. A solicitor typically instructs a barrister to take on a case once it needs to go to a higher court or requires specialist courtroom skill, and barristers usually work independently from shared offices known as chambers rather than being employed directly by clients. Solicitors can also gain extra qualifications that let them argue cases in the higher courts, so the old, strict division between the two professions has become less rigid, but the basic distinction between office-based legal advice and specialist courtroom advocacy still holds.

In Scotland the equivalent of a barrister is called an advocate. Advocates perform the same core function of representing clients and arguing cases in court, particularly in the higher Scottish courts, reflecting Scotland's separate legal profession and terminology.