Procedures and Processes

Law is governed by Rules that are available online at the links provided below. The Rules can change and therefore it is important to access the Rules via these links to ensure that you have the up-to-date version:

• Civil Procedure Rules (CPRs) available at Rules & Practice Directions - Civil Procedure Rules (justice.gov.uk)

• Family Procedure Rules (FPRs) available at Family Procedure Rules (justice.gov.uk)

• Criminal Procedure Rules (CrimPRs) available at Announcements from the Criminal Procedure Rule Committee - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

It is important to starting preparing and training for your career in the legal sector as soon as possible. We always recomment that you visit Courts on a regular basis. You can sit in the public gallery of Crown Court trials to understand the process and format of a trial.

With regards to Criminal Law, the type of offence is the aspect of a case that affects the types of Evidence that can be heard, the Legal Directions that a Judge gives to a jury, the elements that the Prosecution need to prove. For example, some offences require both an action (Actus Reus) and a mental element (Mens Rea) to be proved for a guilty verdict. Mens Rea usually requires 'intention' or 'recklessness' on the part of the Defendant. Questions for a jury to consider is "Are you sure the Defendant 'intended' for that to happen?" A Jury has to be sure that all of the elements of an offence have been proven.

In Family Law and Civil Law, the Court assesses the balance of probabilities in determining whether an incident has happened. This means is the chance more than 50% that the incident has happened.

These are the aspects that you will see in the Court room. The form filling, case documents, reviewing evidence all occurs before an actual Court Hearing. It is at a Court Hearing that you really see how people react to what is being said. You hear the everyday factors that people think about in deciding whether something has happened. You become aware that Speculation is not allowed in a court case, the 'decision makers' work purely on the basis of the facts presented in the Court room.

The 'Decision Makers' in court proceedings are either Judges, Magistrates or Juries. Judges consider the facts of law, whereas Juries consider the facts of evidence. Magistrates are advised about the facts of law by a Legal Advisor (qualified solicitor or barrister), and the Magistrates also consider the facts of evidence.