Courts of England and Wales

For the judges, see Judiciary of England and Wales.
"English court" and "Welsh court" redirect here. For the royal court of the United Kingdom, see Court of St James's.

The Courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales.

Except in constitutional matters, committed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom does not generally have a single unified legal system—England and Wales have one system, Scotland another, and Northern Ireland a third. There are additional exceptions to this rule; for example, in immigration law, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal's jurisdiction covers the whole of the United Kingdom, while in employment law, there is a single system of employment tribunals for England, Wales, and Scotland but not Northern Ireland. Additionally, the Military Court Service has jurisdiction over all members of the armed forces of the United Kingdom in relation to offences against military law.

The Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Crown Court, the County Court, and the magistrates' courts are administered by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice.

There have been multiple calls from both Welsh academics and politicians for a Wales criminal justice system.[1][2][3]

  1. ^ "Written Statement: Update on the development of the justice system and the legal sector in Wales (30 September 2021)". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Plaid Cymru call for devolution of justice to Wales - 'we can't be treated as an appendage to England'". Nation.Cymru. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Devolution a 'necessary step' towards a better Welsh criminal justice system, academics argue". Cardiff University. Retrieved 22 February 2023.