Court of Appeal

It is divided into two Divisions, criminal and civil, and is based at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The judges of the Court of Appeal are the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, the President of the Queen's Bench Division, the President of the Family Division, the Chancellor of the High Court and 37 Lord or Lady Justices.

The Criminal Division, headed by the Lord Chief Justice and the Vice‑President of the Criminal Division, hears appeals in criminal matters from the Crown Court.

In the Criminal Division the bench usually consists of a Lord or Lady Justice and usually two High Court judges.

The Civil Division of the Court of Appeal – headed by the Master of the Rolls, currently Lord Neuberger - hears appeals from all Divisions of the High Court and, in some instances from the County Courts and certain tribunals.

Bringing an appeal is subject to obtaining ‘permission’, which may be granted by the court below or, more usually, by the Court of Appeal itself. Applications for permission to appeal are commonly determined by a single Lord Justice, full appeals by two or three judges. The Civil Division of the Court Appeal also deals with family cases.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was established its present form by the Judicial Committee Act 1833.

However, its origins can be traced back to medieval times, when the Sovereign sought his Privy Council’s advice on disputes arising in the Channel Islands.

Today, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has both a Commonwealth and a domestic jurisdiction.

In its Commonwealth jurisdiction, which is by far the largest part of its work, the Judicial Committee hears appeals from those independent Commonwealth countries which have retained the appeal to Her Majesty in Council or, in the case of Republics, to the Judicial Committee itself.

It also hears appeals from the United Kingdom’s overseas territories. By agreement with the Sultan of Brunei, the Committee can hear appeals from the Brunei Court of Appeal, but in civil matters only, and gives its advice to the Sultan.

The Judicial Committee’s domestic jurisdiction has four main elements:

1. “devolution issues”, i.e. issues as to the functions and powers of the devolved legislative and executive authorities established in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales
2. appeals from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, which are dealt with under the same rules as Commonwealth appeals
3. appeals under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 from decisions of the Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
4. appeals against pastoral schemes under the Pastoral Measure 1983.

Permission to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is usually required.

The Supreme Court

In October 2009, The Supreme Court replaced the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (the Law Lords) as the highest court in the United Kingdom.

The Supreme Court’s 12 Justices, which include the former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, are now – for the first time – officially separate from both Government and Parliament.

The Court hears appeals on points of law of the greatest public importance, for the whole of the United Kingdom in civil cases, and for England, Wales and Northern Ireland in criminal cases.

Additionally, it hears cases on devolution matters under the Scotland Act 1998, the Northern Ireland Act 1988 and the Government of Wales Act 2006. This jurisdiction was transferred to the Supreme Court from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

The Supreme Court sits in the former Middlesex Guildhall, on the western side of Parliament Square.