Courts Act 1971

The Courts Act 1971^[1] (c. 23) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the purpose of which was to reform and modernise the courts system of England and Wales, as well as effectively separating the business of the criminal and civil courts.^[2]

Courts Act 1971^[a]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make further provision as respects the [Senior Courts] and county courts, judges and juries, to establish a Crown Court as part of the [Senior Courts] to try indictments and exercise certain other jurisdiction, to abolish courts of assize and certain other courts and to deal with their jurisdiction and other consequential matters, and to amend in other respects the law about courts and court proceedings.[b]
Citation	1971 c. 23
Territorial extent	England and Wales[c]
Dates
Royal assent	12 May 1971
Commencement	1 January 1971[d] 1 October 1971[e]
Other legislation
Amends	Habeas Corpus Act 1679 Disorderly Houses Act 1751 Indictable Offences Act 1848
Amended by	Juries Act 1974 House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975 Senior Courts Act 1981 Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2004
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

It established the Crown Court, introduced the posts of circuit judge and recorder, and abolished various local courts across the country.^[3] Many of its provisions have since been repealed by the Senior Courts Act 1981, but the essential structure described in the act is still in place.

Provisions

The first part of the act concerns the new Crown Court. It is established as part of the Supreme Court of Judicature, replacing courts of assize and quarter sessions. The appellate jurisdiction of these courts is transferred, and the new court given exclusive jurisdiction in "trial on indictment". It is described as a "superior court of record" for England and Wales. This section has now been superseded by the Senior Courts Act 1981.

Short title, commencement and extent

Section 59(1) of the act provided that the act may be cited as the "Courts Act 1971".

Section 59(2) of the act provided that the act would come into force on a day (or days) appointed by the Lord Chancellor by statutory instrument.

The Courts Act 1971 (Commencement) Order 1971 (SI 1971/1151) provided that the act would come into force on 1 January 1972, except that the following provisions would come into force on 1 October 1971:

• section 20(3), so far as it relates to judges of the Court of Appeal and of the High Court
• section 39
• section 46
• section 56(1) and (4), so far as it relates to the provisions of schedule and schedule 11 referred to below
• sections 58 and 59 schedule 8, paragraphs 18(3), 34(2) and 46
• schedule 11, Part I, so far as it relates to section 96(3) of the County Courts Act 1959(c) and Part IV, so far as it relates to section 1(4) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1952(d) and to section 1(3) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1966(e)

The Courts Act 1971 (Commencement) Order 1971

Statutory Instrument
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	SI 1971/1151
Introduced by	Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone (Commons)
Dates
Made	14 July 1971
Laid before Parliament	27 July 1971
Commencement	1 October 1971
Other legislation
Made under	Courts Act 1971
Text of statute as originally enacted

Section 59(5) of the act provided that the act would not extend to Scotland unless expressly provided in the subsections.

Section 59(6) of the act provided that the act would not extend to Ireland unless expressly provided in the subsections.

Section 59(7) of the act provided that schedule 8 to the act would extend to the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands so far as it amends section 13 of the Indictable Offences Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 42).

History

Report of the Royal Commission on Assizes and Quarter Sessions (Sessional Papers, House of Commons, Cmnd 4153, 1966–69, XXVIII, 433) was published in 1969 and chaired by Dr. Beeching.^[4] The act was based on most of the report recommendations.

The courts abolished by this act are:

• all assize courts
• all quarter sessions
• The Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of Lancaster (merged with the High Court)
• The Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge (merged with the High Court)
• The Mayor's and City of London Court (a new county court is established with the same name)
• The Tolzey and Pie Poudre Courts of the City and County of Bristol
• The Liverpool Court of Passage
• The Norwich Guildhall Court
• The Court of Record for the Hundred of Salford

The officers of these courts were generally eligible to become circuit judges.

The post of circuit judge is introduced in the second part of the act. They sit in the Crown Court and county courts, are appointed by the monarch on the Lord Chancellor's advice, and retire at the age of 72 (this has now been changed to 70 by the Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993). The Lord Chancellor may also sack a circuit judge on the grounds of "incapacity or misbehaviour". Judges are to have a salary and pension, and must take an oath of office. The act also introduces part-time Crown Court judges, known as recorders—also appointed by the Lord Chancellor. (Since the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, appointing judges has been reformed and is now done by the Judicial Appointments Commission in England and Wales, and equivalent bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.)

The fourth part of the act governs the selection of juries and related rules; it has since been repealed by the Juries Act 1974. Most of the remainder of the act is about other miscellaneous administrative provisions relating to appointments, payment, and accommodation; these have almost all been repealed by the Supreme Court Act and other justice legislation.

Notes

1. Section 59(1).
2. The words in brackets were substituted on 1 October 2009 by the sections 59 and 148 of, and paragraph 4 of Schedule 11 to, the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. As to commencement see articles 2(b) and (d) of SI 2009/1604.
3. Section 59(5)–(7).
4. Remainder of act
5. section 20(3), so far as it relates to judges of the Court of Appeal and of the High Court; section 39; section 46; section 56(1) and (4), so far as it relates to the provisions of schedule and schedule 11 referred to below; sections 58 and 59; schedule 8, paragraphs 18(3), 34(2) and 46; schedule 11, Part I, so far as it relates to section 96(3) of the County Courts Act 1959(c) and Part IV, so far as it relates to section 1(4) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1952(d) and to section 1(3) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1966(e)