Courts and Tribunals
British Courts and Tribunals
Scottish Courts Service
The site covers all the traditional courts, providing rules of court, all Court of Session decisions since about 1997, selected decisions from other courts, court forms, fee information, rolls of the Court of Session as well as links to other Scottish courts.
Search for Supreme Court decisions by name, date, type etc:
www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinionsApp/supreme.asp
Search for Sheriff Court decisions in the same way:
www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinionsApp/sheriff.asp
and see the Sheriff Court and Court of Session rules at:
www.scotcourts.gov.uk/library/rules/index.asp
Her Majesty’s Court Service
Following a major administrative shake-up, the Magistrate’s Court Service and the Court Service are amalgamated within the Department of Constitutional affairs and this revamped website serves the new creation. It offers details on all the Service’s courts, hearings list, procedure rules, forms and guidance and annual reports etc..
House of Lords
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldjudgmt.htm
Following the abolition of the House of Lords and its replacement by the Supreme Court, all judgements of the House of Lords from November 1996 to July 2009 are archived here; with a basic search function.
Privy Council
Following the constitutional shake-up associated with the creation of the Supreme Court, the amended function of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is reflected in a new website, similar in style and content to that of the Supreme Court. Judgements prior to August 2009 are archived at www.privy-council.org.uk/output/Page31.asp
Court of Appeal: Civil Business
www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/civilappeals.htm
An authoritative and accessible site to the English and Welsh Court of Appeal, providing a wealth of useful information for the ordinary user of the courts, the civil and criminal procedure rules and much more. Unfortunately, case reports cannot be found here: go to www.bailii.org
County Court
The Registry Trust Ltd (under the trading name Trust Online) operates the Registry of County Court judgments for England and Wales and has a database of Scottish small claims and summary cause decrees for the past six years; and equivalent judgments in the courts of Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, and Jersey. Fee charged for search which can be done on-line or by post.
Additional Support Needs Tribunal for Scotland
This tribunal has a bright and attractive well-ordered site with a clear and well-referenced section setting out the law and lots of useful information about Tribunal administration etc. Contains a searchable database of tribunal decisions, which have been effectively anonymised.
First Tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support)
Following the wholesale reorganisation of the UK tribunal system, the Appeals Tribunal has been abolished and its functions subsumed within the First Tier Tribunal. The site is in the usual Appeals Service format, but with no caselaw.
First Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
www.tribunals.gov.uk/ImmigrationAsylum
Following the wholesale reorganisation of the UK tribunal system, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal has been abolished and its functions subsumed into the First Tier Tribunal. This website provides basic information on the tribunal, venues and hearing list but no case reports. For determinations, rules and legislation etc, see the Upper Tribunal site at www.tribunals.gov.uk/ImmigrationAsylum/utiac/
First Tier Tribunal (Asylum Support)
www.asylum-support-tribunal.gov.uk
Following the wholesale reorganisation of the UK tribunal system, the Asylum Support Tribunal has been abolished and its functions subsumed within the First Tier Tribunal. The site is well-designed, with access to decisions, rules and legislation.
Children’s Hearings
This newly, and now appropriately, named site is a Scottish Executive sponsored site dealing with all aspects of the Scottish system of Children’s Hearings which aim to safeguard the needs of vulnerable children.
Copyright Tribunal
Simple site attached to main government site on IP: contains decisions of the tribunal from 1990 to 2003 and annual reports
Employment Appeal Tribunal
Contains the latest EAT procedure rules and practice directions, listing as well as judgements of the EAT.
Employment Tribunals
www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk
Comprehensive site covering whole of Great Britain aimed at public containing FAQs, online employment forms, publications and details of Employment Tribunal offices. For Northern Ireland, see www.industrialfairemploymenttribunalsni.gov.uk.
First Tier Tribunal (Tax)
Following the wholesale reorganisation of the UK tribunal system, the Finance and Tax Tribunal has been abolished. Its tax functions (such as income tax, corporation tax, VAT etc., but not tax credit) are subsumed within the First Tier Tribunal (Tax). The website is in the standard Tribunals Service format.
Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland
www.mhtscotland.gov.uk/mhts/Home/Welcome_to_the_Mental_Health_Tribunal
Although the form and structure of the site remains, the content is now up to date and more useful. Contains database of decisions made since 2008, but with only the barest of details provided and no text of reasons. For the English equivalent, go to www.mhrt.org.uk.
Pensions Appeal Tribunal (Scotland)
www.patscotland.org.ukThe website deals with the Scottish version of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal, which is separate from the English and Welsh tribunal. There is little of interest in this very basic site except a comprehensive medical glossary.
First Tier Tribunal (War Pensions & Armed Forces Compensation)
www.pensionsappealtribunals.gov.uk
Improved site in the usual Tribunals Service Format with accessible information on operation of tribunal, hearings lists, venue information etc. No searchable decisions database. This Tribunal is now part of the First Tier. For the equivalent Scottish tribunal, see above.
Private Rented Housing Panel
The website for the latest new tribunal in Scotland (subsuming the former Rent Assessment Panel for Scotland) is bright and well-designed, containing detailed information for tenants and landlords on the new law and procedures (though not links to the legislation or Rules for some reason). It has an excellent searchable database of all decisions made on all topics.
Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal
Refreshingly open, well-organised and full site which gives full access to the tribunal findings, the rules, tribunal member biographies and FAQs.
Supreme Court
The House of Lord’s replacement Court now boasts a supremely better website to that of its predecessor; providing not only the text of judgements but also a list of current cases, with pithy summaries and access to further details, press releases, Rules of Court, practice directions and a variety of interesting background material.
Transport Tribunal
This site had a major makeover in 2008 and now provides text of all decisions in searchable PDF and Word format, links to the legislation and forms and guidance. This Tribunal is now part of the First Tier Tribunal (with appeals to the Upper Tribunal).
Non-British Courts and tribunals
Gunnar Anzinger
www.gksoft.com/govt/en/courts.html
One, very long, page providing the web address for hundreds of courts throughout the world, from Algeria to the Virgin Islands.
European Court of Human Rights
cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/search.asp?skin=hudoc-en
A huge collection of every decision of the Court and the Commission; searchable in many ways and in French as well as English.
European Court of Justice
http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/j_6/
Lots of information about the workings of the court, access to the caselaw in English and French, and a digest and Index of the caselaw (in French).
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Nicely designed site with all that one could want to know about the tribunal.
International Court of Justice
Full text of every decision of the Court since its inception and copies of all core texts.
Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals)
Following the wholesale reorganisation of the tribunal system, Social Security Commissioners have been abolished. Their functions are subsumed into the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals) which deals with appeals against the decisions of many First Tier tribunals, including social security decisions and tax credit decisions. The rules of the UT are found here as well as decisions of the UT.