Courts Act 1971
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The Courts Act 1971 is a UK Act of Parliament reforming and modernising the courts system. It established the Crown Court, introduced the posts of circuit judge and recorder, and abolished various local courts across the country. Many of its provisions have since been repealed by the Supreme Court Act 1981, but the essential structure described in the law is still in place.
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 in indictment". It is described as a "superior court of record" for England and Wales. This section has now been superseded by the Supreme Court Act.
The courts abolished by this act are:
- all assize courts
- all quarter sessions
- Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of Lancaster (merged with the High Court)
- Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge (merged with the High Court)
- Mayor's and City of London Court (a new county court is established with the same name)
- Tolzey and Pie Poudre Courts of the City and County of Bristol
- Liverpool Court of Passage
- Norwich Guildhall Court
- 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 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, who are similarly appointed by the Lord Chancellor.
The fourth part of the Courts Act governs the selection of juries and related rules; it has since been repealed by the Juries Act 1974.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administrative provisions relating to appointments, payment, and accommodation; these have almost all been repealed by the Supreme Court Act and other justice legislation.