Royal Courts of Justice Statistics Guidance document
Published 1 June 2022
© Crown copyright 2022
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1. Introduction
This document provides a guide to the Royal Courts of Justice Statistics and Judicial Sitting days Statistics published annually within the Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly publication, focusing on concepts and definitions given in the publication and information relating to the data sources, quality and dissemination.
Figure 1: A summary of the structure of the courts
The Royal Courts of Justice houses the High Court and Court of Appeal as highlighted above. Statistics in this publication cover these courts and include:
- The Court of Appeal
- The High Court (excluding the Family division)
- The Office of the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee
- The Judiciary days sat (sitting day tables)
- Senior Courts Cost Office
Statistics covering all other courts are published separately and can be found at the following links:
- Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly
- Family Courts Statistics
- Criminal Court Statistics
- Tribunal Statistics Publication
2. The Royal Courts of Justice (RCJ) [Table 1.1]
Source: The summary statistics on overall caseload in the Royal Courts of Justice have been derived from individual appellate courts.
Statistics in this table summarise the overall caseloads heard in the RCJ.
3. The Court of Appeal [Tables 2.1 to 2.5]
Source:
- The Criminal Appeal figures: Criminal Appeal Office administrative system (CACTUS)
- The Civil Division figures: Ce-File via the Pentaho case management system
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the country. The Criminal Division hears appeals concerning criminal matters originally dealt with at the Crown Court, while the Civil Division hears appeals concerning cases heard at the county courts and High Court (and from tribunals).
Statistics in these tables cover applications received by the Court of Appeal in the Criminal Division. These applications are considered for leave to appeal, once these are granted, they proceed to a full court hearing. Table 2.2 covers the results of appeals heard in the full court.
The Civil Division statistics cover Civil cases filed and disposed of by how they are disposed of in the Court of Appeal. Permission to Appeal (PTA) time taken is also provided. The time provided only incudes cases where PTA & Appeal decisions are made by Lord Justice and does not include cases settled administratively.
4. The High Court
The High Court of justice is one of the senior courts of England & Wales. Particularly important, complex or substantial civil cases are dealt with in the High Court. It has three main divisions:
- The Chancery Division
- The Queen’s Bench Division, and
- The Family Division - not covered in this publication. For information on the Family Division, please see the Family Court Statistics Quarterly.
Figure 2: A summary of the structure of the High Court of England and Wales
4.1. The Chancery Division [Tables 3.1 to 3.7]
Source: Ce-File via the Pentaho case management system.
Chancery business is dealt with in the Royal Courts of Justice in London and in eight High Court District Registries across the country. The core business of the Chancery Division is the resolution of disputes involving property in all its forms including commercial, business and intellectual property, competition disputes, taxation, and its traditional work relating to companies, partnerships, mortgages, insolvency, land and trusts.
The statistics for the Chancery Division provides a summary of the proceedings started. The tables also cover the number of orders that were processed, transferred out and the number of enforcement issues and appointments before masters. A breakdown of originating proceedings issued in London is provided. Additionally, the statistics cover a summary of the cases disposed of in London by listing type. A summary of the proceedings in the Bankruptcy court and Companies Court and appeals and special cases from inferior courts and tribunals set down and determined are also covered in these tables.
Differences to the Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly bulletin
The Business and Property Courts of England and Wales comprise the specialist jurisdictions of the High Court, and so also comprise part of the Royal Courts of Justice group.
Figures for the Royal Courts of Justice are presented on the level of division, so cannot instantly be aligned to those presented in Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly bulletin. Several comparisons have been made between the statistics, and three definitional differences should be noted:
- Figures for the Bankruptcy Court cannot be compared to those of the Insolvency List in the Civil Justice Statistics bulletin; this is because the definition in the RCJ statistics includes cases listed in the Central London County Court, which is not a part of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales.
- For the same reason, case numbers for the Companies Court cannot be compared across publications.
- The Royal Courts of Justice Commercial Court figures presented in these statistics only includes cases where a monetary element has been defined, whereas the Commercial Court figures in the Business and Property Chamber tables are inclusive of all cases.
All other discrepancies between relevant tables in the two publications can be attributed to being based on data extracts taken at different times from a live case management system.
4.2. The Queen’s Bench Division [Tables 4.1 to 5.7]
Source: High Court and the HMCTS Business Management System.
The Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court deals mainly with civil actions in contract and tort (civil wrongs) and also hears more specialist matters, such as applications for judicial review. It contains within it the Commercial Court and the Admiralty Court. It also administers the Technology and Construction Court which hears cases involving prolonged examination of technical issues, such as construction disputes.
The Queen’s Bench Division statistics cover the number of proceedings started, by nature and value of claim and the number of trials concluded each year. A summary of judgments without trial by type and value of judgment are also covered. These statistics also cover the number of interlocutory applications for masters in London, and enforcement proceedings issues since 2011.
4.2.1. Admiralty Court [Tables 5.1 to 5.3]
Source: Admiralty Court case management system, Ce-File database, and the Pentaho case management system.
The Admiralty Court is part of the Queen’s Bench Division and deals with disputes which arise from the use and ownership of ships. Its work covers ships of all types from sea-going cargo vessels to pleasure craft, and other floating structures, such as oil rigs. Subjects that come before the court include mortgage disputes, personal injury claims, collisions and damage to cargo.
These statistics show a summary of applications received by the Admiralty Court, the claims by nature of action and the outcomes of the admiralty actions.
4.2.2. Commercial Court [Table 5.4]
Source: Pentaho case management system.
The Commercial Court deals with some shipping matters, but is largely concerned with disputes around contracts, insurance, carriage of cargo and the construction of ships. Other matters dealt with at the Commercial Court include banking, international credit, contracts relating to aircraft, the purchase and sale of commodities and the practice of arbitration and questions arising from arbitrations. The Commercial Court deals with complex cases arising out of business disputes, both national and international from the Rolls Building.
The statistics in this table provide a summary of claims issued in the Commercial Court, showing nature and value of claim.
4.2.3. Technology and Construction Court [Table 5.5]
Source: Technology and Construction Court and Pentaho.
The Technology and Construction Court (TCC) is a specialist court, which deals principally with technology and construction disputes.
Matters dealt with at the TCC include building and engineering disputes, computer litigation, professional negligence, sale of goods, valuation disputes, and questions arising from arbitrations and adjudications in building and engineering disputes. The court also deals with any cases from the Chancery Division or elsewhere within the Queen’s Bench Division which involve issues or questions which are technically complex, or for which trial by judges at the court is for any reason desirable.
Statistics in this table summarise the overall caseloads heard in the TCC.
4.2.4. Administrative Court [Tables 5.6 and 5.7]
Source: Administrative Court Office administrative system (COINS)
The work of the Administrative Court comprises the administrative law jurisdiction of England and Wales. Its varied work is directed at the lawfulness of the acts and omissions of central and local Government, regulatory and disciplinary bodies, inferior courts and tribunals, and other public bodies and officials exercising public functions. The Administrative Court has both a civil and criminal jurisdiction.
The Administrative Court statistics cover summaries on the number of appeals by way of case stated, and on the number of applications and appeals other than for Judicial Review by way of case stated.
5. Office of the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee [Table 6.1]
Source: OSPT Casper/Soteria Case management system.
The Offices of the Official Solicitor and the Public Trustee is an arm’s length body, the purpose of which is to serve the two statutory office holders; the Official Solicitor to the Senior Courts and the Public Trustee, who each have separate statutory and other functions.
The Public Trustee acts as executor or administrator of estates and as the appointed trustee of settlements. The Public Trustee’s aim is to provide an effective executor and trustee service of last resort on a non-profit-making basis; in so doing, the objective is to secure the best value for the beneficiaries. The Official Solicitor act as a last resort litigation friend for children and for adults who lack mental capacity, and on behalf of the Lord Chancellor in cases of international child abduction and international maintenance claims.
Statistics in this table summarise the overall casework in the Offices of the Official Solicitor and the Public Trustee.
6. Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) [Tables 7.1 and 7.2]
Source: OSPT Casper/Soteria Case management system.
The Official Solicitor acts on behalf of the Lord Chancellor in cases of international child abduction, through the Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU). They apply for the return of a child taken abroad against their wishes, to make contact with them or to enforce a court order overseas.
Statistics in these tables cover cases managed by the ICACU by type of case and the number of cases closed by outcome.
7. Tipstaff [Table 8.1]
Source: Tipstaff Database.
The statistics in this table summarise the overall casework of the Tipstaff since 2003. The duties of the Tipstaff are many and varied but, in broad practical terms, the Tipstaff is the enforcement officer for the High Court. The principal areas of specific duties emanate from the Queen’s Bench, Chancery and Family Divisions and involve issues of bankruptcy, insolvency, wardship, child abduction, contempt of court and many other miscellaneous orders which involve taking action to enforce, or prevent breach of, orders of the court.
8. The Judiciary (days sat) [Tables 9.1 to 9.3]
Source: HMCTS
A court sitting day is typically a day in a room which is used for hearings with parties present in court or attending remotely. This includes, but is not limited to, formal courtrooms, informal hearing rooms and chambers where judiciary undertake hearings with the parties present. It also includes rooms used to conduct telephone and video hearings in open Court. There are some exceptions to this, (i.e. mental health) where the hearing is usually conducted in hospital in private and this will still count as a court sitting day. The same applies to cases where appeals are decided on the papers or online (at any venue) with no parties present in court or attending remotely. These cases still count as court sitting days for allocation purposes.
A Judicial sitting day comprises a court sitting as defined above and will also include: official business days; training days; reading days, days for writing judgments and leadership/administration days. A panel of two or three judges and/or members sitting together will still only count as one court sitting day.
The statistics in these tables cover Judicial Sitting days (not Court sitting days) by judge type, court type, and HMCTS region since 2011.
What is not covered:
While these statistics provide data on Circuit and Deputy High Court Judges days sat in the High Courts and Court of Appeal, there are a few circumstances which the statistics do not report on. These include when Judges sit in other areas (for example, High Court hearings in regional County Courts or when Judges undertake a range of other functions outside the courtroom like sitting on parole boards etc.
9. Senior Courts Costs Office (SCCO) [Table 10.1]
Source: HMCTS Performance Database BMS Reports (OPT) and E-Tib.
The Senior Courts Costs Office (SCCO) is a distinct part of the High Court, separate from the Queen’s Bench Division, Chancery Division and Family Division. It deals with all aspects of costs from each Division and from the Court of Appeal. It has two ranks of judicial officer: Costs Judges and Authorised Court Officers known as Costs Officers (senior civil servants from whose decisions appeals lie as of right to a Costs Judge).
The primary function of the SCCO is the assessment of costs which are recoverable from one litigant by another litigant or by a lawyer. Costs include not only the solicitor’s own professional fees, but also disbursements incurred including barristers’ and experts’ fees.
The Senior Courts Costs Office assesses the costs and expenses incurred in civil litigation in order to decide how much:
- A successful party in litigation can recover from their opponent
- A barrister or solicitor can recover from public funds
- A client should have to pay their solicitor
The statistics in this table covers the number of costs bills assessed by type of case giving rise to the bill since 2003.
10. Data Quality
Information presented in the Royal Courts of Justice tables are drawn from a number of different administrative sources. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, as with all large administrative data systems used for the purpose of case management, administrative and inputting errors can occur, and the details are therefore subject to inaccuracies. However, statistical quality assurance procedures and internal cross-references, including the identification and removal of duplicate entries for the same event in a case, and checks that data have been collated for all courts, are carried out to ensure both robustness and completeness.
The data is the best that is available at the time of publication. However, as some data is extracted from live databases and HMCTS is examining the quality of management information on a routine basis, it is possible that some revisions may be issued in future publications.
Explanatory Notes The following symbols have been used throughout the tables in this bulletin:
| Symbol | Description |
|---|---|
| .. | No data available |
| - | Nil |
| (r) | Revised data |
11. Timeframe and Publishing Frequency of Data
Data on the Royal Courts of Justice covers January to December and is released annually in June each year within the Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly bulletin.
This time gap of around 5 months after the reference period gives time to collate data from all the RCJ courts, clean and quality assure the data. This time allows for any late data returns to be included and amended following validation with the courts. It also provides time for the analysis to be carried out, and for the bulletin to be produced.
For upcoming publications, please see the MoJ publication schedule.
12. Useful Publications
The following list of web sites contains information of publications and/or statistics relating to the Royal Courts of Justice statistics that may be of interest.
For figures on Supreme Court workload, see the ‘Supreme Court Annual Report and Accounts’ collection, please see: https://www.supremecourt.uk/
13. Glossary
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| Admiralty Court | Deals with shipping and maritime disputes, such as ship collisions and damage to cargo. |
| Bankruptcy | Insolvency (inability to pay debts) of individuals. |
| Bankruptcy and Companies Court | Deals with cases involving companies and company or individual insolvency/bankruptcy. It primarily deals with matters under the Insolvency Act 1986, the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, the Companies Act 1985 and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. |
| Chancery Division | One of the three divisions of the High Court (along with the Queen’s Bench Division and Family Division), and considers matters in relation to trust law, the administration of estates, guardianship and charities. |
| Commercial Court | Deals with complex cases arising out of business disputes, both national and international, including in relation to international trade and banking. |
| Family Division | One of the three divisions of the High Court (along with the Chancery Division and the Queen’s Bench Division) and is concerned with matrimonial matters and proceedings relating to children or adults who cannot make decisions for themselves. This publication does not produce statistics covering the Family Division. For more information on the Family Division, please see the Family Court Statistics Quarterly. |
| Interlocutory proceedings | Court hearings that take place before the full trial. |
| Patents Court | Specialist court which deals with matters concerning intellectual property such as patents and registered designs. |
| Queen’s Bench Division | One of the three divisions of the High Court (along with the Chancery Division and the Family Division) and deals with civil disputes including those relating to breach of contract, personal injuries, commercial cases, libel and slander. |
| Royal Courts of Justice | Administratively part of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service and is the building in London which houses the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Probate Service. |
| Technology and Construction Court | Deals with building and engineering disputes and computer litigation. |
| Tort | Any private or civil wrong, not including a breach of contract for which private damages may be claimed. |
| Writs of fieri facias (fi-fa) | Orders an officer to take or sell a property belonging to a debtor until the value of the property taken equals the amount of the debt. This is also called a writ of control. |
| Allowed | Appeal given a final result of ‘Allowed’ or ‘Allowed with consent’. |
| Appeal | A formal request to a higher court that the verdict or ruling of a court be overturned. |
| Dismissed | Appeals given a final result of ‘Refused’. |
| Dismissed by Consent | Appeals given a final result of ‘Dismissed with consent’. |
| Filed | Cases filed/setdown within period. |
| Habeus Corpus | An order requiring a prisoner to be brought to court, to allow the court to determine if their detention is lawful. |
| Otherwise Disposed | Appeals given a final result of ‘Not our Jurisdiction’, ‘Totally Without Merit’, ‘Varied with Consent’, ‘Other Result’, and ‘Remitted’. |
| Struck out for failure to provide documents | Appeals given a final result of ‘Dismissal List’ or ‘Struck out’. |
| Judicial sitting days | Sittings by deputy High Court judges include retired Lord Justices, retired High Court judges and Circuit Judges sitting as High Court judges under section 9(1) of the Supreme Court Act 1981 and practitioners sitting as deputy High Court judges under section 9(4) of the Act. Deputy Circuit Judge sittings refer only to sittings by retired Circuit Judges. |
| Charging order | Enables the creditor to obtain security for the payment against an asset(s), typically property, owned by the debtor. |
| Claims for recovery of land | Include claims for the repossession of property by a mortgage lender, social or private landlord e.g. where the mortgagee or tenant fails to keep up with mortgage or rental payments. |
| Crown Court | The Crown Court is a unitary court which sits in approximately 77 different locations across England and Wales. It deals with serious criminal cases, which can be classified into the following four categories: • Sent for trial cases: cases sent for trial by the magistrates’ court because they can only be heard by the Crown Court • Committed for trial cases: cases which can be heard in either a magistrates’ court of the Crown Court. A defendant can elect to be tried in the Crown Court or a magistrate can decide that a case is sufficiently serious that it should be dealt with in the Crown Court • Committed for sentence cases: cases transferred to the Crown Court for sentencing where defendants are found guilty in the magistrates’ court. This happens if a magistrate is of the opinion that a greater punishment should be imposed than they are allowed to impose • Appeals against the decisions of magistrates’ courts |
14. Contact Details
For queries, comments or further information on the Royal Courts of Justice Statistics, please contact:
Carly Gray, Head of Access to Justice Statistics Data and Evidence as a Service
Ministry of Justice
3rd floor
10 South Colonnade
London
E14 4QQ
Email: cajs@justice.gov.uk General enquiries about the statistics work of the MoJ can be emailed to ESD@justice.gov.uk
General information about the official statistics system of the UK is available from https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/
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