County Courts. The old County Court was a tribunal inident to the jurisdiction of a sheriff, but was not a Court of Record. Proceedings were removable into a superior court by recordari facias loquelam, or writ of false judgment. Outlawries ofabsconding offenders were here proclaimed.
Far more important inferior tribunals have now been established throughout England. They were first established in 1846 by 9 & 10 Vict. c. 95, 'the Act for the more easy recovery of Small Debts and Demands in England,' repealed and re-enacted with fourteen amending Acts by the consolidating and amending (English) County Courts Act, 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 43), an Act very materially but very shortly amended by the (English) County Courts Act, 1903 (3 Dew. 7, c. 42), which came into operation on the 1st January, 1905, and raised the common law jurisdiction from 50l. (to which amount it had been raised by an Act of 1850 from the original 20l. under the Act of 1846) to 100l. The number of jurors was also raised from five to eight. The (English) County Courts Act, 1919, introduced further important amendments. The (English) County Courts Acts have been amended and consolidated by the (English) County Courts Act, 1934 (24 & 25 Geo. 5, c. 53), which enacts as follows:'
Area.--The area for each court is an fixed by order of the Lord Chancellor from time to time (s. 2).
Judges.--The judges, who are appointed by the Lord Chancellor, and may not exceed sixty in number [s. 4 (1) (b)], must be barristers of at least seven years' standing (s. 5), who must not practise at the Bar, or act as arbitrators for any remuneration to themselves,and are incapable of being elected as M.P.'s (s. 6), and when permanently infirm and desirous of resigning may receive pensions (s. 9).
S. 7 reproducing the (English) County Court Judges (Retirement Pensions and Deputies) Act,1919, a County Court judge must retire at 72 unless permitted to stay on by the Lord Chancellor toanage not exceeding 75. Ss. 11-15 provide for the appointment and payment of a deputy to carry out the duties of a judge unavoidably absent.
Jurisdiction.--The subject matters of the general jurisdiction are all personal actions where the debt, demand or damage claimed is notmore than 100l. except libel, slander, seduction, or breach of promise of marriage, ejectment where either the value of the lands or the rent exceeds 100l. a year, and actions iin which the title to any corporeal or incorporeal hereditaents, or to any toll, fair, market, or franchise shall come in question' (ss. 40, 48). Also all actions by creditors or legtees for administration of the estate of a deceased person,or for execution of trusts,or for redemption of a mortgage, or for specific performance of an agreement for sale or lease of property, or under the (English) Trustee Relief Acts,or Trustee Acts, or relating to the maintenance of infants,or for the dissolution of partnership, or for relief against fraud or mistake, provided ineach of these actions that the subject-matter does not exceed in value the sum of 500l. (s. 52). By agreement all actions assigned to the King's
Bench Division can be tried in any County Court (s. 43).
There are also, in addition to the general jurisdiction, varied and extensive jurisdictions under about 70 special (English) Acts, including the Bills of Sale Act, 1882, the Inebriate Acts, the Agricultural Holdings Acts, the Charitable Trusts Acts,the Settled Land Acts, the Law of Distress Amendment Acts, and the Married Women's Property Act, 1882, by s. 17 of which, in any question between husband and wife as to the title to or possession of property, either party, or any such corpoation or company as therein mentioned, may apply in a summary way to any judge of the High Court or (at the option of the applicant irrespectively of the value of the property in dispute) to the judge of the County Court of the district, and the judge of the High Court or of the County Court may make such order with respect to the property in dispute and as to costs as he thinks fit; and the s. gives an appeal from the County Court to the High Court and a power of removal to the High Court.
By (English) County Courts Act, 1934 (24 & 25 Geo. 5, c. 53), ss. 45, 50, reproducing (English) County Courts Act,1919, s. 1 (which replaced s. 65 of the Act of 1888), the Court may remit to the County Court any action brought in the HighCourt--(1) where theclaimdoes not exceed 100l., whether the counterclaim (if any) does or does not exceed 100l.; (2) where the only matter remaining to be tried is a counter-claim, founded either on contract or tort, where the matter indispute doesnot exceed 100l.; (3) where the plaintiff's claim is for the recovery ofland (with or without rent or mesne profits) by a landlord against a tenant,or person claiming through or under a tenant, whose title has been duly determined and the action could have been brought in the County Court. Any action of tort in the High Court may in like manner be remitted unless the plaintiff give security for the defendant's costs, or satsify judge of the High Court that he has a cause of actionfit for the High Court (1934 Act, s. 46).
Jury.--The judge is the sole judge of all questions of fact and law (s. 87). In certain cases trial with a jury may be prescribed on application to the Court
(s. 91).
Appeals now lie to the Court of Appeal instead of the Divisional Court. (English) Administration of Justice (Appeals) Act, 1934 (c. 40), s. 2, and by County Courts Act, 1934, s. 90.
Any party dissatisfied with the determination of the judge in point of law or equity,or upon the admission or rejection of any evidence, may appeal to the Court of Appeal, but where the sum claimed does not exceed 20l., only if the judge grant leave to appeal, unless there is a claim for an injunction, Bourne v. James, (1898) 1 QB 417.
The bringing of unimportant actions in the High Court rather thanin a County Court is discouraged by the provisions that if in an action of contract which could have been commenced in a County Court the plaintiff recover less than 40l. (tort 10l.), he shall notbe entitled to any costs,and if he recover 40l. or more, but less than 100l. (tort 10l. or more, butless than 50l.), he shall not be entitled to more costs than he would have if the action had beenbrought in a County Court, unless the Court or judge certify that there was sufficient reason for bringing the action in the High Court (County Courts Act, 1934, s. 47, replacing (English) County Courts Act, 1919, s. 11), See COSTS.
Right of Audience.--S. 86 of the (English) Act of 1934 provides that in any proceedings in a County Court any of the following persons may address the Court, namely:--
(a) any party to the proceedings;
(b) a barrister retained by or on behalf of any party;
(c) a solicitor acting generally in the proceedings for a party there to, but not a solicitor retained as an advocate by a solicitor so acting;
(d) any other person allowed by leave of the Court to appear instead of any party:
Provided that--
(i) the right of a solicitor to address the Court shall not be excluded by reason only that he is in the permanent and exclusive employment of any other solicitor; and
(ii) a Court may refuse to hear a person claiming to address the Court as a solicitor, unless that person has signed and delivered to the Court a statement of his name and place of business and the name of the firm (if any) of which he is a member.
(A managing clerk being a qualified solicitor and having entire charge of proceedings is not 'acting generally in the action,' R. v. Oxfordshie County Court Judge, (1894) 2 QB 440.
By s. 185 no person other than a solicitor is entitled tohve or recover any fee or reward for appearing or acting on behalf of any other party in any proceeding: provided that nothing in the Act contained is to affect the right of any barrister to appear or act in any court, or of any solicitor to recover costs in respect of his employment of a barrister to appear or act as aforesaid.
Rules of practice are made by the Rules Committee, consisting of five County Court judges and three other persons, a barrister, a registrar and a solicitor, and must be submitted to the Lord Chancellor and be concurred in by the Rules Committee of the Supreme Court; see (English) County Courts Act, 1934, s. 99, and County Court Rules.
Admiralty.--The (English) County Courts Admiralty Jurisdiction Acts, 1868 and 1869, provided for the appointment of County Courts for Admiralty purposes. Between 40 and 50 courts have been so appointed, and have jurisdiction to deal with claims in Admiralty matters up to 300l. and by consentto any amount. See new (English) County Courts Act, 1934, s. 56.
Bankruptcy.--As to the extensive jurisdiction in bankruptcy exercised by County Courts, see (English) Bankruptcy Act, 1914, ss. 96, 98 and 99.