In any jurisdiction, the system of criminal law defines certain acts as illegal, meaning that they are viewed as sufficiently damaging to society to merit intervention by the state when they are committed. It also sets out a structure by which the state determines whether illegal acts have been committed and administers punishments for these acts.

In England and Wales, the police have a duty to investigate any criminal offence that is reported to them; and, when a suspect has been apprehended, the police or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will make a decision as to whether to charge him or her. If the suspect is charged, the case falls within the remit of the criminal courts: that is, a magistrates’ court in the first instance and subsequently, in a minority of cases, the Crown Court. At court, it will be determined whether and what criminal offences were committed, and the punishment, if any, will be set out. The magistrates’ courts and Crown Court operate within a wider structure of criminal and civil courts.

For the purpose of providing a broad context to the empirical research findings that are presented in the chapters that follow, this chapter will briefly outline the structure of the courts; the essential functions and composition of the Crown Court; and recent policy developments aimed at supporting victims, witnesses and defendants at court.

Courts structure

The courts system in England and Wales has a complex structure, as shown in Figure 2.1. At the top is the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for civil cases from across the United Kingdom, and for criminal cases from England and Wales and Northern Ireland. Below the Supreme Court is the Court of Appeal, which has a civil and a criminal division. The High Court has both appellate and original jurisdiction, and consists of three divisions: Chancery, which deals with issues such as business disputes, fraud and insolvency, tax, copyright and patents; Family, which deals with matrimonial and family matters; and the Queen's Bench Division, which hears judicial reviews and oversees the decisions and actions of the lower courts. Below the High Court and Court of Appeal is the Crown Court, which hears relatively serious criminal cases, including appeals from the magistrates’ courts, and undertakes a limited amount of civil work.