Hundreds of years of change to the legal system has resulted in a lot of the terminology and processes being quite a challenge to fully understand. One thing that many people question is the difference between a court and a tribunal - people end up a little confused in many circumstances when they first believed they'd be going to court, but then find out it's a tribunal. Of course, this leads them to wonder exactly what the difference is between court and a tribunal.

The type of legal case

In the majority of cases, once you begin legal proceedings against someone or something, it means you're taking them to court. To help deal with the wide variety of different cases, the court system has a structure in place, with the size and importance of the court depending on each individual case and the value of the dispute. Small claims are usually settled in the local County Court, whereas a complex legal dispute may be more likely to find itself settled in the High Court.

As for tribunals, these are in place to simply offer resolutions in certain areas. The most common and well known is probably an employment tribunal, though tribunals also exist in relation to property, tax, immigration and government regulation.

The resolution of a legal case

When a legal case goes through the court system it usually results in the judge awarding the case to one side, often with a financial amount ordered to be paid if the claimant's claim is successful. The court will also decide who is liable to pay for the legal costs but in many cases the victor can expect to receive an order to recover around 60-75% of their costs. One exception to this is the Small Claims Track of the Courts, whereby both parties will pay their own costs (unless one party has acted particularly unreasonably) without being able to recover anything.

As for a tribunal, each party will generally cover their own costs. Tribunals are generally used by individuals who are looking to pursue rights as opposed to suing companies or other bodies. Another important difference is the fees - there are currently no chargeable fees to take a case to the employment tribunal, although the government could choose to change this in the future, whereas in the courts a fee is involved.

Formal vs informal

Courts have always been a very formal process, whereas tribunals were originally introduced with an intention to provide a more informal approach for claimants to pursue their rights. Ultimately, there is very little distinction between tribunals and courts as they each resolve legal cases, with both falling within the jurisdiction of Her Majesty's Court and Tribunals System of England and Wales.

If you've been considering taking legal action and require the guidance of an experienced solicitor to help you navigate through the process, don't hesitate to get in touch with us here at Fonseca Law. We offer a wide range of legal services and have the expertise to help you every step of the way. Call us on 01495 303124, e-mail enquiries@fonsecalaw.co.uk or complete our online contact form.