Introduction to the Lord Chancellor's Department
大法官部门介绍
The Lord Chancellors ministerial responsibilities extend to England and Wales for all relevant constitutional and administrative purposes, the two countries form a single unit Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate positions, distinct from that in England and Wales so that there are three separate legal systems.
法官的部长职责延伸到英格兰和威尔士；为了所有相关的法律和管理目的，两国组成了一个单元。苏格兰和北爱尔兰有其单独的位置，与英格兰和威尔士是分开的，如此就有三套独立的法律体系。
The Lord Chancellor's Department was founded in 1885 by the creation of the post of Permanent Secretary. However, it wasn't until 1972, after the Courts Act 1971 came into force, that it assumed most of its present role and responsibilities;
大法官部门是于1885年由常务书记一职的创建而成立的。但是到1971年法院法案生效后的1972年，大法官部门才开始拥有大部分现在的角色和责任：
The Department's essential function is to promote the fair, efficient and effective administration of justice in England and Wales, There are four main components;
该部门基本的功能是提高英格兰和威尔士司法管理的公平，效率和影响，主要包括四个部分：
•appointing, or advising on the appointment of, judges
•任命或建议法官的任命；
•the administration of the court system and a number of tribunals;
•法院系统和一些仲裁的管理；
•the provision of legal aid and legal services; and
•法律援助和法律服务的准备；以及
•the promotion of reform and revision of English civil law.
•改革修正民法的提升。
In addition, following the 2001 general election, the Department assumed responsibility for human rights, freedom of information, data protection, reform of the House of Lords and a range of constitutional matters. In June 2002 the Department took over responsibility for Electoral Law, Data Sharing and Party Funding.
另外，根据2001年的大选，大法官部门担负起人权，信息自由，数据保护，众议院改革和一系列宪法事项的责任。2002年6月大法官部门接手了选举法，数据分享和政党资金来源的责任。
The official head of the Lord Chancellor's Department is the Permanent Secretary, a civil servant The Department employs about 12,000 civil servants, of whom more than 10,000 work in the Court Service at courts and tribunals throughout England and Wales. The Court Service is the Department's main operational arm and it became a separate executive agency6 in April 1995: the other is the Office which became an agency in 1994. Most of the remainder of the employees work in the Department' headquarters in London primarily handling policy matters and providing advice to Ministers.
大法官部门的官方首领是公职人员常务书记，总共有12000余名公职人员，其中有10000多人在英格兰和威尔士法院的法庭服务工作。法庭服务是大法官部门的重要运作力量并于1994年成为代理处。大部分在伦敦大法官部门总部工作的员工主要处理政策事件并给部长提供建议。
The Department's estate comprises over 400 buildings, ranging from the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, London, to one-room court offices in the more remote districts of England and Wales. The Department has a national asset register.
大法官部门的房地产超过400栋，范围从伦敦市中心的皇家正义法庭到英格兰和威尔士偏远地区的单间法庭办公室。大法官部门有国家房地产登记薄。
The Courts
法院
All the higher courts and the county courts in England and Wales are directly administered by the Department through the Court Service Agency which provides their staff and also the buildings and equipment.
英格兰和威尔士所有的上级法院和郡级法庭都由大法官部门通过法庭服务机构管理，该机构提供员工，办公地点和设备。
An important exception to this is the magistrates' courts. Although the Lord Chancellor is accountable to Parliament for the operation of magistrate's courts, they are locally administered and the service does not fall within his direct jurisdiction.
例外的是治安法庭。虽然大法官对议会治安法庭的运行负责，但它们是由当地操作的，服务并不真正属于大法官的管辖范围。
Magistrates' courts are financed by local authorities who reclaim 80% of their expenditure from the Lord Chancellor's Department in the form of an annual grant. In 1994 legislation was passed through Parliament to reform the organization and management of the service. The Act provides clearer lines of accountability, both locally and with central government, and aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of magistrates' courts administration At present, magistrates' courts in England and Wales are run by 42 separate local Magistrates' Courts Committees (MCCs), consisting almost entirely of local magistrates or Justices of the Peace (JPs) as they are also know.
治安法庭的财政是由当地机构拨发，其中80%的费用是机构向大法官部门申请的年度费用。1994年议院通过立法改革服务的组织和管理。议案提供了当地和中心政府更明确的责任，并致力于提高治安法庭管理的效率。现在英格兰和威尔士和治安法庭由42个独立的当地治安法庭协会运营，它们几乎组成了当地治安或所谓的和平官的全部。
The management of Coroners courts is the responsibility of the Home Secretary.
验尸法庭的管理由内政大臣负责。
The law in England and Wales is divided into criminal law and civil law. Criminal law mostly involves the rules laid down by the state for citizens, while civil law governs the relationships and transactions between citizens. Administrative law is a special sort of civil law that mainly concerns the interactions of citizens with the state, especially where the state is making decisions affecting individual citizens. Administrative law cases are mostly heard in tribunals specific to the subject, while civil and criminal cases are heard in the main court system.
英格兰和威尔士的法律被分为刑法和民法。刑法大部分涵盖的是国家为国民制定的规则，而民法则是国民之间的关系和交易。管理法是民法的特别分类，主要关注的是公民与国家之间的事宜，尤其是当国家做的决定影响到公民时。管理法事件主要在法官席特定项目时才会有，而民法和刑法事件在出现在主要法庭系统。
Most minor criminal cases, called summary offences, are heard in local magistrates' courts either by a panel of lay magistrates assisted by a legally-trained clerk, or by a legally-trained district judge sitting alone. Magistrates' courts also house family proceedings' courts and the youth courts. The most serious offences, called indictable-only offences, are passed on by the magistrates' courts to the Crown Court to be heard, usually by a judge and jury. Some cases fall in between, called either-way cases, and may be heard in either court. Only Crown Court judges have the power to pass sentences above a certain level of severity, and so some cases may be transferred tram magistrates' courts for sentencing once a verdict has been reached. There are 78 Crown Court centers throughout England and Wales,
大部分的小刑事案件被称为即决犯罪，由合法培训的一组法官在法庭执行，或由受训的区域法官独自审判。地方法院还处理家庭法事务和少年法庭。最严重的案件被称为必须起诉的案件，是由地方法院将起诉递呈到王室法庭，通常是法官和审判官递送。有些案件是介于两者之间的，称为任一向案件，可能在两边法院任何一方审判。只有王室法庭法官有权利通过严重程度的判决，所有当地方法院的有些判决达到上限时就可能会被转到王室法庭。英格兰和威尔士共有78家王室法庭中心。
The majority of civil actions are heard in the 218 county courts, which also handle some family and bankruptcy hearings. The manner in which each case is dealt with depends on the value of the claim, so that the time and cost spent on the case is appropriate to its value.
大部分民事活动发生在218家郡级法庭，这些法庭同时也处理一些家庭和破产纠纷。每件案子处理的方式取决于申诉案件的价值，如此根据案件价值的大小分配时间和成本。
The High Court sits at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as well as at some major court centers around the country. The work is handled by three divisions,depending on its subject:
高等法院坐落在伦敦的皇家高等法院，还有国内一些主要的法院中心。工作处理根据案件内容由三个审判庭进行：
•chancery Division: equity, trusts, tax, bankruptcy;
•大法官法庭：股票，信托基金，税收，破产；
•queen's Bench Division: contract, tort, commercial matters;
•女王坐法庭：合同，侵权行为，商业事件；
•family Division: divorce, children, probate.
•家庭法审判庭：离婚，孩子，遗嘱。
The Divisional Court of the High Court sits in the Family and Chancery Divisions, and hears appeals from the magistrates' courts and county courts The Administrative Court in the Queen's Bench Division deals with a variety of judicial review matters.
高等法院的审判庭法院处于家庭和大法官审判庭之间，接受地方法院和郡级法院的申诉。女王坐法庭的行政法院处理一系列法律审议事宜。
The Court of Appeal also sits at the Royal Courts of Justice. The Criminal Division hears appeals from Crown Court cases, while the Civil Division receives appeals from the High Court, tribunals and, in certain cases, county courts.
上诉法院也位于皇家高等法院。刑事法庭受理王室法庭的申诉案件，民事法庭受理高等法院，地方法院，还有特定情况下郡级法院的申诉。
For most legal cases in England and Wales, the House of Lords is the final point of appeal, although a small number of cases each year may be referred to the European Court of Justice, which has jurisdiction on matters of European Community law. All appeals to the House of Lords are about the meaning of the law, rather than the evidence in a case. The Law Lords also hear appeals from cases in Scotland and Northern Ireland; in addition, they sit as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to bear appeals from those Commonwealth countries whose legal systems are still linked to the UK.
虽然一些案件每年会送呈到处理欧洲社区法律事件的欧洲法院，但英格兰和威尔士大部分的法律案件最终的申诉点是上议院。所有的送呈上议院的申诉都是有关法律意义的案件，而不是一个案子的举证。上议院高级法官还受理苏格兰和北爱尔兰的案件；另外法官还是枢密院的司法委员会成员，可以受理法律体系与英国相连的联邦国家的申诉。
(To be continued in Unit 22)
后续见第二十二单元