12 CONSTRUCTION LAW AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM

cdn ) has the advantage of being written by a large number of specialist in

different fields and includes a chapter on “ Construction Contracts” .16 Some
works are published as a series, intended to create an encyclopaedia of law.
The best known of these is Halsbury’s Laws of England, first published in
31 volumes between 1907 and 1919. The current 5th cdn is regularly
updated with the addition of further volumes and annual supplements and
is also available (as with many other texts) online. The companion work,
Halsbury's Statutes of England, deals with legislation . Each topic in these
works is written or edited by one or more specialist contributors. Halsbury
is often cited in court as a convenient summary of the law.

THE COURTS

There are a number of different courts in which civil actions may be

tried . A case will be heard at first instance in the High Court or in a
County Court . Both the High Court and the County Court are to be found
in different locations throughout the country. Appeals may then be
brought to the Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court ( formerly
I louse of Lords). The appeal courts generally sit only in London.

Courts of first instance

The High Court with its judges has three divisions: the Queen’s Bench,
the Chancery and the Family Division . Although each division adminis¬
ters the common law and equity and could theoretically deal with any
matter, in practice a particular case will be assigned to one division.
Matters concerning the construction industry come usually before the
Queen’s Bench Division, but occasionally before the Chancery Division.
The Queen’s Bench Division deals with most common law work,
concerning claims based on contract and tort. The Chancery Division
deals with contracts relating to land, company and partnership disputes,
copyright and intellectual property.
Within the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court, there are two
specialist divisions where construction cases may be found . The first is
the Commercial Court where mercantile, banking, insurance and ship ¬
ping cases arc tried, before High Court judges assigned from the Queen’s
Bench Division. The second was for over a century known as the Official
-
Referees' Court. In 1998 it was rc namcd the Technology and Construction
Court ( TCC). Here, matters specifically relating to the construction

.
See Ch.37 by the author jointly with Vincent Moran QC.