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Law of England and Wales
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Courts of England and Wales The House of Lords, in addition to having a legislative function, has a judicial function as a court of last resort within the United Kingdom. Historically, the House of Lords also functioned as a court of first instance for the trials of peers and for impeachment cases. Today, the House's jurisdiction is essentially limited to the hearing of appeals from the lower courts. Appeals are technically not to the House of Lords, but rather to the Queen-in-Parliament. By constitutional convention only those lords who are legally qualified (Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, or Law Lords) hear the appeals, since World War II usually in what is known as the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords[1][2] (also called the House of Lords Judicial Committee[3]) rather than in the chamber of the House. In accordance with the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the judicial functions are set to be transferred to a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009. Parliament's role in deciding litigation originates from the similar role of the Royal Court, where the King dispensed justice. Parliament grew out of the Court and took on many of its roles. As lower courts were established, the House of Lords came to be the court of last resort in criminal and civil cases, except that in Scotland, the High Court of Justiciary remains the highest court in criminal matters. Parliament originally did not hear appeals as a court might; rather, it heard petitions for the judgments of lower courts to be reversed. The House of Commons ceased considering such petitions in 1399, leaving the House of Lords, effectively, as the nation's court of last resort. The Lords' jurisdiction later began to decline; only five cases were heard between 1514 and 1589, and no cases between 1589 and 1621. In 1621, the House of Lords resumed its judicial role when King James&_160;I sent the petition of Edward Ewer, a persistent litigant, to be considered by the House of Lords. Petitions for the House of Lords to review the decisions of lower courts began to increase once again. After Ewer, 13 further cases would be heard in 1621. The House of Lords appointed a Committee for Petitions. At first, the Clerk of the Parliaments would bring petitions to the House, and the whole House could decide if they should or should not be referred to the Committee. As the number of petitions increased, the Committee gained the power to reject petitions itself.
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