Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) was an executive agency of the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Justi ...

(MoJ) and was responsible for the administration of the civil, family and criminal courts in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...

. It was created by the amalgamation of the Magistrates' Courts Service and the Court Service as a result of the Unified Courts Administration Programme. It came into being on 1 April 2005, bringing together the Magistrates' Courts Service and the Courts Service into a single organisation. On 1 April 2011 it merged with the Tribunals Service to form Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (from 8 September 2022 His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service).

HMCS structure

Her Majesty's Courts Service carried out the administration and support for the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals lied to it by the magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and W ...

, the

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...

s, the

county court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the hig ...

s and the Probate Service in

. When established court services were administered by seven regions responsible for 42 local areas. In 2007 this structure was re-organised by reducing the number of areas to 24. The areas are managed by area directors, responsible for the delivery of local services. They work in partnership with

courts board __NOTOC__ The courts boards were organizations within His Majesty's Courts Service in the United Kingdom which worked to improve administration of the courts system. Schedule 1 to the Courts Act 2003 made provision for the establishment of the b ...

s to ensure that the Agency is focussed on its customers and is meeting local needs.

Unified Courts Administration Programme

The Government

White Paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...

"Justice for all", published in 2002, recommended that a single agency should be developed to support the delivery of justice in all courts in

, instead of the magistrates' courts and the Court Service being administered separately. The Courts Act 2003 created the legal framework required to make the changes. The focus of the programme was to devise a system which would offer improved and consistent services to court users by providing: * A single national agency solely responsible for the delivery of court services with improved and more consistent level of service to court users * More resources available to support the delivery of justice * Greater flexibility in the use of court buildings. On 31 March 2005, responsibility for the 42 existing magistrates' courts committees and Court Service passed to Her Majesty’s Courts Service.

External links

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (England and Wales)
{{Authority control Defunct executive agencies of the United Kingdom government Legal organisations based in England and Wales 2005 establishments in the United Kingdom Government agencies disestablished in 2011 Court administration

HMCS structure

Unified Courts Administration Programme

See also

External links