Courts of England and Wales - Special Courts and Tribunals

Special Courts and Tribunals

In addition, there are many other specialist courts. These are often described as "Tribunals" rather than courts, but the difference in name is not of any great consequence. For example an Employment Tribunal is an inferior court of record for the purposes of the law of contempt of court. In many cases there is a statutory right of appeal from a tribunal to a particular court or specially constituted appellate tribunal. In the absence of a specific appeals court, the only remedy from a decision of a Tribunal may be a judicial review to the High Court, which will often be more limited in scope than an appeal.

Examples of specialist courts are:

• Employment Tribunals (formerly Industrial Tribunals) with appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal
• the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which is a superior court of record, and therefore not subject to judicial review, appeals go to the Court of Appeal
• Leasehold Valuation Tribunals, with appeal to the Lands Tribunal
• the Lands Tribunal (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
• the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal established under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007