ABSTRACT
A court is a place where justice is administered. A small business is most likely to make or defend a claim in the county court. A county court deals exclusively with civil law cases, for example breaches of contract, wrongs (called torts) and property matters. The county court is presided over by a judge (referred to as a circuit judge) without a jury. The main business applications are claims with a financial value of not more than £5,000 (or a larger sum if the parties consent to the case being allocated to what is known as the small claims track). The county court now has an online service, which can be accessed for making monetary claims at: www.courtsservice.gov.uk/mcol.
