Specialisations of UK Courts & Tribunals
20 NOVEMBER 2025Specialisations of UK Courts & Tribunals
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The table below outlines the specialist areas of each UK Court and Tribunal. As an approved supplier to HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), Doorda provides all commercial court decisions fully linked to company numbers, ensuring reliable and comprehensive legal intelligence for compliance and risk monitoring.
| Court / Tribunal | Specialisation |
|---|---|
| Court of Appeal (Civil Division) | Hears appeals from the High Court, County Courts, and certain tribunals. Focuses on complex civil disputes, regulatory appeals, and points of law. |
| High Court – Administrative Court | Handles judicial reviews of government decisions, challenges to public bodies, regulatory enforcement disputes, immigration matters, and other public law cases. |
| High Court – Chancery Division | Specialises in business and property law including insolvency, corporate disputes, trusts, probate, intellectual property, and competition matters. |
| High Court – Commercial Court | Deals with high-value, complex business disputes, international trade issues, shipping, insurance, reinsurance, banking litigation, and commercial contracts. |
| High Court – Technology & Construction Court (TCC) | Focuses on disputes involving construction, engineering, technology, environmental matters, professional negligence (engineering/surveying), and complex technical evidence. |
| First-tier Tribunal – General Regulatory Chamber | Handles appeals against decisions made by UK regulators, including data protection (ICO), charity regulation, environmental information, gambling, and professional registrations. |
| First-tier Tribunal – Tax Chamber | Deals with challenges to HMRC decisions, including VAT, corporation tax, income tax, customs disputes, and penalties. |
| Employment Appeal Tribunal | Hears appeals from Employment Tribunals on points of law involving unfair dismissal, discrimination, redundancy, and collective labour matters. |
| Upper Tribunal – Administrative Appeals Chamber | Handles appeals from lower tribunals in areas such as social security, mental health, immigration, regulatory matters, and public sector decision-making. |
| UK Supreme Court | The UK’s highest court. Hears appeals involving matters of great public interest, constitutional importance, and complex legal principles. Sets binding legal precedents. |
| Privy Council | Acts as the final court of appeal for certain Commonwealth countries and UK overseas territories; handles professional regulation cases and ecclesiastical law. |
| High Court – Patents Court | Specialises in high-value patent disputes, life sciences litigation, pharmaceutical regulation, and complex IP matters requiring technical expertise. |
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