Judicature Acts

English statutes that govern and revise the organization of the judiciary.

Parliament enacted a series of statutes in 1873 during the reign of Queen Victoria that changed and restructured the court system of England. Consolidated and called the Judicature Act of 1873, these enactments became effective on November 1, 1875, but were later amended in 1877. As a result, superior courts were consolidated to form one supreme court of judicature with two divisions, the High Court of Justice, primarily endowed with original jurisdiction, and the Court of Appeal, which possessed appellate jurisdiction.

The present court system of England is organized according to the Judicature Acts, which were redrafted in 1925 as the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act and which made the Court of Appeals, consisting of a civil division and criminal division, the center of the English judiciary.