Level 2 Certificate in Vocational Paralegal Studies - Full Syllabus

Choice Unit 206: The Work of the Magistrates' Court

1. Magistrates and the Judicial System
   1. Appointment and removal
   2. The role of the magistrate
2. Magistrates in the Adult Court
   1. The Courtroom
      - Personnel
   2. Mode of trial decisions
      - Adjournment
      - Conditional and unconditional bail
      - Triable only on indictment and remand in custody
   3. Classification of criminal offences
3. Magistrates' Decisions
   1. Triable either way offences
   2. The mode of trial decision
   3. The Bail Act 1976
   4. Committal proceedings
4. Magistrates' and Sentencing
   1. Magistrates' powers of sentence
   2. Sentences available to Magistrates'
   3. The Pre-sentence Report
5. The Youth Court
   1. Role of the Youth Court
   2. Sentencing in the Youth Court
6. Guilty or Not Guilty?
   1. Magistrates' procedure; guilt or innocence
   2. Hierarchy of the criminal courts
   3. Criminal appeals
7. Family Proceedings
   1. Role of the family proceedings court
   2. The work of the family proceedings court
   3. The Childrens Act 1989
8. Duties of the Magistrates' Court
   1. Licensing
   2. Summons
   3. Warrants
   4. Personnel