The Mayor's and City of London Court is a sitting of the County Court in the City of London. It is located at Guildhall Buildings, Basinghall Street.
The current court is the successor to courts pre-dating the County Courts Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. 95),[1] which introduced the modern system of county courts. The 1846 act deliberately did not extend to the City of London, where the prior constituted courts continued to exercise jurisdiction:
| Name | Jurisdiction | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| City of London Court | Known as the "Sheriff's Court" until 1852, before becoming the "City of London Small Debts Court".[3] Under the County Courts Act 1867,[4] it became known as the "City of London Court". | Until the passage of the Local Government Act 1888, its judge was elected by the Corporation of the City of London. It had all the jurisdiction of a county court, but persons who merely had employment in the City were also subject to its jurisdiction.[5] It had exclusive jurisdiction over cases of replevin. | |
| Mayor's Court | A court of great antiquity, having the status of an inferior court of record. | Unlimited jurisdiction in contract, tort and ejectment, where the whole cause of action arose in the City; and jurisdiction up to £50 where part of the cause of action arose in the City, or where the defendant dwelt or carried on business there either then or within the previous six months. | |
The Palace Court also exercised jurisdiction within the City in certain cases before its abolition in 1849.[6]
| Short Title: | Mayor's and City of London Court Act 1920 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act to amalgamate the City of London Court with the Mayor's Court of London and for purposes in connection therewith. |
| Year: | 1920 |
| Citation: | 10 & 11 Geo. 5. c. cxxxiv |
| Royal Assent: | 16 August 1920 |
| Commencement: | 1 January 1921 |
| Repealing Legislation: | City of London (Courts) Act 1964 |
| Status: | repealed |
| Original Text: | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo5/10-11/134/contents/enacted |
| Collapsed: | yes |
The two courts were combined with effect from 1 January 1921 by the Mayor's and City of London Court Act 1920.[7] High Court procedure was declared to apply to matters formerly dealt with by the Mayor's Court, while county court procedure applied to matters falling under the City of London Court.[2]
Under s. 42 of the Courts Act 1971, the old Mayor's and City of London Court was abolished, the City of London was made a county court district, and the new county court for the city of London was given the name of its predecessor.[8] It was the only county court not to contain "county" in its title.[9] The individual county courts have since been replaced by a single County Court for England and Wales.