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City of London Magistrates' Court

The work at the City of London Magistrates' Court differs from that of magistrates's courts elsewhere due to the City's financial role and its small residential population. The emphasis is on financial crime at all levels of seriousness and complexity, both national and international, with comparatively little by way of domestic burglary or street crime. Much of the City's caseload consists of motoring offences, and the City has no youth or family jurisdiction.

There is a full complement of lay magistrates and no District Judges. The makeup of the magistracy in terms of age, sex and ethnic origin is thought to be nearly ideal, but is heavily weighted towards professional and business occupations.

Although this court is now administered by Her Majesty's Courts Service, it has close historical ties with the City of London Corporation. The Court House is situated in the centre of the City next to Bank station and Mansion House. The City of London owns the distinctive triangular building which houses the four court rooms and ten cells. The court's functions are administered from City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court

Location

1 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4N 4XY
T 020 3126 3050
Postal address - 181 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5QJ.

Getting here

By tube

Central: Bank

Take exit 8 from Bank tube station.

By bus

To Bank: 8, 11, 21, 242, 23, 25, 26, 43, 76, 133, 501.
To Cannon Street: 15, 17, 521 (Monday - Friday peak hours only).
To St Paul's which is a 10 minute walk from the Court: 4, 56, 172.

The City of London Magistrates' Court is situated at 1 Queen Victoria Street, adjacent to Queen Victoria Street and Walbrook.

Disabled court users

Step free access is available via the use of a stairlift. All the courts and special toilet facilities are accessible to wheelchair users. A full list of facilities and information about suitable parking is available on request - T 020 7332 1829

Before you come to court

Legal aid

If you would like to be represented in court by a solicitor but cannot afford one, you may apply for legal aid by completing a form, which can be obtained from the office (contact details above), from your solicitor or from some Citizens Advice . Don't wait until the day of your hearing.

Your plea

If you have any doubt before you come to court as to whether you should plead guilty, you should seek the advice of a solicitor which may, subject to your means and the nature of the offence, be given free of charge. Don't wait until the day of the hearing.

Documents

Please check your summons and see if you are required to bring or send your driving licence to court.

You must send your licence to the court so that it arrives before the hearing, unless you are coming to the court and bringing it with you. If you have a new style licence with a photocard you must send or bring both parts of the licence.

Postal address - 181 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5QJ.

Observing court proceedings

You are entitled to attend the court before the hearing to observe the court proceedings.

Attending court

The date of the hearing

You should attend the court on the date and at the time indicated on your summons or bail notice. If you are on bail, failure to attend Court on time without reasonable cause is a criminal offence for which you could be fined, sent to prison or both.

When you need not attend

You need not attend court if (a) the COURT has advised you that it is not necessary or (b) the COURT has sent you documents enabling you to plead guilty in your absence. If you are summoned for certain minor offences, you may if you wish, plead guilty and have the case dealt with in your absence. To do this, you must read the papers carefully, sign the part of the form which enables you to plead guilty and return the completed form to the court.

Children

Please do not bring children to court with you. Only babies and children over 14 years old are allowed into the court. There are no staff who can look after them. If you need to arrange childcare, do so as soon as possible.

When you arrive at court

Please check in which court you are to appear. The court lists are posted on the notice board in the main foyer you may ask at the enquiries office. Please report to the uniformed Court Officer on duty in the court in which you are to appear.

Duty solicitor

A duty solicitor scheme operates in this court from 10.00am and you can receive free legal advice about your case but it is important to note that this service is available only for people facing charges that may lead to a prison sentence. If you do need to have advice from a solicitor, you are strongly advised to do this before you come to court.

Duty probation officer

A probation officer will be available. Please ask the court officer if you would like to see the probation officer.

Procedure in court

The magistrates

Magistrates are not required to have legal qualifications but many are of long experience and have wide knowledge of law and procedure. They are assisted by a qualified clerk. If you address the court, it is usual to address the Chairman as "Sir" or "Madam" or the bench collectively as "Your Worships".

Which court

Certain offences can only be tried in the Magistrates' Court but for more serious cases you have the choice of being tried at the Crown Court or the Magistrates' Court if you are not pleading not guilty.

Pleading guilty

If you are satisfied that you are guilty of the charge you should plead guilty when formally charged in court. After you have pleaded guilty the Prosecutor will tell the magistrates the facts of the case. You will then be asked if they are correct and you may then add anything that you may think is relevant.

Pleading not guilty

If you plead not guilty the case will normally be put off to another date for witnesses to be called to give evidence. All the witnesses that you may wish to call must attend personally at the adjourned hearing - letters or written statements will not usually be sufficient. At the trial the prosecution will call their witnesses and you will be given an opportunity to question each one. When all the prosecution witnesses have been called you and your witnesses may give evidence.

If, having pleaded not guilty, you later change your mind and want to plead guilty, please tell the court at once and always long before the hearing date. This may save you paying the costs of witnesses for their unnecessary attendance.

Sentence

If the court finds you guilty or you have pleaded guilty, you will be given an opportunity to explain to the magistrates any reason for committing the offence and why you should be dealt with leniently. If you have to pay a sum of money the court will require details of your income and expenditure and you may ask for some time to pay. For some more serious cases the magistrates have power to send you to the Crown Court for sentencing if they think their own powers are not enough.

Costs

If you are found guilty, the court may order you to pay some or all of the prosecution costs. If you are found not guilty of all the charges you may ask the court to order costs in your favour.

Driving licence

If the court has ordered the endorsement of your driving licence this will usually be sent by the court to the DVLA so that they can record the endorsement. They will return your licence to you at a later date. If, however, your case involves a fixed penalty offence only, your licence will normally be returned to you direct from the court.

Appeal

You may appeal to a higher court if you think that the magistrates were wrong in finding you guilty or if you think the sentence was too severe. You are advised to see a solicitor before appealing and free legal aid may be available for this. The normal time allowed to lodge notice of an appeal is 21 days.

Enquiries

Enquiries concerning matters at City of London Magistrates’ Court should be directed to City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court, your solicitors or a Citizens Advice Bureau. You may telephone the court on 020 3126 3050 for the Listing Office and on 020 3126 3030 for the Resulting Office between 8.30am and 4.00pm, Monday to Friday.

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