Crown Court

Her Majesty's Crown Court is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Supreme Court of Judicature in England and Wales. It is the higher court of first instance in criminal cases, and is equal in stature to the High Court, which hears civil cases as well as criminal appeals from the magistrates' courts. Appeal from the Crown Court lies to the criminal division of the Court of Appeal and thence to the House of Lords. See also Courts of England and Wales.

The Crown Court was established in 1972 by the Courts Act to replace the courts of Assize and Quarter Sessions. The Crown Court is a permanent unitary court across England and Wales, whereas the Assizes were periodic local courts heard before judges of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, who travelled across the seven circuits into which England and Wales were divided, assembling juries in the Assize Towns and hearing cases. The Quarter Sessions were local courts assembled four times a year to dispose of criminal cases which were not serious enough to go before a High Court judge.

The Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey is part of the Crown Court, and is the main criminal court in the capital.