Lawyers who have qualified in the Isle of Man are know as advocates and they combine the roles of solicitors and barristers in England. Manx advocates perform a wide range of work and have an exclusive right to appear in the Island's courts (although England barristers can be licensed to appear in certain cases). Other legal work (except conveyancing) can be undertaken in the Island by registered legal practitioners qualified to practice in other jurisdictions. Although English law does not extend to the Isle of Man, the Manx legal system is based on the principles of English common law. Manx criminal law is closely based on English law and is also similar to English law in areas such as contact, family law and social security. In other areas Manx law has been developed to meet the Island's special circumstances, particularly with regard to direct taxation, company law and financial supervision.
The Island's High Court judges are know as Departments (a term dating from Viking times), and they preside over all the criminal and civil matters that to England would fall under the High court, County Court and Crown Court. Deemsters are appointed by the Crown. If you are 18 years or over you may bee called on to perform jury duty. Juries are used in the higher court, know as the Court of General Gaol Delivery and are generally made up of 7 people who can exercise independent and unbiased judgement of the facts of a case presented by the advocates. The Island has its own lay magistrates (similar to their English counterparts) and also two stipendiary magistrates (the High Bailiff and Deputy High Bailiff) who also act as coroners of inquests and preside over the licensing court. Magistrates' courts tend to deal with offences such as shoplifting, public order and driving offences.