The Abolition of the Right to Trial by Jury in Civil Cases in England.

This article examines the gradual abolition of the civil jury trial in England from 1854 to 1935, focusing on legislative acts and judicial rules that transferred control over the mode of trial from litigants to judges. Beginning with the Common Law Procedure Act 1854, which allowed litigants to waive jury trials, subsequent statutes such as the Supreme Court of Judicature Acts (1873–1875), the Rules of the Supreme Court 1883, and the Juries Act 1918 incrementally restricted jury trials, often citing concerns about cost, delay, and juror competence. Although the right to civil jury trial was never formally abolished, by the Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1933 judges were granted broad discretion to decide trial mode, effectively ending jury trials in most civil cases except a few involving personal character. The article highlights that this shift was marked by periods of rapid change and occasional resurgence of jury trial support, reflecting evolving legal, social, and procedural attitudes toward the role of juries in civil justice.