A court of cassation is a high-instance
court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are
appellate court
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
s of the highest instance. In this way they differ from systems which have a
supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
which can rule on both the facts of a case and the relevant law. The term derives from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, "to reverse or overturn".
The
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
answers questions of
European Union law
European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...
following a referral from a court of a member state. In exercising this function it is not a court of cassation: it issues binding advice to the national courts on how EU law ought to be interpreted, it does not overturn decisions of those courts. However, the Court of Justice can act as a court of cassation when it hears appeals from the
General Court of the European Union.
Many common-law supreme courts, like the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
, use a similar system, whereby the court
vacates the decision of the lower court and
remands the case for retrial in a lower court consistent with the decision of the supreme court. Where the system differs is that in legal systems such as the American federal courts, mid-tier appeals courts (courts of appeals) generally also remand cases to first-instance courts. In contrast, in France, for instance, courts of appeal hear cases on the facts and the law also, and only in the higher court of cassation is examination confined to matters of law. In this sense, a petition for a writ of is akin to a .
Countries
Cassation courts are listed below.
* Court of Cassation of Austria
* Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan
*
Court of Cassation (Belgium)
The Court of Cassation ( nl, Hof van Cassatie, french: Cour de cassation, german: Kassationshof) of Belgium is the supreme court of the judiciary of Belgium, Belgian judiciary. The court is composed of thirty judges with life tenure who are nomina ...
*
Court of Cassation (Armenia)
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
*
Supreme Court of Cassation of Bulgaria
*
Court of Cassation (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
The Court of Cassation () is the main court of last resort in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has its seat in the Kinshasa Palace of Justice.
The Court judges final appeals with respect to the "normal" system of justice, excluding cases ...
*
Corte Nacional de Justicia Corte may refer to:
* Corte, a commune in Corsica, France
** Arrondissement of Corte, a district in Corsica, France
* USC Corte, a French football team
People with the surname
* Frank Corte, Jr., a U.S. businessman and politician
See also
* ...
(
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
)
*
Court of Cassation (Egypt)
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
*
Supreme Court of Estonia
The Supreme Court of Estonia ( et, Riigikohus) is the court of last resort in Estonia. It is both a court of cassation and a constitutional court. The courthouse is in Tartu.
History During the first independence period (1919-1940)
With the F ...
*
Court of Cassation (France)
The Court of Cassation (french: Cour de cassation ) is one of the four courts of last resort in France. It has jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters triable in the judicial system; it is the supreme court of appeal in these cases. I ...
*
Court of Cassation (Greece)
The Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece (, ''Areopagus'', i.e. the "Hill of Ares") is the supreme court of Greece for civil and criminal law. In Greece, the decisions of the supreme court are final. However, since Greece is a member state ...
* In
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
:
** the
Federal Court of Justice
The Federal Court of Justice (german: Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction (''ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit'') in Germany, founded in 1950. It has its seat in Karlsruhe with two panels being situat ...
,
** the
Federal Administrative Court,
** the
Federal Labour Court
The Federal Labour Court (''Bundesarbeitsgericht'') is the court of the last resort for cases of labour law in Germany, both for individual labour law (mostly concerning contracts of employment) and collective labour law (e.g. cases concerning st ...
,
** the
Federal Social Court
The Federal Social Court (''Bundessozialgericht'') is the German federal court of appeals for social security cases, mainly cases concerning the public health insurance, long-term care insurance, pension insurance and occupational accident ins ...
,
** and the
Federal Fiscal Court
The Federal Fiscal Court (''Bundesfinanzhof'') is one of five federal supreme courts of Germany, established according to Article 95 of the Basic Law. It is the federal court of appeal for tax and customs matters in cases which have already bee ...
*
Court of Cassation (Haiti)
The Supreme Court of Haiti (french: Cour de Cassation) is the highest court in the Haitian legal system. The Supreme Court building is located in Port-au-Prince.
History
From 1806–1817, the Senate of Haiti served judicial functions. The Supre ...
*
Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA or CFA) is the final appellate court of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, upon the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, replacing the Judicial Committee of t ...
*
Court of Cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
(
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
)
*
Supreme Court of Cassation (Italy)
The Supreme Court of Cassation ( it, Corte Suprema di Cassazione) is the highest court of appeal or court of last resort in Italy. It has its seat in the Palace of Justice, Rome.
The Court of Cassation also ensures the correct application of ...
*
Supreme Court of Japan
The , located in Hayabusachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, is the Supreme court, highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Constitution of Japan, Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law. It ...
*
Court of Cassation (Jordan)
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
*
Supreme Court of Korea
The Supreme Court of Korea () is the highest ordinary court in the judicial branch of South Korea, seated in Seocho, Seoul. Established under Chapter 5 of the Constitution of South Korea, the Court has ultimate and comprehensive jurisdiction ...
(
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
)
*
Court of Cassation (Kuwait)
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
*
Court of Cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
(
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
)
*
Supreme Court of Lithuania
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Aukščiausiasis Teismas) is the only court of cassation in the Republic of Lithuania for reviewing effective judgements and rulings passed by the courts hearing criminal cas ...
*
Court of Cassation (Luxembourg)
*
Court of Cassation (Morocco)
*
Supreme Court of the Netherlands
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands ( nl, Hoge Raad der Nederlanden or simply ''Hoge Raad''), officially the High Council of the Netherlands, is the final court of appeal in civil, criminal and tax cases in the Netherlands, including Curaçao ...
*
Supreme Court of Poland
The Supreme Court ( pl, Sąd Najwyższy) is the highest court in the Republic of Poland. It is located in the Krasiński Square, Warsaw.
One of the chambers of the Supreme Court, the Disciplinary Chamber, was suspended by a judgment of the C ...
*
Court of Cassation (Qatar)
*
High Court of Cassation and Justice
The High Court of Cassation and Justice ( ro, Înalta Curte de Casație și Justiție) is Romania's supreme court, and the court of last resort. It is the equivalent of France's Cour de Cassation and serves a similar function to other courts of ...
(
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
)
*
Court of Cassation (Senegal)
The Court of Cassation () is the highest court in Senegal. It is based on the model of the French Court of Cassation.
See also
*Politics of Senegal
*Court of cassation (for a list of other courts of cassation around the world)
Judiciary of S ...
*
Supreme Court of Cassation of Serbia
*
Supreme Court of Spain
The Supreme Court ('', TS'') is the highest court in the Kingdom of Spain. Originally established pursuant to Title V of the Constitution of 1812 to replace —in all matters that affected justice— the System of Councils, and currently regulat ...
*
Court of Cassation (Sudan)
*
Court of Cassation (Tunisia)
*
Court of Cassation (Turkey)
The Court of Cassation, also called Supreme Court of Appeals of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Yargıtay Başkanlığı – ''Yargıtay'' for short) is the last instance for reviewing verdicts given by courts of criminal and civil justice in Tur ...
*
Supreme Specialized Court of Ukraine for Civil and Criminal Cases (
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
)
*
Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment). In additio ...
Pope Francis reforms Vatican City courts with new law
CatholicNewsAgency.com, accessed 17 March 2019. (Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
)
See also
* Vacation
A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...
and remand, similar doctrines in common-law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
countries, such as the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
References
Courts by type
Civil law (legal system)
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