A court is any person or institution, often as a
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
institution, with the
authority to
adjudicate
Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the pa ...
legal disputes between
parties and carry out the
administration of justice in
civil,
criminal, and
administrative matters in accordance with the
rule of law.
In both
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 omniprese ...
and
civil law legal systems, courts are the central means for
dispute resolution, and it is generally understood that all people have an ability to bring their claims before a court. Similarly, the
rights of those accused of a crime include the right to present a
defense before a court.
The system of courts that interprets and applies the
law is collectively known as the
judiciary. The place where a court sits is known as a
venue. The room where court proceedings occur is known as a
courtroom, and the building as a
courthouse; court facilities range from simple and very small facilities in rural communities to large complex facilities in urban communities.
The practical authority given to the court is known as its
jurisdiction (from Latin , from , "of the
law," + , "to declare," + , ''noun-forming suffix''), the court's power to decide certain kinds of questions or petitions put to it. According to
William Blackstone's ''
Commentaries on the Laws of England,'' a court (for
civil wrongs) is constituted by a minimum of three parties: the or
plaintiff, who complains of an injury done; the or
defendant, who is called upon to make satisfaction for it; and the or judicial power, who is to examine the truth of the fact, determine the law arising upon that fact, and, if any injury appears to have been done, ascertain and by its
officers
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fr ...
apply a
legal remedy. It is also usual in the superior courts to have barristers, and attorneys or counsel, as assistants, though, often, courts consist of additional barristers,
bailiffs,
reporters, and perhaps a jury.
The term "the court" is also used to refer to the
presiding officer or officials, usually one or more
judges. The judge or panel of judges may also be collectively referred to as "the
bench" (in contrast to
attorneys and
barristers, collectively referred to as "the
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar ( ...
").
In the United States, the legal authority of a court to take action is based on
personal jurisdiction over the parties to the litigation and
subject-matter jurisdiction
Subject-matter jurisdiction (also called jurisdiction ''ratione materiae')'' is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority ...
over the claims asserted.
Etymology
The word ''court'' comes from the French , an enclosed yard, which derives from the Latin form , the accusative case of , which again means an enclosed yard or the occupants of such a yard. The English word ''court'' is a cognate of the Latin word from Ancient Greek () (meaning "garden", hence horticulture and orchard), both referring to an enclosed space.
The meaning of a judicial assembly is first attested in the 12th century, and derives from the earlier usage to designate a sovereign and his entourage, which met to adjudicate disputes in such an enclosed yard. The verb "to court", meaning to win favor, derives from the same source since people traveled to the sovereign's court to win his favor.
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is defined as the official authority to make legal decisions and judgements over a person or material item within a territory.
"Whether a given court has jurisdiction to preside over a given case" is a key question in any legal action.
[Jurisdiction](_blank)
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Three basic components of jurisdiction are
personal jurisdiction over an individual or thing (), jurisdiction over the particular subject matter (
subject-matter jurisdiction
Subject-matter jurisdiction (also called jurisdiction ''ratione materiae')'' is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority ...
) and
territorial jurisdiction.
Jurisdiction over a person refers to the full authority over a person regardless on where they live, jurisdiction over a particular subject matter refers to the authority over the said subject of legal cases involved in a case, and lastly territorial jurisdiction is the authority over a person within an x amount of space.
Other concepts of jurisdiction include
general jurisdiction
{{Globalize, article, USA, 2name=the United States, date=December 2010
A court of general jurisdiction is a court with authority to hear cases of all kinds – criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth.
United States
All federal courts ...
,
exclusive jurisdiction
Exclusive jurisdiction exists in civil procedure if one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts. The opposite situation is concurrent jurisdiction (or non-exclusive jurisdiction) in which more than one cour ...
,
appellate jurisdiction, and (in the
United States federal courts)
diversity jurisdiction.
Trial and appellate courts
Trial courts are courts that hold
trials. Sometimes termed "courts of first instance", trial courts have varying
original jurisdiction
In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision.
India
In India, the Su ...
. Trial courts may conduct trials with juries as the
finders of fact (these are known as
jury trial
A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions.
Jury trials are used in a signific ...
s) or trials in which judges act as both finders of fact and
finders of law (in some jurisdictions these are known as
bench trials). Juries are less common in court systems outside the
Anglo-American
Anglo-Americans are people who are English-speaking inhabitants of Anglo-America. It typically refers to the nations and ethnic groups in the Americas that speak English as a native language, making up the majority of people in the world who spe ...
common law tradition.
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 are courts that hear
appeals of lower courts and trial courts.
Some courts, such as the
Crown Court in England and Wales may have both trial and appellate jurisdictions.
Civil law courts and common law courts
The two major legal traditions of the western world are the civil law courts and the common law courts. These two great legal traditions are similar, in that they are products of western culture although there are significant differences between the two traditions. Civil law courts are profoundly based upon Roman Law, specifically a civil body of law entitled "
Corpus iuris civilis
The ''Corpus Juris'' (or ''Iuris'') ''Civilis'' ("Body of Civil Law") is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Byzantine Emperor. It is also sometimes referred ...
".
This theory of civil law was rediscovered around the end of the eleventh century and became a foundation for university legal education starting in Bologna, Italy and subsequently being taught throughout continental European Universities.
Civil law is firmly ensconced in the French and German legal systems. Common law courts were established by English royal judges of the King's Council after the Norman Invasion of Britain in 1066.
The royal judges created a body of law by combining local customs they were made aware of through traveling and visiting local jurisdictions.
This common standard of law became known as "Common Law". This legal tradition is practiced in the English and American legal systems. In most civil law jurisdictions, courts function under an
inquisitorial system. In the common law system, most courts follow the
adversarial system.
Procedural law governs the rules by which courts operate:
civil procedure for private disputes (for example); and
criminal procedure for violation of the criminal law. In recent years international courts are being created to resolve matters not covered by the jurisdiction of national courts. For example, The International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, in The Kingdom of The Netherlands or The Court of Permanent Lok Adalat (Public Utility Services), based in India.
Court television shows
Television show courts, which are not part of the judicial system and are generally
private arbitrators, are depicted within the
court show genre; however, the courts depicted have been criticized as misrepresenting real-life courts of law and the true nature of the legal system.
Notable court shows include:
* ''
Caso Cerrado''
* ''
Judge Judy''
* ''
Paternity Court
''Lauren Lake's Paternity Court'' (originally known as Paternity Court) is a nontraditional court show in which family lawyer and legal analyst Lauren Lake heard and ruled on paternity cases and rendered DNA test results.
The show was produce ...
''
* ''
The People's Court''
* ''
Judge Mathis
''Judge Mathis'' is an American syndicated arbitration-based reality court show presided over by Judge Greg Mathis, a former judge of Michigan's 36th District Court and Black-interests motivational speaker/activist.
The courtroom series premi ...
''
* ''
Judge Alex''
* ''
Judge Joe Brown''
* ''
Eye for an Eye''
* ''
Judge Rinder''
* ''
Ace Attorney
''Ace Attorney'' is a series of visual novel adventure video games developed by Capcom. With storytelling fashioned after legal dramas, the first entry in the series, '' Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney'', was released in 2001; since then, five ...
''
* ''
Adaalat''
International courts
*
International judicial institution
*
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...
*
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to pro ...
*
International Court of Arbitration
Types and organization of courts
*
Administrative court
*
Constitutional court
*
Commercial Court (disambiguation)
Commercial Court is a type of specialized court on commercial law.
List of existing commercial courts
* Commercial Court (Belgium)
* Commercial Court (England and Wales)
* Commercial Court (Victoria)
* Tribunal de commerce
In France, the ''t ...
*
Court of Faculties
*
Court of record
*
Court-martial
*
Ecclesiastical court
*
Equity court
*
Extraordinary court
An extraordinary court, or special court, is a type of court that is established outside of ordinary judiciary, composed of irregularly selected judges or applies irregular procedure for judgment. Since extraordinary court can be abused to infri ...
*
Family court
*
Lower court
*
Ordinary court
Ordinary court or Judicial court is a type of court with comprehensive subject-matter jurisdiction compared to ' Specialized court' with limited jurisdiction over specific filed of matters, such as intellectual property court. Due to its comp ...
*
Specialized court
*
Supreme court
See also
*
Kangaroo court
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
*