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An extraordinary court, or special court, is a type of
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 acco ...
that is established outside of ordinary
judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
, composed of irregularly selected judges or applies irregular procedure for judgment. Since extraordinary court can be abused to infringe fundamental rights of individuals, contemporaly most of countries ban such courts by constitution or statutes. Usually, modern
military courts
Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct b ...
judged by
court-martials are regarded as examples of extraordinary courts.
By country
Cambodia
An extraordinary court is the
, which is basically a chamber in the national court of
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
that is specially designed to judge crimes of the
Khmer Rouge such as the
Cambodian genocide, but its judges are not of the ordinary Cambodian judiciary but are selected among international candidates nominated by
Secretary-General of the United Nations
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
The role of the secretary-g ...
, according to an agreement between
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
and the Cambodian government.
Germany
In modern
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 establishment of extraordinary courts (''german: Ausnahmegerichte'') is strictly prohibited by article 101(1) of the
Constitution of Germany
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came i ...
, in reflection of
judicial murder by
People's Court (''german: Volksgerichtshof''), which was a kind of ''german: Sondergericht'' that was established during
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. The term ''german: Sondergericht'' itself means just the concept of 'special court', but the use of that term is discouraged, as it can referred to legacy of Nazis, That causes contemporary courts in Germany with special jurisdiction (such as '
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 insu ...
' on cases of social security matters) to be called a kind of '
specialized court
Specialized court is a type of court with limited subject-matter jurisdiction concerning particular field of law, compared to 'ordinary court' with general subject-matter jurisdiction. This concept of court usually includes administrative cour ...
' (''german: Fachgerichte''), composed of ordinary judges.
In that way, Article 101(1) of the Constitution is explained as forbidding establishment of both extraordinary court and special courtas, which are substantially the same concept. As the Constitution bans judgments by irregularly-composed judges, courts in the City of
Kempten
Kempten (, (Swabian German: )) is the largest Town#Germany, town of Allgäu, in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by th ...
with special jurisdiction on
military justice in Germany are also constituted by ordinary judges, according to Section 11a of
German Criminal Code
''Strafgesetzbuch'' (), abbreviated to ''StGB'', is the German penal code.
History
In Germany the ''Strafgesetzbuch'' goes back to the Penal Code of the German Empire passed in the year 1871 on May 15 in Reichstag which was largely identica ...
.
South Korea
In contemporary
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 ...
, the establishment of special courts ('' ko, 특별법원''), meaning extraordinary courts ('' ko, 예외법원'') is exceptionally allowed only for a
military court
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
, according to Article 110(1) of the
Constitution of South Korea
The Constitution of the Republic of Korea () is the supreme law of South Korea. It was promulgated on July 17, 1948, and last revised on October 29, 1987.
Background The Provisional Charter of Korea
The preamble of the Constitution of South ...
.
It is notable that
Justices
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
at the
Constitutional Court
A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...
must have qualification as judges, which includes Justices in the
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 jurisdicti ...
, in ordinary courts, but Article 111(2) of the Constitution does not rerquire military judges in the
Military Court of Korea
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
to have competence as ordinary court judges by 110(3) of the Constitution.
The
Constitutional Court of Korea
The Constitutional Court of Korea () is highest constitutional court in judicial branch of South Korea, seated in Jongno, Seoul. Established under Chapter 6 of the Constitution of South Korea, the Court has ultimate jurisdiction over judic ...
explains that constitutional difference of qualification among
ordinary court judges (including Supreme Court Justices), military judges and
Constitutional Court Justices as constitutional grounds for non-qualified senior military officers to participate in military court judgments as ''adjudicators'' ('' ko, 심판관''), together with qualified military judges ('' ko, 군판사'') in exceptional cases, according to article 22(3) of the Military Court Act.
See also
*
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 acco ...
*
Military court
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
*
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 compr ...
*
Specialized court
Specialized court is a type of court with limited subject-matter jurisdiction concerning particular field of law, compared to 'ordinary court' with general subject-matter jurisdiction. This concept of court usually includes administrative cour ...
References
{{Authority control
Courts by type