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British Court System
The British judicial organization follows historical traditions and has a complex system. Most courts are not composed of fixed judges, but judges of a certain level come to the court to form a court for trials.
Before Britain was conquered by William, Duke of Normandy in 1066, there were county courts and hundreds of tribunals in various places, which performed judicial functions according to local customary laws. The church also established its own courts to conduct trials according to canon law. The Norman dynasty began to establish the Curia Regis and sent circuit judges to various places to conduct trials. Since then, the Chancery Court, the Star Court (a special criminal court held by the king, named after the star-shaped decoration of the court building), the Court of Common Pleas, the Inheritance and Divorce Court, the Admiralty Court, etc. were successively established. There is no unified court system. . After the bourgeois revolution in the 17th century, there were no major reforms in the court organization, but some adjustments were successively made to meet the needs of capitalist development. After the judicial reform in the United Kingdom from 65438 to 0875, although a relatively unified system was gradually formed, there were still some problems in the courts. There are still many feudal traces in the name and litigation procedures, and the trial level and jurisdiction are also quite complicated.
Judges in the UK, whether full-time or part-time, are appointed rather than elected. Judges are divided into seven categories, from junior to senior, namely: ① Magistrates (magistrates) are amateur judges; (2) Salaried magistrates (salaried magistrates); (3) Recording judges, that is, judges who are also lawyers; 4 circuit judges; (5) High Court judges; 6. Appeal judges; ⑦ The permanent appeal member is a judge who is also a member of the House of Lords. The four most senior judicial officials in China are: the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of the High Court, the Archivist, and the Chairman of the Family.
The judicial levels of British courts are basically divided into three levels: basic courts, the Supreme Court and the House of Lords. Specialized courts include military courts and administrative courts.
The jurisdiction of grassroots courts over civil and criminal cases is basically separated. Including:
The county court is the grassroots court that hears civil cases. Trials are mainly presided over by circuit judges, and juries are generally not convened (see jury system). If you are dissatisfied with a County Court decision, you can appeal to the Civil Appeal Division of the Court of Appeal.
Magistrate Court: the grassroots court that hears criminal cases. The hearing shall be held before two or more Magistrates. Individual cases can be heard separately. Stipendiary magistrates have the power to sit alone. Its powers are mainly summary trials and pretrial prosecutions. Summary trial is the trial of summary crimes or other indictable crimes in accordance with summary procedures. Summary offenses are roughly equivalent to police offenses in the civil law system, and indictable offenses are equivalent to criminal offences. A pre-indictment hearing is a preliminary hearing on charges of an indictable offense to determine whether formal prosecution can be brought to the criminal court. Some magistrates' courts also deal with minor civil matters such as marriage, adoption or custody disputes. The Magistrates' Court also established a Juvenile Court to deal with juvenile delinquency cases and disputes relating to the care of juveniles. If you are dissatisfied with the decision of the Magistrate Court, you can appeal to the Criminal Court; if it is purely a legal issue, you can appeal to the High Court for legal trial by applying for approval (see Appeal Trial Procedure).
The Coroner's Tribunal specializes in examining corpses of unknown causes, suspected violent homicides or other abnormal deaths, and completes preliminary investigations and pre-trial tasks; however, it only has the right to directly transfer the case to the criminal court for formal prosecution. , without jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court is the collective name for the Crown Court, the High Court and the Court of Appeal. It is not an independent court, nor is it the highest judicial level.
The Crown Court (translated as Royal Court) hears appeals from decisions of the Magistrates' Court and is the court of first instance for indictable offences. This is a national court that has jurisdiction over any criminal case in the country. Established in 1972, its predecessors were the Circuit Court and Quarterly Court. In London, the Central Criminal Tribunal is said to be divided into three tiers based on level of residence at the local level and by law it has jurisdiction over four types of criminal cases. Judges who can sit in the Crown Court include High Court judges, circuit judges, recording judges and magistrates who are outside the jurisdiction and have not attended preliminary hearings. Criminal courts must convene juries to hear cases.
If you are dissatisfied with the Crown Court's decision, you can appeal to the Criminal Appeal Division of the Court of Appeal.
The High Court was established in 1873 by the merger of several courts including the Court of Chancery. There are three courts under it: ① The throne court, whose main task is to hear major civil cases of first instance, organize maritime collegial panels, commercial collegial panels and other specialized courts to hear such cases, and accept criminal cases filed with the court in the form of reports; in addition, the throne court also Responsible for issuing writs of habeas corpus and various privilege orders, and conducting trial supervision. (2) Courts, responsible for hearing civil disputes related to real estate, trusts, wills, partnerships and bankruptcy. (3) The Family Court mainly hears major disputes related to family, custody, marriage and other appeals. Each Division Bench of the High Court is heard by a Judge and a Recording Judge of the High Court. If you are unhappy with a High Court decision, you can appeal to the House of Lords.
The Court of Appeal was established in 1966 by merging the original Court of Criminal Appeal and the Court of Appeal, which specializes in hearing civil appeals. There are two courts of appeal, the Court of Civil Appeal and the Court of Criminal Appeal. The Court of Civil Appeal hears appeals from county court decisions; the Court of Criminal Appeal hears appeals from Crown Court decisions. China's appeals courts are heard by appeal judges, high court judges and four top judicial officials. If you are dissatisfied with the Court of Appeal's decision, you can appeal again to the House of Lords.
The House of Lords is the highest judicial level. Only appeal cases involving major legal issues of general significance will be heard. Its judicial powers are exercised by the Permanent Appeal Members. Without reading the case file, only listening to the statements of the lawyers of both sides, the ruling is made in the form of a court resolution.
Military courts and military appeals courts are the most important specialized courts besides ordinary courts. Responsible for hearing military crimes and ordinary criminal crimes; the former has exclusive jurisdiction, and the latter has dual jurisdiction with ordinary courts. Its highest judicial level is also the House of Lords.
The Administrative Court has the nature of a specialized court, but because it is affiliated with various administrative agencies and only has jurisdiction over specific types of administrative litigation, it is not a judicial authority in the strict sense, so it is also called a quasi-court. There are many types of administrative courts, such as the Land Court, the Rent Court, the Traffic Court, the Medical Appeal Court, the Work Injury Court and the Immigration Court of Appeal.
The above is the court system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland also has its own unique court organization, but its highest judicial level is the House of Lords.
The German Court System
There are six types of courts, namely the Constitutional Court, General Courts, Labor Courts, Administrative Courts, Social Courts and Financial Courts, which are all systematic. In addition to the Constitutional Court, the federal courts of the other five courts formed a joint committee to coordinate their work. The powers and composition of the Constitutional Court (including the Federal Constitutional Court and the State Constitutional Court) are stipulated in the Basic Law and their status is higher than other courts. General courts are responsible for hearing all civil and criminal cases outside the jurisdiction of specialized courts. Specialized courts are divided into four levels, namely the Federal Supreme Court, state high courts, state intermediate courts and local courts. The labor courts are divided into three levels and are responsible for hearing labor disputes, disputes between trade unions and their members, disputes regarding workers’ right to participate in decision-making, disputes between trade unions and their members, and disputes regarding workers’ right to participate in decision-making. The Administrative Court has three levels and is responsible for hearing all administrative litigation except for constitutional law, social insurance and finance. The defendants are state administrative agencies. The social courts are divided into three levels and are responsible for hearing all disputes related to social insurance. The Financial Tribunal is divided into two levels and is responsible for hearing financial and tax disputes.
The French court system
It is divided into two major systems: ordinary courts and administrative courts. Courts include civil courts and criminal courts. Among them, there are courts of first instance and courts of first instance, which are civil courts, and police courts, misdemeanor courts and felony courts, which are criminal courts. In addition, there is the Court of Appeal (the court of appeal for civil and criminal cases, except for serious cases), the National Security Court (which hears cases of subversive activities in peacetime and cases of political crimes designated by the Minister of Justice) and the Supreme Court (the highest court of ordinary courts). level, but only reconsiders legal issues, does not review facts, and does not make new judgments). The Administrative Court has two tasks: (1) interpreting existing laws and administrative decrees to administrative departments, providing suggestions, and drafting drafts, which are administrative functions; (2) hearing disputes between administrative agencies and citizens’ complaints against administrative agencies are judicial functions . The administrative courts are divided into two levels, namely the Supreme Administrative Court and the administrative courts established in the provinces.
The Disputes Court handles jurisdictional disputes between ordinary courts and administrative courts. According to the provisions of the French Constitution, there is also a special high court that is independent of the above two systems and specializes in hearing treason committed by the president and criminal offenses and crimes against national security committed by government ministers while in office.
The United States Court System
It is divided into the federal system and the state system. The names are different, the trial levels are different, and the jurisdiction is complex. Courts are generally civil and criminal and do not use the jury system (except for some basic courts). Prosecutors are led by the Ministry of Justice and are affiliated with courts at all levels. The cases under the jurisdiction of the federal system courts are mainly: cases involving the federal constitution, laws or international treaties, cases where one party is the federal government, and cases involving agents of foreign governments. Cases on the high seas or navigable waters within China for foreign trade and interstate commerce, disputes between different states and citizens of different states, and lawsuits brought by state governments against citizens of other states. Courts in the federal system include: federal district courts (courts of first instance for ordinary civil and criminal cases), federal courts of appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court (the highest judicial level in the country, consisting of nine lifelong judges appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate, whose precedents have national influence. Binding, enjoys special judicial review powers) and specialized courts. The names of state courts vary from state to state, and are generally divided into three levels. There are also various small courts that are not classified as trial levels. The courts in the state system include: grassroots courts (the first-instance courts for ordinary civil and criminal cases under the jurisdiction of the state), state courts of appeals, and state supreme courts (the highest judicial level in the state).
The American court system.
http://www.court.gov/
The United States is a common law country. The main characteristics of the American judicial system are: implementing the principle of separation of powers and implementing judicial independence; the court organization is divided into federal system and local system; the Federal Supreme Court enjoys special judicial review power; wait a minute. Judicial organization courts are complex and divided into two systems: federal courts and state courts, which apply their own constitutions and laws and govern different cases and regions. In addition, the National Assembly establishes special courts by relevant decrees as needed, such as the Federal Court of Appeal. Judges implement an irreplaceable system, with a full-time system, a high-salary system, and a retirement system. There is no unified administrative court in the United States; administrative dispute cases are heard by ordinary courts, and independent agencies also have the power to accept and adjudicate.
The prosecutorial agencies in the United States are no different from the judicial administration agencies. The Attorney General of the Federation is the Minister of Justice and the legal advisor to the President and the government. He supervises the administration of justice and represents the government in court and participates in litigation when the Federal Supreme Court hears major cases. Prosecutors are led by the Ministry of Justice and are affiliated with courts at all levels. Litigation Procedures Civil litigation procedures adopt a debate system and are heard by a single judge; some lawsuits, especially tort lawsuits, are decided by a jury and decided by a judge. The characteristics of criminal proceedings are: the federal and some states retain the grand jury review system for felony prosecutions; illegally obtained evidence is not admissible; "plea bargaining" is widely used before trial; in defense, the plaintiff and defendant lawyers in civil cases, criminal The prosecutor and the defendant's lawyer in the case confronted each other and argued. The judge does not actively investigate and only plays the role of "passive arbiter". Judicial review was formally established as a federal principle in the 1803 Marbury v. Madison case of the Federal Supreme Court. Chief Justice J. Marshall held on behalf of the court that "unconstitutional laws are not laws" and "the Constitution prohibits all laws that conflict with it" and clearly declared that Section 13 of the Judicial Regulations promulgated by Congress in 1789 was unconstitutional, thus The authority of the courts to review decrees passed by Congress was established, and a judicial review system was gradually formed. This system became a political means to maintain the ruling order and implement power checks and balances, and was later imitated by many countries. The power of judicial review in the United States is exercised by ordinary courts, mainly the Federal Supreme Court. The method is to examine whether the law applicable to a specific case is unconstitutional, and the objects of review include not only laws enacted by Congress, but also executive actions of the president.
The court organization in the United States is divided into federal system and state system, with different names and trial levels, and complex jurisdiction. Courts usually have both civil and criminal functions. Except for some basic courts, the jury system is not adopted. Prosecutors are under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice and affiliated with courts at all levels.
The cases under the jurisdiction of courts within the federal system mainly include: cases involving the federal constitution, laws or international treaties, cases where one party is the federal government, cases involving agents of foreign governments, and cases involving high seas or navigable waters within China. Cases involving foreign and interstate commerce, disputes between citizens of different states and lawsuits brought by state governments against citizens of other states. Courts in the federal system include:
Federal District Courts
The courts of first instance for ordinary civil and criminal cases are federal district courts located in each state. They only hear cases within federal jurisdiction. The federal district courts located in the District of Columbia and territories also handle cases within federal and local jurisdictions. Generally, it is heard by a single judge. Major cases are heard by a collegial panel of three judges and a jury is convened. The federal appeals court is located in the 11 judicial circuits across the country and accepts appeals against the judgments of the federal district courts in the circuits, as well as appeals to specialized courts within the federal system. Judgments and appeals from decisions of administrative agencies with partial jurisdiction. Cases are usually heard by three judges.
The Supreme Court of the United States
It is the nation's highest judicial level, consisting of nine lifelong judges appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate. Its jurisprudence is binding nationwide and enjoys special powers of judicial review, the power to declare through specific cases whether federal or state laws are unconstitutional.
Specialized Courts The federal system also has various specialized courts. At the same level as the Court of Appeal are: the Court for Government Compensation of Damages, and the Court of Appeal for Customs and Patents. At the same level as the district courts are the Customs Court and the Tax Court. In addition, some federal administrative agencies have partial jurisdiction to adjudicate disputes within their jurisdiction. These administrative agencies include the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Staff and the State Labor Relations Bureau, etc.
The names of courts in the state system vary from state to state, and are generally divided into three levels. There are also various small courts that are not classified as trial levels.
Basic courts
Generally speaking, state district courts, state circuit courts, state high courts or state courts of common pleas are the courts of first instance for ordinary civil and criminal cases under state jurisdiction. Most states require that a jury be convened for a trial. Some states have county courts, municipal courts and police courts under the basic courts. Basic courts also have various specialized courts or other specialized tribunals, which are not at the trial level; if you are not satisfied with its judgment, you can apply to the basic court for a retrial, and you can also appeal in the future. Such specialized courts include family court, probate court, probate court, traffic court and small claims court.
State Courts of Appeal
Most states have state courts of appeals that serve as intermediate appellate courts.
State Supreme Court
The highest judicial level in a state is the state supreme court, which some states are called supreme trial courts and courts that deal with illegal conduct. In some states, there are civil and criminal supreme courts. The court organization in New York State is relatively special. Its first-instance court is called the State Supreme Court, which is divided into family court and probate court. The appellate level is the Appellate Division of the above-mentioned courts and no other courts. The highest judicial level is called the state court of appeals.
The Supreme Court of the United States (Federal Supreme Court)
The highest judicial level and highest judicial authority in the U.S. federal court system. It was established in 1790 according to the United States Constitution and is located in Washington, D.C.. It was initially composed of L chief justices and 5 judges. Later, the number increased and decreased several times. 1869 According to the legal provisions of the National Assembly, it consists of 1 chief justice and 8 judges. Judges are appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate; as long as they are loyal to their duties, they can serve for life and cannot be removed without impeachment by Congress. However, those who are over 70 years old, have worked for 10 years, or have worked for 15 years can automatically propose retirement. According to the U.S. Constitution, the Supreme Court of the United States has the power of first instance in cases involving ambassadors, other envoys and consuls, and in which a state is a party. The authority to review legal issues in cases before the state supreme court or the federal court of appeals; the authority to issue "trial orders" to hear cases before lower federal courts or state courts. The Federal Supreme Court also has the power to conduct judicial review to review whether federal or state legislation or administrative actions are unconstitutional. Whether it is a first-instance case or a review case, the judgment is final. The court session lasts from the first Monday in June 65438 to mid-June of the following year. The judgment shall be based on a simple majority vote of the judges, and the opinions of all parties shall be stated in the judgment. In 1882, reports formally compiled by the U.S. Supreme Court began to be published. The cases contained in them were binding on the courts and served as the basis for hearing similar cases.
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