- This article is about courts of law. For alternative meanings see: Court (disambiguation).
A court is an official, public forum which a public power establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. In common law countries, the courts are the central means for dispute resolution, and it is generally understood that all persons have a right to bring their claims before a court. Similarly, those accused of a crime have the right to present their defenses before a court.
Types of courts
Some courts may function with a jury that make decisions about the facts
before the court under the direction of the judge; in other courts,
decisions of both fact and law are made by the judge or judges,
this is particularly common in appellate courts where juries are unusual
in most jurisdictions.
The extent of a court's power (authority) to hear the various matters which
come before its "jurisdiction" — may stem from a provision
of a written constitution, from an enabling statute or, for example in
English law, it may be inherent, deriving from the Common Law
origin of the court.
Civil law courts
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.
Operations
Most courts conduct their official business in a courtroom, a physical space designed to accomodate the purposes of having arguments and evidence presented before a judge and, if applicable, a jury.
Both uni-personal and pluri-personal courts exist. The various matters which
come before a pluri-personal court usually come into the ambit of a particular
judge, or of a judicial officer (such as a court commissioner )
serving in the capacity of a judge pro tem . Every court has a presiding
judge and may have one or more other judges and/or judicial officers assigned
to various court departments.
See also
External links