Federal courts have exclusive authority to interpret the law, determine the constitutionality of the law, and apply it to individual cases. Courts, such as Congress, can compel the production of evidence and testimony by means of a subpoena. Lower courts are limited by Supreme Court decisions – once the Supreme Court has interpreted a law, lower courts must apply the Supreme Court`s interpretation to the facts of a particular case. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the highest court for criminal and civil matters in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and for civil matters in Scotland. (The highest criminal court in Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary.) The Supreme Court was established by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 with effect from 1 October 2009 and replaces the judicial functions of the House of Lords. Decentralisation issues under the Scotland Act 1998, the Government of Wales Act and the Northern Ireland Act were also transferred from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to the new Supreme Court by the Constitutional Reform Act. Federal appeals are decided by panels of three judges. The complainant makes legal arguments to the Panel in a written document called “oral argument”. In the oral argument, the plaintiff tries to convince the judges that the trial court erred and that the lower decision should be overturned. On the other hand, the defendant of the appeal, known as the “appellant” or “defendant”, tries to demonstrate in its argument why the decision of the trial court was correct or why the errors made by the trial court are not significant enough to influence the outcome of the case. The Spanish Supreme Court is the highest court for all cases in Spain (private and public). Only human rights cases can be appealed to the Constitutional Court (which also rules on acts in conformity with the Spanish Constitution).
In Spain, supreme courts cannot set binding precedents; [12] However, lower courts usually follow the interpretation of the Supreme Court. In most private law cases, two Supreme Court judgments in support of an application are required to appeal to the Supreme Court. [13] Five sections make up the Spanish Supreme Court: The Italian court of last resort for most disputes is the Corte suprema di cassazione. There is also its own constitutional court, the Corte costituzionale, which has an obligation of judicial review and can abolish laws as unconstitutional. Judges` robes have long been adopted to bring dignity and solemnity to judicial proceedings. Following the custom of English judges, some American colonial judges adopted the wearing of robes as well as many other customs and principles of the English common law system. When the Supreme Court first met in 1790, the justices had not yet decided to wear robes, but in February 1792 they first appeared in a standard set of robes that one journalist called “robes of justice.” These dresses are believed to have been black, with red and white trim on the front and sleeves. They were only used for a few years before the judges adopted all the black robes. The Indonesian Constitutional Court, on the other hand, is part of the judiciary, which is responsible for reviewing the constitutionality of draft laws and government policies, as well as regulating interactions between different branches of government.
The constitutional amendment establishing the court was adopted in 2001, and the court itself was established in 2003. [22] The Constitutional Court consists of nine judges appointed by the Supreme Court, the President of Indonesia, and the People`s Representation Council. [23] The Council of Grand Justices, composed of 15 judges and dealing mainly with constitutional matters, is in some countries the counterpart of the constitutional courts. In Hong Kong, the Supreme Court of Hong Kong (now known as the High Court of Hong Kong) was the last court of appeal during its colonial period, which ended in 1997 with the transfer of sovereignty. As in all other British colonies, final decision-making authority rested with the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) in London, United Kingdom. The Court of Appeal, created in 1997, now has the power to make a final decision. According to the Basic Law, its constitution, the territory remains a common law jurisdiction. Accordingly, judges from other common law systems (including England and Wales) may be recruited and continue to serve on the bench under section 92 of the Constitution. On the other hand, sovereignty over the interpretation of the Basic Law itself rests with the Standing Committee of the National People`s Congress (NPC) in Beijing (without retroactive effect), and the courts are empowered to interpret the Basic Law when dealing with cases under Article 158 of the GG. This regulation became controversial in 1999 on the issue of the right of residence, raising concerns about the independence of the judiciary.
In civil and criminal matters, the Federal Court of Justice is at the top of the judicial hierarchy. The other branches of the German judicial system each have their own appellate system, each headed by a higher court; these are the Federal Social Court for social security matters, the Federal Labour Court for Labour and Labour, the Federal Finance Court for tax and financial matters and the Federal Administrative Court for administrative law.
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