District court
District courtsare a category ofcourtswhich exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy.
These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower court and supervises it.
Americas
[edit]United States
[edit] | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(April 2016) |
In theUnited States federal courts,theUnited States district courtsare the generaltrial courts.The federal district courts have jurisdiction overfederal questions(trials and cases interpreting the Constitution, Federal law, or which involve federal statutes or crimes) anddiversity(cases otherwise subject to jurisdiction in a state trial court but which are betweenlitigantsof different states and/or countries). There are 89 federal districts in the 50 states. United States district courts also exist inPuerto Rico,theVirgin Islands,theDistrict of Columbia,Guam,and theNorthern Mariana Islands.In total, there are 94 U.S. district courts. Decisions from these courts are subject to review by one of the 13United States court of appeals,which are, in turn, subject to review by theSupreme Court of the United States.
Some states maintainstate courtscalled "district courts." InFlorida,theFlorida District Courts of Appealare intermediateappellate courts.InTexas,theTexas District Courtsare trial courts ofgeneral jurisdiction,hearing allfelonyanddivorcecases,electioncontroversies, and many civil matters. TheHawaii State District Courts,and those in Alaska, New York, and Kentucky, to name a few, are courts oflimited jurisdiction.
Asia and Oceania
[edit]Australia
[edit]District courtis the name given to the intermediate court in most Australian states. They hear indictable (serious) criminal offences excluding treason, murder and, in some states, manslaughter. Their civil jurisdiction is also intermediate, typically being for civil disputes where the amount claimed is greater than a $75 000 but less than $750 000.[1]The limits vary between Australian states. In Victoria, the equivalent court is called the County Court.[2]Below them are themagistrates' courts,known as the Local Court in New South Wales. Above them are the state supreme courts.
China
[edit]Cyprus
[edit]The District Courts are courts of first instance for civil matters (except those which are dealt with by special courts) and criminal cases involving prison sentences of five years of less. There are six such courts.
Hong Kong
[edit]The District Court inHong Kong,established in 1953, has limited jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters. With effect from 1 December 2003, it has civil jurisdiction to hear monetary claims up toHK$1 million or, where the claims are for recovery of land, the annual rent or rateable value does not exceed HK$240,000. In its criminal jurisdiction, the court may try the more serious cases, with the main exceptions of murder, manslaughter and rape. The maximum term of imprisonment it may impose is seven years. There are one Chief District Judge and 30 District Judges, among which three district judges sit in the Family Court and two district judges sit in the Lands Tribunal as Presiding Officers.
India
[edit]The district courts ofIndiaare presided over by ajudge.[3]They administer justice in India at adistrictlevel. These courts are under administrative and judicial control of thehigh courtof thestateto which the district concerned belongs.
Indonesia
[edit]The district courts ofIndonesiaare part of public courts for all cases non-related to religion, constitutions or military matters. The decisions of guilt or innocence are made by a panel of three judges led by a chair judge.[4]
Israel
[edit]The district courts inIsraelserve both as the appellate courts and also as the court of first instance for some cases (e.g. real estate or IP). In criminal matters, they try cases where the accused faces a penalty of at least seven years imprisonment. As of 2007, there are six district courts:[5]
Japan
[edit]Japanhas 50 district courts, one in each of the 47prefectures' capitals, and one in the three cities ofHakodate,AsahikawaandKushiroon Hokkaido. They are the first court level for most civil and criminal cases. Most cases are held with one judge.[6]
New Zealand
[edit]The District Court of New Zealand deals with all criminal matters other than murder, manslaughter and specified offences such as treason.[7]The court can also hear civil claims up to $350,000.[8]District courts were called magistrates' courts until 1980.
Pakistan
[edit]The district courts ofPakistanare presided over by a seniorjudge.They administer justice in Pakistan at adistrictlevel. These courts are under administrative and judicial control of thehigh courtof theprovinceto which the district concerned belongs.
Europe
[edit]Austria
[edit]Austriahas some 200 district, or local, courts, which decide minorcivilandcriminal cases.
Denmark
[edit]Denmarkconsists of 24judicial districts,each being served by a district court (Danish:byret,literally meaning "town court" ). Each district court serves one or more of the country's 98municipalities,except thatCopenhagen Municipalityis divided between two district because of its size. Before 2007, when the number of municipalities was reduced from 271 to 98, there were 82 district courts.
The twohigh courts(theEasternandWestern) serve ascourts of appeal.
Finland
[edit]- See alsoJudicial system of Finland
Finlandhas 27 district courts, which deal with criminal cases, civil cases and petitionary matters. Since December 1, 1993 these have been calledkäräjäoikeusinFinnishandtingsrättinSwedish.Each court is headed by the Chief Judge and other District Judges. In certain cases, the district court may also have lay judges. The cases are handled and resolved either in a session or in chambers. In simple cases decisions can be made by notaries.
Germany
[edit]Germanyhas 115 regional courts (Landgerichte), which are superior to the local courts (Amtsgerichte) and below the higher regional courts (Oberlandesgerichte).
Iceland
[edit]The district courts are the lowest judicial level inIceland.There are eight courts operating in separate districts, the District Court of Reykjavík, the District Court of Reykjanes, the District Court of Western Iceland, the District Court of the Westfjords, the District Court of Northwest Iceland, the District Court of Northeast Iceland, the District Court of East Iceland and the District Court of South Iceland. The courts handle all cases in their first instance. Subject to conditions, cases can be appealed to a higher court, ultimately theSupreme Court of Icelandwhose conclusions are final.
Ireland
[edit]The District Court in Ireland was established in 1924. The court handles civil claims of up to €15,000 andsummarycriminal trials (minor offences tried by a judge alone where the maximum penalty is 12 months on indictment in theCircuit Courtand the granting of licences for the sale of alcohol.
Norway
[edit]The Norwegiantingrettdeals with criminal and civil cases. The termtingrettwas introduced in 2002, and replaced the previous termsbyrettandherredsrettas designations for district courts.
Poland
[edit]Sweden
[edit]
In Sweden, there are 48 district courts (Swedish:tingsrätt); Tingsrätt is also used to describe such courts in Finland and Norway. While relatively recent creations in their current form, the termtingsrättrefers to theting( "thing" ), the ancient term for governing assemblies in these and other Nordic and Germanic countries, where disputes would be brought up to be settled. The specific termtingsrättwas used for courts already in 17th century Sweden, but was later discontinued. It's the court of first instance; dealing with criminal cases, some civil law disputes and a number of non-contentious matters. Private cases against decisions by the public authorities are generally handled by thetingsrättor theförvaltningsrätt(administrative court), depending on the authority in question.
In 1971, thetingsrätt's became thedistrict courts of Sweden,replacing the previous distinction betweenrådhusrättin larger cities and thehäradsrätt's for theassize courts of Swedenin other parts of the country. Later reforms have substantially reduced the number of these courts from around 100 to currently (2014) 48.[9]
Appeals against a district court are made to theappellate court(Swedish:hovrätt).[10]
United Kingdom
[edit]Scotland
[edit]District courts were introduced in 1975 as replacement for theburgh police courts;they dealt with the most minorcrimes.They were run by thelocal authorities.Each court comprised one or morejustices of the peace(lay magistrates) who sat alone or in threes with a qualified legal assessor as convener or clerk of court.
They handled many cases ofbreach of the peace,drunkenness,minor assaults,petty theft,and offences under theCivic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.
District courts operated undersummary procedureand could not impose a fine in excess of £2,500 or sentence an offender to more than 60 days inprison.In practice, most offences were dealt with by a fine.
District courts in Scotland were abolished and replaced withjustice of the peace courtsunder the provisions of theCriminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007.The justice of the peace courts are managed by theScottish Court Service.Responsibility for the courts was transferred from the local authorities in a rolling programme of court unification which concluded in February 2010. District courts were replaced by JP courts in sheriffdoms as follows:
- Sheriffdom ofLothian and Borders,10 March 2008[11]
- Sheriffdom of Grampian, Highlands and Islands, 2 June 2008[12]
- Sheriffdom of Glasgow and Strathkelvin, 8 December 2008[13]
- Sheriffdom of Tayside, Central and Fife, 23 February 2009[14]
- Sheriffdom of North Strathclyde, 14 December 2009[15]
- Sheriffdom of South Strathclyde,Dumfries & Galloway,22 February 2010[16]
References
[edit]- ^"About the District Court".District Court of Western Australia.
- ^"County Court of Victoria".County Court of Victoria.
- ^"District Courts of India".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-01-22.
- ^Lindsey, Tim.Indonesian Trial Process and Legal System Background Notes(PDF).University of Melbourne.RetrievedMay 30,2014.
- ^"New District Court Opens: Central Region".Retrieved2007-08-21.
- ^"The Japanese Judicial System".The Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet.July 1999.RetrievedSeptember 27,2012.
- ^Criminal Procedure Act 1947 (NZ) ss 73-74
- ^General civil jurisdictionDistrict Court Act 2016Retrieved on September 27, 2012
- ^"The Swedish courts".Domstolsverket.Retrieved2014-03-14.
- ^"District court".Swedish National Courts Administration.Archived fromthe originalon 1 August 2014.Retrieved30 July2014.
- ^Bonnar, Gerard (25 February 2008)."Circular JD/1/2008: The Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 (Commencement No. 3 and Savings) Order 2008".The Scottish Government.
- ^Bonnar, Gerard (29 May 2008)."Criminal Justice Directorate Circular No: JD/5/2008: The Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2008".The Scottish Government.
- ^Bonnar, Gerard (24 November 2008)."Criminal Justice Directorate Circular JD/9/2008 The Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 (Commencement No. 5) Order 2008".The Scottish Government.
- ^Bonnar, Gerard (10 February 2009)."JD Circular No. JD/2/2009 The Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform)(Scotland) Act 2007 (Commencement No. 6) Order 2008".The Scottish Government.
- ^The Justice of the Peace Courts (Sheriffdom of North Strathclyde) etc. Order 2009 SSI 2009/331
- ^The Justice of the Peace Courts (Sheriffdom of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway) etc. Order 2009 SSI 2009/332
