A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single judge could describe that judge as 'their tribunal'. Many governmental bodies that are titled 'tribunals' are so described to emphasize that they are not courts of normal jurisdiction. For example, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is a body specially constituted under international law; in Great Britain, employment tribunals are bodies set up to hear specific employment disputes. In many cases, the word tribunal implies a judicial body with a lesser degree of formality than a court, to which the normal rules of evidence and procedure may not apply, and whose presiding officers are frequently neither judges nor magistrates. Private judicial bodies are also often styled 'tribunals'. However, the word tribunal is not conclusive of a body's function–for example, in Great Britain, the Employment Appeal Tribunal is a superior court of record.
The Supreme Tribunal of Justice is the highest court of law in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and is the head of the judicial branch. As the independence of the Venezuelan judiciary under the regime of Nicolas Maduro is questioned, there have recently been many disputes to whether this court is legitimate.
Macau law is broadly based on Portuguese law, and therefore part of the civil law tradition of continental European legal systems. Portuguese law is itself highly influenced by German law. However, many other influences are present, including Chinese law, Italian law, and some narrow aspects of common law.
In France, career judges are considered civil servants exercising one of the sovereign powers of the state, so French citizens are eligible for judgeship, but so are all citizens of the EU countries. France's independent court system enjoys special statutory protection from the executive branch. Procedures for the appointment, promotion, and removal of judges vary depending on whether it is for the ordinary or administrative stream. Judicial appointments in the judicial stream must be approved by a special panel, the High Council of the Judiciary. Once appointed, career judges serve for life and cannot be removed without specific disciplinary proceedings conducted before the Council with due process.
The judiciary of Romania is organized as a hierarchical system of courts, with a civil law system. Provisions regarding its structure and organization are found in the Constitution and Law no. 304/2004 on judicial organization.
The Court of Final Appeal of Macau is the court with the final adjudication power on laws of Macau. Prior to 1999, the highest court was the Higher Court of Justice of Macau and prior to that the Court of Appeal of the Judiciary District of Lisbon in Portugal.
The supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and highcourt of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of a supreme court are not subject to further review by any other court. Supreme courts typically function primarily as appellate courts, hearing appeals from decisions of lower trial courts, or from intermediate-level appellate courts.
Lai Kin Hong is the President of the Tribunal de Segunda Instancia, an appellate court within the judiciary of Macau.
The Judiciary of Portugal is a system of courts that together constitute one of the four organs of Sovereignty as defined by the Portuguese Constitution. The courts are independent from the other three Portuguese organs of Sovereignty.
The Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary is a venue within the judiciary of Mexico that specialises in electoral matters. Among its functions are resolving disputes arising within federal elections and certifying the validity of those elections, including those of the President of the Republic. (Responsibility for declaring a candidate the winner in presidential elections previously fell on the Chamber of Deputies.)
In France, the Tribunal d'instance is a judicial lower court of record of first instance for general civil suits and includes a criminal division, the Police Court, which hears cases of misdemeanors or summary offences (contraventions). Since it has original jurisdiction, the Court's rulings may be appealed to a French appellate court or Supreme Court. The court was formerly known as a Justice of the Peace Court until the judicial restructuring of 1958.
The Business Court in Belgium is a court which deals with commercial litigation that exceeds the competence of the Justice of the Peace and hears appeals against the decisions of the Justice of the Peace in commercial cases. It is not a division of the Court of First Instance because commercial law is not a branch of civil law in Belgium. There is a Commercial Court in each judicial arrondissement of Belgium.
The Macau order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the Government of Macau.
The judiciary of Colombia is a branch of the State of Colombia that interprets and applies the laws of Colombia, to ensure equal justice under law, and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The judiciary comprises a hierarchical system of courts presided over by judges, magistrates and other adjudicators.
The Judiciary of Brazil is the Judiciary branch of the Brazilian government. The structure and the division of jurisdiction of the ramifications of the Brazilian Judiciary is defined in the Brazilian Constitution.
The Judiciary of Macau is responsible for the administration of justice in Macau. It hears all prosecutions and civil disputes, including disputes between individuals and the government. It is fundamental to Macau’s legal system that members of the judiciary are independent of the executive and legislative branches of the government. The courts of law in Macau comprise the Court of Final Appeal and 11 other courts. The President of the Court of Final Appeal of the Macau Special Administrative Region is head of the judiciary. A bilingual court system in which Chinese, Portuguese or both can be used was put in place, in accordance with the requirement of the Basic Law.
The first Bolivian judicial election was held on 16 October 2011. The national vote was held to elect magistrates to serve on the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, the Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal, the Agro-environmental Tribunal and members of the Council of the Judiciary. It was originally scheduled to be held on 5 December 2010, but officials of the National Electoral Court and of the MAS majority in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly delayed it. The vote will be the first time that a Latin American country directly elects its highest judicial officials.
The Judiciary of Puerto Rico is defined under the Constitution of Puerto Rico and consists of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, Court of Appeals, and the Court of First Instance consisting of the Superior Courts and the Municipal Courts.
The High Court of Justice of Catalonia is the highest body and last judicial instance of the Spanish judiciary in Catalonia. Unlike the Parliament of Catalonia or the Executive Council of Catalonia, the TSJC is not a part of the Generalitat of Catalonia, the autonomous system of self-government of the community, although the Catalan government has some powers over it, especially in material resources.
