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Judiciary of India |
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Law of India |
The district courts of India are the district courts of the state governments in India for every district or for one or more districts together taking into account of the number of cases, population distribution in the district. They administer justice in India at a district level.
District courts of India | |
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17°54′43″N77°31′12″E / 17.912°N 77.520°E | |
Jurisdiction | Respective Districts of States and Union Territories of India |
Location | 800 districts |
Coordinates | 17°54′43″N77°31′12″E / 17.912°N 77.520°E |
Motto | Satyamev Jayate |
Authorised by | Constitution of India |
Appeals to | Respective High Courts |
Appeals from | Tehsil (Taluka) court |
Judge term length | 65 years |
Language |
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District Judges | |
Currently | Respective Districts Judges |
The civil court/district court is judged by the district and sessions judge who is the judicial head of a district with a limited control over administration also. It is the principal court of original civil jurisdiction besides the high court of the state and which derives its jurisdiction in civil matters primarily from the Code of Civil Procedure. The district court is also a court of sessions when it exercises its jurisdiction on criminal matters under the Code of Criminal Procedure. The district court is presided over by a district judge appointed by the governor of the state with on the advice of chief justice of that high court. In addition to the district judge there may be a number of additional district judges and assistant district judges depending on the workload. The additional district judge and the court presided have equivalent jurisdiction as the district judge and their district court. [1]
However, the district judge has supervisory control over additional and assistant district judges, including decisions on the allocation of work among them. The district and sessions judge is often referred to as "district judge" when presiding over civil matters and "sessions judge" when presiding over criminal matters. [2] Being the highest judge at district level, the district judge also enjoys the power to manage the state funds allocated for the development of judiciary in the district.
The district judge is also called "metropolitan session judge" when presiding over a district court in a city which is designated "metropolitan area" by the state. Other courts subordinated to district court in the metropolitan area are also referred to with "metropolitan" prefixed to the usual designation. An area is designated a metropolitan area by the concerned state government if population of the area exceeds one million
The judges of subordinate courts are appointed by the governor in consultation with the chief justice of the high court of the concerned state. A minimum of seven years of practice as a lawyer at bar is a necessary qualification for direct entry level to become a district judge upon a written examination and oral interview by a committee of high court judges, the appointment of district judges is notified by the state government. This is referred to as direct recruitment which is also known as Higher Judicial Service. District judges are also appointed by way promotion (from Civil Service - Judicial) from district courts after fulfilling minimum years of service but unfortunately the entry level district judge exams have caused the judges on the lower rungs of the judiciary to become lax as their chances of filling up posts for the work they had done may never fructify to promotions because of posts later being filled up by lawyers directly becoming district judges.
The next level of ascendancy for a district judge who served sufficient number of years is the post of high court judge. High court judges are usually appointed from a pool of advocates practicing at the bar of the high court and district judges who served for sufficient number of years. This has also caused district judges to wane in their efficiency as they have come to realize that elevation of lawyers directly to high court judges dampens their process of being awarded with promotions for the work they've put in over many years of service.
A district judge or additional district judge may be removed from his office by the governor on confirmation from the high court collegium.
The district court exercises jurisdiction both on original side and appellate side in civil and criminal matters arising in the district. The territorial and pecuniary jurisdiction in civil matters is usually set in concerned state enactments on the subject of civil courts. On the criminal side, jurisdiction is exclusively derived from the criminal procedure code. As per this code the maximum sentence a sessions judge of district court may award to a convict is capital punishment.
The district court has appellate jurisdiction over all subordinate courts situated in the district on both civil and criminal matters. Subordinate courts, on the civil side (in ascending order) are, Junior Civil Judge Court, [3] Principal Junior Civil Judge Court, Senior Civil Judge Court (also called sub-court). Subordinate courts, on the criminal side, in ascending order, are Second Class Judicial Magistrate Court, First Class Judicial Magistrate Court, Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.
Certain matters on the criminal or civil sides cannot be tried by a court lower than the district court. The district court thus has original jurisdiction over these cases.
Appeals from the district courts are typically made to the high court of the relevant state. If any of the parties are not satisfied with the decision of the high court, they may then appeal to the Supreme Court under its appellate jurisdiction. [4] In some cases, the Supreme Court may grant leave under Article 136 of the Constitution to appeal a decision of the district court directly. [4]
In the United States, a state court is a law court with jurisdiction over disputes with some connection to a U.S. state. State courts handle the vast majority of civil and criminal cases in the United States; the United States federal courts are far smaller in terms of both personnel and caseload, and handle different types of cases. States often provide their trial courts with general jurisdiction and state trial courts regularly have concurrent jurisdiction with federal courts. Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and their subject-matter jurisdiction arises only under federal law.
The Court of Cassation is the supreme court for civil and criminal cases in France. It is one of the country's four apex courts, along with the Council of State, the Constitutional Council and the Jurisdictional Disputes Tribunal.
The Courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales.
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower court, elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same meaning. Depending on the jurisdiction, such justices dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are usually not required to have any formal legal education in order to qualify for the office. Some jurisdictions have varying forms of training for JPs.
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judicial and executive powers. In other parts of the world, such as China, magistrate is a word applied to a person responsible for administration over a particular geographic area. Today, in some jurisdictions, a magistrate is a judicial officer who hears cases in a lower court, and typically deals with more minor or preliminary matters. In other jurisdictions, magistrates are typically trained volunteers appointed to deal with criminal and civil matters in their local areas.
Judiciary of Malaysia is largely centralised despite Malaysia's federal constitution, heavily influenced by the English common law, as well as Islamic jurisprudence.
District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy.
A Sessions Court or even known as the Court of Sessions Judge is a court of law which exists in several Commonwealth countries. A Court of Session is the highest criminal court in a district and the court of first instance for trying serious offences, i.e., those carrying punishment of imprisonment of more than seven years, life imprisonment, or death.
The High Court of Singapore is the lower division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the upper division being the Court of Appeal. The High Court consists of the chief justice and the judges of the High Court. Judicial Commissioners are often appointed to assist with the Court's caseload. There are two specialist commercial courts, the Admiralty Court and the Intellectual Property Court, and a number of judges are designated to hear arbitration-related matters. In 2015, the Singapore International Commercial Court was established as part of the Supreme Court of Singapore, and is a division of the High Court. The other divisions of the high court are the General Division, the Appellate Division, and the Family Division. The seat of the High Court is the Supreme Court Building.
The judiciary of Pakistan is the national system of courts that maintains the law and order in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan uses a common law system, which was introduced during the colonial era, influenced by local medieval judicial systems based on religious and cultural practices. The Constitution of Pakistan lays down the fundamentals and working of the Pakistani judiciary.
The judiciary of India is the system of courts that interpret and apply the law in the Republic of India. The Constitution of India provides concept for a single and unified judiciary in India. India uses a mixed legal system based majorly on the common law system with civil laws applicable in certain territories in combination with certain religion specific personal laws.
The district courts of Pakistan are courts that operate at the district level, they are controlled by the high courts.
In 1964 Tanganyika and Zanzibar formed the United Republic of Tanzania. After the Treaty of the Union, the two countries continued to remain with their own legal systems including court structures. In the 1977 Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, the High Court of Tanganyika whose jurisdiction was and still is territoriality limited to Tanzania Mainland was called the High Court of Tanzania and the High Court of Zanzibar retained its original name. The High Court of Tanzania only has territorial jurisdiction over legal issues arising in Tanzania Mainland and the High Court of Zanzibar has territorial jurisdiction over legal issues arising in Zanzibar.
Courts of Metropolitan Magistrate are at the second lowest level of the Criminal Court structure in India According to the Section 16 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPc),in every metropolitan area, there shall be established as many courts of Metropolitan Magistrates, and at such places, as the State Government may, after consultation with the High Court, by notification, specify. Metropolitan Courts are to be established at such places in every metropolitan area having population of ten lakh or more. It has jurisdiction throughout such metropolitan area. The presiding officers of such courts shall be appointed by the High Court.
The Judiciary of Bangladesh or Judicial system of Bangladesh is based on the Constitution and the laws are enacted by the legislature and interpreted by the higher courts. Bangladesh Supreme Court is the highest court of Bangladesh. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh has been described in Article 94(1) of the Constitution of Bangladesh. It consists of two divisions, the High Court Division and the Appellate Division. These two divisions of the Supreme Court have separate jurisdictions.
Magistrate judge, in U.S. state courts, is a title used for various kinds of judges, typically holding a low level of office with powers and responsibilities more limited than state court judges of general jurisdiction.
Metropolitan Session court is a type of Sessions Court which are situated in metropolitan cities of Bangladesh. These types courts are exclusively criminal court to deal with only criminal cases. Judges appointed to such courts do not hear or try any civil matter, unlike judges of session courts in districts. According to the Code of Criminal Procedure (Bangladesh), a Session Judge shall be established by the Government in each of metropolitan city. Initially, two types of courts, the Courts of Sessions and the Courts of Magistrates were recognized by the code. The code was amended in 1976 with the introduction of the metropolitan police and came to effect in 1979. This amended ordinance made it essential for the government to establish the separate metropolitan session courts for metropolitan areas. Currently, there five Metropolitan courts are in function in Bangladesh.
Metropolitan Court is a different type of court found in the metropolitan city of Bangladesh. As per the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) of 1898, the constitution, procedure, forces and jurisdiction of this court are resolved. The Code of Criminal Procedure used to acknowledge two sorts of courts: the Sessions court and the Judge court.
Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court is a type of sessions court that is only found in metropolitan cities of Bangladesh. Metropolitan Sessions courts only deal with the criminal cases of metropolitan areas. These courts are presided by the sessions judges. Sessions Judges are appointed by the government according to the 2009 amendment of Code of Criminal Procedure of Bangladesh.
Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court or Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate is the second tier court in the criminal court structure in India. Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate is the apex body of the Criminal Judiciary at the district level, and it is presided over by the Chief Judicial Magistrate. The Chief Judicial Magistrate shall be the in-charge of the Magistrate Courts in the districts. Every district shall have a Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court and in addition to this there shall be additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's Courts. Judicial First Class Magistrates work under the Chief Judicial Magistrate. The Chief Judicial Magistrates are appointed by the respective High courts of India. The Chief Judicial Magistrates works under principal district judge. In the hierarchy of criminal courts, the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court is below the Principal District and Sessions Court and above the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate Court and the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court.