The Courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales.
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, a magistrate was 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 may be volunteers without formal legal training who perform a judicial role with regard to minor matters.
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 was 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.
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.
The judiciary of Pakistan is a hierarchical system with two classes of courts: the superior judiciary and the subordinate judiciary. The superior judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Federal Shariat Court and five High Courts, with the Supreme Court at the apex. There is a High Court for each of the four provinces as well as a High Court for the Islamabad Capital Territory. The Constitution of Pakistan entrusts the superior judiciary with the obligation to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. Neither the Supreme Court nor a High Court may exercise jurisdiction in relation to Tribal Areas, except otherwise provided for. The disputed regions of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan have separate court systems.
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 Supreme Court is the highest court in the Kingdom of Spain. Originally established pursuant to Title V of the Constitution of 1812 and currently regulated by Title VI of the Constitution of 1978, it has original jurisdiction over cases against high-ranking officials of the Kingdom and over cases regarding illegalization of political parties. It also has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all cases. The Court has the power of judicial review, except for the judicial revision on constitutional matters, reserved to the Constitutional Court.
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 Supreme Court of Costa Rica is the court of greater hierarchy of Law and Justice in Costa Rica.
The High Court of Justice of Galicia is the highest body and last judicial instance in the Galician jurisdiction, integrating the Spanish judiciary. Together with the Parliament of Galicia and the Galician Government, the TSXG is one of the three main institutions representing Galicia's self-government, as established and regulated by the Galician Statute of Autonomy of 1981.
The Judiciary of Spain consists of Courts and Tribunals, composed of judges and magistrates (Justices), who have the power to administer justice in the name of the King of Spain.
The High Court of Justice of Andalusia, Ceuta and Melilla, is the highest court of Andalusia, and for the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. Its seat is the former Royal Chancery of Granada. Its jurisdiction is defined by the Organic Law intended to govern the resources, procedures and distinct jurisdictional orders and to protect the laws recognized by the Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia of 2007. The TSJA has full power over all the jurisdictional orders: civil and penal Law, social law, administrative disputes, and any other orders that may be created in the future.
The superior courts of justice, or high courts of justice, are courts within the judicial system of Spain, whose territorial scope covers an autonomous community, as laid down in the Organic Law of Judicial Power.
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.
The president of the Constitutional Court of Spain is the head of the Constitutional Court, the highest body with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts of the Spanish central and regional governments. It is defined in Part IX of the Constitution of Spain, and further governed by Organic Laws 2/1979. The court is the "supreme interpreter" of the Constitution, but since the court is not a part of the Spanish Judiciary, the Supreme Court is the highest court for all judicial matters.
The President of the Supreme Court and also President of the General Council of the Judiciary of Spain is the highest judicial authority of the Kingdom of Spain and holds the representation of the judicial branch and its governing body, the CGPJ. The office of President of the Supreme Court is foreseen in the Constitution as well as giving to the president the presidency of the General Council of the Judiciary. As a parliamentary monarchy, the President of the Supreme Court is appointed by the Monarch after being nominated by the Plenary of the General Council of the Judiciary, who serves until the end of its 5-years-term, its dismissal by the GCJ or its resignation.
The High Court of Justice of Cantabria (TSJC), is the highest court of the Spanish judiciary in the Autonomous Community of Cantabria. Established pursuant to Title VIII of the Spanish Constitution, it has original jurisdiction over cases against high-ranking officials of the autonomous community and appellate jurisdiction over all cases. The TSJC decisions may be appealed to the Supreme Court. It also has entrusted the resolution of conflicts of competence between courts in Cantabria. The Court has the power of judicial review over norms with lower rank than the law of the regional administrations.
The Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela (TSJ) in exile is an institution that some, including the Organization of American States, consider to be the legitimate highest court of law in Venezuela and the head of the judicial branch, as opposed to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. It was established on 21 July 2017 following the 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis. The TSJ's 33 members have been based in Chile, Colombia, Panama, and the United States due to the political crisis in Venezuela.
Julio Márquez de Prado Pérez, was a Spanish magistrate, president of the Extremaduran Hight Court of Justice between 2004 and 2020.
