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The judiciary of Luxembourg comprises a number of courts.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2013) |
The judiciary of Luxembourg comprises a number of courts.
As a consequence of the separation of powers, cases against individual persons and cases involving the state are treated in two separate jurisdictions. In Luxembourg, a further distinction is generally made between the private, social, administrative and military jurisdictions: [1]
The Constitutional Court is responsible for questions over a law's compatibility with the constitution, regardless of jurisdiction.
The Court is composed as follows:
There are 3 Justices of the Peace, one in the city of Luxembourg, one in Esch-Alzette and one in Diekirch. Each is composed of several judges of the peace, and includes the Peace Tribunal, the Police Tribunal (criminal matters), and the Employment Tribunal (employment matters).
The Peace Tribunal is the first instance for civil and commercial disputes over amounts under 10,000 Euros, with some exceptions. It also deals with cases which have a value greater than 10,000€, in the following instances:
The following are not in its jurisdiction, even if the amount in dispute is under 10,000 Euros:
The Police Tribunal, under a Police Judge (juge de police), deals with infractions.
The Employment Tribunal is composed of the president (a Judge of the Peace) and two assessors, nominated by the trade bodies of the employees and employers respectively. Judgements of the Peace Tribunal and Police Tribunal may be appealed to the District Tribunals; judgements of the Employment Tribunal are appealed to the Court of Appeals.
There are 2 District Tribunals, one for the judicial district of Luxembourg and one for the judicial district of Diekirch. while the District Tribunal is the first instance for matters with a disputed amount above that, the District Tribunal (in its correctional and criminal chambers) deals with delicts and crimes. Judgements of the District Tribunals are appealed to the Court of Appeal.
The Superior Court, which comprises the Court of Appeal and Court of Cassation, is based in Luxembourg and has jurisdiction over the whole country....
Appeals are made to the Court of Cassation.
Through a law passed in 1996, with effect from 1997, the Council of State's responsibility for administrative law was taken away and made an autonomous jurisdiction. Since then, the Council of State has only retained its role of giving advice to the Chamber of Deputies.
Everyone has the right to bring their dispute to a court and receive a decision. Those who do not have the funds to afford a lawyer, may apply for Assistance judiciaire and have a lawyer provided by the state.
The principle of "double degré de juridiction" applies, which means that every matter may be abjudicated twice, both in facts as well as in law. Therefore, there are always two instances in Luxembourgish courts. However, for disputes over small amounts, the first instance may also be the last instance, with no avenue of appealing, except by making an application to the Court of Cassation: up to 2,000 euros before the Peace Tribunal, up to 1,250€ before the Employment Tribunal, before the District Tribunal in cases where it has exclusive competence, and before the Arbitration Council for Social Security. The Court of Cassation is not a third instance, as it does not judge the facts, only the correct application of the law.
Judges are to remain impartial and independent, and the organisation of the courts must provide the necessary guarantees that so that there can be no doubt about the impartiality and independence (for example, a judge from the first instance may not sit in the second instance; judges may not adjudicate a case if they know the parties, may not exercise certain additional occupations or incompatible functions, and may not ask the executive about the interpretation of a law).
Court sessions and announcements of verdicts must be public. This principle is to provide a transparent justice system, and a further guarantee of impartiality. In exceptional cases, a court session may take place behind closed doors, as for example with witness statements by minors.
Cases must receive a verdict within a reasonable delay. Luxembourg has in the past been disciplined by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg under Article 6 of European Convention of Human Rights, and has been called on to provide a court system where judges, as well as parties, cannot make a case drag on for years.
Court sessions are presided over by a judge, who may sit alone or collegially. One judge sits in the Justices of the Peace, 3 in the District Tribunals, 3 in the Court of Appeals and in the social and administrative jurisdictions, and 5 in the Court of Cassation and Constitutional Court. When multiple judges sit, verdicts are always taken by an absolute majority.
The prosecution is represented in the courts by the Parquet and the Parquet géneral at the Superior Court.
Judges are aided by court clerks (greffiers). During judicial recesses from 16 July to 15 September, and two weeks for Easter, the court service continues work, but in reduced form, with few sittings.
The Court of Cassation is one of the four courts of last resort in France. It has jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters triable in the judicial system, and is the supreme court of appeal in these cases. It has jurisdiction to review the law, and to certify questions of law, to determine miscarriages of justice. The Court is located in the Palace of Justice in Paris.
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 as "tribunals" are described so in order 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, in 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." The word tribunal, however, is not conclusive of a body's function—for example, in Great Britain, the Employment Appeal Tribunal is a superior court of record.
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 not citizens of the other 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 judicial system of Turkey is defined by Articles 138 to 160 of the Constitution of Turkey.
The judicial system of Greece is the country's constitutionally established system of courts.
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most 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.
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 Court of Quebec is a court of first instance in the Province of Quebec, Canada.
The tribunals of first instance are the main trial courts in the judicial system of Belgium. The tribunals of first instance are courts of general jurisdiction; in the sense that they have original jurisdiction over all types of cases not explicitly attributed to other courts. They handle a wide range of civil cases, criminal cases, and cases under the scope of juvenile law and family law. They also hear appeals against the judgements of the police tribunals and justices of the peace. The judgements of the tribunals of first instance can be appealed to the courts of appeal in turn. There is a tribunal of first instance for each of the twelve judicial arrondissements ("districts") of Belgium, except for the arrondissement of Brussels. The arrondissement of Brussels has two tribunals of first instance, a Dutch-speaking one and a French-speaking one, due to the sensitive linguistical situation in the area. The territories of the current judicial arrondissements largely coincide with those of the provinces of Belgium. Most of the tribunals of first instance have multiple geographical divisions, with each having their own seat. As of 2020, the 13 tribunals of first instance have 27 seats in total. Further below, an overview is provided of all seats of the tribunals of first instance per arrondissement.
The police tribunal is the traffic court and trial court which tries minor contraventions in the judicial system of Belgium. It is the lowest Belgian court with criminal jurisdiction. There is a police tribunal for each judicial arrondissement ("district"), except for Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde, where there are multiple police tribunals due to the area's sensitive linguistic situation. Most of them hear cases in multiple seats per arrondissement. As of 2018, there are 15 police tribunals in total, who hear cases in 38 seats. Further below, an overview is provided of all seats of the police tribunal per judicial arrondissement.
The courts of appeal are the main appellate courts in the judicial system of Belgium, which hear appeals against judgements of the tribunals of first instance, the enterprise tribunals and the presidents of those tribunals in their judicial area. There are five courts of appeal for each of the five judicial areas, which are the largest geographical subdivisions of Belgium for judicial purposes. The division of the Belgian territory into the five judicial areas is laid down in article 156 of the Belgian Constitution. A judicial area covers multiple judicial arrondissements ("districts"), except for the judicial area of Mons. Each arrondissement has a tribunal of first instance. Further below, an overview is provided of the five courts of appeal and the judicial arrondissements their judicial area covers. It is important to note that the courts of appeal do not hear appeals against judgements of the labour tribunals; these are heard by the courts of labour.
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 justice of the peace is the small claims court in the judicial system of Belgium, and stands at the bottom of the Belgian judicial hierarchy. There is a justice of the peace for each judicial canton, which is the smallest geographical subdivision of Belgium for judicial purposes. Most judicial cantons cover multiple municipalities, except in the case of larger towns and cities, which are often divided into multiple judicial cantons. A judicial canton has an average population of 50,000 to 60,000 people, but some have a population as low as 30,000 people or as high as 100,000 people. The justices of the peace only have jurisdiction over their own canton. As of 2017, there are 187 cantons with as many justices of the peace in Belgium, who hear cases in 229 seats.
The judiciary of Italy is a system of courts that interpret and apply the law in the Italian Republic. In Italy, judges are public officials and, since they exercise one of the sovereign powers of the State, only Italian citizens are eligible for judgeship. In order to become a judge, applicants must obtain a degree of higher education as well as pass written and oral examinations. However, most training and experience is gained through the judicial organization itself. The potential candidates then work their way up from the bottom through promotions.
The judiciary of Belgium is similar to the French judiciary. Belgium evolved from a unitary to a federal state, but its judicial system has not been adapted to a federal system.
In France, the tribunal de commerce are the oldest courts in the French judicial organization. They were created at the end of the Middle Ages.
The Judiciary of the Netherlands is the system of courts which interprets and applies the law in the Netherlands.
In France, a cour d’appel of the ordre judiciaire (judiciary) is a juridiction de droit commun du second degré, a. It examines judgements, for example from the correctional tribunal or a tribunal de grande instance. When one of the parties is not satisfied with the verdict, it can appeal. While communications from jurisdictions of first instance are termed "judgements", or judgments, a court of appeal renders an arrêt (verdict), which may either uphold or annul the initial judgment. A verdict of the court of appeal may be further appealed en cassation. If the appeal is admissible at the cour de cassation, that court does not re-judge the facts of the matter a third time, but may investigate and verify whether the rules of law were properly applied by the lower courts.
The Supreme Court of the Dominican Republic is the highest court existing in the Republic and is, therefore, the head of the judiciary in the country.
In France the jurisdictions of the ordre judiciaire, of the French court system are empowered to try either litigation between persons or criminal law cases. They may intervene: