Specialized court is a type of court with limited subject-matter jurisdiction concerning particular field of law, compared to 'ordinary court' with general subject-matter jurisdiction. This concept of court usually includes administrative court or family court. [1]
Under hierarchical chain of ordinary courts compared to administrative courts in Austria, specialized court ( German : Fachgerichtsbarkeit) for specific jurisdictions, including court on cartel cases ( German : Kartellgericht) and court on employment - social welfare cases ( German : Arbeits- und Sozialgericht) are established in Vienna. [2]
Judiciary in the People's Republic of China includes the courts of special jurisdiction, translated as 'Specialized court' including matters concerning the military, national railway system and maritime disputes. [3]
In India, various types of specialized tribunals are established for each of specific matters, including offences Relating to Transactions in Securities, Atrocities against Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, consuming Narcotic Drugs, violation on NIA act, Corruption. [4] Supreme court has also setup 12 fast track special courts to exclusively deal with cases involving with MLA/MPs. [5]
The judiciary of United Kingdom includes courts and tribunals for specific subject-matter jurisdictions, such as Employment Tribunal in England and Wales and Scotland, Family Court in England and Wales. [6]
In the United States, 'specialized courts', or 'specialty courts' are courts that aim to rehabilitate generally non-violent and low-rate offenders by including specifically trained professionals pertaining to the field of specialty court. The purpose of these specialized courts is to acknowledge and handle criminal activity at the source. [7] An example of this would be "Drug Court." Drug court aims to reduce criminal activity by mandating that the offender stay clean from drugs and mandating drug treatment therapy. Traditional courts focus on what happened, decide whether the person committed a crime, and punish the person proportionately. [8] Specialized courts focus on reducing future rearrests and rehabilitation. These specialized courts usually involve the help of the prosecutor, judge, probation, law enforcement, mental health professionals, social service agencies, and relevant treatment. Some examples of different specialized courts include Adult DWI Court, Adult Drug Court, Juvenile Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Sex Trafficking Court, Domestic Violence Court, Truancy Court, and Veterans Treatment Court.
Special courts in United States can handle both civil and criminal disputes. In 2008, the first Veterans' Court was created. Of the older such courts, usually Article I tribunals, is the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces founded in 1951 which functions as an appeal court for military and economic offences. Some common forms of specialty courts include "Drug Courts," "Family Courts," "Mental Health Court," and "Traffic Courts." Drug Courts are separated into categories such as "Adult Drug Court", "Juvenile Drug Court", "DWI Court," and "Veteran's Treatment Court." [9]
Drug Court generally involves evaluating risk level and accommodating with proportionate supervision, drug testing, therapy, inpatient drug rehabilitation, and outpatient drug rehabilitation. [10] Some examples of general proportionate accommodation for offenders convicted under Drug Court would be mandated treatment under Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Addiction Treatment Centers, and specialized therapy by a substance abuse therapist. The criteria that must be met for Drug Court includes being over 18 at the time of the offense, United States citizen, guilty plea to a non-violent felony offense, no prior violent offenses, diagnosed chemical dependency, and willingness to comply with Drug Court. The purpose of drug court is to advance public safety and healthy communities by creating collaborative responses to crimes committed by individuals who suffer from chemical dependency. The argued reason for using drug court for drug offenders is that this method addresses some of the root causes of their criminal activity.
Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration.
In law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences for multiple crimes may be a concurrent sentence, where sentences of imprisonment are all served together at the same time, or a consecutive sentence, in which the period of imprisonment is the sum of all sentences served one after the other. Additional sentences include intermediate, which allows an inmate to be free for about 8 hours a day for work purposes; determinate, which is fixed on a number of days, months, or years; and indeterminate or bifurcated, which mandates the minimum period be served in an institutional setting such as a prison followed by street time period of parole, supervised release or probation until the total sentence is completed.
The Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the judicial branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Under the Basic Law of Hong Kong, it exercises the judicial power of the Region and is independent of the executive and legislative branches of the Government. The courts in Hong Kong hear and adjudicate all prosecutions and civil disputes, including all public and private law matters.
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.
Drug courts are problem-solving courts that take a public health approach to criminal offending using a specialized model in which the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, and treatment communities work together to help addicted offenders into long-term recovery. Instead of punishment, their purpose is to address one of the underlying drivers of crime and, in the process, reduce the use of imprisonment, potentially leading to substantial cost-savings. Drug courts aim to do this by incentivizing or mandating offenders into addiction treatment combined with frequent drug testing and regular monitoring by the judge.
A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probation and parole officers are employed by the government of the jurisdiction in which they operate, although some are employed by private companies that provide contracted services to the government.
A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, children who commit a crime are treated differently from legal adults that have committed the same offense.
DWI courts are a form of court that exists in some United States legal jurisdictions, that use substance-abuse interventions and treatment with defendants who plead guilty of driving while intoxicated or impaired. DUI courts may focus on repeat offenders and drivers with very high levels of blood alcohol at the time of the offense. As of December 2011, there were approximately 192 designated DUI courts in the United States, and approximately 406 drug courts that also accept DUI offenders.
The California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), previously known as the California Youth Authority (CYA), is a division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that provides education, training, and treatment services for California's most serious youth offenders. These youths are committed by the juvenile and criminal courts to DJJ's eleven correctional facilities, four conservation camps and two residential drug treatment programs. The DJJ provides services to juvenile offenders, ranging in age from twelve to 25, in facilities and on parole, and works closely with law enforcement, the courts, district attorneys, public defenders, probation offices and other public and private agencies involved with the problems of youth. The DJJ is undergoing reorganization as required by a court agreement and the California State Legislature after widespread criticisms of conditions at its youth prisons. The agency's headquarters are in Sacramento, California.
The American juvenile justice system is the primary system used to handle minors who are convicted of criminal offenses. The system is composed of a federal and many separate state, territorial, and local jurisdictions, with states and the federal government sharing sovereign police power under the common authority of the United States Constitution. The juvenile justice system intervenes in delinquent behavior through police, court, and correctional involvement, with the goal of rehabilitation. Youth and their guardians can face a variety of consequences including probation, community service, youth court, youth incarceration and alternative schooling. The juvenile justice system, similar to the adult system, operates from a belief that intervening early in delinquent behavior will deter adolescents from engaging in criminal behavior as adults.
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 British Raj, with influence of medieval-era local 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 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.
Forensic psychotherapy is the application of psychological knowledge to the treatment of offender-patients who commit violent acts against themselves or others. This form of treatment allows for a therapist to potentially understand the offender and their mental state. It gives the individual providing treatment the opportunity to examine further whether the offender’s criminal behavior was a conscious act or not, what exactly their association with violent behavior is, and what possible motives could have driven them. The discipline of forensic psychotherapy is one that requires the involvement of individuals other than simply the therapist and patient. A therapist may collaborate with other professionals, such as physicians, social workers, and other psychologists in order to best serve the offenders’ needs. Whether the treatment is successful or not relies on a multitude of things, but typically ensuring that a systemic approach is taken and that all involved in the treatment process are well informed and supportive has proven to be the most effective. In addition to group work, forensic psychotherapy may also involve therapeutic communities, individual interaction with victims as well as offenders, and family work. In order for this specialized therapy to be as effective as possible, it demands the compliance of not only the patient and therapist, but of the rest of society as well. The main focus of forensic psychotherapy is to obtain a psychodynamic understanding of the offender in order to attempt to provide them with an effective form of treatment. Guidelines have been set to ensure proficiency in the field of Forensic Psychology.
A diversion program, also known as a pretrial diversion program or pretrial intervention program, in the criminal justice system is a form of pretrial sentencing that helps remedy behavior leading to the arrest. Administered by the judicial or law enforcement systems, they often allow the offender to avoid conviction and include a rehabilitation program to prevent future criminal acts. Availability and the operation of such systems differ in different countries.
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 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.
Trial as an adult is a situation in which a juvenile offender is tried as if they were an adult, whereby they may receive a longer or more serious sentence than would otherwise be possible if they were charged as a juvenile.
The Judiciary of Brazil is the group of public entities designated by the Brazilian constitution to carry out the country's judicial functions.
A rehabilitation policy within criminology, is one intending to reform criminals rather than punish them and/or segregate them from the greater community.
The Public Defender Service (PDS) for the District of Columbia provides legal defense to individuals on a court-appointed basis for criminal and delinquency cases indigent adult and juvenile defendants/ respondents. Its Mental Health Division provides representation to persons facing involuntary civil commitment based on allegations that the person is a danger to self or others as a result of mental illness. Its parole division represents parolees charged with violating parole and facing revocation before the United States Parole Commission. PDS also provides other legal-related services in DC.
