Supreme Council of the Magistracy (provided for in the
constitution and formed in December 1997); Supreme Court (and lower
courts) exercises judicial authority
Cameroon
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); High
Court of Justice (consists of nine judges and six substitute judges;
elected by the National Assembly)
Canada
Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime
minister through the governor general); Federal Court of Canada;
Federal Court of Appeal; Provincial Courts (these are named
variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court,
Supreme Court, and Court of Justice)
Cape Verde
Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Supremo Tribunal de Justia
Cayman Islands
Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal; Summary
Court
Central African Republic
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme;
Constitutional Court (three judges appointed by the president, three
by the president of the National Assembly, and three by fellow
judges); Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Inferior Courts
Chad
Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate
Courts
Chile
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the
president and ratified by the Senate from lists of candidates
provided by the court itself; the president of the Supreme Court is
elected every three years by the 20-member court); Constitutional
Tribunal (eight-members - two each from the Senate, Chamber of
Deputies, Supreme Court, and National Security Council - review the
constitutionality of laws approved by Congress)
China
Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National
People's Congress); Local People's Courts (comprise higher,
intermediate, and basic courts); Special People's Courts (primarily
military, maritime, railway transportation, and forestry courts)
Christmas Island
Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court
Colombia
four roughly coequal, supreme judicial organs; Supreme
Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (highest court of
criminal law; judges are selected by their peers from the nominees
of the Superior Judicial Council for eight-year terms); Council of
State (highest court of administrative law; judges are selected from
the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council for eight-year terms);
Constitutional Court (guards integrity and supremacy of the
constitution; rules on constitutionality of laws, amendments to the
constitution, and international treaties); Superior Judicial Council
(administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; resolves
jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are
elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms)
Comoros
Supreme Court or Cour Supremes (two members appointed by the
president, two members elected by the Federal Assembly, one elected
by the Council of each island, and others are former presidents of
the republic)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Constitutional Court; Appeals
Court or Cour de Cassation; Council of State; High Military Court;
plus civil and military courts and tribunals
Congo, Republic of the
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Cook Islands
High Court
Costa Rica
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected
for renewable eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly)
Cote d'Ivoire
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consists of four
chambers: Judicial Chamber for criminal cases, Audit Chamber for
financial cases, Constitutional Chamber for judicial review cases,
and Administrative Chamber for civil cases; there is no legal limit
to the number of members
Croatia
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts
are appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the
Republic, which is elected by the Assembly
Cuba
People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president,
vice president, and other judges are elected by the National
Assembly)
Cyprus
Supreme Court (judges are appointed jointly by the president
and vice president)
note: there is also a Supreme Court in the area administered by
Turkish Cypriots
Czech Republic
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and
deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term
Denmark
Supreme Court (judges are appointed for life by the monarch)
Djibouti
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Dominica
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the Court of
Appeal and the High Court (located in Saint Lucia; one of the six
judges must reside in Dominica and preside over the Court of Summary
Jurisdiction)
Dominican Republic
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are
appointed by the National Judicial Council comprised of the
president, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the president
of the Supreme Court, and an additional non-governing party
congressional representative)
Ecuador
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (according to the
Constitution, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; in
December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire
court by a simple majority resolution)
Egypt
Supreme Constitutional Court
El Salvador
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (15 judges are selected
by the Legislative Assembly; the 15 judges are assigned to four
Supreme Court chambers - constitutional, civil, penal, and
administrative conflict)
Equatorial Guinea
Supreme Tribunal
Eritrea
High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also
have military and special courts
Estonia
Supreme Court (chairman appointed for life by Parliament)
Ethiopia
Federal Supreme Court (the president and vice president of
the Federal Supreme Court are recommended by the prime minister and
appointed by the House of People's Representatives; for other
federal judges, the prime minister submits to the House of People's
Representatives for appointment candidates selected by the Federal
Judicial Administrative Council)
European Union
Court of Justice of the European Communities (ensures
that the treaties are interpreted and applied uniformly throughout
the EU; resolve constitutional issues among the EU institutions) -
27 justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year
term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 13
justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 27
justices appointed for a six-year term
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Supreme Court (chief justice is a
nonresident); Magistrates Court (senior magistrate presides over
civil and criminal divisions); Court of Summary Jurisdiction
Faroe Islands
none
Fiji
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of
Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts
Finland
Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the
president)
France
Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation (judges are
appointed by the president from nominations of the High Council of
the Judiciary); Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel
(three members appointed by the president, three appointed by the
president of the National Assembly, and three appointed by the
president of the Senate); Council of State or Conseil d'Etat
French Polynesia
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Court of the First
Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative
Law or Tribunal Administratif
Gabon
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers -
Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts
of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts
Gambia, The
Supreme Court
Georgia
Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the
president's or chairman of the Supreme Court's recommendation);
Constitutional Court; first and second instance courts
Germany
Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht
(half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the
Bundesrat)
Ghana
Supreme Court
Gibraltar
Supreme Court; Court of Appeal
Greece
Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges
are appointed for life by the president after consultation with a
judicial council
Greenland
High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre
Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in
Copenhagen)
Grenada
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of a court of
Appeal and a High Court of Justice (two High Court judges are
assigned to and reside in Grenada); Itinerant Court of Appeal three
judges; member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)
Guam
Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president);
Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by
the governor)
Guatemala
Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitucionalidad is
Guatemala's highest court (five judges are elected for concurrent
five-year terms); Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de
Justicia (13 members serve concurrent five-year terms and elect a
president of the Court each year from among their number; the
president of the Supreme Court of Justice also supervises trial
judges around the country, who are named to five-year terms)
Guernsey
Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the
bailiff)
Guinea
Court of First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance;
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Guinea-Bissau
Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists
of nine justices appointed by the president and serve at his
pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases);
Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals
for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases
valued at more than $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not
necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases valued at less
than $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases)
Guyana
Supreme Court of Judicature, consisting of the High Court and
the Court of Appeal, with right of final appeal to the Caribbean
Court of Justice (CCJ)
Haiti
Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation
Holy See (Vatican City)
there are three tribunals responsible for
civil and criminal matters within Vatican City; three other
tribunals rule on issues pertaining to the Holy See
note: judicial duties were established by the Motu Proprio of Pope
PIUS XII on 1 May 1946
Honduras
Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15
judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress)
Hong Kong
Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region
Hungary
Constitutional Court (judges are elected by the National
Assembly for nine-year terms)
Iceland
Supreme Court or Haestirettur (justices are appointed for
life by the Minister of Justice); eight district courts (justices
are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice)
India
Supreme Court (one chief justice and 25 associate justices are
appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the
age of 65 or are removed for "proved misbehavior")
Indonesia
Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung is the final court of
appeal but does not have the power of judicial review (justices are
appointed by the president from a list of candidates selected by the
legislature); in March 2004 the Supreme Court assumed administrative
and financial responsibility for the lower court system from the
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; Constitutional Court or
Mahkamah Konstitusi (invested by the president on 16 August 2003)
has the power of judicial review, jurisdiction over the results of a
general election, and reviews actions to dismiss a president from
office; Labor Court under supervision of Supreme Court began
functioning in January 2006; the Anti-Corruption Court has
jurisdiction over corruption cases brought by the independent
Corruption Eradication Commission; in 2006, the Constitutional Court
declared the mechanism by which the Anti-Corruption Court was
established unconstitutional and gave the parliament until the end
of 2009 to pass Anti-Corruption Court legislation
Iran
The Supreme Court (Qeveh Qazaieh) and the four-member High
Council of the Judiciary have a single head and overlapping
responsibilities; together they supervise the enforcement of all
laws and establish judicial and legal policies; lower courts include
a special clerical court, a revolutionary court, and a special
administrative court
Iraq
the Iraq Constitution calls for the federal judicial power to
be comprised of the Higher Judicial Council, Federal Supreme Court,
Federal Court of Cassation, Public Prosecution Department, Judiciary
Oversight Commission and other federal courts that are regulated in
accordance with the law
Ireland
Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the
advice of the prime minister and cabinet)
Isle of Man
High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the
Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant
governor)
Israel
Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection
Committee - made up of all three branches of the government;
mandatory retirement age is 70)
Italy
Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (composed of 15
judges: one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by
parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative
Supreme Courts)
Jamaica
Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on
the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Privy Council in
UK; member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)
Japan
Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after
designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the
cabinet)
Jersey
Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the
bailiff)
Jordan
Court of Cassation (Supreme Court)
Kazakhstan
Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (seven
members)
Kenya
Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president);
High Court
Kiribati
Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges
at all levels are appointed by the president
Korea, North
Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme
People's Assembly)
Korea, South
Supreme Court (justices appointed by the president with
consent of National Assembly); Constitutional Court (justices
appointed by the president based partly on nominations by National
Assembly and Chief Justice of the court)
Kosovo
Supreme Court; district courts; municipal courts
note: the Kosovo Constitution dictates that the Supreme Court of
Kosovo is the highest judicial authority, and provides for a Kosovo
Judicial Council (KJC) that proposes to the president candidates for
appointment or reappointment as judges and prosecutors; the KJC is
also responsible for decisions on the promotion and transfer of
judges and disciplinary proceedings against judges; at least 15
percent of Supreme Court and district court judges shall be from
non-majority communities
Kuwait
High Court of Appeal
Kyrgyzstan
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (judges of both the
Supreme and Constitutional Courts are appointed for 10-year terms by
the Jorgorku Kengesh on the recommendation of the president; their
mandatory retirement age is 70 years); Higher Court of Arbitration;
Local Courts (judges appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the National Council on Legal Affairs for a
probationary period of five years, then 10 years)
Laos
People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme
Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of
the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the
People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National
Assembly Standing Committee)
Latvia
Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by
parliament); Constitutional Court (judges' appointments are
confirmed by parliament)
Lebanon
four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and
commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional
Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of
laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and
prime minister as needed)
Lesotho
High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on
the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate
Courts; customary or traditional court
Liberia
Supreme Court
Libya
Supreme Court
Liechtenstein
Supreme Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Court of Appeal
or Obergericht
Lithuania
Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal;
judges for all courts appointed by the president
Luxembourg
judicial courts and tribunals (three Justices of the
Peace, two district courts, and one Supreme Court of Appeals);
administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office,
administrative courts and tribunals, and the Constitutional Court);
judges for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch
Macau
Court of Final Appeal in Macau Special Administrative Region
Macedonia
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; Republican Judicial
Council
note: the Assembly appoints the judges
Madagascar
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Constitutional Court
or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle
Malawi
Supreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed
by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the
Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts
Malaysia
Civil Courts include Federal Court, Court of Appeal, High
Court of Malaya on peninsula Malaysia, and High Court of Sabah and
Sarawak in states of Borneo (judges are appointed by the king on the
advice of the prime minister); Sharia Courts include Sharia Appeal
Court, Sharia High Court, and Sharia Subordinate Courts at
state-level and deal with religious and family matters such as
custody, divorce, and inheritance only for Muslims; decisions of
Sharia courts cannot be appealed to civil courts
Maldives
Supreme Court; Supreme Court judges are appointed by the
president with approval of voting members of the People's Council;
High Court; Trial Courts; all lower court judges are appointed by
the Judicial Service Commission
Mali
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Malta
Constitutional Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts
are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister
Marshall Islands
Supreme Court; High Court; Traditional Rights Court
Mauritania
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower
courts
Mauritius
Supreme Court
Mayotte
Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel
Mexico
Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la
Nacion (justices or ministros are appointed by the president with
consent of the Senate)
Micronesia, Federated States of
Supreme Court
Moldova
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for
constitutional judicature)
Monaco
Supreme Court or Tribunal Supreme (judges appointed by the
monarch on the basis of nominations by the National Council)
Mongolia
Supreme Court (serves as appeals court for people's and
provincial courts but rarely overturns verdicts of lower courts;
judges are nominated by the General Council of Courts and approved
by the president)
Montenegro
Constitutional Court (five judges with nine-year terms);
Supreme Court (judges have life tenure)
Montserrat
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia,
one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and
presides over the High Court)
Morocco
Supreme Court (judges are appointed on the recommendation of
the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, presided over by the monarch)
Mozambique
Supreme Court (the court of final appeal; some of its
professional judges are appointed by the president, and some are
elected by the Assembly); other courts include an Administrative
Court, Constitutional Court, customs courts, maritime courts, courts
marshal, labor courts
Namibia
Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission)
Nauru
Supreme Court
Nepal
Supreme Court or Sarbochha Adalat (the president appoints the
chief justice is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the
Constitutional Council; the chief justice appoints other judges on
the recommendation of the Judicial Council)
Netherlands
Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for
life by the monarch)
Netherlands Antilles
Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed
by the monarch)
New Caledonia
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint
Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court
New Zealand
Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; High Court; note -
judges appointed by the governor general
Nicaragua
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (16 judges
elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly)
Niger
State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel
Nigeria
Supreme Court (judges recommended by the National Judicial
Council and appointed by the president); Federal Court of Appeal
(judges are appointed by the federal government from a pool of
judges recommended by the National Judicial Council)
Niue
Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue
Norfolk Island
Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions
Northern Mariana Islands
Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court;
Federal District Court
Norway
Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (justices appointed by the
monarch)
Oman
Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has
judges who practice secular and Sharia law
Pakistan
Supreme Court (justices appointed by the president);
Federal Islamic or Sharia Court
Palau
Supreme Court; Court of Common Pleas; Land Court
Panama
Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine
judges appointed for 10-year terms); five superior courts; three
courts of appeal
Papua New Guinea
Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by
the governor general on the proposal of the National Executive
Council after consultation with the minister responsible for
justice; other judges are appointed by the Judicial and Legal
Services Commission)
Paraguay
Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine
judges appointed on the proposal of the Council of Magistrates or
Consejo de la Magistratura)
Peru
Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges
are appointed by the National Council of the Judiciary)
Philippines
Supreme Court (15 justices are appointed by the
president on the recommendation of the Judicial and Bar Council and
serve until 70 years of age); Court of Appeals; Sandigan-bayan
(special court for hearing corruption cases of government officials)
Pitcairn Islands
Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal;
judicial officers are appointed by the governor
Poland
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an
indefinite period); Constitutional Tribunal (judges are chosen by
the Sejm for nine-year terms)
Portugal
Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal de Justica); judges
appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura
Puerto Rico
Supreme Court; Appellate Court; Court of First Instance
composed of two sections: a Superior Court and a Municipal Court
(justices for all these courts appointed by the governor with the
consent of the Senate)
Qatar
Courts of First Instance, Appeal, and Cassation; an
Administrative Court and a Constitutional Court were established in
2007; note - all judges are appointed by Amiri Decree based on the
recommendation of the Supreme Judiciary Council for renewable
three-year terms