| Field Listing :: Judicial branch |
| This entry contains the name(s) of the highest court(s) and a brief description of the selection process for members. | |
Country |
Judicial branch |
|---|
| Afghanistan |
highest courts: Supreme Court or Stera Mahkama; consists of 9 judges
judge selection & term of office: justices appointed by the president with the endorsement of the Wolesi Jirga; justices serve non-renewable 10-year terms subordinate courts: Cassation and sharia |
| Akrotiri | The Court headed by a resident judge and senior judges from the UK as needed; note - the laws of the Sovereign Base Areas are kept as close as possible to the laws of the Republic of Cyprus; concerned with non-military offenses by any person within Akrotiri and Dhekalia |
| Albania | Constitutional Court consists of 9 members appointed by the president with the consent of the Assembly who serve 9-year terms (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term); the High Court members appointed by the president with the consent of the Assembly for a 9-year term; note - there are also courts of appeal and courts of first instance |
| Algeria | Supreme Court (or High Court) regulates activities of courts and tribunals; Council of State regulates body of activities of the administrative jurisdictions; Tribunal of Conflicts settles conflicts between the Supreme Court and the Tribunal of Conflicts |
| American Samoa | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior); note - the High Court (or Supreme Court) is the highest court in America Samoa; there is no U.S. federal court there |
| Andorra |
higher judicial bodies: Supreme Council of Justice or Consell Superior de la Justicia (coprinces appoint the members); oversees and administers the entire justice system; Supreme Court of Justice of Andorra or Tribunal Superior de Justicia d'Andorra (5 members)
three lower courts: Tribunal of Judges or Tribunal de Batlles; Tribunal of the Courts or Tribunal de Corts; Constitutional Tribunal or Tribunal Constitucional (coprinces appoint the members) note: all judges elected for a 6-year term renewable term |
| Angola | Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional; Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo; Court of Auditions or Tribunal de Contas; Supreme Military Court or Supremo Tribunal Militar; judges for all courts appointed by the president |
| Anguilla | High Court (judge provided by Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court) |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court consisting of a High Court of Justice and a Court of Appeal (based in Saint Lucia; two judges of the Supreme Court are residents of the islands and preside over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction); Magistrates' Courts; member of the Caribbean Court of Justice |
| Argentina |
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval of the Senate)
note: the Supreme Court has seven judges; the Argentine Congress in 2006 passed a bill to gradually reduce the number of Supreme Court judges to five |
| Armenia | Constitutional Court; Court of Cassation (Appeals Court) |
| Aruba | Common Court of Justice, Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) |
| Australia | High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general acting on the advice of the government) |
| Austria | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof |
| Azerbaijan | Constitutional Court the president proposes judges of all the courts to the Parliament which appoints them; Supreme Court; Economic Court |
| Bahamas, The | Privy Council in London; Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; Magistrates' Courts |
| Bahrain | High Civil Appeals Court |
| Bangladesh | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) |
| Barbados | Supreme Court of Judicature consists of a High Court and a Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services); Caribbean Court of Justice or CCJ is the highest court of appeal; based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Belarus | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives) |
| Belgium | Constitutional Court (12 judges, 6 Dutch-speaking and 6 French-speaking, appointed by the King); Supreme Court of Justice or Hof van Cassatie (in Dutch) or Cour de Cassation (in French) (judges are appointed for life by the government; candidacies have to be submitted by the High Justice Council) |
| Belize | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Privy Council in the UK; member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ); Summary Jurisdiction Courts (criminal) and District Courts (civil jurisdiction) |
| Benin | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle (7 members; 4 appointed by the National Assembly, 3 appointed by the President; appointed for a 5-year term for one term); Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (President of the Supreme Court appointed by the President for a 5-year term); High Court of Justice (composed of members of the Constitutional Court and 6 members appointed by the National Assembly) |
| Bermuda | Supreme Court (Chief Justice and other justices appointed by the governor; remain in office until they reach 65 years of age); Court of Appeal (President of the Court of Appeal and other justices appointed by the governor for a specific period laid out in their respective instruments of appointment); Magistrate Courts |
| Bhutan | Supreme Court of Appeal (the monarch); High Court (judges appointed by the monarch); note - the draft constitution establishes a Supreme Court that will serve as chief court of appeal |
| Bolivia | Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms); Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal (seven primary or titulares and seven alternate or suplente magistrates elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms; to rule on constitutional issues (at least two candidates must be indigenous)); Agro-Environmental Court (judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms; to run on agro-environmental issues); Council of the Judiciary (five judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms; to rule on ethical and administrative issues in the judiciary); Plurinational Electoral Organ (seven members elected by the Assembly and the president-one member must be of indigenous origin-to six-year terms); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases); District Courts (one in each department) |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
BiH Constitutional Court (consists of nine members: four members are selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the European Court of Human Rights); BiH State Court (consists of 44 national judges and seven international judges and has three divisions - Administrative, Appellate and Criminal - having jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and cases initiated in the entities that question BiH's sovereignty, political independence, or national security or with economic crimes that have serious repercussions to BiH's economy, beyond that of an entity or Brcko District); a War Crimes Chamber opened in March 2005
note: the entities each have a Constitutional Court; each entity also has a number of lower courts; there are 10 cantonal courts in the Federation, plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has five district courts and a number of municipal courts |
| Botswana | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) |
| Brazil | Supreme Federal Tribunal or STF (11 ministers are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate); Superior Tribunal of Justice or STJ; Superior Electoral Tribunal or TSE; Regional Federal Tribunals (judges are appointed for life); note - though appointed "for life," judges, like all federal employees, have a mandatory retirement age of 70 |
| British Virgin Islands | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
| Brunei | Supreme Court - chief justice and judges are sworn in by monarch for three-year terms; Judicial Committee of Privy Council in London is final court of appeal for civil cases; Sharia courts deal with Islamic laws (2006) |
| Bulgaria | independent judiciary comprised of judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates who are appointed, promoted, demoted, and dismissed by a 25-member Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 members, half of whom are elected by the National Assembly and the other half by the bodies of the judiciary for a 5-year term in office); three levels of case review; 182 courts of which two Supreme Courts act as the last instance on civil and criminal cases (the Supreme Court of Cassation) and appeals of government decisions (the Supreme Administrative Court) |
| Burkina Faso | Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Council of State or Conseil d'Etat; Court of Accounts or la Cour des Comptes; Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel |
| Burma | remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive; the 2011 constitution calls for a Supreme Court, a Courts-Martial, and a Constitutional Tribunal of the Union |
| Burundi | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; High Court of Justice (composed of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court) |
| Cambodia | 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 governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister); Federal Court of Canada; Federal Court of Appeal; Tax Court of Canada; Provincial/Territorial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queen's Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice) |
| Cape Verde | Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Supremo Tribunal de Justia; Court of Audit; Military Courts; Fiscal and Customs Courts |
| 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; Constitutional Council; High Court of Justice; 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 presidents, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly) |
| Curacao | Common Court of Justice, Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) |
| Cyprus |
Supreme Court (judges are appointed jointly by the president and vice president); subordinate courts
note: there is also a "Supreme Court" in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots |
| Czech Republic | Supreme Court; judges are appointed by the president for an unlimited term; Constitutional Court; 15 judges are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for a 10-year term; Supreme Administrative Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term; judges are appointed by the president for an unlimited term |
| Denmark | Supreme Court (judges are appointed for life by the monarch) |
| Dhekelia | see Akrotiri |
| Djibouti | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court |
| Dominica | Magistrates Court, a Court of Summary Jurisdiction, and the 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 | National Court of Justice or Corte Nacional de Justicia (according to the Constitution, justices are elected through a procedure overseen by the Judiciary Council); Constitutional Court or Corte Constitucional (Constitutional Court justices are appointed by a commission composed of two delegates each from the Executive, Legislative, and Transparency branches of government) |
| Egypt | Court of Cassation (final court of appeal in civil and criminal cases); State Council (head of court system administration); Supreme Constitutional Court (jurisdiction limited to constitutionality of laws) |
| 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 | Supreme Court; Regional, subregional, and village 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 Union (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied uniformly throughout the EU, resolves disputed issues among the EU institutions, issues opinions on questions of EU law referred by member state courts) - 27 judges (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - the court can sit in chambers, in a "Grand Chamber" of 13 judges, or as the full court; General Court (a court below the Court of Justice) - 27 judges appointed for a six-year term; Civil Service Tribunal - 7 judges appointed for a three-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 | The Faroese Court or Raett (Rett (Danish)) decides both civil and criminal cases; the Court is part of the Danish legal system |
| Fiji | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts |
| Finland | general courts - deal with criminal and civil cases (include district courts, Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus, whose judges are appointed by the president); administrative courts |
| 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); Federal Court of Justice; Federal Administrative Court |
| Ghana | Supreme Court; High Court; Court of Appeal; regional tribunals |
| Gibraltar | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
| Greece | Supreme Civil and Criminal Court; all judges are appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council; Supreme Administrative Court and Court of Auditors; Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance |
| Greenland | High Court or Eggartuussisuuneqarfia (Landsret) (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) |
| Grenada | local Magistrate's Courts handle limited criminal and civil matters; 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); Supreme Court of Guam (hears appeals from Superior Court - judges appointed by governor); 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 and five alternate judges are elected by Congress for concurrent five-year terms); Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (13 members are elected by Congress to 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 | Constitutional Court; 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, papal directive, 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, High Court (Court of Appeal and the Court of the First Instance), district courts, magistrates' courts, and other special courts |
| Hungary | Constitutional Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly for nine-year terms); Curia (highest court; head of Curia elected by National Assembly, the other judges elected by the president on recommendation of the head of the National Office of the Courts, a separate administrative body); Regional Courts of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president) |
| Iceland | Supreme Court or Haestirettur (justices are appointed for life by the president); eight district courts (justices are appointed for life by the president) |
| 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; anti-corruption courts have jurisdiction over corruption cases brought by the independent Corruption Eradication Commission |
| 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 (Court of Final Appeal) (judges appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet); Courts of First Instance (includes High Court) |
| 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); Supreme Court of Cassation or Corte Suprema di Cassazione |
| 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); Court of Appeal of Jersey |
| 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; note - the constitution promulgated in August 2010 specifies three superior courts consisting of a Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and High Court, and three subordinate courts consisting of Magistrate courts, Kadhis courts (sentences according to Muslim law), and Courts Martial |
| 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; Appellate Court; basic courts; Constitutional Court
note: the Law on Courts, which went into effect on 1 January 2011, provided for a reorganization of the court system; 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 Jogorku 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, People's Provincial and Municipal Courts, People's District Courts, and Military Courts
note: 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 | Constitutional Council (rules on the constitutionality of laws); Judicial Council (for politically sensitive and serious criminal cases); Supreme Council (for charges against the president and prime minister as needed); Courts of Cassation (3 for civil and commercial cases and 1 for criminal cases); judicial courts (for first instance civil, commercial, and criminal cases); administrative courts (for issues arising from decisions issued by the state or its branches); religious courts (for issues of personal status, family; Lebanon recognizes 18 religous denominations); military courts (for issues related to military and national security) |
| 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 courts |
| Liberia | Supreme Court |
| Libya | NA |
| Liechtenstein | Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgericht; 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, with Seimas approval required for judges on the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court |
| Luxembourg | Constitutional Court; judicial courts and tribunals (Superior Court of Justice includes Court of Appeal and Court of Cassation, 2 district tribunals, 3 lesser tribunals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office, Administrative Tribunal and Administrative 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; Judicial Council
note: the Judicial Council appoints all basic, appellate, and supreme court judges; Legislative Assembly appoints Constitutional Court 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 First Instance; Court of Appeal
note: magistrates and judges for the 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 |
| 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); Constitutional Court (this independent court resolves disputes about potentially unconstitutional laws and acts of the president, members of parliament, and the cabinet) |
| Montenegro | Constitutional Court (five judges serve 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 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) |
| 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); note - in 2010, President ORTEGA directly replaced seven justices on the Supreme Court |
| Niger | Constitutional Court (7 judges with 6-year terms, nominated by the President); Court of Cassation (highest court dealing with judicial matters); Council of State (highest court dealing with administrative matters); Court of Finances (highest court dealing with public finances) |
| 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 (consists of three justices appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Commonwealth Senate; appeals of Commonwealth Supreme Court decisions referred to the US Supreme Court); Superior Court (consists of five judges appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Commonwealth Senate); US Federal District Court (judges are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the US Senate) |
| 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 staggered 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 proposed by the Council of Magistrates or Consejo de la Magistratura, and approved by the Senate and president) |
| 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 | Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional) consists of 13 judges (10 appointed by the Assembly and 3 are coopted by the 10 judges) for six-year terms; Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal de Justica); Audit Court (auditoria do Tribunal); Supreme Administrative Court (Supremo Tribunal Administrativo); all judges are 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 |
| Romania | Supreme Court of Justice (comprised of 11 judges appointed for three-year terms by the president in consultation with the Superior Council of Magistrates, which is comprised of the minister of justice, the prosecutor general, two civil society representatives appointed by the Senate, and 14 judges and prosecutors elected by their peers); a separate body, the Constitutional Court, validates elections and makes decisions regarding the constitutionality of laws, treaties, ordinances, and internal rules of the Parliament; it is comprised of nine members serving nine-year terms, with three members each appointed by the president, the Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies |
| Russia | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Supreme Arbitration Court; judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president |
| Rwanda | Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees |
| Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (consisting of a Court of Appeal and a High Court; based on Saint Lucia; two judges of the Supreme Court reside in Saint Kitts and Nevis); member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) |
| Saint Lucia | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (consists of a High Court and a Court of Appeals; based on Saint Lucia; three judges of the Supreme Court reside in Saint Lucia); member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon | Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (consisting of a High Court and Court of Appeals; based on Saint Lucia; two judges of the Supreme Court reside in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) |
| Samoa | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; District Court; Land and Titles Court |
| San Marino | Council of Twelve or Consiglio dei XII |
| Sao Tome and Principe | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly); Constitutional Court (five judges appointed by the National Assembly for five year terms); Court of First Instance; Audit Court |
| Saudi Arabia | Supreme Council of Justice |
| Senegal | Constitutional Council; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals |
| Serbia | courts of general jurisdiction (municipal courts, district courts, Appellate Courts, the Supreme Court of Cassation); courts of special jurisdiction (commercial courts, the High Commercial Court, the High Magistrates Court, the Administrative Court) |
| Seychelles | Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
| Sierra Leone | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
| Singapore |
Supreme Court consists of High Court and Court of Appeals; Specialist Commercial Courts consist of Admiralty Court, Intellectual Property Court, and Abritation Court
note: (chief justice, judges of appeal, and judicial commissioners are appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister) |
| Sint Maarten | Common Court of Justice, Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) |
| Slovakia | Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council) |
| Slovenia | Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the Judicial Council); Constitutional Court (judges elected for nine-year terms by the National Assembly and nominated by the president) |
| Solomon Islands | Court of Appeal |
| Somalia |
Constitutional Court; Federal Government-level courts; Federal Member-level courts
note: these courts have yet to be established; in their absence most regions have reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular, traditional Somali customary law, or sharia (Islamic) law with a provision for appeal of all sentences |
| South Africa | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts |
| South Sudan | Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, High Courts, County Courts |
| Spain | Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo; Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucioanal de Espana |
| Sri Lanka | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
| Sudan | Constitutional Court of nine justices; National Supreme Court; National Courts of Appeal; other national courts; National Judicial Service Commission will undertake overall management of the National Judiciary |
| Suriname | Cantonal Courts and a Court of Justice as an appellate court (justices are nominated for life); member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) |
| Swaziland | Supreme Court; High Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission |
| Sweden | Supreme Court or Hogsta Domstolen; Supreme Administrative Court note: the Supreme Court is the highest court of general jurisdiction and the Supreme Administrative Court is the highest administrative court |
| Switzerland | Federal Supreme Court (judges elected for six-year terms by the Federal Assembly) |
| Syria | Supreme Judicial Council (appoints and dismisses judges; headed by the president); national level - Supreme Constitutional Court (adjudicates electoral disputes and rules on constitutionality of laws and decrees; justices appointed for four-year terms by the president); Court of Cassation; Appeals Courts (Appeals Courts represent an intermediate level between the Court of Cassation and local level courts); local level - Magistrate Courts; Courts of First Instance; Juvenile Courts; Customs Courts; specialized courts - Economic Security Courts (hear cases related to economic crimes); Supreme State Security Court (hear cases related to national security); Personal Status Courts (religious; hear cases related to marriage and divorce) |
| Taiwan | Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan) |
| Tajikistan | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court, Supreme Economic Court |
| Tanzania | Permanent Commission of Enquiry (official ombudsman); Court of Appeal (consists of a chief justice and four judges); High Court (consists of a Jaji Kiongozi and 29 judges appointed by the president; holds regular sessions in all regions); District Courts; Primary Courts (limited jurisdiction and appeals can be made to the higher courts) |
| Thailand | Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Justice, and Supreme Administrative Court; all judges are appointed by the king; the king's appointments to the Constitutional Court are made upon the advice of the Senate; the nine Constitutional Court judges are drawn from the Supreme Court of Justice and Supreme Administrative Court as well as from among substantive experts in law and social sciences outside the judiciary |
| Timor-Leste | Supreme Court of Justice - constitution calls for one judge to be appointed by National Parliament and rest appointed by Superior Council for Judiciary; note - until Supreme Court is established, Court of Appeals is highest court |
| Togo | Constitutional Court; High Court of Justice; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel; Court of Audits |
| Tokelau | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
| Tonga | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal (Chief Justice and high court justices from overseas chosen and approved by Privy Council) |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Supreme Court of Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission); the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London; member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) |
| Tunisia | Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation |
| Turkey | Constitutional Court; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay); Council of State (Danistay); Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court |
| Turkmenistan | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); High Commercial Court |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
| Tuvalu | High Court (a chief justice visits twice a year to preside over its sessions; its rulings can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji); eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction) |
| Uganda | Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature); High Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
| Ukraine | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court |
| United Arab Emirates | Union Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
| United Kingdom | Supreme Court of the UK (established in October 2009 taking over appellate jurisdiction formerly vested in the House of Lords is the final court of appeal); Senior Courts of England and Wales (comprising the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice, and the Crown Courts); Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland); Scotland's Court of Session and High Court of the Justiciary |
| United States | Supreme Court (nine justices; nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate; appointed to serve for life); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts |
| Uruguay | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) |
| Uzbekistan | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly); Constitutional Court, Arbitration Court, Higher Economic Court |
| Vanuatu | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission) |
| Venezuela | Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (32 magistrates are elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term) |
| Vietnam | Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president for a five-year term) |
| Virgin Islands | US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Superior Court of the Virgin Islands (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms) |
| Wallis and Futuna | justice generally administered under French law by the high administrator, but the three traditional kings administer customary law and there is a magistrate in Mata-Utu; a court of appeal is located in Noumea, New Caledonia |
| Yemen | Supreme Court |
| Zambia | Supreme Court (the final court of appeal; justices are appointed by the president); High Court (has unlimited jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases) |
| Zimbabwe | Supreme Court; High Court |