Institutions

Every court, and exactly where an appeal travels next

Court structures are the part of a legal system people most often get wrong. Each entry names the tier, what the court may hear, how its judges are appointed, and the route out of it.

TierAll Supreme188 Constitutional78 Appellate88 First instance97 Specialised63

JurisdictionAll Afghanistan2 Albania3 Algeria2 Andorra3 Angola1 Antigua and Barbuda4 Argentina3 Armenia3 Australia4 Austria5 Azerbaijan3 Bahrain3 Bangladesh3 Barbados4 Belarus3 Belgium6 Belize3 Benin1 Bhutan3 Bolivia3 Bosnia and Herzegovina3 Botswana1 Brazil4 Brunei3 Bulgaria3 Burkina Faso1 Burundi1 Cambodia3 Cameroon2 Canada4 Cape Verde1 Central African Republic1 Chad1 Chile3 China3 Colombia3 Comoros1 Costa Rica3 Croatia3 Cuba4 Cyprus3 Czechia3 DR Congo2 Denmark3 Djibouti1 Dominica4 Dominican Republic5 Ecuador3 Egypt3 El Salvador3 Equatorial Guinea1 Eritrea1 Estonia3 Eswatini1 Ethiopia2 Fiji4 Finland3 France4 Gabon1 Gambia1 Georgia3 Germany4 Ghana1 Greece3 Grenada4 Guatemala3 Guinea1 Guinea-Bissau1 Guyana3 Haiti5 Holy See (Vatican City)3 Honduras3 Hungary3 Iceland3 India4 Indonesia3 Iran3 Iraq3 Ireland3 Israel3 Italy3 Ivory Coast2 Jamaica4 Japan4 Jordan3 Kazakhstan3 Kenya2 Kiribati3 Kuwait3 Kyrgyzstan3 Laos2 Latvia3 Lebanon3 Lesotho1 Liberia1 Libya1 Liechtenstein5 Lithuania3 Luxembourg5 Madagascar1 Malawi1 Malaysia3 Maldives3 Mali1 Malta3 Marshall Islands4 Mauritania1 Mauritius1 Mexico4 Micronesia3 Moldova3 Monaco4 Mongolia3 Montenegro3 Morocco2 Mozambique1 Myanmar2 Namibia1 Nauru3 Nepal3 Netherlands6 New Zealand4 Nicaragua3 Niger1 Nigeria3 North Korea2 North Macedonia3 Norway3 Oman3 Pakistan3 Palau3 Palestine1 Panama4 Papua New Guinea3 Paraguay3 Peru3 Philippines3 Poland3 Portugal3 Qatar3 Republic of the Congo1 Romania3 Russia3 Rwanda1 Saint Kitts and Nevis4 Saint Lucia4 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines4 Samoa3 San Marino3 Saudi Arabia3 Senegal2 Serbia3 Seychelles1 Sierra Leone1 Singapore3 Slovakia3 Slovenia3 Solomon Islands3 Somalia1 South Africa4 South Korea3 South Sudan1 Spain3 Sri Lanka3 Sudan1 Suriname3 Sweden3 Switzerland5 Syria1 São Tomé and Príncipe1 Tajikistan3 Tanzania1 Thailand3 The Bahamas4 Timor-Leste2 Togo1 Tonga4 Trinidad and Tobago5 Tunisia2 Turkey3 Turkmenistan2 Tuvalu4 Uganda1 Ukraine3 United Arab Emirates3 United Kingdom4 United States4 Uruguay3 Uzbekistan3 Vanuatu3 Venezuela3 Vietnam2 Yemen1 Zambia1 Zimbabwe1

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supreme courts

Switzerland
Federal Supreme Court
National — final appellate instance
Supreme court in civil, criminal, administrative and constitutional mattersLausanneest. 1848Reviewed

appellate courts

Switzerland
Cantonal High Courts
Cantonal — appeals from district courts
Highest cantonal courts in civil and criminal mattersOne per cantonReviewed

specialised courts

first instance courts

Switzerland
District Courts
Cantonal — first-instance civil and criminal cases
Courts of first instance in civil and criminal mattersDistrict seats within each cantonReviewed

Every court, and exactly where an appeal travels next

supreme courts

Federal Supreme Court

appellate courts

Cantonal High Courts

specialised courts

Federal Criminal Court

Federal Administrative Court

first instance courts

District Courts