The CIA World Factbook Edition 2001 Government

Judicial branch In 36 editions of 36.

Judicial branch was published in 36 editions of the CIA World Factbook, from 1990 to 2025. The 2001 edition carries it in 231 entries, in its Government section. Every entry is shown as that edition published it.

entries in the 2001 edition
231
the first edition with it
1990
the latest edition with it
2025

Published as “Judicial branch” (1990 to 2025).

the entry has the field in that editionnot in that editionthe open editionEach entry below ends in its editions with Judicial branch, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down; choose one in a row to read that edition’s text there.

Entries with Judicial branch in each edition

19902000201020202025

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Africa

56 entries

Algeria

Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

Angola

Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are appointed by the president)

Benin

  • Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle;
  • Supreme Court or Cour Supreme;
  • High Court of Justice

Botswana

  • High Court;
  • Court of Appeal;
  • Magistrates' Courts (one in each district)

Burkina Faso

Supreme Court; Appeals Court

Burundi

  • Supreme Court or Cour Supreme;
  • Constitutional Court;
  • Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate locations);
  • Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals)

Cape Verde now Cabo Verde

Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Supremo Tribunal de Justia

Cameroon

  • Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president);
  • High Court of Justice (consists of nine judges and 6 substitute judges, elected by the National Assembly)

Central African Republic

  • Supreme Court or Cour Supreme;
  • Constitutional Court (all judges appointed by the president);
  • Court of Appeal;
  • Criminal Courts

Chad

  • Supreme Court;
  • Court of Appeal;
  • Criminal Courts;
  • Magistrate Courts

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 now Democratic Republic of the Congo

Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

Congo, Republic of the now Republic of the Congo

Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

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

Djibouti

Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

Egypt

Supreme Constitutional Court

Equatorial Guinea

Supreme Tribunal

Eritrea

  • Supreme Court;
  • 10 provincial courts;
  • 29 district courts

Swaziland now Eswatini

  • High Court;
  • Court of Appeal;
  • judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch

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)

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 now The Gambia

Supreme Court

Ghana

Supreme Court

Guinea

Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel

Guinea-Bissau

  • Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are 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 over $1,000);
  • 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases)

Kenya

Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court

Lesotho

  • High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch);
  • Court of Appeal;
  • Magistrate's Court;
  • customary or traditional court

Liberia

Supreme Court

Libya

Supreme Court

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

Mali

Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

Mauritania

  • Supreme Court or Cour Supreme;
  • Court of Appeals;
  • lower courts

Mauritius

Supreme Court

Mayotte

Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel

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, customs courts, maritime courts, courts marshal, labor courts note: although the constitution provides for the creation of a separate Constitutional Court, one has never been established;
  • in its absence the Supreme Court reviews constitutional cases

Namibia

Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission)

Niger

State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel

Nigeria

  • Supreme Court (judges appointed by the Provisional Ruling Council);
  • Federal Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the federal government on the advice of the Advisory Judicial Committee)

Reunion

Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel

Rwanda

  • Supreme Court;
  • communal courts;
  • appeals courts

Saint Helena now Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

  • Supreme Court;
  • Magistrate's Court;
  • Small Debts Court;
  • Juvenile Court

Sao Tome and Principe

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly)

Senegal

  • Constitutional Court;
  • Council of State;
  • Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation;
  • Court of Appeals;
  • note-the judicial system was reformed in 1992

Seychelles

  • Court of Appeal;
  • Supreme Court;
  • judges for both courts are appointed by the president

Sierra Leone

  • Supreme Court;
  • Appeals Court;
  • High Court

Somalia

following the breakdown of national government, most regions have reverted to Islamic (Shari'a) law with a provision for appeal of all sentences

South Africa

  • Constitutional Court;
  • Supreme Court of Appeals;
  • High Courts;
  • Magistrate Courts

Sudan

Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts

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)

Togo

Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme

Tunisia

Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation

Uganda

Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature); High Court (judges are appointed by the president)

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

Arctic Region

2 entries

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)

Iceland

Supreme Court or Haestirettur (justices are appointed for life by the president)

Asia

22 entries

Afghanistan

upper courts were non-functioning as of March 1995 (local Shari'a or Islamic law courts are functioning throughout the country)

Armenia

Supreme Court; Constitutional Court

Azerbaijan

Supreme Court

Bangladesh

Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)

Bhutan

Supreme Court of Appeal (the monarch); High Court (judges appointed by the monarch)

China

  • Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress);
  • Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts);
  • Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts)

Georgia

Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the president's recommendation); Constitutional Court

India

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65)

Japan

Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet)

Kazakhstan

Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members)

Korea, North now North Korea

Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)

Korea, South now South Korea

Supreme Court (justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly)

Kyrgyzstan

  • Supreme Court (judges are appointed for 10-year terms by the Supreme Council on the recommendation of the president);
  • Constitutional Court;
  • Higher Court of Arbitration

Maldives

High Court

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 for approval by the president)

Nepal

Supreme Court or Sarbochha Adalat (chief justice is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council; the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Judicial Council)

Pakistan

Supreme Court (justices appointed by the president); Federal Islamic or Shari'a Court

Russia

  • Constitutional Court;
  • Supreme Court;
  • Superior Court of Arbitration;
  • judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president

Sri Lanka

  • Supreme Court;
  • Court of Appeals;
  • judges for both courts are appointed by the president

Tajikistan

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)

Turkmenistan

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)

Uzbekistan

Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly)

Central America and the Caribbean

31 entries

Anguilla

High Court (judge provided by Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court)

Antigua and Barbuda

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction)

Aruba

Joint High Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the monarch)

Bahamas, The now The Bahamas

  • Supreme Court;
  • Court of Appeal;
  • magistrates courts

Barbados

Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services)

Belize

Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister)

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

Cayman Islands

  • Summary Court;
  • Grand Court;
  • Cayman Islands Court of Appeal

Costa Rica

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly)

Cuba

People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly)

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 elected by a Council made up of members of the legislative and executive branches with the president presiding)

El Salvador

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are selected by the Legislative Assembly)

Grenada

West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada)

Guadeloupe

Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique

Guatemala

  • Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (thirteen 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);
  • Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitutcionalidad (five judges are elected for concurrent five-year terms by Congress, each serving one year as president of the Constitutional Court; one is elected by Congress, one elected by the Supreme Court of Justice, one appointed by the President, one elected by Superior Counsel of Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala, and one by Colegio de Abogados)

Haiti

Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation

Honduras

Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for four-year terms by the National Congress)

Jamaica

Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal

Martinique

Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel

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)

Netherlands Antilles

Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch)

Nicaragua

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for seven-year terms by the National Assembly)

Panama

  • Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine judges appointed for 10-year terms);
  • five superior courts;
  • three courts of appeal

Puerto Rico

  • Supreme Court;
  • Superior Courts;
  • Municipal Courts (justices for all these courts appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate)

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis)

Saint Lucia

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction extends to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

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 on the advice of 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);
  • High Court of Justice;
  • Court of Appeals;
  • The Majistracy (hears minor civil cases and summary criminal cases)

Turks and Caicos Islands

Supreme Court

Virgin Islands

US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Territorial Court (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms)

Europe

46 entries

Albania

Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term)

Andorra

  • Tribunal of Judges or Tribunal de Batlles;
  • Tribunal of the Courts or Tribunal de Corts;
  • Supreme Court of Justice of Andorra or Tribunal Superior de Justicia d'Andorra;
  • Supreme Council of Justice or Consell Superior de la Justicia;
  • Fiscal Ministry or Ministeri Fiscal;
  • Constitutional Tribunal or Tribunal Constitucional

Austria

  • Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof;
  • Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof;
  • Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof

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

Supreme Court of Justice or Hof van Cassatie (in Dutch) or Cour de Cassation (in French) (judges are appointed for life by the monarch)

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) note: a new state court, established in November 1999, has jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities; the entities each have a Supreme Court; each entity also has a number of lower courts; there are ten cantonal courts in the Federation, plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has five municipal courts

Bulgaria

  • Supreme Administrative Court;
  • Supreme Court of Cassation;
  • Constitutional Court (12 justices appointed or elected for nine-year terms);
  • Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 other members; responsible for appointing the justices, prosecutors, and investigating magistrates in the justice system; members of the Supreme Judicial Council elected for five-year terms, 11 elected by the National Assembly and 11 by bodies of the judiciary)

Croatia

  • Supreme Court;
  • Constitutional Court;
  • judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives

Czech Republic now Czechia

  • Supreme Court;
  • Constitutional Court;
  • chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term

Denmark

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life)

Estonia

National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life)

Faroe Islands

none

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

Germany

Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)

Gibraltar

Supreme Court; Court of Appeal

Greece

  • Supreme Judicial Court;
  • Special Supreme Tribunal;
  • all judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council

Guernsey

Royal Court

Holy See (Vatican City)

none; normally handled by Italy

Hungary

Constitutional Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly for nine-year terms)

Ireland

Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet)

Man, Isle of now Isle of Man

High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant governor)

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)

Jersey

Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the bailiff)

Latvia

Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament)

Liechtenstein

Supreme Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Superior Court or Obergericht

Lithuania

  • Supreme Court;
  • Court of Appeal;
  • judges for both courts appointed by the Parliament

Luxembourg

  • judicial courts and tribunals (3 Justices of the Peace, 2 district courts, and 1 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

Malta

  • Constitutional Court;
  • Court of Appeal;
  • judges for both courts are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister

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)

Netherlands

Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch)

Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of now North Macedonia

  • Constitutional Court;
  • Judicial Court of the Republic;
  • judges for both courts are elected by the Judicial Council

Norway

Supreme Court or Hoyesterett (justices appointed by the monarch)

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 or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura)

Romania

Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates)

San Marino

Council of Twelve or Consiglio dei XII

Yugoslavia now Serbia and Montenegro

  • Federal Court or Savezni Sud;
  • Constitutional Court;
  • judges for both courts are elected by the Federal Assembly for nine-year terms

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)

Spain

Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo

Sweden

Supreme Court or Hogsta Domstolen (judges are appointed by the prime minister and the cabinet)

Switzerland

Federal Supreme Court (judges elected for six-year terms by the Federal Assembly)

Ukraine

Supreme Court; Constitutional Court

United Kingdom

  • House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life);
  • Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts);
  • Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary

Middle East

15 entries

Bahrain

High Civil Appeals Court

Cyprus

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the Supreme Council of Judicature) note: there is also a Supreme Court in the Turkish Cypriot area

Iran

Supreme Court

Iraq

Court of Cassation

Israel

Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president)

Jordan

Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal)

Kuwait

High Court of Appeal

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)

Oman

Supreme Court note:
  • the nascent civil court system,
  • administered by region,
  • has non-Islamic judges as well as traditional Islamic judges

Qatar

Court of Appeal

Saudi Arabia

Supreme Council of Justice

Syria

  • Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president);
  • High Judicial Council;
  • Court of Cassation;
  • State Security Courts

Turkey now Turkiye

Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeals (judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors)

United Arab Emirates

Union Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)

Yemen

Supreme Court

North America

5 entries

Bermuda

  • Supreme Court;
  • Court of Appeal;
  • Magistrate Courts

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)

Mexico

Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate)

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel

United States

  • Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for life by the president with confirmation by the Senate);
  • United States Courts of Appeal;
  • United States District Courts;
  • State and County Courts

Oceania

25 entries

American Samoa

High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior)

Australia

High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general)

Cook Islands

High Court

Fiji

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)

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

Guam

Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor)

Kiribati

  • Court of Appeal;
  • High Court;
  • 26 Magistrates' courts;
  • judges at all levels are appointed by the president

Marshall Islands

Supreme Court; High Court

Micronesia, Federated States of now Federated States of Micronesia

Supreme Court

Nauru

Supreme Court

New Caledonia

  • Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel;
  • County Courts;
  • Joint Commerce Tribunal Court;
  • Children's Court

New Zealand

High Court; Court of Appeal

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

Palau

  • Supreme Court;
  • National Court;
  • Court of Common Pleas

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)

Pitcairn Islands

Island Court (island magistrate presides over the court and is elected every three years)

Samoa

Supreme Court; Court of Appeal

Solomon Islands

Court of Appeal

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 (consists of the Privy Council with the addition of the chief justice of the Supreme Court)

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)

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)

Wallis and Futuna

none; 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

South America

14 entries

Argentina

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval by the Senate)

Bolivia

  • Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges appointed for 10-year terms by National Congress);
  • District Courts (one in each department);
  • provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)

Brazil

  • Supreme Federal Tribunal (11 ministers are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate);
  • Higher Tribunal of Justice;
  • Regional Federal Tribunals (judges are appointed for life)

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 by the 21-member court); Constitutional Tribunal

Colombia

  • four, coequal, supreme judicial organs;
  • Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justical (highest court of criminal law; judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms);
  • Council of State (highest court of administrative law, judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice 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);
  • Higher Council of Justice (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; members of the disciplinary chamber resolve jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms)

Ecuador

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court)

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

Supreme Court (chief justice is a nonresident); Magistrates Court (senior magistrate presides over civil and criminal divisions)

French Guiana

Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana)

Guyana

  • Supreme Court of Judicature;
  • Judicial Court of Appeal;
  • High Court

Paraguay

Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges appointed on the proposal of the Counsel 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)

Suriname

Court of Justice (justices are nominated for life)

Uruguay

Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly)

Venezuela

Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribuna Suprema de Justicia (magistrates are elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term)

Southeast Asia

15 entries

Brunei

Supreme Court (chief justice and judges are sworn in by the monarch for three-year terms)

Burma now Burma (Myanmar)

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

Cambodia

Supreme Council of the Magistracy (provided for in the constitution and formed in December 1997); Supreme Court (and lower courts) exercises judicial authority

Christmas Island

  • Supreme Court;
  • District Court;
  • Magistrate's Court

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court

Hong Kong

The Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Indonesia

Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature)

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)

Macau

The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region

Malaysia

Federal Court (judges appointed by the paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister)

Philippines

Supreme Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial and Bar Council)

Singapore

Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister, other judges are appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice); Court of Appeals

Taiwan

Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly; note - beginning in 2003, justices will be appointed by the president with the consent of the Legislative Yuan)

Thailand

Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch)

Vietnam

Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president)

Cite this page

Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook 2001, “Judicial branch”, all entries. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/fields/judicial-branch/2001.

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