District court
District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations. These include:
Australien
District Court is the name given to the intermediate court in most Australian States. They hear indictable (serious) criminal offences excluding treason, murder and, in some States, manslaughter. Their civil jurisdiction is also intermediate, typically being for civil disputes where the amount claimed is greater than a $50 000 but less than $250 000[1]. The limits vary between Australian States. In Victoria, the equivalent Court is called the County Court [2]. Below them is the Magistrates' Courts, known as the Local Court in New South Wales. Above them are the State Supreme Courts.
Österreich
Austria has some 200 district, or local, courts, which decide minor civil and criminal cases.
Finnland
- See also Judicial system of Finland
Finland has 61 district courts, which deal with criminal cases, civil cases and petitionary matters. Each court is headed by the Chief Judge and other District Judges. In certain cases, the district court may also have Lay Judges. The cases are handled and resolved either in a session or in chambers. In simple cases decisions can be made by notaries.
Hongkong
The District Courts in Hong Kong, established in 1953, has limited jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters. With effect from 1 December 2003, it has civil jurisdiction to hear monetary claims up to HK$1 million or, where the claims are for recovery of land, the annual rent or rateable value does not exceed HK$240,000. In its criminal jurisdiction, the court may try the more serious cases, with the main exceptions of murder, manslaughter and rape. The maximum term of imprisonment it may impose is seven years. There are one Chief District Judge and 30 District Judges, among which three District Judges sit in the Family Court and two District Judges sit in the Lands Tribunal as Presiding Officers.
Indien
The District Courts of India are presided over by a judge[3]. They administer justice in India at a district level. These courts are under administrative and judicial control of the High Court of the State to which the district concerned belongs.
Irland
The District Court in Ireland was established in 1924. The Court handles civil claims of up to €6,350 and summary criminal trials (minor offences tried by a judge alone where the maximum penalty is 12 months imprisonment). The court also has jurisdiction in granting bail for accused on remand for trial on indictment in the Circuit Court and the granting of licences for the sale of alcohol.
Neuseeland
The District Courts of New Zealand are a low-level trial court. The Courts can hear civil claims up to $200,000 and deal with relatively minor criminal charges. The District Courts were called the Magistrates' Courts until 1980.
Scotland
District Courts were introduced in 1975 as replacement for Burgh Police Courts; they deal with the most minor crimes. They are run by the local authorities. Each court comprises one or more Justices of the Peace (lay magistrates) who sit alone or in threes with a qualified legal assessor as convener or clerk of court.
They handle many cases of breach of the peace, drunkenness, minor assaults, petty theft, and offences under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.
District Court operate under summary procedure and may not impose a fine in excess of £2,500 or sentence an offender to more than 60 days in prison. In practice, most offences are dealt with by a fine.
In Glasgow where the volume of business requires the employment of three solicitors as "stipendiary magistrates" who sit in place of the lay Justices. The Stipendiary Magistrates' court has the same sentencing power as the summary Sheriff Court.
District Courts in Scotland are set to be abolished and replaced with Justice of the Peace Courts under the provisions of the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007. The new Justice of the Peace Courts will be managed by the Scottish Court Service. Responsibility for the Courts is being transferred from local authorities to the Scottish Court Service in a rolling programme of court unification, planned to conlude in November 2009.
Vereinigte Staaten
In the United States, district courts may refer to two different types of trial courts: state courts (in some U.S. states) or the general trial courts of the federal court system, known as United States district courts.
State district courts do not exist in some states; in others, the term "district court" has different meanings. For example, Florida District Courts of Appeal are appellate courts, Kentucky District Courts are courts of limited jurisdiction similar to magistrates and Hawaii State District Courts are small-claims courts.
The federal district courts have jurisdiction over federal questions (trials and cases interpreting federal law, or which involve federal statutes or crimes) and diversity (cases otherwise subject to jurisdiction in a state trial court but which are between litigants of different states and/or countries). There are 89 federal districts in the 50 states. United States district courts also exist in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. So, in total, there are 94 U.S. district courts. Decisions from these courts are subject to review by one of the 13 United States court of appeals, which are, in turn, subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United States.
References
- ^ Homepage, Western Australia District Court - http://www.justice.wa.gov.au/D/districtcourt.aspx?uid=1239-5510-2795-6685
- ^ Homepage, Victorian County Court - www.countycourt.vic.gov.au
- ^ District Courts of India - http://www.indiancourts.nic.in/districtcourt.html