Compare Judicial branch (2006) - Judicial branch (2004)

Compare Judicial branch (2006) with Judicial branch (2004)

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	Judicial branch (2006)	Judicial branch (2004)
Afghanistan	the constitution establishes a nine-member Stera Mahkama or Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for 10-year terms by the president with approval of the Wolesi Jirga) and subordinate High Courts and Appeals Courts (note - nine supreme court justices were appointed in the interim in January 2005 pending National Assembly selection of the constitutionally mandated justices); there is also a minister of justice; a separate Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission established by the Bonn Agreement is charged with investigating human rights abuses and war crimes	the new constitution establishes a nine-member Stera Mahkama or Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for 10-year terms by the president with approval of the Wolesi Jirga) and subordinate High Courts and Appeals Courts; there is also a Minister of Justice; a separate Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission established by the Bonn Agreement is charged with investigating human rights abuses and war crimes
Algeria	Supreme Court	Supreme Court or Court Supreme
Angola	Supreme Court and separate provincial courts (judges are appointed by the president)	Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are appointed by the president)
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); member Caribbean Court of Justice	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	Common Court of Justice of Aruba (judges are appointed by the monarch)	Joint High Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the monarch)
Bahamas, The	Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts	Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts
Belgium	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)	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)
Bosnia and Herzegovina	BH 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); BH State Court (consists of nine judges and three divisions - Administrative, Appellate and Criminal - having jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities); note - a War Crimes Chamber opened in March 2005 note: the entities each have a Supreme 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 municipal courts	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 nine judges and three divisions - Administrative, Appellate and Criminal - having jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities; note - a War Crimes Chamber may be added at a future date) note: the entities each have a Supreme 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 municipal courts
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; Shariah courts deal with Islamic laws (2006)	Supreme Court (chief justice and judges are sworn in by the monarch for three-year terms)
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)	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); High Court of Justice (consists of 9 judges and 6 substitute judges, elected by the National Assembly)
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	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
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)	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)
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)	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by a the National Judicial Council comprised of the President, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the President of the Supreme Court, and an opposition or non-governing party member)
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 via a simple-majority resolution)	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema; note - per the Constitution, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; In December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire court via a simple-majority resolution
European Union	Court of Justice of the European Communities (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly) - 25 justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 11 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 25 justices appointed for a six-year term	European Court of Justice (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly) - 25 Justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 11 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 25 justices appointed for a six-year term
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	Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the president's recommendation); Constitutional Court; first and second instance courts
Grenada	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of a court of Appeal and a High Court of Justice (a High Court judge is assigned to and resides in Grenada)	West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada)
Guatemala	Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitutcionalidad is Guatemala's highest court (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); 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)	Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitutcionalidad is Guatemala's highest court (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); 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)
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 over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases)	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)
Guyana	Supreme Court of Judicature, consisting of the High Court and the Judicial Court of Appeal, with right of final appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice	Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court
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	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 Pius XII on 1 May 1946
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")	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president and remain in office until they reach the age of 65)
Indonesia	Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature); a separate Constitutional Court or Mahkamah Konstitusi was invested by the president on 16 August 2003; in March 2004 the Supreme Court assumed administrative and financial responsibility for the lower court system from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; Labor Court under supervision of Supreme Court began functioning in January 2006	Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature); a separate Constitutional Court or Makhama Konstitusi was invested by the president on 16 August 2003; in March 2004 the Supreme Court assumed administrative and financial responsibility for the lower court system from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights
Israel	Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection Committee - made up of all three branches of the government; mandatory retirement age is 70)	Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president)
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)	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)
Lesotho	High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court	High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court
Macau	Court of Final Appeal in Macau Special Administrative Region	The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region
Marshall Islands	Supreme Court; High Court; Traditional Rights Court	Supreme Court; High Court
Montenegro	Constitutional Court (five judges with nine-year terms); Supreme Court (judges have life tenure)	-
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 a separate Constitutional Court, one has never been established; in its absence the Supreme Court reviews constitutional cases	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
New Zealand	Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; High Court; note - Judges appointed by the Governor-General	High Court; Court of Appeal
Niger	State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel	State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel
Oman	Supreme Court note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Shari'a law	Supreme Court note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has judges who practice secular and Sharia (Islamic) law
Pitcairn Islands	Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Judicial Officers are appointed by the Governor	Island Court (island magistrate, appointed by the governor, presides over the court)
Qatar	Court of Appeal note: under a judiciary law issued in 2003, the former two court systems, civil and Islamic law, were merged under a higher court, the Court of Cassation, established for appeals	Court of Appeal note: under the new judiciary law issued in 2003, the former two court systems, civil and Islamic law, have been merged under a higher court, the Court of Cassation, to be established for appeals
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	Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates)
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	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
Rwanda	Supreme Court; High Courts of the Republic; Provincial Courts; District Courts; mediation committees	Supreme Court; communal courts; appeals courts
Saint Helena	Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal	Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court
Samoa	Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; District Court; Land and Titles Court	Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Land and Titles Court
Senegal	Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals	Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals; note - the judicial system was reformed in 1992
Serbia	Constitutional Court (nine justices with life tenure)	-
Serbia and Montenegro	-	The Court of Serbia and Montenegro; judges are elected by the Serbia and Montenegro Parliament for six-year terms note: since the promulgation of the 2003 Constitution, the Federal Court has constitutional and administrative functions; it has an equal number of judges from each republic
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); Special Court (judges elected by a council of judges and appointed by president)	Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council)
Somalia	following the breakdown of the central government, most regions have reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular, traditional Somali customary law, or Shari'a (Islamic) law with a provision for appeal of all sentences	following the breakdown of national government, most regions have reverted to either Islamic (Shari'a) law with a provision for appeal of all sentences, or traditional clan-based arbitration
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	Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts
Suriname	Cantonal Courts and a Court of Justice as an appellate court (justices are nominated for life)	Court of Justice (justices are nominated for life)
Syria	Supreme Constitutional Court (adjudicates electoral disputes and rules on constitutionality of laws and decrees; justices appointed for four-year terms by the President); High Judicial Council (appoints and dismisses judges; headed by the President); Court of Cassation (national level); State Security Courts (hear cases related to national security); Personal Status Courts (religious; hear cases related to marriage and divorce); Courts of First Instance (local level; include magistrate, summary, and peace courts)	Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts
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)	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)
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); High Court of Justice; Caribbean Court of Appeals member; Court of Appeals; the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London	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); High Court of Justice; Court of Appeals; the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London
Turks and Caicos Islands	Supreme Court; Court of Appeal	Supreme Court
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	Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for life on condition of good behavior by the president with confirmation by the Senate); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts
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)	US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Territorial Court (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms)