Court

:''This article is about courts of law. For alternative meanings see: Court (disambiguation).'' A court is an official, public forum which a public power establishes by lawful authority to adjudication disputes, and to dispense private law, labour, administrative and criminal justice justice under the law. In common law countries, the courts are the central means for dispute resolution, and it is generally understood that all persons have a right to bring their claims before a court. Similarly, those accused of a crime have the right to present their defenses before a court. ==Types of courts== Some courts may function with a jury that make decisions about the facts before the court under the direction of the judge; in other courts, decisions of both fact and law are made by the judge or judges, this is particularly common in appellate courts where juries are unusual in most jurisdictions. Juries are far less common in courts outside the Anglo-american common-law based legal tradition. The extent of a court's power (authority) to hear the various matters which come before its "jurisdiction" — may stem from a provision of a written constitution, from an enabling statute or, for example in English law, it may be ''inherent'', deriving from the Common Law origin of the court. ==Civil law courts== In most civil law jurisdictions, courts function under an inquisitorial system. In the common law-system most courts follow the adversarial system. Procedural law governs the rules by which courts operate: civil procedure for private disputes (for example); and criminal procedure for violation of the criminal law. ==Operations== Most courts conduct their official business in a courtroom, a physical space designed to accommodate the purposes of having arguments and evidence (law) presented before a judge and, if applicable, a jury. Both uni-personal and pluri-personal courts exist. The various matters which come before a pluri-personal court usually come into the ambit of a particular judge, or of a judicial officer (such as a court commissioner) serving in the capacity of a judge pro tem. Every court has a presiding judge and may have one or more other judges and/or judicial officers assigned to various court departments. ==See also== * Constitutional Court * Contempt of court * Judicial economy * Jurist * Law * Sanctions * Supreme court * Court-martial * Courts of England and Wales * High Court of Justiciary * Scots Law * Scottish Courts Service * Appellate court * Court of Faculties * court en banc * equity court * ecclesiastical court * International judicial institution * International Criminal Court * Revolutionary Tribunal (French Revolution) *List of people who have acted as their own attorney ==External links== *[http://www.courttv.com/sitemap/ Court TV] (coverage of major US trials) *[http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/jacko/camj11204mediaord.pdf Example of order on media request to permit coverage, with possible reasons for and against, and possible conditions] Court systems

Court

Something needs to be said about tribunals here. In England and Wales a "tribunal" is often something different from a court (with some notable exceptions). User:Francis Davey 01:40, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC) It should also be said that the description of a court room is nonsense for my jurisdiction (England and Wales), which while not "typical" perhaps, is the oldest common law jurisdiction. Some things such as not having a flag; courts rarely being wood panelled and so on stand out. I cannot visualise where the "bar" is supposed to go in a court room from the description given. I have appeared in quite a few courts and never been aware of an area that only I may enter. Perhaps those who work in jurisdictions with more typical court rooms could make a description that can be visualised (which way does the bar go for example) and make it clear that things differ. In England and Wales there are some curious differences, eg in most London Magistrates' Courts there is a single Royal Coat of Arms above the judge, in the City of London there is a vertical sword in its place flanked by the Royal and City Coats of Arms (one has to do something to while away the hours waiting to be called on). User:Francis Davey 01:45, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC) I've added some of the above, rather than tried to edit what is there. I hope this will prompt someone to do a bit of editing -- someone who knows more than I do about courts around the world. An explanation of what the "bar" is would be cool to. User:Francis Davey 22:07, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) === pluripersonal courts etc === Can someone explain the passage in this about pluripersonal courts, it makes no sense to me (a practising barrister in England). Does the pluripersonal describe the size of the tribunal -- eg 3 judges usually sit in our Court of Appeal of England and Wales, or does it refer to the number of members of the court itself? The paragraph at the moment is deeply mysterious. User:Francis Davey 11:00, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)

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