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The judiciary of Namibia consists of a three-tiered set of courts, the Lower, High and Supreme Courts. Parallel to this structure there are traditional courts dealing with minor matters and applying customary law.
The Lower Courts are established by an act of Parliament and are bound by the four corners of legislation. There are several lower courts in Namibia. They are the magistrates' courts, the (labour) arbitration tribunals and the customary courts.
Magistrates' courts deal with the most cases in the entire legal system. They are manned by magistrates who are employed by the Ministry of Justice. The decisions of magistrates' courts are written down; however, they are not recorded in any law report. The decisions have to be written in case either party to the proceedings feel prejudiced by the outcome and wants to go on appeal or review to the High Court. They are created by the Magistrates' Court Act no. 32 of 1944. The magistrates are governed by the Magistrates Act 3 of 2003. [1]
Arbitration tribunals are established by section 85 of the Labour Act No. 11 of 2007. Arbitration tribunals operate under the auspices of the Labour Commissioner. They deal with labour disputes, mainly arising from alleged contraventions of the Labour Act.
The regional courts are the least used lower courts, and are slowly becoming obsolete. [1]
The High Court is situated in the capital Windhoek but may, at the discretion of the Judge President, hold its sessions elsewhere in the country. [2] The High Court building in the Windhoek Central Business District was inaugurated in 1960 and is currently [update] undergoing renovations and expansions. [3]
The High Court exercises original jurisdiction. It can act both as a court of appeal and a court of first instance over civil and criminal prosecutions and in cases concerning the interpretation, implementation and preservation of the Constitution. The High Court is presided over by the Judge-President. A full sitting of the High Court consists of the Judge-President and 6 other judges. Its jurisdiction with regard to appeals shall be determined by Acts of Parliament. Decisions of the High Court, which bind lower courts, are recorded both in Namibian and South African law reports. The decisions are recorded and summarized in the same way as Supreme Court decisions. [1]
The Labour Court is a division of the High Court. The Judge-President must assign suitable judges to the Labour Court, each of whom must be a judge or an acting judge of the High Court.
The Supreme Court is the highest national forum of appeal. It has inherent jurisdiction over all legal matters in Namibia. It adjudicates, according to art 79 of the Constitution, appeals emanating from the High Court, including appeals which involve the interpretation, implementation and upholding of the Constitution and the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed therein. It also hears matters referred to it by the Attorney General or authorized by an Act of Parliament. As Namibia has a system of stare decisis, all decisions emanating from the Supreme Court are binding on all other courts unless they are reversed by an Act of Parliament or the Supreme Court itself. Decisions of the Supreme Court of Namibia are all recorded in the Namibian law reports and some in South African law reports. [1]
Community courts, which apply customary law, were created by the Community Courts Act 10 of 2003. Matters are decided by traditional leaders in the presence of the community. [4] This road of dispute resolution has been formalised in acknowledgment of custom and culture, and to allow official access to some legal procedure for people who cannot afford to access the mainstream courts. Community courts may only adjudicate civil cases, and all parties must agree to be subject to it.
Prior to the official recognition of traditional law in Namibia, these courts operated informally without recognition as part of the legal system. These developments are an extension of art 66 of the Constitution which holds that both the customary law and the common law of Namibia in force on the date of Independence shall remain valid to the extent to which such customary or common law does not conflict with this Constitution or any other statutory law. The courts have no reporting system, as the laws that they apply are very dynamic and may not be applied the same in any number of cases heard before them. [1]
The Court of Cassation is one of the four courts of last resort in France. It has jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters triable in the judicial system, and is the supreme court of appeal in these cases. It has jurisdiction to review the law, and to certify questions of law, to determine miscarriages of justice. The Court is located in the Palace of Justice in Paris.
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction, which is restricted to civil cases involving monetary amounts with a specific limit, or criminal cases involving offenses of a less serious nature. A superior court may hear appeals from lower courts.
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single judge could describe that judge as "their tribunal." Many governmental bodies that are titled as "tribunals" are described so in order to emphasize that they are not courts of normal jurisdiction. For example, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was a body specially constituted under international law; in Great Britain, employment tribunals are bodies set up to hear specific employment disputes. In many cases, the word tribunal implies a judicial body with a lesser degree of formality than a court, in which the normal rules of evidence and procedure may not apply, and whose presiding officers are frequently neither judges, nor magistrates. Private judicial bodies are also often styled "tribunals." The word tribunal, however, is not conclusive of a body's function—for example, in Great Britain, the Employment Appeal Tribunal is a superior court of record.
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may be known as a county or magistrate's court. These courts can be found in Australia, Brazil, Canada, England and Wales, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Nigeria and the United States.
The court system of Canada forms the judicial branch of government, formally known as "The Queen on the Bench", which interprets the law and is made up of many courts differing in levels of legal superiority and separated by jurisdiction. Some of the courts are federal in nature, while others are provincial or territorial.
The Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the judicial branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Under the Basic Law of Hong Kong, it exercises the judicial power of the Region and is independent of the executive and legislative branches of the Government. The courts in Hong Kong hear and adjudicate all prosecutions and civil disputes, including all public and private law matters.
The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. Article III of the Constitution requires the establishment of a Supreme Court and permits the Congress to create other federal courts and place limitations on their jurisdiction. Article III states that federal judges are appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate to serve until they resign, are impeached and convicted, or die.
The judiciary of Australia comprises judges who sit in federal courts and courts of the States and Territories of Australia. The High Court of Australia sits at the apex of the Australian court hierarchy as the ultimate court of appeal on matters of both federal and State law.
The High Court of Singapore is the lower division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the upper division being the Court of Appeal. It consists of the chief justice and the judges of the High Court. Judicial Commissioners are often appointed to assist with the Court's caseload. There are two specialist commercial courts, the Admiralty Court and the Intellectual Property Court, and a number of judges are designated to hear arbitration-related matters. In 2015, the Singapore International Commercial Court was established as part of the Supreme Court of Singapore, and is a division of the High Court. The seat of the High Court is the Supreme Court Building.
South Africa has a 'hybrid' or 'mixed' legal system, formed by the interweaving of a number of distinct legal traditions: a civil law system inherited from the Dutch, a common law system inherited from the British, and a customary law system inherited from indigenous Africans. These traditions have had a complex interrelationship, with the English influence most apparent in procedural aspects of the legal system and methods of adjudication, and the Roman-Dutch influence most visible in its substantive private law. As a general rule, South Africa follows English law in both criminal and civil procedure, company law, constitutional law and the law of evidence; while Roman-Dutch common law is followed in the South African contract law, law of delict (tort), law of persons, law of things, family law, etc. With the commencement in 1994 of the interim Constitution, and in 1997 its replacement, the final Constitution, another strand has been added to this weave.
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and highcourt of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of a supreme court are not subject to further review by any other court. Supreme courts typically function primarily as appellate courts, hearing appeals from decisions of lower trial courts, or from intermediate-level appellate courts.
The judiciary of Pakistan is a hierarchical system with two classes of courts: the superior judiciary and the subordinate judiciary. The superior judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Federal Shariat Court and five High Courts, with the Supreme Court at the apex. There is a High Court for each of the four provinces as well as a High Court for the Islamabad Capital Territory. The Constitution of Pakistan entrusts the superior judiciary with the obligation to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. Neither the Supreme Court nor a High Court may exercise jurisdiction in relation to Tribal Areas, except otherwise provided for. The disputed regions of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan have separate court systems.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the Kingdom of Spain. Originally established pursuant to Title V of the Constitution of 1812 and currently regulated by Title VI of the Constitution of 1978, it has original jurisdiction over cases against high-ranking officials of the Kingdom and over cases regarding illegalization of political parties. It also has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all cases. The Court has the power of judicial review, except for the judicial revision on constitutional matters, reserved to the Constitutional Court.
The courts of South Africa are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in South Africa. They apply the law of South Africa and are established under the Constitution of South Africa or under Acts of the Parliament of South Africa.
In 1964 Tanganyika and Zanzibar formed the United Republic of Tanzania. After the Treaty of the Union, the two countries continued to remain with their own legal systems including court structures. In the 1977 Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, the High Court of Tanganyika whose jurisdiction was and still is territoriality limited to Tanzania Mainland was called the High Court of Tanzania and the High Court of Zanzibar retained its original name. It is essential to note that the High Court of Tanzania only has territorial jurisdiction over legal issues arising in Tanzania Mainland and the High Court of Zanzibar has territorial jurisdiction over legal issues arising in Zanzibar.
The Law of Nigeria consists of courts, offences, and various types of laws. Nigeria has its own constitution which was established on 29 May 1999. The Constitution of Nigeria is the supreme law of the country. There are four distinct legal systems in Nigeria, which include English law, Common law, Customary law, and Sharia Law. English law in Nigeria is derived from the colonial Nigeria, while common law is a development from its post colonial independence.
The Judiciary of Kenya is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in Kenya. After the promulgation of the constitution of Kenya in 2010, the general public, through parliament, sought to reform the judiciary. Parliament passed the Magistrates and Judges Vetting Act of 2011. A major part of reforming the judiciary was the vetting of Magistrates and Judges in an attempt to weed out unsuitable ones. The Judicature Act has also been amended to raise the minimum number of Magistrates and Judges allowing more judicial officers to be hired. More magistrates and judges are needed to clear the backlog of cases that have caused great delay in the conclusion of cases and to staff new courts. New courts are needed to bring the courts closer to the people which is in line with devolution, a major principle written into the Constitution of 2010. New courts like the High Court opened in Garissa in November 2014 is a good example. In the past residents of North Eastern Kenya had to go all the way to Embu to access a High Court.
The Judiciary of Sri Lanka are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Sri Lanka. The Constitution of Sri Lanka defines courts as independent institutions within the traditional framework of checks and balances. They apply Sri Lankan Law which is an amalgam of English common law, Roman-Dutch civil law and Customary Law; and are established under the Judicature Act No 02 of 1978 of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
The Judiciary of Sierra Leone is the branch of the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone which interprets and applies the laws of Sierra Leone to ensure impartial justice under law and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The independence of the judiciary is guaranteed by the constitution.
The South Australian Employment Tribunal, which also sits as the South Australian Employment Court is a South Australian tribunal empowered to adjudicate on rights and liabilities arising out of employment. It has existed in some form or another since 1912, under various names.
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