LW111- Module 2 WK4

• A number of countries that were colonised by Great Britain, its Courts were established by the Judicature Act of the UK at the time of colonization, which continued for some time post colonization
• Other countries set up their Courts through the Constitution or Legislation
• Development of the judicial system over the years has also seen the set up of special or specialized Courts
• Special or specialized Courts


  • Family division of the Magistrates Court and High Court
  • Employment Division of the Magistrates Court and the High Court
  • Tax Division of the High Court
• In Vanuatu in 1983, the Island Courts Act created courts with jurisdiction to hear minor civil and criminal cases in accordance with local custom, "so far as the same is not in conflict with any written law and is not contrary to justice, morality and good order"
• Customary law in Vanuatu is, by its very nature, diverse, as each community has its own customs. Thus customary law is applied primarily by local courts
• Court structure (hierarchy)


  Tiers or levels of courts within the legal system of a country ranging from the lowest court to the highest court
• Jurisdiction of courts


  The powers of the Court to hear and decide on a particular type of matter
• Because of a shared history, Pacific Islands share many features with court systems in other Anglo-American jurisdictions (legal systems) of the world
• While most countries have a single court hierarchy, others have dual or multiple court hierarchies. This is especially true in 'federal' states (eg, Australia, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), etc) where there exist separate courts at different levels of government
• General classification of courts

  • Appellate court(s)
  • Superior court(s)
  • Inferior court(s)
• Appellate courts


  Hear appeals, primarily from the superior courts
• Most USP countries have a single appellate court, usually called a Court of Appeal
• Four countries in the region have two levels of appellate courts, ie Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, and Tuvalu. These have a Court of Appeal, but there is provision for further appeal to another appellate court
• Superior courts


  Also called 'High Courts', they have inherent (unlimited) jurisdiction and can hear a wider range or cases than other courts, including civil, criminal and other matters
• Inferior courts


  Also called 'subordinate' or 'lower' courts, they have limited jurisdiction and their main purpose is to hear summary (minor) civil and criminal proceedings
• Examples of inferior/subordinate courts


  • Magistrates Court/Specialised Courts and Tribunals set up by Legislations
  • District Court
• Special courts are set up to hear matters felt to be of such a specialised nature that they shouldn't be dealt with by the ordinary courts
• Special courts


  • Court of Review in Fiji
  • Land courts/tribunals
• Land rights disputes are heard by special courts in Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and the Marshall Islands
• In the Marshall Islands, the Traditional Rights Court is a special court tasked with deciding "questions relating to titles to land rights or other legal interests depending wholly or partly on customary law and traditional practices"
• Constitution


  • Limited civil/criminal jurisdiction
  • Typically less serious civil/criminal cases at first instance
  • Often have specialist divisions
  • Has original, exclusive, concurrent and summary jurisdiction
• Hierarchy of Courts in Samoa


  • Land and Titles First Court
  • Land and Titles High Court
  • Land and Titles Court of Appeal and Review
  • Court of Appeal
  • High Court
  • Magistrates Court
• Land and Titles First Court

  • Deal with matai titles, customary law and customary land
• Hierarchy of Courts in Solomon Islands

  • Local Court
  • Customary Land Appeal Court
  • Magistrates Court
  • High Court
  • Court of Appeal
• General Jurisdiction


  • Signifies that the court concerned has the right to hear both civil and criminal matters
  • Implies that the court has the power, or authority, to hear general causes and matters instead of particular or specialized causes or matters
  • Most subordinate and all superior courts are courts of general jurisdiction (unlike specialised courts)
• Original Jurisdiction


  • A court may hear a case for the first time, i.e, it may be initiated or commenced there
  • Normally, the special, subordinate and superior courts exercise original jurisdiction
• Appellate Jurisdiction


  • The power to hear a case previously decided by another court or tribunal, usually of a lower stature
  • Usually the superior and appellate courts have this authority
  • In theory, appeals lie from the lowest to the highest or final appellate court
• Unlimited Jurisdiction


  • A court may hear a legal dispute concerning any matter or cause irrespective of the subject matter, the geographical area in which it arose, or the identity of the parties
  • This jurisdiction is vested only in some superior courts, often in conjunction with its original jurisdiction
• Limited Jurisdiction


  • A court's authority may be based on specific factors like the identity of the parties involved, subject matter of the dispute, geographical area where the dispute arose, the maximum penalty that may be imposed by the court in criminal cases, or the monetary value of the claim in civil cases
  • These limitations are often applied to special and subordinate courts
• Ordinary Jurisdiction


  The main or ordinary cases a particular court hears
• Special Jurisdiction


  • Additional jurisdiction specially conferred by law
  • It is the powers of the Court to hear a specific type of legal matter
• Concurrent Jurisdiction


  Two or more courts or tribunals are authorised to hear the same subject matter
• Exclusive Jurisdiction


  The sole power to hear the specified subject matter
• Summary Jurisdiction


  • Used in connection with legal proceedings, 'summary' means short, concise or immediate proceedings
  • Mainly used to describe the criminal and civil jurisdictions of subordinate courts, especially Magistrates' courts
• Review Jurisdiction


  • Jurisdiction conferred by legislation on higher courts to supervise and review or revise decisions of lower courts
  • This is quite distinct from the appeal and judicial review jurisdictions of courts