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Supreme Courts as Courts of General Original Jurisdiction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2019

Stephen Kruger
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Abstract

In a common-law jurisdiction, “Supreme Court” is not always the name of a court of final appeal. There are 41 Supreme Courts and Supreme Courts of Judicature with general original jurisdiction. They cover 60 political units. In addition to general original jurisdiction, some of those courts have general appellate jurisdiction. There is a number of political units in which a second appellate consideration is possible.

This article provides information about Supreme Courts and Supreme Courts of Judicature with general original jurisdiction. It includes a list with the names of the political units served by Supreme Courts or by Supreme Courts of Judicature with general original jurisdiction; a statement whether a Supreme Court or a Supreme Court of Judicature of a political unit has both general original jurisdiction and general appellate jurisdiction, or only general original jurisdiction; and further information.

The goal of this article is to inform librarians, lawyers, solicitors, and barristers about the many court systems in the common-law world, in which the court of general original jurisdiction is named “Supreme Court” or “Supreme Court of Judicature.” Those courts are found in diverse political units, including Australian states and territories, Belize, Brunei, Canadian provinces and territories, Gibraltar, and Samoa. The oldest among them is the Supreme Court of New York, founded more than 300 years ago.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Legal Information , Volume 39 , Issue 1 , Spring 2011 , pp. 51 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 by the International Association of Law Libraries. 

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