A court of cassation is a high-instance
court
A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...
that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are
appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appel ...
s of the highest instance. In this way, they differ from systems that have a
supreme court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
that can rule on both the facts of a case and the relevant law. The term derives from the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, "to reverse or overturn".
The
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...
(ECJ) answers questions of
European Union law
European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...
following a referral from a court of a member state. In exercising this function it is not a court of cassation: it issues binding advice to the national courts on how EU law ought to be interpreted, it does not overturn decisions of those courts. However, the ECJ can act as a court of cassation when it hears appeals in particular cases from decisions of the
General Court of the European Union.
Many common-law supreme courts, like the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
, use a similar system, whereby the court
vacates the decision of the lower court and
remands the case for retrial in a lower court consistent with the decision of the court hearing the appeal. Where the system differs is that in legal systems such as the American federal courts, mid-tier appeals courts (courts of appeals) generally also remand cases to first-instance courts. In contrast, in France, for example, courts of appeal hear cases on the facts and the law also, and only in the higher court of cassation is examination confined to matters of law. In this sense, a petition for a writ of is akin to a .
Particular courts of cassation by country or jurisdiction
Cassation courts are listed below.
*
Supreme Court of Albania
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Albania () is the supreme court, highest court of Albania and is the final court of appeals in the country's Judicial system of Albania, judicial system. It is composed of seventeen judges: the Chief Justice ...
* Court of Cassation of Austria
* Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan
*
Court of Cassation (Belgium)
The Court of Cassation ( ; ; ) of Belgium is the supreme court of the judiciary of Belgium, Belgian judiciary. The court is composed of thirty judges with life tenure who are nominated by the High Council of Justice (Belgium), High Council of J ...
*
Court of Cassation (Armenia)
*
Supreme Court of Cassation of Bulgaria
*
Court of Cassation (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
The Court of Cassation () is the main court of last resort in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referr ...
*
Supreme Court of the Czech Republic
**
Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic
*
Corte Nacional de Justicia (
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
)
*
Court of Cassation (Egypt)
*
Supreme Court of Estonia
The Supreme Court of Estonia () is the court of last resort in Estonia. It is both a court of cassation and a constitutional court. The courthouse is in Tartu.
History During the first independence period (1919-1940)
With the First Constituti ...
*
Court of Cassation (France)
The Court of Cassation (, ) is the supreme court for civil and criminal cases in France. It is France's highest court. It is one of the country's four superior courts, along with the Conseil d'État (France), Council of State, the Constitutiona ...
* Supreme Court of Georgia
*
Court of Cassation (Greece)
* In
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
:
** the
Federal Court of Justice
The Federal Court of Justice ( , ) is the highest court of Private law, civil and Criminal law, criminal jurisdiction in Germany. Its primary responsibility is the final appellate review of decisions by lower courts for errors of law. While, le ...
,
** the
Federal Administrative Court,
** the
Federal Labour Court,
** the
Federal Social Court,
** and the
Federal Fiscal Court
*
Court of Cassation (Haiti)
*
Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA) is the supreme court, final appellate court of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, upon the establishment of the Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, replacing the Judic ...
*
Supreme Court of Indonesia (
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
)
*
Court of Cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...
(
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
)
*
Supreme Court of Cassation (Italy)
The Supreme Court of Cassation () is the highest court of appeal or court of last resort in Italy. It has its seat in the Palace of Justice, Rome.
The Court of Cassation also ensures the correct application of law in the inferior and app ...
*
Supreme Court of Japan
The , located in Hayabusachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law. It has the power of judicial review, which allows it ...
*
Court of Cassation (Jordan)
*
Supreme Court of Korea
The Supreme Court of Korea () is the highest ordinary court in the judicial branch of South Korea, seated in Seocho, Seoul. Established under Chapter 5 of the Constitution of South Korea, the court has ultimate and comprehensive jurisdictio ...
(
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
)
*
Court of Cassation (Kuwait)
*
Court of Cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...
(
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
)
*
Supreme Court of Lithuania
*
Court of Cassation (Luxembourg)
*
Court of Cassation (Morocco)
*
Supreme Court of the Netherlands
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands ( or simply ''Hoge Raad''), officially the High Council of the Netherlands, is the final court of appeal in civil, criminal and tax cases in the Netherlands, including Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Aruba. Th ...
*
Supreme Court of Poland
The Supreme Court ( ) is the highest court in the Poland, Republic of Poland. It is located in the Krasiński Square, Warsaw.
The legal basis for the competence and activities of the Supreme Court is the Constitution of Poland, Polish Consti ...
*
Court of Cassation (Qatar)
*
High Court of Cassation and Justice (
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
)
*
Supreme Court of Russia
*
Court of Cassation (Senegal)
The Court of Cassation () is the highest court in Senegal. It is based on the model of the Court of Cassation (France), French Court of Cassation.
See also
*Politics of Senegal
*Court of cassation (for a list of other courts of cassation around ...
*
Supreme Court of Cassation of Serbia
*
Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic
*
Supreme Court of Spain
The Supreme Court ('', TS'') is the Supreme court, highest court in the Spain, Kingdom of Spain. The court has original jurisdiction over cases against high-ranking officials of the Kingdom and over cases regarding the legalization of political p ...
*
Court of Cassation (Sudan)
*
Supreme Court of the Republic of China
The Supreme Court of Taiwan () (also known as the Supreme Court of the Republic of China) is the court of last resort in Taiwan, except matters regarding interpretation of the Constitution and unifying the interpretation of laws and orders whic ...
(
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
)
*
Court of Cassation (Tunisia)
*
Court of Cassation (Turkey)
The Court of Cassation, officially called the Supreme Court of Appeals of the Republic of Turkey ( – ''Yargıtay'' for short), is the last instance for reviewing verdicts given by courts of criminal and civil justice in Turkey.
History
The ins ...
*
Supreme Specialized Court of Ukraine for Civil and Criminal Cases (
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
)
*
Court of Cassation (Vatican City)Francis, Legge CCCLI sull’ordinamento giudiziario dello Stato della Città del Vaticano
16 March 2020, art. 19 § 1.
See also
* Vacation
A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or school or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for sp ...
and remand, similar doctrines in common-law
Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prec ...
countries, such as the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
References
Courts by type
Civil law (legal system)
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