Supreme Courts as Courts of General Original Jurisdiction

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, including Australian states and territories, Belize, Brunei, Canadian provinces and territories, Gibraltar, Singapore, and Samoa. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court is the common court of six Commonwealth countries and three United Kingdom territories. The oldest among them is the Supreme Court of New York,

A court with the name “Supreme Court” or “Supreme Court of Judicature” can have general appellate jurisdiction in addition to general original jurisdiction. Examples: New York, Palau. Otherwise, there is a separate court with general appellate jurisdiction. Examples: Falkland Islands, Gibraltar.

In some jurisdictions, a second appeal is possible. Examples: to the New York Court of Appeals from the Appellate Division; to the High Court of Australia from an Australian state.

This article provides 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.

See New Judiciary Article for the New York Constitution

Number of Pages in PDF File: 8

Keywords: Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Hong Kong, New Zealand, overseas territory, Palau, Privy Council, Singapore

JEL Classification: K40

working papers series