Court structures compared
Which court has the last word? Where does an appeal go? Does the country have separate administrative courts, or a constitutional court? Pick up to four countries and see their courts side by side, drawn as simple diagrams.
Part of the Legal Families Atlas family of tools.
Loading the diagrams…
How to read the diagrams
Each column is a track of courts: a line from the top court down to the first-instance courts where cases begin. Appeals travel up the arrows. A gold box across the top means one court is the final court for every track.
A dashed box at the bottom is a court that stands apart from the chain of appeals, usually a constitutional court.
Colour of each track
- Ordinary courts
- Administrative courts
- Specialised courts
- Religious courts
- Constitutional court
- Supranational courts
Every system covered
African Court on Human and Peoples' RightsArgentinaAustraliaAustriaBangladeshBelgiumBrazilCanadaChileChinaColombiaCzechiaDenmarkEgyptEngland and WalesEuropean Court of Human RightsEuropean UnionFinlandFranceGermanyGhanaGreeceHong KongIndiaIndonesiaInter-American Court of Human RightsInternational Court of JusticeInternational Criminal CourtIranIrelandIsraelItalyJapanKenyaMalaysiaMexicoNetherlandsNew ZealandNigeriaNorwayPakistanPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSaudi ArabiaScotlandSingaporeSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainSri LankaSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwanThailandTurkeyUnited Arab EmiratesUnited StatesVietnam
A simplified picture, on purpose
Real court systems have many special courts and local variations. These diagrams show the main structure, which stays stable over time. Where a country’s courts are under reform or contested, the chart says so and shows only the formal structure. This is an educational overview, not legal advice.
Cite this page
TheLawToKnow Tools. Court Structures Compared. https://tools.thelawtoknow.com/court-structures.
Missing a country, or spotted a mistake?
Tell us. We add countries over time.
