We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Finance

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is the Judiciary?

By Alan Rankin
Updated: Jan 28, 2024
Views: 42,580
Share

The judiciary is the branch of government that deals with interpretation of a nation’s laws, resolution of legal conflicts, and judgments for violations of the law. The judiciary, also known as the judicial system, is composed of judges and courts. The judicial system is deliberately kept separate from the nation’s legislative body, such as a parliament or congress, which creates or abolishes the nation’s laws as part of the political process. Attorneys are specialists who study the law in order to help clients navigate the judicial system.

Legal systems of various kinds have existed since the dawn of civilization. Precedents of the modern judicial system include ancient Greek and Roman law and the lawspeakers of medieval Scandinavia. English common law established by the Magna Carta is the most direct ancestor of many current legal systems. France’s Napoleonic Code was also influential in replacing local customs with a set system of laws and courts. By the 18th century, many countries around the world had developed some form of a judiciary.

In many nations, the law is established by a constitution or similar document created when the nation was founded. The legislative body then creates further laws that are intended to carry the spirit of the constitution into specific situations. It is the responsibility of the judiciary to determine if these new laws are, in fact, true to the intent of the constitution. For this reason, judges must be extremely well versed in the laws of the nation. Most begin their careers as attorneys before moving on to the judicial bench.

The judiciary is best known for its administration of criminal court cases. Anyone caught violating a law must eventually face a judge, who will determine whether the violation occurred, the severity of the offense, and the penalty. Judges are aided in this process by their understanding of the law, their own interpretation of its meaning, and in some cases by a jury or a panel of fellow judges. The majority of court cases, however, involve civil law, such as trademark or copyright violations, bankruptcy, or individual lawsuits. In the United States, 80 percent of court cases involve civil law, while only 20 percent are criminal cases.

In the U.S. and many other nations, the judiciary contains a hierarchy, with judges in higher courts possessing the authority to change or void prior decisions made by judges from lower courts. This establishes a system of appeals. The loser of a case in a lower court may appeal to a higher court for a reversal of the verdict. As long as they can afford the legal expenses, parties can continue to appeal until they reach the highest court, known as the Supreme Court in the U.S. and the High Court in Australia and other English-speaking nations. The judgments of this highest court can determine not only the final outcome of the case, but in some cases can alter the interpretation of the law itself.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
By anon928011 — On Jan 27, 2014

This is very interesting. My son and I really enjoyed seeing the prospects as he wants to be a lawyer.

By Realited — On Jan 20, 2014

The biggest difference is that in this era you have all kinds of government or state sanctioned programs that will help a convicted person get a job, find housing, and try to re-establish some form of normalcy in life.

By Grinderry — On Jan 20, 2014
@Contentum: Probably not, as a lot of those punishments back in those times involved removing a body part, branding and/or scarring the person for life so that everyone who saw them would know they were a convicted criminal. Somewhat similar to our times in that once you've been convicted of committing a crime and have served time in prison, that will follow you all of your life no matter where you go
By Contentum — On Jan 19, 2014
@Realited: It makes one wonder, if you took a criminal from this day and age and deposited him in ancient Greece, or Roman times, would he still wish to perform criminal acts? After seeing the punishment meted out to those who broke the laws established.
By Realited — On Jan 18, 2014
This is interesting. I have never considered that fact that the legal system today is based on old English laws and other factors from other countries, such as Rome and Greece. It would be interesting to know where those countries had gotten their fundamental legal systems from.

It might be that the severity level of crime to punishment that existed back then was different than what we currently have today.

Share
https://www.wise-geek.com/what-is-the-judiciary.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.