High Court of Justice

Her Majesty's High Court of Justice in England (usually known as the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, the High Court of Justice or, simply, the High Court) is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC for legal citation purposes.

The High Court deals at first instance with all high value and high importance cases, and also has a supervisory jurisdiction over all subordinate courts and tribunals, with a few statutory exceptions.

It has three main divisions: the Queen's Bench Division, the Chancery Division, and the Family Division. The jurisdictions overlap in some cases, and cases started in one division may be transferred by court order to another where appropriate. The differences of procedure and practice between divisions are partly historical, derived from the separate courts which were merged into the single High Court by the 19th-century Judicature Acts, but are mainly driven by the usual nature of their work, for example, conflicting evidence of fact is quite commonly given in person in the Queen's Bench Division, but evidence by affidavit is more usual in the Chancery Division which is primarily concerned with points of law.

High Court

High Court usually refers to the superior court (or supreme court) of a country or state. In some countries, it is the highest court (e.g. Australia). In others, it is positioned lower in the hierarchy of courts (e.g. in England & Wales).

List of High Courts

Alphabetically by name of associated country:

High Court of South Africa

The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. At present it is divided into seven provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Two further divisions are in the process of being established. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction over a defined geographical area in which it is situated, and the decisions of a division are binding on magistrates' courts within its area of jurisdiction. The High Court has jurisdiction over all matters, but it usually only hears civil matters involving more than 100,000 rand, and serious criminal cases. It also hears any appeals or reviews from magistrates' courts and other lower courts.

High Court of New Zealand

The High Court of New Zealand is a superior court of New Zealand. It was established in 1841 and known as the Supreme Court of New Zealand until 1980.

The High Court has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under the Judicature Act 1908, as well as the High Court Rules, for the administration of justice throughout New Zealand. Jurisdiction extends over both criminal and civil matters, and deals with cases at first instance or on appeal from other courts and certain tribunals.

Composition and locations

The High Court comprises the Chief Justice of New Zealand (who is head of the Judiciary) and up to 55 other Judges (which includes the Judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal). The administrative head of the court is known as the Chief High Court Judge. Associate Judges of the High Court (formerly known as Masters) supervise the Court's preliminary processes in most civil proceedings, and have jurisdiction to deal with summary judgment applications, company liquidations, bankruptcy proceedings, and some other types of civil proceedings.