什麼是法院；法庭

指進行司法審判程式的建築物或場所。原意是指一個圍起來的場所，在建築學上的涵義也是如此--法官坐的審判席設在圍欄內，辯護人、律師和公眾坐在法官席的外側。開始時，這些圍欄是露天的臨時建築，後來才變成固定的大房間或大廳，即審判廳。英國的法院依以下表徵分為︰一是區分為審理刑事案件的法院和審理民事案件的法院；二是區分為進行初審司法程式的初審法院和複審初審法院判決的上訴法院，上訴法院的判決涉及重大法律觀點，有可能經英國上議院複審。在美國，各州有各州全面獨立的法院系統，包括受理上訴的州最高法院、一般司法管轄權的審判法院和專門的法庭（如遺囑檢驗法庭）。同時設有聯邦法院系統，處理屬於全國性的或不適於州法院審理的問題和案件。分為三級：第一級是美國最高法院，第二級是美國聯邦上訴法院，第三級是美國聯邦地方法院。此外還有審判軍職人員或其他被控觸犯軍法人員的軍事法庭。在過去，教會法庭也擁有極大的司法管轄權。

court

Official assembly with judicial authority to hear and determine disputes in particular cases. Judicial tribunals were originally enclosures (courts in an architectural sense) where the judges sat, while lawyers and the general public had to remain outside a bar (hence the term bar in legal contexts). Modern British courts are divided into those trying criminal cases and those trying civil cases; a second distinction is made between inferior courts, or courts of first instance, and superior courts, or courts of appeal. In the U.S., each state has its own comprehensive system of courts, usually consisting of a superior (appellate) court, trial courts of general jurisdiction, and specialized courts (e.g., probate courts). The U.S. also has a system of federal courts, established to adjudicate distinctively national questions and cases not appropriately tried in state courts. At the apex of the national system is the U.S. Supreme Court. The secondary level consists of the U.S. Courts of Appeals. U.S. District Courts form the tertiary level. Crimes committed by military figures may be tried in a court-martial, and in the past ecclesiastical courts also had broad jurisdiction. See also International Court of Justice, judiciary.