Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[llkkss]

Hi,everyone!
Could anyone explain it to me the differences between "court" and "tribunal" ? Thank you so much !

[CP]

I would say that, in the U.S.A., a tribunal is an official body that makes decisions according to a set of rules. A panel of arbitrators sanctioned by the teamster's union would be a tribunal. A mediator trying to achieve a settlement of a dispute might be called a tribunal. A county commission listening to a local dispute would be a tribunal.

A court is the legal tribunal sanctioned by the state or federal government to decide civil disputes and criminal matters. The judge, commissioner, or magistrate hears the evidence, sometimes with a jury, sometimes without, and decides the case. In the U.S., trial courts usually have just one person sitting on the bench and making the decisions.

A reviewing court is a court that hears appeals and petitions of various sorts to decide whether the trial court or a lower appellate court made the correct decision. Reviewing courts are comprised of a number of justices, and each case is decided by some or all of the justices, with the opinion written by one or more of them.

The term "court" is used to refer to the person sitting in judgment, the place where the hearing is held, and the disembodied concept of the person or group handing down the decision.
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