English edit

Noun edit

high court (plural high courts)

  1. (common law) A supreme court; a court to which final appeals may be taken.
    Synonym: court of last resort
    • 1833, Noah Worcester, A solemn review of the custom of war[1], page 7:
      But if the eyes of people could be opened in regard to the evils and delusions of war, would it not be easy to form a confederacy of nations, and organize a high court of equity, to decide national controversies?
    • 1840, Samuel Perkins, The World as it is: Containing a View of the Present Condition of Its Principal Nations[2]:
      The judicial power is vested in three high courts consisting of four judges each, and having concurrent jurisdiction in all civil matters; and in a great number of inferior municipal courts.
    • 2004, Gretchen Helmke, Courts under Constraints: Judges, Generals, and Presidents in Argentina[3]:
      Compared with most Latin American courts, on paper the Argentine judiciary is among the most insulated high courts in the region.
    • 2023 June 6, Jim Waterson, Kiran Stacey, “Britain’s government and press at rock bottom, Prince Harry tells court”, in The Guardian[4], →ISSN:
      The prince was appearing at the high court to give evidence against the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People tabloids.
    • 2023 October 18, “Network News: Carmont: NR pays nearly £1m in out-of-court settlements”, in RAIL, number 994, page 15:
      At the High Court in Aberdeen in September, NR pleaded guilty to a series of failings, including failing to tell the driver that it was unsafe to drive the train at the 75mph line speed.
  2. A superior court; a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases.

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