Courts of Northern Ireland

The courts of Northern Ireland are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland: they are constituted and governed by Northern Ireland law.

The United Kingdom does not have a single unified judicial system: England and Wales have one system, Scotland another and Northern Ireland a third. There are exceptions to that rule, for example in immigration law, the jurisdiction of the First Tier Tribunal (Immigration & Asylum Chamber) and the Upper Tribunal covers the whole of the United Kingdom, and in employment law, there is a single system of Employment Tribunals for England and Wales and Scotland (but not Northern Ireland). Additionally, the Military Court Service has jurisdiction over all members of the armed forces of the United Kingdom in relation to offences against military law.

To overcome problems resulting from the intimidation of jurors and witnesses, the right to a jury trial in Northern Ireland was suspended for certain terrorist offences in 1972, and the so-called "Diplock courts" were introduced to try people charged with paramilitary activities. Diplock courts are common in Northern Ireland for crimes connected to terrorism.

Administration of the courts is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service.

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom was created by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. It took its duties up on 1 October 2009. It is the highest court of appeal in Northern Ireland, hearing ultimate appeals from all the courts of the United Kingdom, other than Scottish criminal cases.

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