Court
- For the court as the seat of a royal person see royal court.
- For the court as a space inside a building, see courtyard.
A court, in law, is a part of the government in which people come together to decide how to apply the country's laws to a specific situation, especially when there is an argument over how to apply the law. Some disagreements a court may decide are whether a person is guilty of a crime, who is the legal owner of property, or who the children of two divorced parents should live with. The system of courts that interprets and applies the law is commonly known as the judiciary. A court is usually located in a special building called a courthouse.
Most countries have multiple courts to deal with different issues. For example, civil courts deal with private disputes between people or organizations, while criminal courts deal with people who have been accused of crimes.
Types of courts
Court Media
A trial at the Old Bailey in London as drawn by Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Pugin for Microcosm of London (1808–11)
The building of the Supreme Court of Estonia in Tartu
A courtroom of the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland
A courtroom of the Permanent Court of Arbitration
