Tribunal d'instance

rdf:langString Tribunal d'instance

rdf:langString In France, the Tribunal d'instance (literally "Court of First Instance") is a judicial lower court of record of first instance for general civil suits and includes a criminal division, the Police Court (tribunal de police), which hears cases of misdemeanors or summary offences (contraventions). Since it has original jurisdiction, the Court's rulings may be appealed to a French appellate court or Supreme Court. The court was formerly known as a Justice of the Peace Court (justice de paix) until the judicial restructuring of 1958. In the Court, proceedings are conducted based on oral testimony and arguments, and, unlike in higher courts, legal counsel is not mandatory. Other judicial courts of original jurisdiction are: * Magistrate courts (juge de proximité) - for small claims and petty misdemeanors (since 1 July 2017 these claims now fall under the jurisdiction of the tribunal d'instance) * High courts (tribunal de grande instance) - handles complex suits and has a criminal section, the Criminal Court (tribunal correctionnel), that hears cases involving minor felonies or indictable offences (délits) * Commercial court (Tribunal de commerce) * Employment Tribunal * Agricultural Land Tribunal (tribunal paritaire des baux ruraux) * Social security tribunal (tribunal des affaires de sécurité sociale)