District Court (Switzerland)
District court is the name for the court of first instance in civil and criminal proceedings in six cantons in Switzerland . In civil disputes, the arbitration authority (justice of the peace, mediator) is upstream of this body . In addition to the district courts, in some cantons there are independent specialized courts such as the labor court or the tenant court in accordance with the respective court organization laws . All these courts of first instance are organized by cantonal law.
The name district court applies in particular in those cantons that have divided the canton into districts for administrative and / or judicial purposes: Zurich , Lucerne , Schwyz , Aargau , Thurgau and Wallis . The term was more common until the recent and recent past. Due to the professionalization of the judiciary, however, some cantons have centralized their courts of first instance in whole or in part and subsequently renamed them.
Other names for the courts of first instance are court of first instance ( Jura ), cantonal court ( Obwalden , Nidwalden , Glarus , Appenzell Ausserrhoden , Schaffhausen ), district court ( St. Gallen , Waadt ), regional court ( Uri ) and regional court ( Bern , Graubünden , Neuchâtel ). Until the recent past, the same dish was called in the cantons of Bern, Lucerne and Solothurn District Court .
Some cantons have different courts of first instance for civil and criminal matters: cantonal or criminal court ( Zug ), civil or criminal court ( Basel-Stadt , Friborg , Geneva ), civil district or criminal court ( Basel-Landschaft , Solothurn ) , Pretura or first instance criminal court ( Ticino ).
At special courts, there are autonomously organized juvenile courts in practically all cantons for criminal cases in which the juvenile criminal procedure is to be used . Other special courts are only available in a few cantons: Lucerne has a separate criminal court for serious criminal cases and Ticino has a jury . Finally, the canton of Bern has a commercial criminal court of first instance .
The term cantonal court should not be confused with the term of the same name, which is used in some cantons (Lucerne [since 2013], Schwyz, Freiburg, Basel-Landschaft, Appenzell Innerrhoden, St. Gallen, Graubünden, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel and Jura) applies to the court of second instance, see Higher Court (Switzerland) .
