Court

A court, or court of law, is a governmental institution, usually part of the state, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters. Courts are typically staffed by judges or judicial officers and are created by legislation or constitutional provision, with the specific matters and questions each one may decide defined by its jurisdiction. As the central mechanism for resolving disputes in both common law and civil law systems, a court allows a person to bring a claim or an accused person to mount a defense, and it sits in a courtroom, part of a courthouse that can range from a modest rural building to a large urban complex.