District Court (Switzerland)

The district court in Switzerland is the name for the court of first instance in civil and criminal proceedings in seven cantons. In civilian disputes, the arbitration authority (peacekeeper, mediator) is attached to this instance. In addition to the district courts, independent specialist courts such as the labor court or the ruling court exist in some cantons in accordance with the respective court organization laws. The organization of all these courts of first instance is by cantonal law.

The name Bezirksgericht applies in particular to the cantons that have divided the canton area into districts for administrative and / or judicial purposes: Zurich, Lucerne, Schwyz, Graubünden (from 2017: Regionalgericht), Aargau, Thurgau and Valais. Until the recent and recent past, the term was widespread. Due to the professionalization of the judiciary, however, some cantons have centralized their courts of first instance in whole or in part and have subsequently renamed them.

In other cantons, courts of first instance are called the Court of First Instance (Jura), the cantons' court (Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Schaffhausen), regional court (Bern, Neuchâtel) ). As far as the recent past, the same court in the cantons of Bern, Lucerne and Solothurn was the District Court.

A number of cantons know civil and criminal matters each of different courts of first instance: cantonal or criminal court, civil or criminal court (Basel-City, Freiburg, Geneva), civil court or criminal court (Basel-Landschaft , Solothurn), Pretura and the first-instance criminal court (Tessin).

In special courts, there are juvenile courts, which are autonomously organized in practically all cantons, in the case of penalties in which the juvenile prosecution is to be applied. There are other specialist courts in only a few cantons: Lucerne has a separate criminal court for serious criminal cases and a jury for jury. The canton of Berne finally has a court of first instance of an economic criminal court.

The term canton court is not to be confused with the term of the same name, which in some cantons (Lucerne [since 2013], Schwyz, Freiburg, Basel-Landschaft, Appenzell Innerrhoden, St. Gallen, Graubünden, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel and Jura) for the court of second instance, see Obergericht (Switzerland). Edit source text Standard data (conceptual definition): GND: 4331950-6 (AKS)

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