Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States (colloquially known as "SCOTUS") is the highest federal court of the United States. Established pursuant to Article III of the United States Constitution in 1789, it has ultimate (and largely discretionary) appellate jurisdiction over all federal courts and over state court cases involving issues of federal law, plus original jurisdiction over a small range of cases. In the legal system of the United States, the Supreme Court is the final interpreter of federal constitutional law, although it may only act within the context of a case in which it has jurisdiction.

The Court normally consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Once appointed, justices have life tenure unless they resign, retire, take senior status, or are removed after impeachment (though no justice has ever been removed). In modern discourse, the justices are often categorized as having conservative, moderate, or liberal philosophies of law and of judicial interpretation. Each justice has one vote, and while many cases are decided unanimously, many of the highest profile cases often expose ideological beliefs that track with those philosophical or political categories. The Court meets in the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C.

Supreme Court of Cameroon

The Supreme Court (French Cour Suprême) is the highest judicial body in Cameroon. As defined in Article V of the Constitution of Cameroon, the Supreme Court is above the courts of appeal and the tribunals. It is nominally independent of the executive and legislative branches of government, subject only to the oversight of the Higher Judicial Council. The justices are appointed by the president of Cameroon. The court is headquartered in Yaoundé.

The Supreme Court is an appellate court made up of three parts: the judicial, administrative, and audit benches. The judicial bench rules on standard cases appealed from the lower courts. the administrative bench handles cases involving the state, such as election disputes and appellate cases involving the government. This branch can hear such cases on the first instance. The audit bench takes cases relating to public accounts of public and semi-private entities. The Supreme Court may only rule on the constitutionality of law at the behest of the president of Cameroon. The body typically decides appeals only on point of law.

Supreme Court of Chile

The Supreme Court of Chile is the highest court in Chile. It also administrates the lower courts in the nation. It is located in the capital Santiago.

In the Chilean system, the court lacks the broader power of judicial review — it cannot set binding precedent or invalidate laws. Instead, it acts on a case-by-case basis. Trials are carried out in salas, chambers of at least five judges, presided over by the most senior member.

Membership

The members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President, but must be chosen from a list of five choices which is prepared by the sitting members of the court. Two of these choices must be senior judges from appellate courts; the other three need not have any judicial experience. The president's choice must then be ratified by a two-thirds majority of the Senate.

Supreme Court justices must be at least 36 years old. Once appointed, a Chilean Supreme Court justice is extremely difficult to remove from office. Justices are entitled to remain on the Court until the compulsory retirement age of 75. Otherwise, a justice can be removed only if he or she incurs in "notorious abandonment of duty", as deemed by a majority of both chambers of Congress.

Supreme Court of Finland

The Supreme Court of Finland (Finnish: korkein oikeus, Swedish: högsta domstolen), located in Helsinki, consists of a President and at minimum 15, currently 18, other Justices, usually working in five-judge panels. Its jurisdiction does not extend to the administrative court system or the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland.

The most important function of the Supreme Court is to rule on important points of law in cases which are significant for the entire legal order, guiding the administration of justice in future cases. Decisions of courts of appeal, as well as certain decisions of the Insurance Court may be appealed against to the Supreme Court, provided that it grants leave to appeal. In the rare criminal cases where a court of appeals acts as a court of first instance, the leave to appeal is not needed. (Cases of espionage, treason and criminal cases involving high civil servants or officers of at least major's rank fall into this category.)

The Supreme Court may annul final decisions of courts on the grounds provided in Chapter 31 of the Code of Judicial Procedure. The Court also handles complaints concerning errors in procedure. In some cases the Court may restore the right of appeal after the expiration of a specified period of time.