After the British took control of Tanganyika in 1920, Article 17 of the Tanganyika Ordinance established the Supreme Court of Tanganyika in the Council in 1920. The British established a two-tier system consisting of the High Court and the lower courts, which operated primarily under English common law. [3] District courts are courts of first instance headed by a judge. There are currently 206 district courts in Tanzania. Tanganyika gained independence in 1961 and went through several rounds of provisional constitutions before adopting the current constitution in 1977. By this time, the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar had been completed and a dual jurisdiction system had been formed, in which mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar maintained their own systems of judicial hierarchy. [2] Part of the 1977 Constitution, it was adopted on 15 May 1977. In August 1979, the Court of Appeal of the United Republic was established. The Court is a successor to the East African Court of Appeal and was established as a court with jurisdiction over both the continent and Zanzibar. [4] The Court of Appeal is the highest court and the last court of appeal in Tanzania. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and 5 other judges. The High Court was established under Article 108(1) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977.
[1] The court has unlimited jurisdiction in all types of cases. All appeals from the lower courts are brought before the High Court. The High Courts are presided over by a Senior Judge. The Chief Justice and other judges of the High Court are appointed by the President after consultation with the JSC. [5] The High Court also has three specialist divisions, Commercial, Land & Labour, to expedite cases in these areas. [6] There are two types of courts at this level that share the same level of jurisdiction, district courts and trial courts. These were established under the Courts of First Instance Act 1984. [7] District courts exist in all districts of the country and resident magistrates` courts are mainly located in major cities and serve as regional seats for district courts. They also receive appeals from the courts of first instance, but you can go directly to a lower court if they wish. [8] The High Court of Zanzibar is the highest court on the islands.
There are two high courts on the islands, one in Unguja and the other on Pemba Island. [10] The highest judge in Zanzibar is the Chief Justice of Zanzibar. Zanzibar has a judicial structure very similar to that of the mainland, except that Zanzibar retains Islamic courts called Kadhi courts. District courts and courts of first instance are headed by magistrates, with courts of first instance having more limited jurisdiction than district courts. Other more specialized courts are the Commercial Court and the Regional Court. In 1985, the courts in Zanzibar were established alongside those on the mainland. Islamic courts deal with certain civil law issues. Cases concerning the Constitution of Zanzibar are heard only by the courts of Zanzibar. All other cases may be appealed to the Court of Appeal of the Republic. The Court of Appeal is the supreme court and the court of appeal of last resort; It is presided over by the Chief Justice.
The High Court is based in Dar es Salaam and is itinerant and holds sessions in the regions. It has unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction and decides on appeals before the lower courts. The Tanzanian judiciary is the judicial system that interprets and applies the law in Tanzania. The current judicial system is based on the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977. [1] According to the Constitution of Tanzania, judges and magistrates are independent of the government and subject only to the Constitution and the law. The country has a dual legal system in which there is a judicial structure responsible for mainland Tanzania and another for Zanzibar. The Court of Appeal of the United Republic was established in 1979 as the last court of appeal with jurisdiction for the entire Union. [2] This is a court that hears civil cases related to Sharia law. The parties involved must all be followers of Islam and all must agree that the matter must be decided in accordance with Islamic law. The case must be civil in nature, e.g. divorce, inheritance, etc.
The court is headed by a Kadhi chief and Parliament has the power to enact laws outlining the policies, qualifications and jurisdiction of the court. Appeals from the Kadhi court are heard by Kadhi`s courts of appeal. [ref. needed] The High Court is the Court of Appeal of the Magistrates Courts and exercises unlimited control. The court consists of 37 judges who rule in 11 zones. Since Tanzania is a state composed of Zanzibar and Tanganyika, there are two high courts, one in Zanzibar and the other in Tanganyika. On the Tanzanian mainland, there are currently 14 regional high courts based in Dar es Salaam. Tanzanian continental law is a combination of British, East African and Islamic customary law. District courts are headed by appointed judges. They have limited jurisdiction and the right to appeal to the district courts, which are presided over by resident or district judges.
An appeal can be lodged with the High Court, which consists of a Chief Justice and 17 judges appointed by the President. It has both civil and criminal jurisdiction over all persons and all matters. Appeals to the High Court may be made to the five-member Court of Appeal. Judges are appointed to the Court of Appeal and the High Court by the President on the advice of the Chief Justice, and to the lower courts by the Chief Justice. The courts of first instance are the lowest courts in the country. In 2020, there were nearly 700 main courses spread across the country. They deal with criminal and civil cases of a customary nature. [9] Article 125 of the 1977 Constitution establishes the Special Constitutional Court. The Special Court shall be established only in the event of a dispute over the interpretation of the Constitution between the Government of the United Republic and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar. The court does not have the power to interfere with or overturn the decisions of the high courts or the court of appeal.
[1] Judges are appointed individually by litigation. Half of the members come from the Tanzania Mainland Bar Association and the other half from Zanzibar. * I would like to thank Christabel Manning for conducting the research and preparing the basic draft for this compilation, without whose help this article would not have been possible. The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 gives the Tanzanian judiciary the power and responsibility to administer justice. The judiciary is based on sections 107A(1) and 107B of the Constitution and clearly states the independence of the judiciary in the United Republic of Tanzania. Today, the strategic plan for the independence of the judiciary focuses on both formal and substantive. In 2007, the Government enacted the Tanzania Law School Act. This law requires all law graduates of recognized universities to undergo twelve months of practical legal training. Upon completion of their studies, they are registered as High Court Advocates and receive a postgraduate diploma in legal practice. The Tanzania Faculty of Law has the capacity to enrol more than 350 trainee lawyers.