Tribunal

A tribunal refers to any person or institution that has been granted the authority to adjudicate, judge, or determine the result of claims or legal disputes. The term ‘tribunal’ does not always exclusively refer to a legal setting such as a court. For instance, employment tribunals in Great Britain exist solely to solve employment disputes without the involvement of the judiciary. In most cases, a tribunal refers to a legal process that possesses a lesser degree of formality than what is seen in a court. The word tribunal derives from the tribunes, which were a group of magistrates from the Classical Roman Republic. In this instance, ‘tribunal’ referred to the office of the tribunes. In the United Kingdom, the tribunal system is a part of the national system of administrative justice. Beginning in 2007, reforms were set in motion to create a more coherent and unified system recognisable by judicial authority, regulatory supervision, and routes of appeal.