Court of cassation

A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In this way they differ from systems which have a supreme court which can rule on both the facts of a case and the relevant law. The term derives from the Latin cassare, "to reverse/overturn".

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The European Court of Justice answers questions of European Union law following a referral from a court of a Member State. In exercising this function it is not a court of cassation: it issues binding advice to the national courts on how EU law ought to be interpreted, it does not overturn decisions of those courts. However, the Court of Justice can act as a court of cassation when it hears appeals from the General Court of the European Union.