justice system

Justice system refers collectively to the agencies, establishments, and institutions responsible for administering or enforcing the law, organized primarily around civil or criminal law matters. The term most often refers to the criminal justice system, which includes law enforcement, courts, and correctional institutions

Justice system should not be confused with the judicial system, which more narrowly refers either to the system of federal courts authorized by Article III of the U.S. Constitution, including the Supreme Court and lower courts established by Congress, or to the system of state courts established under each state constitution.

[Last reviewed in September of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team] 

Wex

• ACADEMIC TOPICS
• trial process/advocacy
• THE LEGAL PROCESS
• courts
• criminal law
• criminal procedure
• wex definitions
• courts and procedure