What does Appellate Jurisdiction refer to?

• A. The ability or power of a court to hear appeals of the decisions of lower courts and to reject, affirm or modify those decisions
• B. The authority to appoint magistrates
• C. The capacity to conduct trials without juries
• D. The power to legislate new laws

Answer: (A)

Appellate jurisdiction is the authority of a higher court to review the decisions of a lower court. When a party appeals, the court with appellate jurisdiction looks at whether legal errors affected the outcome and can reject, affirm, or modify the lower court’s decision. It focuses on correcting mistakes in how the law was applied rather than re‑trying facts or hearing new evidence.

The other options describe powers that belong to different roles: appointing magistrates is an administrative/appointment function, conducting trials without juries relates to trial procedure, and legislating new laws is the job of the legislature.