Judiciary of the Isle of Man

The judges of the High Court are the deemsters, appointed by the King (acting on the advice of the Secretary of State for Justice in the United Kingdom), and the judicial officers, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.

[1] Civil matters are usually heard at first instance by a single deemster sitting in the High Court.

[2] Civil and criminal appeals are dealt with by the Staff of Government Division.

Final appeal is to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom.

This dates back to an ancient right of the Manx to appeal to the Crown of England against the decisions of the Lord of Mann, who in previous times was the supreme insular legal authority, and was explicitly confirmed by the Privy Council in their decision of Christian v. Corren in 1716, several years before revestment.