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The Commonwealth Court was created by the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1968
for the purpose of reducing the workload of the Superior and Supreme Courts
and as a court to hear cases brought against or by the Commonwealth. It therefore
has both appellate and original jurisdiction. The Commonwealth Court's original
jurisdiction includes most civil actions against the Commonwealth, civil actions
brought by the Commonwealth, and matters involving the Election Code. Its appellate
jurisdiction encompasses appeals relating to decisions made by state administrative
agencies, civil or criminal appeals from Common Pleas Courts involving the Commonwealth
or its administrative agencies, interpretation of acts of the General Assembly,
interpretation of home rule charters, interpretation of local ordinances or
legislative acts governing local governments, appeals from local administrative
agencies, and matters relating to non-profit corporations and eminent domain
proceedings. For more information about the Commonwealth Court, visit the Commonwealth
Court Historical Society's website at http://pacchs.org
Last processing update: 9/26/2011, acc. #5314
| PA State Archives | Hours, Directions, & Fees | Research Topics | Finding Aids for Collections | Land Records |