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    United States Customs Court

    From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 6 min


    This page is about a former federal court. For a list of active courts, see: United States federal courts.



    The United States Customs Court (USCC), originally called the Board of General Appraisers, was formed in 1890 to relieve a growing caseload in tariff and customs disputes. In 1980 it was abolished, with its jurisdiction being transferred to the new United States Court of International Trade.

    History of the court[edit]

    In 1890, Congress created the Board of General Appraisers to decide controversies related to customs and tariffs, and to establish precedents for future procedure. Members of the court, or appraisers, were nominated by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate.[1]

    Establishment of the Court of Customs Appeals[edit]

    Appeals from the Board of General Appraisers forced Congress to create the United States Court of Customs in 1910.[2]

    Further expansion of the board[edit]

    The authority of the board was expanded by Congress in the fifty years after its inception. Theappraisers were granted authority to establish rules of evidence and procedure, they gained the same powers as a U.S. circuit court to compel testimony and punish contempt, and they were relieved of any responsibility for administrative duties assigned by the secretary of the Treasury.[1]

    Board of General Appraisers becomes United States Customs Court[edit]

    In 1926, the Board of General Appraisers was changed to the United States Customs Court (USCC).[1]

    Thirty years later, the USCC was designated as a court established under Article III of the Constitution. This gave judges of the court the same authority as other Article III judges, namely life tenure and an inability for the Congress to diminish judges' salaries while serving.[1]

    USCC merged into the new Court of International Trade[edit]

    In 1980, Congress reorganized the USCC as the United States Court of International Trade with the Customs Courts Act of 1980. The Court of International Trade is an Article III court within the federal judicial system.[3]

    See also[edit]

    External links[edit]

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 U.S. Customs Court from the Federal Judicial Center
    2. ↑ U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals from the Federal Judicial Center
    3. ↑ Court of International Trade, About the Court (dead link)


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