The Italian civil court system is as outlined below. First-instance cases are heard by: (a) the justice of the peace, who sits as a single judge; or (b) the high court, which, depending on the case at issue (in particular in case of specialised divisions), may sit either as a collegium of three judges or as a single judge. In the second instance: (a) decisions by justices of the peace may be appealed before the high court; and (b) a first-instance decision by the high court may be appealed before the courts of appeal, established by a collegium of three judges.