Flavio Posse Jan 17, 2013:

superior not equal to higher I think we can all agree on "Tribunal Superior" as the correct translation of "Superior Court". Now, if a case decided in Superior Court is appealed, it goes on to the Court of Appeals. So the court of appeals becomes the "higher" court and the Superior Court is the "lower" court. This why when we talk of "higher" and "lower" courts we should use the terms "Tribunal de mayor instancia" or "Tribunal de menor instancia".