BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The number of criminal appeal cases in the Brunei Supreme Court declined from 24 in 2016 to 21 in 2017 while civil appeal cases saw a minor increase from six to seven in the same period.

According to local media on Wednesday, statistics compiled by the State Judiciary Department in conjunction with the opening of Legal Year 2018 showed that civil cases registered in the High Court saw a significant decrease from 93 in 2016 to 77 cases last year while criminal cases declined from 11 to nine in the same period.

Meanwhile, the Intermediate Court saw an increase in civil, criminal and commercial cases during 2016-2017. Civil cases increased from 48 to 68, while criminal cases rose to 88 last year compared to only 51 in the previous year.

The Magistrate's Court in all four districts recorded an overall decrease in civil and criminal cases. Brunei-Muara District saw a major drop in criminal cases from 3,014 in 2016 to 1,479 cases in 2017. However, Tutong District recorded almost double the number of criminal cases - from 47 in 2016 to 87 last year.

Brunei's State Judiciary Department was established in May 2002 and is solely responsible for the administration and management of support services, provision and financial affairs of the civil and Syariah courts.