court of first instance
(redirected from courts of first instance)Also found in: Legal.
Related to courts of first instance: trial court
court of first instance
n
(Law) a court in which legal proceedings are begun or first heard
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014