The judicial branch of government is primarily responsible for interpreting laws, reviewing lower court decisions, and ensuring justice. Its key role is to apply and interpret the law in legal cases, which is fundamental to maintaining the rule of law in a society.
Creating laws is not a function of the judicial branch. Instead, this responsibility falls under the legislative branch, which has the authority to draft, propose, and pass laws. The distinction between these functions is important for understanding the separation of powers in the U.S. government, where each branch has distinct responsibilities to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful. The judicial branch acts as a check on the laws created by the legislative branch through its interpretive functions and reviews, but it does not engage in the active creation of laws.