Westminster Courts , Royal Court of Westminster ( lat. Curia Regis ) - the general name of the highest courts in medieval England. Included the , the and the [1] .
Content
Background
After the Norman conquest of the middle of the XI century. in England, the court orders and customs of Anglo-Saxon times were preserved. For the subordination and reform of the judiciary in different areas, the impact of the new monarchy was still low. Uniformity for the sake of William the Conqueror ordered to adhere to the "good and tested laws of Edward the Confessor ."
During the second half of the XI - the first half of the XII century, a new royal justice was formed. Initially, the activities of justice were limited to a narrow circle of cases directly affecting the crown or disputes between large vassals. Royal justice later increased its intervention in other categories of cases, especially those related to land disputes and the status of holders of land rights.
The prevalence of royal justice was established by the judicial reform of Henry II (1154-1189).
Structure of Westminster Courts
The royal court in Westminster ( curia regis ) has become a permanent court of justice. Five permanent judges were appointed to discuss the requests of judicial commissioners. Over time, the court formed its own staff, established a collegiate practice of discussions. At the end of the XII century, the civilian branch of the court was isolated.
According to the Westminster Statute, adopted during the crisis of the 13th century, it was established that the royal judges appeared to hear cases directly in the counties. Local jury cases were handled there. Thanks to the reforms of Henry II, the jury received official recognition. Criminal charges of ordinary crimes were to be brought forward by a special assembly of county residents - by the Grand Jury among 24 (from the XIV century); further proceedings were conducted by the judges. They sentenced with the participation of the Small Jury - 4-6 representatives of hundreds. Later, jury participation was deemed necessary in resolving land disputes by royal judges. The jury played a particularly important role in criminal cases: they established the event of the offense and the person liable.
During the XIII-XIV centuries, royal justice, within the framework of the general council - curia - specialized, several special institutions with their competence stood out. The court of the royal bench (in the middle of the XIII century, together with the cancellation of the place of the main Justiciary of England) took shape one of the first. It was attended by 4-5 legal advisers and the chairman. The court had the right to decide criminal cases, owned the police power, the right to consider appeals to zemstvo decisions. Since the end of the XIII century, the Court of General Litigation was isolated. He consisted of professional lawyers and had the sole right to consider certain types of lawsuits between subjects if they did not concern the crown. His competence was large-scale and unclear: claims for the protection of land holdings, violation of the agreement, etc. The Treasury Court was a special instance. This court considered cases of financial disputes between subjects and the crown. Then it began to deal with cases that could be shown as "breach of duty."
At different times, there were at least 4 special courts of royal justice, which had the name of the Treasury Chamber. The oldest one was established in 1357 for parsing appeals to the Treasury Court, others were formed in the XV-XVI centuries. All of them were appeals: they analyzed complaints of judicial errors made in the consideration of claims by higher courts. Their competence was formalized and was built only on tradition.
The royal courts in their activities followed the customs, judicial practice and directions contained in the royal "decrees", which had nothing to do with legislative acts.
Royal Court of Absolutism
The competence of the Westminster courts has not changed under absolutism. However, a number of new judicial formations of an exceptional nature have appeared. This is primarily the Star Chamber , which was founded during the reign of Henry VII Tudor and was primarily called upon to fight the rebel feudal lords. Under Elizabeth, a High Commission was formed to exercise jurisdiction related to church affairs. An innovation was the emergence of judicial councils in those regions where the most frequently violated orders (in Wales and northern counties).
The jurisdiction of the supreme court of the Admiralty was finally formed in the first half of the 16th century, and civil matters related to navigation, as well as criminal offenses committed on the high seas, were assigned to its jurisdiction.
Judicial Acts of 1873-1875 and the End of the History of Westminster Courts
By the Acts of the Judiciary of Great Britain of 1873-1875, the Westminster Courts were merged with the Chancellor Court , as a result of which the High Court of Justice was formed.
Notes
- ↑ Marchenko, Mikhail Nikolaevich . Sources of law: study guide. - Moscow: Prospect, 2008 .-- S. 543-544. - 760 s. - Extra, circulation 1,500 copies.
Literature
- David P. Basic legal systems of the present, trans. with french - M., 1967. - S. 255—256.
- Livantsev K. E. History of the medieval state and law. - SPb., 2000. - Ch. 4. § 4.
- Omelchenko O. A. General History of State and Law. Textbook. Ed. 3rd, fix - M., 2000. - T. 1. S. 237
- Petit Duthayy S. The feudal monarchy in France and England in the X-XIII centuries. - M., 1938.