Batonnier

In France, with each court of appeal or trial court, the corporation of lawyers (l'ordre des avocats) elects every two years one of its midst, which is the head of the council of the corporation (conseil de l'ordre) and is called a loaf.

The word "loaf" means a baton and comes from a rod (bâton) or a banner (banniere), which is the head of the semi-legal, semi-spiritual brotherhood of St. Nicholas (confrérie de Saint-Nicolas) wore in the Middle Ages during the solemn processions.

Elected representatives of the barreau (barreau) in France appeared already in the XIV century and held out until the great revolution , when by decree of September 2, 1790 the title of lawyer was destroyed and this occupation was declared free for everyone.

After the bar was restored as an estate in 1804, the decree of September 14, 1810 on its new organization still shows traces of Napoleon I’s distrust of her and the right to appoint a battalion was granted to the prosecutor of the court of appeal (procureur général).

On the basis of the ordinance, on November 22, 1822, the batonnier began to be elected by the disciplinary council (conseil de discipline) from among its members, and only during the July monarchy the right to directly choose the batonnier was returned to the general meeting of the corporation.

The estate was again deprived of this estate (1852) all the time of the Second Empire, and only since 1870 did it again use it.

In the 19th century

Batonnier was elected for one year by an absolute majority of the general meeting of lawyers on the list (tableau). Only when less than 6 lawyers were present at the trial did the loaf be appointed by the court. The custom was established in Paris and other big cities after a year to renew the powers of the batonnier for another year.

Position

Batonnier is the official representative and natural defender of the estate; he was contacted by the government and the magistracy of estate affairs, and he acted and acted on his behalf, if necessary. Obliged to maintain discipline and protect the common interests of the estate, the loaf presided over the corporation's board and executed its decisions and decisions, appointed lawyers in criminal and civil cases in cases of mandatory defense, gave advice, reconciled disputes among the corporation, made comments to young members of the estate, provided them also support with their knowledge and authority. Batonnier presided over the conferences of lawyers, which he opened annually with a solemn speech.

This title was held in high esteem in France. Among the most prominent figures for this position were elected:

• Batonnier // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.