Judiciary of Great Nortend

The Judiciary of Great Nortend is the branch of the government of Great Nortend that is responsible for resolving disputes between subjects as well as between the Crown and subjects by maintaining and upholding the law of the land.

The Law

Main article: Law of Great Nortend

The Erbonian legal system is a mix of customary, regular, civil and statute law, based mostly on an adversarial system. The normal courts (i.e. not the manorial, admiralty, ecclesiastical or martial courts) are in the regular law tradition, often thought of as the Erbonian equivalent to 'common law' and formally known as the 'law of the realm' or lex regni, as contrasted with statute law, formally known as jus rege. The aforementioned courts apply a mixture of civil law practice with elements of the regular law.

There are five traditional categories of 'law', and one category traditionally not considered to fall under the broad term of 'law', despite being a judicial or arbitrative function. These categories are: 1. Criminal law; 2. Common law; 3. Admiralty law; 4. Martial law; 5. Canon law; 6. Petitive remedies (also called 'aequity').

Courts

The courts in Great Nortend are not formally normally established individually. Rather, individual judges or justices are empowered to hold court or assize under either commissions by the Sovereign, or by various deeds, warrants and letters patent. One example of such a commission is a commission audiendo et terminando, which is a general commission to a justice to empower and command him to inquire into all treasons, felonies, misdemeanours and breaches of His Majesty's peace, and to 'hear and determine' them according to law.

Sessions

The sessions are courts held not by royal justices created by writ of the Sovereign, but under the communal or seigneurial systems of justice. The three main types of sessions are the manorial sessions, the petty sessions and the quarter sessions.

Manorial sessions

The manorial sessions (curia baronis) is a court held in a manor which subsumed the historical vill sessions and rector's court. The manorial sessions has the power to resolve pleas of the lord's tenants, free and unfree, in writs de recto and in personal pleas where the debt does not exceed 40 shillings and to amerce those who break the manorial or parochial bye-laws. It has no jurisdiction over matters not concerning a tenant of the lord, in which case the plea or matter must be brought in another court.

The manorial sessions is held by the lord of the manor, whose steward serves as presider thereover. Matters are judged by a jury of suitours, taken from those tenants of the manor who are obliged to attend court when it sits. The manorial court is by law required to convene monthly. Pleas in real matters from the court may be removed to the quarter sessions by a writ of tolt, and other matters to the royal courts by a writ of pone. After judgment is given, a writ of accedas ad curiam can be used.

Petty sessions

The petty sessions, or hundred court (curia centeni) is a form of manorial court held in a 'petty sessions district', which is equivalent to a hundred. It has all of the powers of a manorial court, in addition to the powers to try crimes which occur in the hundred's vills, and the widening of its jurisdiction to include over all tenants within the hundred.

The petty sessions is held normally in the principal town of the hundred, and comprises three wardens of the peace appointed by the sheriff of the county. The registrar of the court is either a bailiff appointed by the sheriff or the steward of the lord of the hundred, a title attached to the lord of the manor of the principal town of the hundred. A jury of suitours is empanelled to deliver verdicts.

Because of the ease of appealing decisions from the petty sessions to the royal courts, it is practically obsolete in the trial of real actions. Its remaining jurisdiction in practice is over other common pleas between tenants of the hundred involving sums less than £30, and in the trial of those accused of misdemeanours where the constable of the parish wherein the crime allegedly occurs, along with his witnesses, must present and allege the crime to the jury of suitours empanelled, who have the power to give a verdict, the wardens of the peace having the role of sentencing.

In the case of felonies, the constable must make indictment or information to the quarter sessions or courts of eyre. As with the manorial sessions, pleas present in the petty sessions may be removed to the quarter sessions by a writ of tolt, and other matters to the royal courts by a writ of pone. A writ of accedas ad curiam can be used to sent a judgment to the royal courts for review.

Quarter sessions

The quarter sessions, or county court, is a court held by the sheriff of a county. It has a jurisdiction over all persons resident in a county and is one of the main courts for civil and criminal actions. By virtue of various writs of justicies, the quarter sessions are empowered to hear most real actions (excluding those determining freeholds, frankalmoign and certain statutory writs) and personal actions of any value, which are by right due to the royal courts. It also has the power to hear pleas removed from the manorial sessions and petty sessions by writs of tolt.

In criminal matters, the quarter sessions is empowered to try all misdemeanours and trespasses, and all felonies excepting murder, treason and other crimes with a required sentence of death, as the sessions are not empowered to request a sentence of capital punishment. The process for misdemeanours is as in the petty sessions; however, felonies must be begun by indictment or information. All felonies may be indicted in the quarter sessions; however, those felons for which the prosecution desires the capital punishment must be kept in the county gaols until the court of eyre arrives.

The judges of the quarter sessions are properly the jury of suitours; however, the recorder, appointed by the sheriff, and three wardens of the peace normally sit on the bench as justices who pass sentence and may try pleas summarily by agreement of the parties. A judgment of the quarter sessions may be re-examined by the royal courts with a writ of recordari facias loquelam, and plea can be removed to the royal courts by a writ of pone.

Royal courts

Court of Eyre

The Court of Eyre (curia iter justiciarii) is a travelling circuit court composed of royal justices from the Common Bench and the King's Chamber. There are six 'circuits' around different regions of the country, and it is required that each county be visited at least twice a year. The justices in eyre hold criminal commissions of the Sovereign of audiendo et terminando, ad gaolam deliberandam, ad pacem and in civil matters by commissions of nisi prius and ad omnia placita.

By their civil commission of ad omnia placita are the justices in eyre empowered to hear pleas removed from the sessions by recordari, accessas or pone, and by nisi prius are they empowered to hear pleas which ordinarily must be heard in Lendert originating by original writ of Chancery.

Their criminal commissions empower the justices in eyre to hear all criminal cases in the county. Specifically, their commission audiendo et terminando requires them to make diligent inquiry into all misdemeanours, felonies and treasons, and to hear and determine them appropriately. This is achieved through presentment and indictment. Their commissions of ad gaolam deliberandam charges justices to try all prisoners in the county's gaols, previously indicted in the quarter sessions. The general commission ad pacem simply gives justices in eyre all of the powers of a warden of the peace. No justice in eyre may try cases audiento et terminando or ad gaolam deliberandum where he was born.

Judgments in the court of eyre may be appealed in law by writ of certiorari or in fact by a writ of errore corrigendo.

Criminal causes

The criminal court hierarchy tries those persons accused of crimes. Though private prosecutions are permitted, the Crown usually acts as the prosecutor.

Court	Composition	Jurisdiction
Petty Sessions	3 W.P.s, or 1 S.M.	Infractions and misdemeanours
Quarter Sessions	Recorder and 1 S.M or 3 W.P.s.	Removals, misdemeanours, trespasses and lesser felonies tried with a jury.
Assize	1 Justice	Appeals, and felonies tried with a jury.
Court of King's Chamber	1 Justice (3 Justices in appeals)	Appeals, felonies and treason tried with a jury.
Court of Appeal	3 Lord Justices	Appeals
Court of the Noble Lords	6 Lord Justices	Appeals
Court of King in Camera	The Sovereign and the Lord High Steuard	Appeals

In criminal causes, proceedings must begin by information, indictment or presentment.

A misdemeanour or infraction is traditionally begun by presentment, asking a court of Petty or Quarter Sessions to examine the evidence and decide whether there is a case to be made.

A felony or treason may be begun by either information or indictment in the court of Quarter Sessions or a Court of Assize, depending on the severity, but indictment is most common as if a jury should return a verdict of not guilty for a proceeding under information, the court is empowered to hold the informant in contempt. Proceeding by indictment involves drawing up a bill of indictment, and asking a grand jury to determine, by a majority of at least twelve men, whether the bill is a 'true bill' or not (in which case 'ignoramus' will be engrossed).

Where there is a petty jury which must deliver a verdict, the jury may return a verdict of filed convict, filed acquit, clean acquit, and no verdict. A verdict of filed acquit may be appealed.

Common causes

The civil courts arbitrate disputes between individuals.

Court	Composition	Jurisdiction
Manorial Court	Parish ordinary, Manor steward and 1 J.P.	Matters between tenants
Quarter Sessions	Recorder and 1 S.M or 3 W.P.s.	Sums less than £30
Assize	1 Justice	Appeals, and sums £30 or greater
Court of King's Chamber	1 Justice (3 Justices in appeals)	Appeals, and sums £30 or greater
Court of Appeal	3 Lord Justices	Appeals
Court of the Noble Lords	6 Lord Justices	Appeals
Court of King in Camera	The Sovereign and the Lord High Steuard	Appeals

In matters concerning sums less than £30, the plaintiff begins proceedings by a plaint, which is a written statement setting out to the court the grounds for suit, following which a summoneas may be issued by the court. For more serious matters, which are heard in the Assizes or higher, the plaintiff must purchase a writ of chancery from the Chancery to begin his action.

The lord of a manor is empowered to hold a manorial court for resolving civil disputes between his tenants, and for other administrative purposes, where proceedings begin by libel.