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
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'. The aforementioned courts apply a mixture of civil law practice with elements of 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.
Criminal causes
In criminal causes, proceedings must begin by information, indictment or presentment. A misdemeanour is traditionally begun by presentment, asking a court of Petty 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 a Court of Assize, 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).