COURTS OF JUSTICE. 



493 



the accused. The confiscation of property, in parti- 

 cular, which is decreed in one state, is absolutely 

 disregarded in every other. 



The punishment of crimes committed in foreign 

 lands is a matter still more disputed. The various 

 theories on penal law present each a different view 

 of the subject. It should always be remembered, in 

 discussing this question, that the administration of 

 the penal law has a higher object than the acquiring 

 or securing an advantage to the state, and a better 

 foundation than the caprice which threatens this or 

 that action with punishment, and which would suffer 

 the most infamous crimes to pass unpunished, if they 

 are inadvertently omitted in the penal code. The 

 penal laws, more tlian any other branch of legisla- 

 tion, should have regard to those eternal principles, 

 which are older than any laws. They ultimately 

 concern all mankind ; they are the great support of 

 moral order : every state, therefore, should lend to 

 others all the assistance, in executing these laws, 

 which accords with its convictions of right. A state 

 which tolerates a criminal in its bosom unpunished, 

 wherever his crime has been committed, partakes of 

 his guilt. He should be punished according to the 

 laws of the land (for each state must regard its own 

 penal laws as the most just) ; but only for acts which 

 are criminal in themselves and universally ; such as 

 murder, robbery, fraud, violence, which may be styled 

 crimes against the law of nature (delicta juris gentium). 

 Acts which are prohibited by particular states for 

 particular reasons, and violate no universal laws of 

 morality and justice, are to be viewed simply as vio- 

 lations of the peculiar organization of certain states ; 

 and no other state has good reason to punish them ; 

 for, before this can properly be done, it must first be 

 decided, that the prohibitory laws of the states sup- 

 posed accord with the higher demands of justice, and 

 a different state has neither the means nor the right 

 to make this decision. For this reason, it is the 

 universal practice of nations to pass over crimes 

 which merely infringe the positive regulations of 

 other states (delicta juris positivi) ; such as violations 

 of financial laws, laws against contraband trade, po- 

 lice regulations, ecclesiastical ordinances, &c. In 

 fact, one state could not, consistently, punish such 

 offences against. the laws of another; for foreign 

 states often encourage such transgressions of posi- 

 tive law to advance their own political views. But 

 if a subject of one country, while abroad, commits an 

 offence of this class against the laws of his own coun- 

 try, he is properly liable to punishment on his return. 

 The citizens of a country, while they are abroad, 

 are subject to the laws of their native land. This is 

 the rule in England, France (Code d' Instruct, crim. 

 art. 5, Prussia (Allgemeine Landrecht, ii., 20, sect. 

 12 15), Austria (Strafgcsetzbuch, s. ii.,sect. 30). In 

 this case, as in those before mentioned, France ex- 

 tends its jurisdiction beyond the proper bounds. It 

 assumes the right of punisliing strangers who violate 

 the laws of the state abroad (Code d 'Instruct, crim. 

 art. 6) ; and, on the other hand, it refuses to punish 

 crimes committed by its own subjects in foreign 

 lands against foreigners (Code d' Instruct, crim, art 7, 

 24). As offences committed abroad are not to be 

 considered as an immediate violation of the penal 

 code of the country where they are brought to jus- 

 tice, the punishment inflicted on a foreigner ought 

 not to be severer than tliat provided by the laws of 

 the country where the offence took place ; and as the 

 punishment cajmot be more severe than that imposed 

 by the laws of the country where it is inflicted, the 

 milder rule should be followed. This is in accord- 

 ance with the statutes of Prussia (Allg. Landr. ii., 20, 

 sect. 15). To adopt the punishment imposed by the 

 laws of the country where the act took place, with- 



out regard to circumstances, is contrary to all correct 

 theory, and would lead to the greatest inconsistencies. 

 This would require the application of the most absurd 

 laws that were ever framed the penal laws of Eng- 

 land, for instance, where death is the punishment for 

 cutting down of a tree, or wearing a mask in a wood ; 

 and the religious laws of Spain are equally severe. 

 If the liberty of selection, among the punishments 

 imposed by foreign laws, be allowed, this would 

 lead to the most pernicious uncertainty and ca- 

 price. 



COURTS OP ENGLAND. Inferior Courts. In describing the 

 courts of England it will be sufficient to take a cursory view of 

 those of inferior and limited jurisdiction ; among the most in- 

 considerable of which is the piepowder court, which is com- 

 monly said to derive its appellation from words signifying the 

 dusty foot, either in allusion to the suitors who frequented it, 

 or, as some say, because justice was as speedily done in this 

 court as the dust could he shaken from the feet. Harrington, 

 however, derives the name from the old French pied.poul- 

 dreaux, a peddler, because the chapmen frequented these courts. 

 The piepowder court is incident to fairs and markets, having 

 two branches, one held by the lord of the franchise or his 

 steward, the other by the clerk of the market. In this court 

 are settled all disputes respecting contracts made, and all suita 

 for injuries and offences committed during the fair. An appeal 

 lies from this court to those of Westminster hall. The piepow- 

 der court has fallen very much into disuse. 



Courts of manors and hundredi. The lord of every manor is 

 entitled to hold a court, not of record, called a court baron, by 

 himself or his steward, having a civil jurisdiction. A hundred 

 court is similar, only embracing a wider district. 



The coroner's court is held by a coroner, who assembles a 

 jury to inquire concerning the death of any person, wherever 

 any violence is suspected. 



The sheriff's court. The sheriff of each county formerly held 

 a court, called the sheriff's tourn or torn, twice a-year, in each 

 hundred of his county, at, which every person over twelve 

 years of age, and not specially privileged, was obliged to at- 

 tend, for the reformation of common grievances and nuisances, 

 the trial of offences, and the preservation of peace and goud 

 government. It has also a considerable jurisdiction in civil 

 suits. '1 hough the j urisdiction of this court remains, its business 

 has, it seems, long since ceased, except in regard to actions <>l 

 replevin, which, professor Wooddeson says, are frequently 

 commenced in the sheriff' 1 ! torn, and almost as frequently re- 

 moved into a superior judicature. 



The court leet has the same jurisdiction, in particular dis- 

 tricts, that the sheriff's court has in the county, and, like the 

 sheriff's court, is now almost obsolete. 



Justices' court. The j urisdiction of justices of the peace has 

 superseded that of most of the small courts. These officers are 

 now the conservators of the peace, scattered in every town and 



Eiirish of the kingdom. Vc'e have a minute account of the qim- 

 fications and powers of these officers in Burn's Justice. A 

 justice of the peace is required to have a yearly income, clear 

 of all encumbrances, of 100, or property estimated to be equi- 

 valent. The justices are commissioned by the king, their ap- 

 pointment being made through the lord chancellor. A justice 

 is a judge of record, and causes are removed from his court to 

 the superior courts by certiorari. The justices of each county 

 hold quarterly sessions ; but any justice is empowered to hold 

 a court at any time for the examination and committing of of- 

 fenders, and also for the trial of such actions as come within 

 his commission. The quarter sessions, as well as the individual 

 justices, are instituted for the suppression and punishment of 

 offences, and their power extends to the committing to prison 

 for trial for crimes, with but few exceptions. Two justices 

 may determine the settlement of a pauper, but an appeal lies 

 from their decisions to the quarter sessions. 



Assizes. Courts of assize and nisi prius are treated at length 

 under the article Assizes (q. v.). These courts are branches of 

 those of Westminster hall, the great centre of the judicial ad- 

 ministration in England, according to the forms of the common 

 law. 



Besides the above courts, there are others of a limited and 

 special jurisdiction; namely, three in London 1. the hustingf 

 court, which has a jurisdiction in civil actions, and at winch 

 some of the city elections are held (among others, that of mem- 

 bers of parliament from that city), and trorn which an appeal 

 lies to certain justices of the city ; 2. the sheriffs' court- , 3. a 

 court of conscience, of summary jurisdiction in actions under 

 forty shillings, held by the lord mayor . the court of commit, 

 sioners of towers, to provide lor the repair of sea-walls, ditches, 

 ou WITS, c. : the court of stannaries, for the tin mines in Corn- 

 wall and Devonshire, for the trial of suits in which the tinners 

 are parties: courts of the forest, having jurisdiction over the 

 royal forests : the court of the royal franchise of Ely, belong- 

 ing to the bis.iopric of that name, but held by justices, not by 

 the bishop himself, and having jurisdiction of causes arising 

 within the bishopric : courts palatinate, of the counties pala- 

 tine of Durham, Chester, and Lancaster, which are courts of 

 record, of superior jurisdiction, commensurate with that of the 

 courts of Westminster, from which writs do not run into these 

 counties palatine: the court of the Marshalsea and of the pa- 

 lace, still held weekly at South wark,whose jurisdiction embraces 

 ;i circuit of twelve miles about the king's palace, for the deter- 

 mination of causes arising among the servants of the kind's 

 household ; and the court of the earl marshal, authorized by 



