The Aula Regis seems at a very early period to have been distinguished as exer cising three several functions, according to the different natures of the causes that were brought before it, which are treated of in our earlier legal writers as Pleas of the King, Common Pleas, and Pleas of the Exchequer. The bond of connexion between these several jurisdictions was the chief justiciar, who presided over all of them. But in the reign of Edward III. this office was abolished, and thus were finally destroyed the unity of the Anla Regis and its connexion with the grand council, which became henceforth essen tially a legislative body ; and though it still retains traces of its original functions in its title of the High Court of Parlia ment, yet it has ever since ceased to exec. cise any judicial powers, except in cases of impeachment, or as a court of ultimate appeal. On the dissolution of the Aida Regis, the three courts of the King's Bench, the Common Pleas, and the Ex chequer, had each of them a perfectly distinct and separate existence. The Court of King's Bench had the control of all inferior courts, and the cognizance of all trespasses against the king's peace; the Court of Exchequer had cognizance of all cases relating to the revenue ; and the Court of Common Pleas was the only court for causes of a purely civil nature between private persons. The Courts of King's Bench and Exchequer still retain each of them its peculiar jurisdiction ; and the Common Pleas is still the only court in Westminster in which the three real actions that remain since the passing of 3 & 4 Wm. IV. C. 27 can be tried; but the great mass of causes between party and party may now be brought indiscrimi nately in any of the three courts. The King's Bench and the Exchequer ori ginally contrived by fictitious proceedings to appropriate to themselves a share in the peculiar jurisdiction of the Common Pleas.
There was likewise another court, of a more limited character, which, though held in the Aula Regis, does not appear ever to have been under the control of the chief justiciar, the Court of the Mar shalsea, which had jurisdiction where one of the parties at least was of the king's household. Charles I. created by letters patent a new court, styled the Court of the Palace, with jurisdiction over all personal actions arising within the verge of the palace, that is, within twelve miles of Whitehall. These courts are now held together every Friday. The Court of Marshalsea is, in fact, dis used, but the Palace Court is in active operation.
The Saxon kings bad been in the habit of making progresses through their do minions for the purpose of administering justice. This practice was not continued by William the Conqueror ; but he an nually summoned his great council to sit at the three feasts of Easter, Whitsuntide, and Christmas, in three different parts of the kingdom—Winchester, Westminster, and Gloucester. But when the great mass of the legal business of the country tots brought into the king's courts at Westminster, it became necessary to take some more efficient measures for the trial of causes in the country.
The first expedient adopted was to ap point itinerant judges, justices in Eyre, who travelled through the kingdom, hold ing plea of all causes civil or criminal, and in most respects discharging the office of the superior courts. These
itinera, or Byres, usually took place every seven years.
About the end of the reign of Edward III. this system was wholly discontinued, except as to pleas of the king's forests, the functions of the justices in Eyre being superseded by the justices of Nisi Prius. This system was first established by a statute of Edward I., which, in order to prevent the expense of bringing up the pries to the king's courts at Westminster, provided that certain judges of those courts should be appointed to make cir cuits twice a year for the trial of issues upon which judgment was to be given in the court above. This system is still in operation. The justices of Nisi Prius also receive commissions of Oyer and Ter miner and of gaol delivery, to authorize them to try criminals ; and a commission of assize under which they used to try a peculiar species of action called assizes. These actions have long been obsolete ; but the name of assizes is still given to the sit tings of the justices on circuit under their several commissions.
Under the Norman kings the fines, amerciaments, and forfeitures in the king's courts constituted a considerable portion of the revenue, and the administration of justice was an important branch of the royal prerogative; but, like other branches of the prerogative, we sometimes find it in the hands of a subject, either by grant from the crown, or by prescription, which, according to legal notion, supposes a grant, though such supposition is often at variance with probability: within the counties Palatine and other royal fran chises, the earls or lords had regal juris diction, saving the supreme dominion of the king. They had the same right as the king to pardon offences ; they ap pointed judges of eyre, assize, and gaol delivery, and Justices of the peace ; all legal proceedings were made in their name, and offences were said to be com mitted against their peace, as in other places against the peace of the king. These royal prerogatives were, for the most part, re-annexed to the crown by stet. 27 Hen. VIII.; but the form of the judicial establishment still remained. [PALATINE COUNTIES.] But besides these palatinate jurisdictions, created to increase the power and gratify the pride of the nobles on whom they were con ferred, the crown has also from time to time created courts, with a jurisdiction united in point of territory, and always under the control of the king's superior courts. If, in the Saxon times, the bo roughs had courts similar to those of the hundreds, there are now no traces to be found of their existence ; but however that may be, it is certain that when com merce increased, it was found of the ut most importance to the boroughs to be relieved from the jurisdiction of the feudal lord, and at the same time to have , some court of justice to apply to, less dis , tent, dilatory, and expensive than the king's courts at Westminster ; and ac cordingly there has, at some time or other, been granted to almost every be.