COMMERCIAL COURTS. Tribunal s distinct from the ordinary civil courts, in some countries are established in various com mercial towns, or within certain districts, to settle disputes with regard to rights and obli gations between persons engaged in trade, with the assistance of experienced merchants, by a brief process, according to equitable prin ciples. The general introduction of tribunals of this sort began in the Middle Ages. The first was probably that established at Pisa, in the Ilth century, and the basis of its decisions was the code of maritime laws of Pisa, con firmed by Pope Gregory VII in 1075. At first the commercial tribunals were not so much courts established by government as arbiters of disputes, freely chosen by the merchants and confirmed by the governments. Under the name of commercial consuls such committees of arbitration were appointed in all the great commercial dties of Europe; and in the course of time they really became tribunals of justice, and were, in part at least, administered by men of legal learning and experience. Pope Paul III confirmed the commercial consuls in Rome. Francis II in 1560 granted to the Parisian mer chants particular arbiters for the adjustment of conunercial disputes; and in 1563 wa.s estab lished the Parisian Court of Commerce, con sisting of a judge and four consuls. The same thing soon followed in all the important com mercial town.s of France. In. London Henry VII appointed particular commercial judges. The president of the commercial tribunal for the Haase towns, established in 1447, bore the name of alderman. At Nuremberg, in 1621, a similar tribunal was instituted under the name of inspectors of the markets. The diets of the empire even called upon the German pnnces and commercial cities to follow this example, as the decrees of the empire in 1654 and 16.68, and the decree of the Imperial Commission of 10 Oct. 1663, show. In raany of these cities, as in FranIcfort-on-the-Main, and in Leipzig, they were not so much independent authorities as deleg:ates from the city. councils. When corruneroal courts take cognizance particularly or solely of disputes relating to maritime affairs, they may be called courts of admiralty. Such a court was eretted in Hamburg in 1623. The internal regulations of conunercial courts commonly require that a part of the members, or at least the presidents, should be lawyers; the rest are for the most part experienced mer chants, who are better adapted than regular judges to give counsel on commercial affairs, with which they are more acquainted, and which very .often are not to be reduced to
simple prinoples of law, but are to be decided according to commercial practice. Their juris diction commonly extends over all commercial disputes, matters of exchange, insurance, freight, bottomry, average, etc.; and further, over bankrupts, the hiring of shops and stores, clerks and apprentices; the debts of those who receive goods from merchants upon credit; and all native_s and foreigners who traffic in the place and are found there, all shipowners, contractors for transporting goods, brokers, factors, etc., are obliged to submit to their decisions. They do as much as possible by oral investigation; and the intention of their institution is that they shall avoid the long and formal process of other courts. But when the difficulty and confusion of the matters in dispute occasion the necessity of an investiga tion in w.riting recourse is had thereto. The greater dispatch of these courts consists prin cipally in this— that the defendant is orally marooned, once or several times, to appear before them at an early day, and if he fails to come, he can be brought by force. The com plaint is then made orally, both parties are heard and sentence is given, if possible, imme diately after. But as this can seldom be done, and inost cases require reference to written documents, a day not far distant is appointed for the answer to the complaint and for the evidence on both sides, and the time is seldom or never prolonged. The •rernedies against a sentence must be sought from the same judges and are not easily obtained. Appeals are only allowed in very important cases, and upon the deposit of a large sum as a pledge that the final decision shall be obeyed without delay. The principal features of this process form the basis of most conunercial codes. From the sentence of these tribunals appeal is made to the court of appeal within whose jurisdiction they happen to be. The other countries where these tribunals exist are Belgium, Spain, Por tugal and Italy. See COMMERCIAL LAW ; UNITED STATES COMMERCE COURT.