Page:The Constitutions and Other Select Documents Illustrative of the History of France, 1789-1907, Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged.pdf/267

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Constitution of the Year III
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bunal of commerce, or member of the tribunal of cassation, or juror, or commissioner of the Executive Directory before the tribunals.

Of Civil Justice.

210. The right to have differences passed upon by arbitrators chosen by the parties cannot be impaired.

211. The decision of these arbitrators is without appeal and without recourse in cassation, unless the parties have expressly reserved it.

212. There are in each district fixed by law a justice of the peace and his assessors.

They are all elected for two years and can be immediately and indefinitely re-elected.

213. The law determines the matters over which the justices of the peace and the assessors have jurisdiction in the last resort.

It assigns to them the others over which they pronounce judgment subject to appeal.

214. There are special tribunals for land and maritime commerce; the law fixes the places where it is permissible to establish them.

Their power to pronounce judgment in the last resort cannot be extended beyond the value of five hundred myriagrams of wheat (a hundred and two quintals, twenty-two pounds).

215. Cases of which the trial belongs neither to the justices of the peace nor to the tribunals of commerce, either in the last resort or subject to appeal, are brought directly before the justice of the peace and his assessors in order to be conciliated.

If the justice of the peace cannot conciliate them, he sends them before the civil tribunal.

216. There is one civil tribunal per department.

Each civil tribunal is composed of twenty judges at least, one commissioner and one substitute approved and removable by the Executive Directory, and one recorder.

The election of all the members of a tribunal takes place every five years.

The judges can be re-elected.

217. At the time of the election of the judges five substitutes are selected, three of whom are taken from among the