The Judiciary of Cuba.
THE JUDICIARY OF THE recently published Census of Cuba, taken under the direction of the War Department, contains the following interest ing sketch of the judiciary of the island. At the date of American occupation the jurisdiction of the Spanish government over court officials was exercised through the department of grace and justice, which, by the military decree of January n, 1899, became the department of justice and public instruction, and by a decree of January I, 1900, the department of justice. The duties which devolve on the department of justice are those which usually pertain to such departments, but in Cuba it has also super vision over the registers of property and notaries public, to which reference will be made further on. The courts of Cuba were essentially in sular, the judges being appointed either directly by the government or indirectly through its officials, and were of four classes or kinds, viz., municipal judges, judges of first instance and instruction, criminal audi encias, and territorial audiencias. The last named were reduced to three by a decree of June 15, 1899, giving all the audiencias the same civil and criminal jurisdiction. The municipal judges were distributed to the municipal districts, one or more in each, and were appointed by the presiding judges or presidents of the audiencias from among three persons nominated by the judges of first instance of the judicial districts; they held office for two years. At the same time a substitute was appointed, who performed the duties when from sickness or other cause the regular judge could not officiate. The municipal judges receive no salary or allowances, and their services are requited by fees, paid according to regular schedule. They had and still have civil jurisdiction over all suits not involving more than two hundred dollars, and of suits to effect settle
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ments without trial; they take cognizance in first instance of cases involving the challenge of other municipal judges; they appoint the family council for the care of minors or in capacitated persons and commence the inves tigation of all cases of emergency requiring an immediate decision by a judge of first instance, when the latter is not available, to whom the record is sent for a continuance. In criminal cases they have jurisdiction over all misdemeanors where the penalty imposed does not exceed thirty days' confinement or a fine of three hundred and twenty-five pesetas. They make the preliminary investi gation into all kinds of crimes, if urgent, and the judge of instruction is not present. The municipal judges also keep the civil registers of births, deaths, and marriages. Each municipal court has a public prosecu tor (fiscal), and a substitute prosecutor, who are appointed by the fiscals of the territorial audiencias; a secretary appointed by the judge of first instance and instruction; and a bailiff or constable. All officials of the court were paid from court fees, according to schedule. The judges of first instance and instruc tion are located at the seat of the judicial districts to which they are appointed, and there are as many judges as districts. These judges are appointed by the governor-general and when unable to per form their duties are substituted by one of the municipal judges in the district. They are paid according to their classification, those in Habana receiving four thousand, five hundred dollars per annum, those in the cities of Puerto Principe and Santiago de Cuba two thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars, those of Matanzas, Cardenas, Pinar del Rio, Guanajay, Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, and Sagua la Grande, two thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars, and those of Bejucal, Guanabacoa, Guiñes, Jaruco, Mari
