Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/381

JUSTICE. 349 JUSTICIARY COURT. (lone during occasional absences of the Lord Lieutenant. JUSTICE, Lord Chief. The title given in England to the chief judge of the King's Bench di- vision of the High Court of Justice. It was form- erly employed to designate the chief judges of the two great common-law tribunals, the Court of King's Bench and the Court of Common Pleas, but the former of these was, by eminence, known as the Lord Chief -Justice of England. Upon the abolition of the Common Pleas division of the High Court in 1881, the chief judge of the Queen's ( now King's ) Bench Division became the sole judicial odicer to be invested with the dignity and title of Chief Justice. JUSTICE CLERK, Lord. A high judicial officer in Scotland, being the second highest judge in point of rank, and, in tlie absence of the Lord Justice General, the presiding judge of the Court of Justiciary. His usual duty is to sit as Chief of one of the divisions of the Inner House, called the second division of the Court of Session (q.v.). JUSTICE GENERAL, Lord. The highest judicial officer in Scotland, also called the Lord President of the Court of Session. Formerly the office of .Justice General was a sinecure, and not a judicial office, but the title is now, since 1831, associated with tlmt of the Lord President, See Court of Sessiok, JUSTICE OF THE PEACE. In Great Brit- ain and the United States, a minor official Iiaving both administrative and judicial functions, the hitter principally of a criminal nature. In Eng land, justices of the peace are appointed by com- mission of tlie Crouii under the great seal, or by act of Parliament or charter, to exercise a cer- tain limited authority in a county or borough. The person who practically appoints to the oflice is the Lord Cliancellor, who in his discretion may include in the commission any person having an estate of £100 a year, clear of all rents and charges. All persons having the above qualifica- tion may be appointed justices of the peace; but practicing attorneys or solicitors are not eligible for counties in which they practice. Tradition- ally, the office of justice of the peace is entirely gratuitous. But in modern practice it has been found necessary to deviate from this rule, and to appoint in all the cities and many large toxnis certain paid justices, called stipendiary magis- trates, at a fi.xed salary. In the city oif London and certain other places the ^Mayorand certain corporators are constituted by charter justices of the peace by virtue of their office. The institution of justices of the peace is very ancient. Previous to 1327 there were conserva- tors of the peace in every county eliosen by the freeholders from among the principal men of the county to perform similar duties, but by a statute of Edward III. a change took place in the practice, and ever since the election of jus- tices has been exercised by the CrowTi. Gr.idu- ally the office grew more and more important, statutes being passed from time to time, adding to its duties and jurisdiction, until, in the thirtieth year of the reign of Elizabeth, the form of commission was revised, and was set- tled nearly in the form which is now used. The commission is in the name of the sovereign, ad- dressed to the appointee, by name, directing theni 'to keep our peace in our county of , and to keep all ordinances and statutes for the good of the peace, and for the good rule and government of the people, and to chastise and punish all per- sons that offend against the said ordinances." The commission then authorizes the appointee to inquire "by the oath of good and lawful men, of all manner of felonies, poisonings, enchant- ments, sorceries, arts, magic, trespasses, forestall- ings, regratings, engrossings, and extortions whatsoever, and of all crimes and offenses," etc. To these extensive powers conferred by statute were added the more indefinite functions wiiich long custom had vested in justices of the peace, constituting them in large measure the founda- tion of the peace and order of the State. "The whole Christian world," says Lord Coke, "hath not the like office as justice of the peace, if duly executed." Tlieir powers and duties in England are now mainly governed by a series of statutes enacted during the reian of the late Queen Vic- toria. (38 and 30 Vict., e. 5-1; 45 and 46 Vict, c. 50; 11 and 12 Vict., c. 44.) Although the institution of justices of thei peace, like so many of our institutions, is derived from England, the method employed for their creation differs in the United States from that adopted in the former country, and also differs in different States, In some instances they are appointed by the executive, in others elected by the people. Their powers and duties also vary in the different States, but in most they have juris- diction in minor cases, both civil and criminal. The extent and nature of their powers are usu- ally defined by statute. The distinctive value of this class of magistrates is found in their power to prevent breaches of the peace, and to examine persons charged ith the commission of crime or misdemeanor and hold to bail to answer in the upper court, or in default of bail to commit them to jail. In this latter pai'ticular their functions are somewhat analogous to those of a grand jury. Consult: Archbold, Justice of the Peace and I'nrish Officer (London, 1842) ; Stone, Justices Manual (London, annually) ; Blackstone's Com- mentaries; Pollock and Maitland, History of English Law; Wait, Law and Practice in Civil Actions and Proceedings in Justices Courts (7fch ed., Albany, 1002). JUSTICES' CLERK. An officer, generally a solicitor, appointed by justices of the peace" in England to assist them in their duties. Owing to the fact that justices of the peace are not trained lawyers (it has been judicially declared in Eng- land that there is no presumption that a justice of the peace knows the law of the land ) , but are, nevertheless, called upon to administer many branches of the law, and to construe acts of Parliament, all of which require much skill, the justices' clerk is a person of much local influence, and in practical effect guides and controls the justices in all purely legal matters. The jus- tices' clerk is, strictly speaking, not a public officer, but in the nature of an employee of the justice. By recent statutes, however. h(: has ac- quired a certain official status and is entitled to receive fees in connection with the business trans- acted by the justice to whose court he is at- tached. See .Justice of the Peace. JUSTICIARY COURT. The highest crim- inal court in Scotland. It is in reality the criminal branch of the Court of Session, the high- est judicial tribunal in Scotland, and not an in- dependent court. Its judges are seven of the