Series
Registrar of the High Court of Delegates: Sentences
Catalogue reference: DEL 5
What's it about?
DEL 5
Sentences recording judgments of the High Court of Delegates, mostly those in favour of the successful party, but also some drawn up by the losing party and not accepted by the court.
Full description and record details
-
Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- DEL 5
-
Title (The name of the record)
- Registrar of the High Court of Delegates: Sentences
-
Date (When the record was created)
- 1585-1802
-
Description (What the record is about)
-
Sentences recording judgments of the High Court of Delegates, mostly those in favour of the successful party, but also some drawn up by the losing party and not accepted by the court.
-
Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
-
Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
- Public Record(s)
-
Language (The language of the record)
- English
-
Creator(s) (The creator of the record)
- High Court of Delegates, 1533-1833
-
Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
- 36 bundles and files
-
Custodial history (Describes where and how the record has been held from creation to transfer to The National Archives)
- The majority of the records which now form the series DEL 1 to DEL 8 were transferred to the Public Record Office at various dates between 1863 and 1923. They came from the registry of the High Court of Admiralty and its successor, the Admiralty registry of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court.
-
Administrative / biographical background (Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
-
After examination of the evidence in a case, the judges-delegate would proceed to judgement and sentence. In civil courts the sentences would be drafted by the parties, each drawing up a judgement favourable to their cause. These would be 'porrected' or handed to the judges and the successful party's sentence read out in court. The judges-delegate came to their decisions by simple majority and they were not required to give reasons for their decisions.
The porrected sentence accepted by the court would usually be identified by having the word 'justitiam' or 'sententiam' written into the text and the document would be signed by the judges and the successful party's advocates. Finally, the sentence would be endorsed by the court official in whose presence the sentence was delivered by means of a certificate of promulgation. It was not unusual for other documents to be attached to the sentences, such as schedules of penance or copies of disputed wills.
The regular practice of porrecting sentences appears to have ceased around 1755. Thereafter, the judges-delegate found for one or another party by means of a 'final decree or sentence'.
-
Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C5818/
Catalogue hierarchy
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
Within the department: DEL
Records of the High Court of Delegates
You are currently looking at the series: DEL 5
Registrar of the High Court of Delegates: Sentences