Minister of Justice of France

The Minister of Justice of France was a Officier of the French monarchy of Ancien Mode. Its principal function was to compensate or assist the Chancelier of France.

The function of guard of the seals of France (the large seal, used for the most important acts and the seal deprived for the current acts) was reserved for the Moyen-âge with the chancellor. This one was then revocable at will by the sovereign. However in the event of unavailability of the chancellor, for disease or absence of the court, the king entrusted the seals to a character named “Minister of Justice”. The role of this last disappeared with the return from the chancellor.

In the middle of the 16th century, after the lawsuit of the chancellor Guillaume Poyet, the idea emerged that the large offices of the crown were conferred on their holder with life. One thus needed, for the king, capacity to name a character replacing the chancellor at the time of the disgrace of this last. In 1551, Henri II thus created an office of Minister of Justice, equipped with all the capacities of the chancellor, i.e. the direction of justice, the sealing and the forwarding of the royal acts and the presidency of the councils of the king. This office thus had only one intermittent existence.

When the relations between the sovereign and the chancellor slackened, the king created a Minister of Justice (it was said that it “took again the seals” with the chancellor) and the chancellor had nothing any more but one role honorary. With the difference of the chancellor, it Minister of Justice was revocable at will by the sovereign; it was thus a political station, rather near in its operation to that of the General inspector of finances.

Under the reign of Louis XV, the chancellors of Aguesseau and of Lamoignon requested with the king the creation of a Minister of Justice not intended to replace them, but to assist them in their task. It is however it Minister of Justice which preserved the box of the royal seals and governed the sealing of the royal acts. He was also the chief of justice and controlled the Bookstore, i.e. the censure of the works considered to be subversive.

With share under the reign of Louis XIV and that of Louis XV, the Ministers of Justice received the expectancy of the load of chancellor. Under Louis XVI, four Ministers of Justice were followed thus, whereas the chancellor of Maupeou died only in 1792.

The title of Minister of Justice was re-used at the 19th century and still nowadays, like one of the titles of the Ministre for the Justice, which preserves in its office the seals of the Republic, used to seal the constitutional acts.

Internal bonds

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