The Parliament of Paris is a French institution of the Ancien Mode. It belongs to the “courses sovereign”, renamed “superior courts” starting from 1661 (beginning of the personal reign of Louis XIV).

Resulting from the medieval Curia Governed , the Parliament appears in the middle of the 13th century and gradually takes its autonomy to judge the dispute in the form of a body specialized with the regular sessions, the curia in parlamento , that Saint Louis establishes in the island of the City, beside the Royal palace, and who receives his first general regulation with an ordinance of Philippe III Bold the in 1278.

As from the 15th century, thirteen other Parliaments were created; nevertheless, that of Paris remained the most important court of the kingdom. One often simply mentioned it by “the Parliament”.

Role

Legal attributions

The Parliament profits from the delegated justice, which enables him to hand down its judgments in the name of the king. Representing the king with the more high level in his legal prerogatives, he enjoys a scope extended to all the kingdom. In 1278, is created besides within the Parliament of Paris a section in charge of the causes come “from the ground which is controlled by statute law”, i.e. the South of France.

The Parliament is a sovereign court, i.e. its decisions are not likely of call. But the king can chair the court, to modify the sentences, to stop a procedure or to evoke a business of them in front of his Council. On request of a litigant, presented by one of the Masters of the requests of the hotel, it can break the stop for error and return the business before the court so that this one rules again; this procedure is the ancestor of the Cassation.

The Parliament judges in first authority the causes concerning the vassal ones of the king. Starting from 1278, nevertheless, the majority of these causes are carried in front of the Bailliage S and the Sénéchaussée S, and only the large feudal ones or those which enjoy a received personal privilege of the king concern the Parliament.

The Parliament judges in call of the decisions of the lower royal jurisdictions (Bailliage S, Prévôté S) and of justices seigneuriales of its spring (about half of the kingdom).

Nonlegal attributions

The Parliament preserves properly administrative attributions: monitoring of the local administrators, participation in the édiction of certain ordinances. The king frequently consults it on his policy, in particular in crisis period, invites it to take part in the legal or administrative reforms which it implements.

To fill the gaps of the law or to fix the applicable procedure rules in front of him, the Parliament can hand down judgments of payment.

Lastly, it records the royal ordinances and edicts, which makes them opposable in the decisions of the Court (this formality is equivalent to some extent to the publication with the Official journal ). If the Parliament considers the law nonin conformity with the interest of the State, it has a right of remonstrance, which enables him to refuse to record it and present observations to the king. There exist three degrees: the “remonstrance” itself, the simplest “representation” and, the letter. To impose his will on the Parliament, the king can initially emit a letter of jussion which expressly orders at the Parliament to record. If the assembly still is obstinated by “iterative remonstrances”, the king can force the recording by the behavior of a Lit of justice. Between 1673 and 1715, the right of remonstrance is withdrawn at the Parliament, in fact, by Louis XIV, which requires the recording of its decisions before the Parliament emits possible remonstrances.

Composition and organization

Until the end of the 13th century, the Parliament includes/understands prelates and barons of the kingdom, officers palatine and local staff of the king, baillifs or seneshals, around professional officers, the Masters and advisers of the Parliament, recruited essentially among the legists of the Conseil of the king. Gradually, the latter eclipse the other categories of members and ensure only the operation of the Parliament.

The room with the plaid, become then the large-room, is the heart of the Parliament. She judges in call the sentences of the lower jurisdictions of her spring. The cases of Crime of lese-majesty are subjected to him, as well as the lawsuits concerning the even S, the Apanage S, the members of Parliament and businesses of the Régale. On the whole sit there more than one hundred magistrates (first president named by the king, presidents with mortar, advisers) and the dukes and pars, which are due particularly to this great privilege. The king comes to hold his beds of justice to with it. The Parliament sits there “all rooms assembled” for the important decisions.

But very early, the Parliament specializes in its structures. The ordinance of 1278 distinguishes already several rooms. One distinguishes in addition to the large-room:

  • rooms of the investigations, in charge of the judicial enquiries (there were some up to five, at the 16th century), where nearly sixty fifteen magistrates the businesses inform;
  • the room of the requests (single except 1580 with 1771), jurisdiction charged to consider the people profiting from letters with commitimus (privilege of jurisdiction) and the establishments ecclesiastical profiting from letters of “guard guardian” with approximately about fifteen magistrates (president and advisers);
  • the Small tower, or court of criminal appeal, created in 1515, responsible for the businesses of serious crime involving the Capital punishment, the judgment with the galères or the banishment. It is formed of the presidents and advisers of the Large-room sitting in turn for six months;
  • the room of the tide, in charge of the businesses relating to the trade of fish, tries important in a catholic country which practices assiduously the fast of the Lent;
  • the parquet floor made up of almost fifty people included/understood the public prosecutor and his substitutes, of the prosecuting attorneys, who receive their orders of the king and the royal decisions for the recording. Associate two clerks as a chief with it, the clerks as well as the ushers.

Temporary rooms can come to be added to it. It is the case of the burning room created in 1679 to inform the Affaire of the poisons.

In 1590, Henri IV creates a rival Parliament of that of Paris with Tours, where the members of Parliament go who are faithful for him. The first president Achille de Harlay joins there immediately. With the edict of Nantes, a room of the edict is created, to judge application of the edict.

The litigants are represented by nearly thousand lawyers and prosecutors.

The members of Parliament are Officier S owners of their loads. Irremovable since 1497, they transmit it to their heirs thanks to the yearly rental to the Paulette. Since 1644 they obtained the nobility with the first degree. In 1665, an ordinance fixes the price of acquisition at: 300000 pounds for a president with mortar and with: 100000 pounds for an adviser. The prices drop considerably at the XVIIIe century. Legal competences of the future magistrates are checked by an examination organized by the members of Parliament in exercise (candidates being generally members of their family), also the contemporaries deplore inculture of many candidates. Many is also indignant at the extreme youth much at advisers (there was at 19 years) and even at presidents (as of 20 years). Also the ordinances of 1660 and 1665 fix at forty years the age to acquire a presidency, twenty-seven years for the advisers, thirty years for the prosecutors. But they were applied little. This poor quality of many members of Parliament induced a strong absenteeism, worsened by the length of the " vacances" annual. The liquidation of the businesses was of this fact extremely slow. However the Parliament knew some eminent families: the Harlay, the Maupeou, the Ormesson, the Selve.

The Parliament of Paris was removed in 1771 by the Chancelier Maupeou which replaced it by six superior councils in Arras, Blois, Clermont, Lyon, Paris, and Poitiers. The loads were removable and nonvenal there, but it was difficult to find candidates. With its advent in 1774, Louis XVI restores the Parliament of Paris which could thus take again its opposition to the absolutism while claiming to defend the interests of the French while blocking the reforms.

The Parliament of Paris was exiled with three resumptions with Pontoise: in 1652, 1720 and 1753.

List first presidents of the Parliament of Paris

Great businesses

  • 1594 : Secular fight against the Jesuits which leads to their expulsion as in 1764.
  • 1643 : Cassation of the will of Louis XIII to give the Regency to Anne of Austria
  • 1715: Vassation of the will of Louis XIV to give the Regency to Philippe of Orleans
  • 1648 - 1649: parliamentary Sling
  • 1680: Business of the poisons where was compromised the Marquise of Montespan
  • From 1713: Fight against the bubble Unigenitus of the pope Clément XI
  • 1764: Secular fight against the Jesuits which leads to their expulsion as in 1594.
  • May 22nd with the May 30th 1786: Judgment of the cardinal of Rohan and the defendants of the Business of the collar of the queen
  • At the 17th century and 18th century: Support for the Jansenist S.

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