Medieval church judiciary: civil and criminal processes

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the nature of changes in the ecclesiastical medieval judiciary of the XII-XIV centuries under the influence of the jurisdictional renaissance and the design of a structured system of ecclesiastical law. The jurisdiction of the Church gradually expanded: sacraments (primarily marriage), crimes against the faith (heresy, witchcraft, magic), oaths and vows, matters concerning church persons, places, things were in the exclusive jurisdiction of ecclesiastical justice; ordinary offenses and crimes were considered by ecclesiastical tribunals in competition with secular justice. It was stated that litigation (ordo iudiciarius) was one of the most relevant areas in which jurists created a new jurisprudence on the principles of Roman law (Paukapalea, Stephen of Tournai).
The article analyzes the structure, organizational principles and procedures (civil and criminal) of cases. It is noted that the church system of civil and criminal justice took into account a wide range of canonical offenses, which ranged from minor deviations from the rules of conduct to crimes of the highest gravity. It can be considered proven that the canonical courts in the early XII century. they did not yet have a systematic structure, they lacked trained staff to conduct orderly and systematic affairs. The authors believe that it is indisputable that canon law has become increasingly complex, and procedural technical subtleties required the skills of a professional team of legal experts. Pope Clement V defined the elements of a simplified canonical procedure in the ‘Saepe contingit’ constitution. This helped speed up the standard civil process in church courts. Criminal proceedings in ecclesiastical courts also underwent fundamental changes during the thirteenth century. The main ones were the rejection of judicial trials in secular courts and the introduction of inquisitorial procedure in ecclesiastical tribunals. It is concluded that by the 14th century the authorities of the Latin Church had created a perfect apparatus for ensuring law and order and trial.