Catalogue description JUSTICES OF THE PEACE

Justices of the peace have, since their origin as Custodes Pacis in the 13th Century, always been nominated by royal commissions under the great seal, though the powers thus given them have varied considerably at different times, as have the methods of the Crown in making appointments. From the early 16th Century the Lord Chancellor has been responsible for the choice of justices, and since the 18th Century it has been customary (without any legal obligation) for the Chancellor to seek advice from the Lord Lieutenant of the county. Many justices formerly named in the commissions of the peace were eminent people who never attended sessions. In 1344 it was laid down by statute that the commission must include men learned in the law, of whom ('quorum') at least one must be present when serious felonies were tried; thus certain members of the bench were said to be 'of the Quorum'. By the 19th Century it had become customary to include all justices in the Quorum clause and it was omitted from the new form of commission issued in 1877.