assizes

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A0476300 (ə-sīz′)n. Law 1. a. A judicial inquest, the writ by which it is instituted, or the verdict of the jurors.b. A decree or edict rendered at such an inquest.2. assizesa. One of the periodic court sessions formerly held in each of the counties of England and Wales for the trial of civil or criminal cases.b. The time or place of such sessions.

[Middle English assise, from Old French, from past participle of asseoir, to seat, from Latin assidēre, to sit beside; see assiduous.]

assizes

(əˈsaɪzɪz) pl n (Law) (formerly in England and Wales) the sessions, usually held four times a year, of the principal court in each county, exercising civil and criminal jurisdiction, attended by itinerant judges: replaced in 1971 by crown courts

Thesaurus

Noun

assizes - the county courts of England (replaced in 1971 by Crown courts)court of assize, court of assize and nisi priuscourt, judicature, tribunal - an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business

Translations

corte d'assise

Assizes

(1) In medieval England this term had four meanings. First, it referred to sessions of the royal council and also general decrees and dispositions of the king. The best known of these royal assizes are those issued by Henry II (1133–89): the grand assize, which, with the help of jurors, investigated sworn statements in the right of seisin of land; the assize of Clarendon concerning the creation of the so-called grand jury (of indicting jurors) for trying cases involving capital crimes; and the assize on weapons. Second, it denoted special kinds of juridical investigations—for example, on novel disseisin (the recent, forceful usurpation of a freehold) and on the death of an ancestor (the assize of mort d’ancestor), which was held when hindrances arose in the inheritance of a fief—formulated in the specifically English system of court orders (writs), which were issued to the plaintiff by an official of the Crown. The term “assizes” could also be used for traveling (circuit) sessions of the courts or for the court of jurors.

(2) In medieval France the assizes were primarily dispositions of the great land-owning lords. Most notable were the assizes of Bretagne and Champagne on the inheritance of fiefs (12th-14th centuries).

(3) The term “assize” also existed in other countries. For example, the assizes of Jerusalem were a code of laws which served to guide the courts in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, established by the Crusaders in 1099. Also well-known were the assizes of Antioch in a 13th-century Armenian redaction; the Roman assize, which was in effect in the Latin empire (1204–61); and others.

(4) In present-day Britain the assizes are traveling sessions of the Court of the King’s Bench. In this same meaning of a traveling court which tries cases with the participation of jurors, the term “assize” is also used in present-day France.

Z. M. CHERNILOVSKII

assizes

formerly in England and Wales, the sessions, usually held four times a year, of the principal court in each county, exercising civil and criminal jurisdiction, attended by itinerant judges: replaced in 1971 by Crown Courts. The term has been used in Scotland and now covers a block of time over which a number of cases are listed to be dealt with by the High Court of Justiciary.

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Synonyms for assizes

noun the county courts of England (replaced in 1971 by Crown courts)

Synonyms

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