Within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

, the ''privilegium de non appellando'' (privilege of not appealing) was a privilege that could be granted by the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

to an

imperial estate An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...

. It limited the right of an estate's subjects to appeal cases from territorial courts to either of the imperial supreme courts, the

Imperial Chamber Court The ''Reichskammergericht'' (; ; la, Iudicium imperii) was one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms. All legal ...

(''Reichskammergericht'') or the Imperial Aulic Council (''Reichshofrat''). The privilege itself could be limited (''limitatum'') or unlimited (''illimitatum''). When unlimited, it effectively turned the highest territorial court into a

court of last resort A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. The privilege was highly prized by imperial estates, both because it lent prestige and because it furthered the integration of their administration by cutting off their judiciary from the rest of the Empire. Between the 16th and 18th century, virtually all the larger estates received the privilege. Almost all the Habsburg lands also had the privilege. Even the unlimited privilege was not in fact absolute. It did not apply when a subject was given no recourse to territorial courts (refusal of justice, ''Rechtsverweigerung'') or when a ruler refused to implement a court decision (delay of justice, ''Rechtsverzögerung''). In such cases the subject could go to an imperial court.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * {{refend Latin legal terminology Legal history of the Holy Roman Empire