A papal judge delegate was a type of judicial appointment created during the 12th century by the medieval papacy where the pope would designate a local judge, often an ecclesiastic, to decide a case that had been appealed to the papal court.

History

The system began during the pontificate of

Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...

(1099–1118), when the first records appear of the papacy delegating some of its judicial authority to others for the resolution of cases. At first, it was used in order to expedite the discovery of local knowledge of cases, rather than to reduce the papal court's workload. Examples of this early stage include a case from Wales, during the pontificate of

Innocent II Pope Innocent II (; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as Pope was controversial, and the first eight years o ...

. This was a dispute between

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...

, the

bishop of St Davids The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in ...

, and Urban, the

bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's cathedra, seat is in the Llandaff Cathedral, Cathedral Chu ...

, and was apparently delegated to acquire local knowledge of the dispute. It is only later, during the pontificate of Alexander III that the papal courts appears to have recognized that the delegation system could also reduce the volume of cases that had to be decided at Rome.Sayers ''Papal Judges Delegate'' p. 9Robinson ''Papacy'' pp. 192–194 An important factor in the growth of the papal judges-delegate system was the corresponding growth of the papal judicial system during the 12th century.Harper-Bill "Anglo-Norman Church" ''Companion to the Anglo-Norman World'' p. 181 Often, cases referred to a judge-delegate were those that were particularly complex, and where the local knowledge of the appointee would be helpful. The appointment ended with the resolution of the case he had been appointed to decide. The numbers of judges-delegate increased greatly during the 1160s and 1170s. English records for this time are particularly abundant, with a number of English bishops – including

Gilbert Foliot Gilbert Foliot (Wiktionary:circa, c. 1110 – 18 February 1187) was a medieval English monk and prelate, successively Abbot of Gloucester, Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London. Born to an ecclesiastical family, he became a monk at C ...

Bartholomew Iscanus Bartholomew of Exeter (died 1184) was a medieval Bishop of Exeter. He came from Normandy and after being a clerk of the Archbishop of Canterbury, was made Archdeacon of Exeter in 1155. He became Bishop of Exeter in 1161. Known for his knowled ...

Roger of Worcester Roger of Worcester (c. 1134 – 9 August 1179) was Bishop of Worcester from 1163 to 1179. He had a role in the controversy between his cousin Henry II of England and Archbishop Thomas Becket.Cheney, 'Roger' Life Roger's father was Robert, ...

– serving over 60 times as judge-delegate for the papacy. Conflicts often arose between

papal legates image:K. Henry 2. Kissing the knee of the Popes Legate comming into England.gif, 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman title ''legatus'') ...

and judges-delegate, and Celestine III ruled that a papal legate could not change the decision of a judge-delegate but was allowed to confirm or implement the decision. Celestine did indicate that the legate was higher in rank than the judge, although he was sovereign in matters relating to his appointed case. Alexander III's decrees on the judicial delegation system form the basis for the description of the system in

Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the P ...

's '' Decretales'' which were published in 1234. Of the 43 items dealing with papal judges-delegate in the ''Decretales'', 18 are Alexander's and a further 15 are from

Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

. Papal documents referred to the delegates as ''iudices delegati''.Robinson ''Papacy'' pp. 175–176 A further development was the grant of exemptions from appointment as judge-delegate, with such exemptions first appearing around 1140. By the end of the 12th century, such exemptions were sought after by local ecclesiastics.

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Papal judge-delegate Ecclesiastical courts Tribunals of the Catholic Church Canon law history