v11_1318 - PARIS (LE PARLEMENT DE...) Jeton octogonal AR 32, Jean Bonaventure LELAY 1751

PARIS (LE PARLEMENT DE...)

The Parliament of Paris is a sovereign court which renders justice in the last resort in the name of the king but which also has political and administrative powers.. The Parliament of Paris has its origins in the former "curia regis" or Cour-le-roi whose opinions were only advisory. From the 13th century. , Parliament is organized into several distinct sections: the Grand Chamber for matters of direct interest to the king; the Chamber of Investigations prepared cases requiring investigation; the Petitions Chamber heard urgent petitions from the parties; the Criminal Tournelle served as a court of appeal for judgments rendered to the great criminal and the Edict Chamber which only existed in the 16th century. The Parliament initially had the monopoly of royal justice but with the extension of the domain and the royal power it had to deal with the provincial Parliaments and ended up extending its jurisdiction only over half of France.. The number of parliamentarians rose from 60 under Philippe le Bel to around 270 under Louis XV who bore the official title of "advisers to the king in his court of parliament".. The parliamentarians are law graduates and have a lucrative office because of the "spices", initially small gifts but which become a kind of compulsory tax during the procedures. The Parliament also had legislative powers, particularly when registering laws and could oppose it until the bed of justice during which the king, by his presence, could render the judgment himself.. In the 18th century, the Parliament entered several times in opposition to royal policy until the Revolution when, as a privileged body, it was suppressed in 1790.. Jean-Baptiste Lelay, Count of Guébriand, was honorary president of the Parliament of Paris.