One of the ancient courts of England, the King's Bench (or Queen's Bench when the monarch is female) is now a division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. Sub-divisions include the Commercial Court, the Admiralty Court and the Administrative Court. It is also the name of many superior courts throughout the British Commonwealth. A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my [birth]right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked... Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A monarch (see sovereign) is a type of ruler or head of state. ... The mirror of the Roman Goddess Venus is often used to represent the female sex. ... Her Majestys High Court of Justice (known more simply as the High Court) is, together with the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in England and Wales: see Courts of England and Wales. ...

The abbreviation KB (or QB) in legal citation is used in the Law Reports to denote cases heard in the King's (or Queen's) Bench Division.

History

The Court of the King's Bench grew out of the King's Court or Curia Regis, which, at first, was not specifically a court of law, but was the centre of Royal power and national administration, consisting at first of the King himself together with his advisors, courtiers and administrators. Curia Regis is a Latin term meaning Royal Council or Kings court. The Curia Regis in England was a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics that advised the king of England on legislative matters. ...

At some unknown stage, a court independent of the King's personal presence grew out of the Curia Regis, consisting of a number of Royal judges who would hear cases themselves. It is recorded in the chronicle of Abbot Benedict of Peterborough that, in 1178, Henry II ordered that five judges of his household should remain in curia regis, referring only difficult cases to himself. Henry II of England (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189) ruled as Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy, and as King of England (1154–1189) and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland, eastern Ireland, and western France. ...

The situation in Henry II's reign seems to be that a central royal court, called 'the Bench' began to sit regularly at Westminster. At some stage there must have been a separation between the hearing of matters relevant to the King and those that had no royal connection, which come to be known as common pleas.

In 1215, Magna Carta provided that there should be a court — the Common Bench (later Court of Common Pleas) that met in a fixed place. By 1234 two distinct series of plea rolls exist, de banco — those from the Common Bench — and coram rege (Latin 'in the presence of the King') — those from the King's Bench. // Events A certified copy of the Magna Carta June 15 - King John of England forced to put his seal to the Magna Carta, outlining the rights of landowning men (nobles and knights) and restricting the kings power. ... Magna Carta Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter, literally Great Paper), also known as Magna Carta Libertatum, was originally an English charter from 1215. ... In United States jurisprudence, Court of Common Pleas is a term referring to a court of certain jurisdiction. ... Events Canonization of Saint Dominic Collapse of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) Deaths Emperor Chukyo of Japan Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan Monarchs/Presidents Aragon - James I King of Aragon and count of Barcelona (reigned from 1213 to 1276) Castile - Ferdinand III, the Saint King of Castile and Leon (reigned...

The division between the two benches was this: the King's Bench, being a theoretically movable court, was excluded from hearing common pleas, which included all praecipe actions for the recovery of property or debt. Actions of trespass and replevin were shared between the two benches. In practice pleas of the Crown were heard only in the King's Bench.

The King's Bench had two 'sides': the Crown side, which had an unlimited criminal jurisdiction, both at first instance or as a court to which legal questions arising out of indictments in other courts could be referred. The other side was known as the 'plea' side, and dealt with actions for trespass, appeals of felony and writs of error.

Increasingly the King's Bench became a fixed court, even though it could theoretically meet anywhere in England, and from 1421 it appears not to have moved from Westminster Hall. Events March 21 - Battle of Beaugé. A small French force surprises and defeats an English force under Thomas, Duke of Clarence, a brother of Henry V of England, in Normandy. ... Clock Tower and New Palace Yard from the west The Palace of Westminster, on the banks of the River Thames in Westminster, London, is the home of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, which form the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

The Court of Queen's Bench became the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in 1873. 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calaber). ...

References

• Blatcher, Marjorie (1978). The Court of King's Bench 1450-1550, A Study in Self-help. The Athlone Press. ISBN 0485134128.
• Baker, J. H. (1990). An Introduction to English Legal History, third edition. Butterworths. ISBN 0406531013.

[[Category:Court systems in England and Wale Senate House, designed by Charles Holden home to the universitys central administration offices and its library The University of London is a federation of colleges which together constitute one of the worlds largest universities. ...