Legal Definitions - anacrisis

Anacrisis refers to a historical legal process, particularly within civil law systems, that involved a formal investigation or inquiry. This term is notable because it often specifically denotes an inquiry that included the use of coercive methods, such as torture, to extract information or confessions from individuals.

• Example 1: Medieval Inquisition

  During the Spanish Inquisition, an individual suspected of secretly practicing Judaism after converting to Christianity (a "converso") is brought before an ecclesiastical court. The inquisitors conduct a prolonged interrogation, which includes the use of various forms of physical coercion, such as the rack or waterboarding, to compel a confession of heresy.

  This scenario exemplifies anacrisis because it describes a formal investigation (the Inquisition's process) that specifically employed torture (the rack, waterboarding) to extract information or a confession from the accused.

• Example 2: Early Modern Witch Trials

  In a 17th-century European village, a woman accused of witchcraft is apprehended. Local magistrates initiate an intense inquiry into her activities, believing she has made a pact with the devil. During this process, she is subjected to sleep deprivation, forced positions, and other painful techniques designed to break her will and elicit a confession of witchcraft, which was often seen as necessary for conviction.

  This situation illustrates anacrisis as it involves a structured inquiry (the witch trial) where the primary method for obtaining evidence and a confession was through severe physical and psychological coercion, aligning with the definition's emphasis on investigations conducted by torture.

• Example 3: Roman Law Interrogation

  In ancient Rome, a slave suspected of theft is apprehended. Under Roman law, slaves could be tortured during an investigation to extract testimony, as their word was not considered reliable without such duress. A magistrate orders the slave to be subjected to a specific form of physical examination and pain to compel them to reveal the whereabouts of stolen goods or implicate others.

  This example fits anacrisis because it depicts a formal investigation within a civil law context (Roman law) where the extraction of information from a specific class of individuals (slaves) was explicitly sanctioned through the use of torture or physical coercion.