Legal Definitions - non intromittendo, quando breve praecipe

Non intromittendo, quando breve praecipe is a historical legal concept originating from medieval English law. It refers to a specific type of royal command issued to a court, such as the King's Bench or Eyre. This command instructed the court to cease assisting an individual who had obtained a particular royal order for land, known as a praecipe in capite.

The King would issue a "non intromittendo" when there was strong suspicion that the praecipe in capite had been acquired through dishonest or deceitful means. Instead of allowing the potentially fraudulent claim to proceed quickly and easily, the court was ordered to disregard the questionable royal order. Furthermore, the court was commanded to compel the claimant to pursue their land claim through a more formal and rigorous legal process called a writ of right, which required a thorough and legitimate demonstration of their entitlement to the land. Essentially, this writ served as a royal intervention to prevent quick, potentially fraudulent land acquisitions and ensure that proper, fair legal procedures were followed to establish true ownership.

• Example 1: A Lord's Deceitful Land Grab

  Imagine a powerful medieval lord, Lord Blackwood, who coveted a fertile piece of land belonging to a less influential knight, Sir Alaric. Lord Blackwood, using his connections and perhaps by misrepresenting facts to a royal clerk, managed to obtain a praecipe in capite from the King, ordering Sir Alaric to surrender the land. Sir Alaric, suspecting foul play and knowing his claim was legitimate, appealed directly to the King. Upon investigation, the King's advisors found evidence suggesting Lord Blackwood had obtained the praecipe deceitfully. The King then issued a non intromittendo, quando breve praecipe to the local court, commanding them not to enforce Lord Blackwood's questionable writ and instead, to make him prove his claim through the more rigorous writ of right process. This example illustrates how the writ was used to prevent a powerful individual from using a fraudulently obtained royal order to quickly seize property.

• Example 2: Disputed Inheritance of a Manor

  Consider a scenario where two cousins, Lady Eleanor and Sir Reginald, were disputing the inheritance of a valuable manor after their uncle died without a clear heir. Sir Reginald, eager to secure the property quickly, presented a forged document to the royal chancery, misleading them about his lineage, and successfully obtained a praecipe in capite, which would have granted him immediate possession. Lady Eleanor, learning of this and possessing genuine evidence of her rightful claim, petitioned the King. Suspecting deceit in Sir Reginald's acquisition of the writ, the King issued a non intromittendo, quando breve praecipe to the court handling the inheritance. The court was then instructed to disregard Sir Reginald's praecipe in capite and require him to prove his right to the manor through the formal and thorough proceedings of a writ of right. This demonstrates the term's application in halting a potentially fraudulent claim in an inheritance dispute, ensuring a fair and proper legal examination of the true heir.