Legal Definitions - non omittas propter liberatem

The Latin phrase non omittas propter liberatem translates to "do not omit because of any liberty." Historically, this was a crucial clause included in certain legal documents, particularly writs of execution issued by a higher court.

Its purpose was to direct a sheriff or other enforcement officer to carry out the court's order without fail, even if the execution of that order required them to enter or act within a specific geographical area known as a "liberty" or "franchise." These "liberties" were districts or estates that, by royal charter or ancient custom, possessed special privileges, often including a degree of exemption from the general jurisdiction of the county sheriff. The "non omittas" clause essentially overrode these local privileges, ensuring that the court's authority could be enforced universally across all territories.

Here are some examples illustrating its application:

• Enforcing a Debt Judgment: Imagine a scenario in medieval England where a merchant owes a significant sum of money and a court has issued a judgment requiring the seizure of his assets to satisfy the debt. The merchant, however, has stored his most valuable goods within a chartered town that operates as a "liberty," traditionally managing its own internal affairs and often resisting the direct intervention of the county sheriff without specific permission. If the writ of execution included the non omittas propter liberatem clause, the sheriff would be empowered to enter that chartered town, despite its usual exemptions, and seize the merchant's goods to fulfill the court's order. This clause ensured the judgment could not be avoided by simply moving assets into a privileged area.

• Executing an Arrest Warrant: Consider a situation where a person accused of a serious crime has fled and is believed to be hiding within the grounds of a powerful monastic institution, which historically enjoyed significant autonomy and often had its own internal constabulary, acting as a "liberty." If a warrant for the individual's arrest contained the non omittas propter liberatem clause, the county sheriff would be authorized to enter the monastery's precincts and apprehend the suspect, overriding the institution's usual jurisdictional independence. Without this clause, the sheriff might have been legally prevented from entering without a separate, specific grant of authority, potentially allowing the accused to evade justice.

• Recovering Disputed Land: Suppose a court has ruled in favor of a landowner in a dispute over property boundaries, ordering the eviction of an encroaching party and the recovery of possession. A portion of the disputed land, or the encroaching party's dwelling, falls within a specific "franchise" that traditionally handled its own land tenure and enforcement matters, often without external interference. The inclusion of the non omittas propter liberatem clause in the writ of possession would direct the sheriff to proceed with the eviction and secure the land for the rightful owner, regardless of the franchise's customary autonomy in such disputes. This ensured that the court's final judgment on property rights could be enforced across all jurisdictional boundaries.