Legal Definitions - recordatur

Recordatur is a historical legal term that refers to a formal instruction issued by a court to officially document a jury'sverdict that was reached in a local trial. Essentially, it was the command to ensure that the outcome of a case tried before a local judge and jury was properly entered into the central court's permanent records.

• Example 1: Land Dispute Resolution

  Imagine a land ownership dispute in 18th-century England. A local jury, after hearing all the evidence in a regional court, decides that Farmer Giles is the rightful owner of a particular plot. To make this local decision officially recognized and permanently recorded by the central legal system, the presiding judge would issue a recordatur. This order ensured that the jury's verdict was formally transcribed into the central court's official registry, thereby establishing a binding and undeniable legal record of the outcome.

• Example 2: Historical Criminal Trial

  Consider a historical case of a minor criminal offense, such as a local theft, tried before an assize court (a type of traveling court). Once the jury delivered a "guilty" verdict, a recordatur would be issued. This directive ensured that the jury's finding, and any subsequent judgment or sentence, was meticulously entered into the central court's official rolls. This process provided a formal, permanent account of the proceedings and the final judgment, making it part of the official legal history.

• Example 3: Commercial Contract Breach

  In a complex commercial dispute from centuries past, a jury at a regional court determines that one party had indeed breached a contract. To prevent any future ambiguity or challenge regarding this significant outcome, the court would issue a recordatur. This specific instruction ensured that the jury's detailed findings and the overall verdict were precisely transcribed into the central court's records, establishing an undeniable official account of the trial's resolution for all future reference.