TITLE III. CONCERNING COMMISSIONERS AND COMMISSIONS.

I.Princes and Bishops should not Conduct their Cases in Court in Person, but through their Subjects or Subordinates.
II.The Judge must inquire of a Litigant, whether the Suit brought by Him is his Own, or that of Another.
III.He who cannot Conduct his Cause Himself must give Written Authority to his Attorney.
IV.Torture shall, in no Case, be inflicted upon Persons of Noble Birth who are acting as Representatives of Others; and, In what way a Freeman of the Lower Class, or a Slave, may be subjected to Torture.
V.If He who has Appointed an Attorney Suffers Delay, he can Revoke his Commission.
VI.It shall not be Lawful for a Woman to Act as an Attorney, but She may Conduct Her Own Case in Court.
VII.The Constituent shall receive the Benefit, and bear the Loss, resulting from Proceedings Instituted by his Attorney.
VIII.If a Representative should die, his Heirs shall be entitled to his Fees.
IX.What Persons those in Power, and those that are Poor, may appoint to Conduct their Cases.
X.Those who have Charge of the Royal Treasury, when the Suit is brought for its Benefit, have authority to appoint whom they wish to represent them.

FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.

I. Princes and Bishops should not Conduct their Cases in Court in Person, but through their Subjects or Subordinates.

As it is the office of persons in power to decide questions of law, and as, in many instances, they should not be needlessly subjected to the annoyances resulting from litigation; therefore, if either the king or a bishop should have a lawsuit with any one, he may select a personal representative to whom the transaction of the business shall be intrusted; for the reason that it would seem an insult to the dignity of persons of such high rank, if those of a lower class should contradict their evidence in court. And again, if the king should choose to personally assume the conduct of his case in any matter, who is there who would dare to contradict him? Therefore, lest the fear of royal power should suppress the truth, the case should be conducted, not by the king, but by some of his subjects.

II. The Judge must inquire of a Litigant, whether the Suit brought by Him is his Own, or that of Another.

The judge must, in the first place, make inquiry of a litigant whether he is conducting his own case, or that of another. He shall also be asked whom he represents; and, after the judge has decided the case, he shall include in the decree him by whose order the action was prosecuted, and, in addition, he shall receive a copy of the authority of the representative, to be filed with the record of the judgment. And it shall be lawful for the defendant to examine the commission given by the plaintiff, in the presence of the judge, so that he may know, without doubt, for what reason he was brought into court, as well as ascertain the contents of the order granting the authority.

III. He who cannot Conduct his Cause Himself, must give Written Authority to his Attorney.

If any one is unable to conduct his own cause, or is unwilling to do so, he must appoint a representative, by an instrument in writing, under his own hand, confirmed by the seals and signatures of witnesses. And if any such representative should be guilty of collusion with his adversary, so that he is defeated, he shall pay to his principal, as much of his own property as the latter has lost, or as much as he ought to have obtained. But it shall not be lawful for a slave to conduct any case whatever, through the commission of another, unless on behalf of his master or mistress, or of the Church, or of some poor person, or under the commission of the royal treasury. If, through either the neglect or misconduct of the judge, or through the perjury of a witness, the provisions of this law should not be carried out, then it shall be the duty of the king to enforce the same.

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

IV. Torture shall, in no Case, be inflicted upon Persons of Noble Birth who are acting as Representatives of Others; and, In what way a Freeman of the Lower Class, or a Slave, may be subjected to Torture.

No person of noble rank shall, under any circumstances, be put to the torture by authority of a commission given to another. It is, however, hereby permitted that any freeborn person of low rank who is poor, and has already been convicted of crime, may be tortured under such a commission; but only when the principal gives authority in writing to do this, signed by him, and attested by three witnesses, which shall be entrusted for delivery, to a freeman, and not to a slave. And if he should cause the torture to be inflicted upon an innocent person, the aforesaid principal is hereby admonished, that he has incurred the penalty of the law which is found in the sixth book, first title, second chapter; wherein it is stated for what things freeborn persons are to be put to the question. It is lawful for other criminal causes to be prosecuted under commission; and, as has been said above, tortures may be applied to a freeman by the representative of another who is also free. And it is granted by the law to a freeman or a slave, to subject a slave to torture, with this provision, to wit: that if either torture or injury should be inflicted upon an innocent person, the principal shall be compelled to give complete satisfaction, under the instructions of the judge. Nor is he to be discharged who received the commission, until either the principal may be produced in court, or shall make amends according to law. And whoever desires to inflict the torture, having received authority to do so under a commission, shall be compelled by the judge to give bond.

V. If He who has Appointed an Attorney Suffers Delay, he can Revoke his Commission.

He who conducts a case as the representative of another should proceed with it as rapidly as possible; and if he is dilatory, and the case which should have been prosecuted with alacrity, is retarded unnecessarily, or is fraudulently postponed, the principal may have recourse to the judge. And if he who receives the commission to conduct the case should, through malice or corruption, cause delay for ten days after he has received the order of the judge to proceed with the same, the adversary or the judge being present, then the principal can either conduct the case himself, or appoint any one else whom he may select, to conduct it for him.

ANCIENT LAW.

VI. It shall not be Lawful for a Woman to Act as an Attorney, but She may Conduct Her Own Case in Court.

No woman can conduct a case under the authority of another, but she is not forbidden to transact her own business in court. Nor can a husband conduct the case of his wife without authority from her; and, indeed, he should protect himself with such an instrument in writing, that the wife may not repudiate the whole proceeding; and if she should repudiate it, the husband shall undergo the penalty to which he is liable who presumed to conduct a case without the authority of his wife. And if the husband should lose a case which he prosecuted without the order of his wife, her rights shall in no way be prejudiced; and she can afterwards either prosecute the case herself, or can authorize any one she wishes to do whatever is proper in the matter. And if the case should justly go against the husband, and the wife should believe that the adversary who prevailed should again be sued; and, after the second trial, it should be apparent that her husband was not unjustly beaten in the first trial, the wife shall render satisfaction as prescribed by law, not only to the judge who first heard the case, but also to the other party whom she brought into court for the second time.

ANCIENT LAW.

VII. The Constituent shall receive the Benefit, and bear the Loss, resulting from Proceedings Instituted by his Attorney.

He who authorizes a case to be conducted by another as his attorney, shall enjoy the profit, or endure the loss resulting from the same, according to the circumstances; and he who carried on the action in compliance with his instructions, and exerted himself faithfully in the performance of his duty, shall not be deprived of his commission by his constituent; nor shall the latter be permitted to afterwards transfer the conduct of the case to another; because it is unjust that he who is known to have labored faithfully in the business which he has undertaken, should be deprived of his reward. He who is about to assume the conduct of a case should have an understanding with his constituent beforehand, and ascertain what amount he is to receive as a recompense for his services after the cause has been decided. And if he who conducted the case shall neglect to deliver to his constituent, within three months, any property which came into his hands under the decree, he shall lose the compensation for his services which he would otherwise have received; and shall be compelled by order of court to deliver to his constituent, whatever he was entitled to under the decision.

VIII. If an Attorney should Die, his Heirs shall be entitled to his Fees.

Where any person authorizes another to conduct a case for him, and dies before it is heard, said authority shall determine; and if he who received it should be surprised by death before the cause is heard, then also the order addressed to him before his death shall have no validity. But if the cause has been heard and energetically prosecuted through his diligence, and yet, for some reason or other, it was not entirely concluded, or some payment should remain to be made before final settlement; and if the case has been prosecuted as far as he who was commissioned to conduct it should have carried it; then, his heirs shall be entitled to receive from the constituent whatever compensation their ancestor would have been entitled to.

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

IX. What Persons those in Power, and those that are Poor, may appoint to Conduct their Cases.

It shall not be lawful for any one who selects an attorney to conduct his case, under any circumstances, to appoint a person who is more powerful than himself, so that the capacity to oppress, or terrify, may be greater than his own. For if a powerful person should be involved in a lawsuit with one who is poor, and is unwilling to conduct it himself, he cannot appoint any one else to carry it on but one of equal standing with, or perhaps inferior to, the other party. But, on the other hand, if a poor man chooses, he may select as his attorney any one of equal rank and power with his adversary.

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

X. Those who have Charge of the Royal Treasury, when a Suit is brought for its Benefit, have authority to appoint whom they wish to represent them.

Nothing should be done rashly in matters relating to the royal treasury. And whenever it appears advisable to proceed against any one on behalf of the treasury, he who is charged with that duty shall have the right to conduct the case before either the governor of the city, or the judge. If, however, he should happen to be absent from the place where the business is to be transacted, or should be prevented by any accident, or even should be unwilling to appear in his own person, he shall have the unquestionable right to appoint any one he chooses, to bring an action in which the public interests are involved.[10]