We direct the ministers of God, to whom the Divine authority has been committed to remedy the misfortunes of oppression and poverty, that they admonish, with paternal piety, such judges as oppress the people with unjust decrees, by which means such wrongs may be remedied. But if any magistrate, invested with judicial functions, has either decided unjustly, or has imposed a wrongful sentence upon any one, then the bishop in whose diocese this has been done, shall summon the judge who is alleged to have acted unjustly, and shall render a just decision, sitting along with him, in the presence of ecclesiastics, or other persons of respectability. But if the judge, moved by perversity, refuses to correct the iniquitous judgment given by him, after the bishop has exhorted him to do so, then the bishop shall have the privilege of reviewing the case, and of rendering judgment alone; and the wrongful decision of the judge, subsequently set aside by him, as well as his own decision, shall be committed to writing, and be deposited among the records of the court. The bishop shall so act toward the party who has been oppressed, and liberated by him from that oppression, that truth may be established and confirmed by our authority. If the judge should prevent the party whom he has oppressed from appearing before the bishop, he shall forfeit two pounds of gold to the king.
FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.
XXIX. The Judge, when Inquired of by a Party, should be able to give a Reason for His Decision.
Every judge is hereby admonished that if a demand is made upon him by any one, he shall give the reasons, in their proper order, for the decision he has made; and this he shall do, either in the presence of the governor of the city, or of those whom the governor has chosen to represent him. And if the matter has been brought before the king, those judges whom the king shall appoint for the purpose, shall decide the cause, without the presence of the bishop and the other judges. And if, after the action has been brought to an end, either before the bishop or before the governor, either of the parties should present himself, a second time, with the royal order, he who heard or decided the cause in the first place, must account for his conduct to those who have been specially appointed judges by the royal decree; so that in case he should be found to have rendered an improper decision, he may give satisfaction therefor to the plaintiff before the law. And if the plaintiff shall have filed an unjust complaint, he shall be condemned to suffer the legal penalty prescribed for the same.
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
XXX. Concerning the Punishment of Judges who Appropriate the Property of Others.
While it is evident that judges have been appointed for the purpose of remedying evils, some of them, on the other hand, with all the insolence of power, attempt to attack those very things which, according to the principles of equity, they ought to defend. For, once invested with authority, some judges do not hesitate to assume illegal control over the property of others; and do not fear, under almost any pretext, to subject them to unreasonable expense in the exercise of official tyranny. Henceforth, any judge who shall take any property belonging to another, contrary to an order of court, or in violation of law, or shall injure said property in any way, shall be condemned to suffer the same penalty which he, acting in his judicial capacity, would have imposed upon any one guilty of the same offence.
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
XXXI. Concerning those who Treat the Royal Order with Disdain.
Any freeman who shall have been convicted of having disobeyed the royal summons, or shall have been proved to have acted in such a manner that his duplicity is apparent, and shall say contrary to the truth, that he has neither seen nor received the summons; if he is a person of noble birth, he shall pay three pounds of gold to the treasury; but, if he should not have sufficient property to pay this fine, he shall receive a hundred lashes with the scourge, without any degradation of rank. But if he should have been prevented from travelling by sickness, tempest, inundation, or snow, or by unavoidable trouble of any kind, and this should be established by the testimony of reliable witnesses, he shall not be considered guilty of disobedience to the royal order, or be liable to any punishment, as it is evident that the delay was the result of manifest necessity.