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.