The Court of Exchequer Chamber was an
English appellate court for
common law civil actions before the reforms of the
Judicature Acts of 1873–1875. It originated in the fourteenth century, established in its final form by a statute of 1585.
The court heard references from the
King's Bench
The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions.
* Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of commo ...
, the
Court of Exchequer and, from 1830, directly rather than indirectly from the
Court of Common Pleas. It was constituted of four
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
s belonging to the two courts that had been uninvolved at
first instance.
In cases of exceptional importance such as the ''
Case of Mines'' (1568) and ''
R v Hampden
R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irelan ...
'' (1637) twelve common law judges, four from each division below, sitting in Exchequer Chamber, might be asked to determine a point of law, the matter being referred by the court hearing the case rather than the parties.
Though further appeal to the
House of Lords was possible, this was rare before the nineteenth century.
As a rule, a judgment of the Exchequer Chamber was considered the definitive statement of the law. Certain judgments like ''Hampden'' (the case of
ship money) caused political controversy.
It was superseded by the
Court of Appeal of England and Wales.
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{English Exchequer
Former courts and tribunals in England and Wales
Legal history of England
English civil law
14th-century establishments in England
Courts and tribunals established in the 14th century
1875 disestablishments in England
Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1875