Referendary is the English form of a number of administrative positions, of various rank, in chanceries and other official organizations in Europe.

Pre-modern history

The office of ' (plural: ', from the Latin ', "I inform") existed at the Byzantine Court. Such officials reported to the Emperor on the memorials of petitioners, and conveyed to the judges the Emperor's orders in connection with such memorials. During the Frankish Empire's Merovingian period, the official who would later be known as the

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

(') was termed the '. See also Royal Administration of Merovingian and Carolingian Dynasties. Other medieval kingdoms also had a referendary, e.g., Anianus, who in 506 CE compiled the '' Breviary of Alaric'' for that king of the Visigoths. Later the office proliferated and thus became devalued, as reflected in compound titles differentiating some such offices, e.g., in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In later iterations of the Polish state, the title occurred again, e.g., as "referendary of state". A referendary can also be an official (

Grand Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law co ...

) in an order of knighthood, e.g. the Order of Saint Lazarus.

Canon law

In the Papal Curia Romana (court), the office of ' ('apostolic referendary') originated in the Middle Ages; their duty was to receive all petitions directed to the Holy See, to report on them to the pope and to tender him advice. The treatment and decision varied according to the nature of the question: if a favour was concerned, it might be either granted or refused; if some dispute, the pope decided whether it should be referred to a judge. The ' were entrusted with all arrangements for these papal decisions, which they had to prepare for the pope's signature ('). From these referendarii developed the court of the Signatura ('), concerning which there are various papal constitutions. Pope Innocent VIII (1484–92) introduced a distinction between the referendarii on questions of favours and of justice, whence developed the "" and the "", each competent to give final decision within its sphere. ' (attested for

Joseph Simeon Assemani Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

), or shorter ' (attested for Francesco Sforza Pallavicino), 'Referendary of both signatures', was a specific title in the Roman Curia, apparently combining both competences. In the court of the "" developed a distinction between the prelates entitled to vote (') and those whose duties were confined to reporting on individual cases ('). The whole body gradually lost all practical importance, especially after the loss of the Papal States, and was entirely abolished at the reorganization of the Curia by Pius X.

Germany

In Germany, ' refers to: * a trainee solicitor/attorney undertaking an articled clerkship as part of his/her professional training (''Rechtsreferendar''), * a student teacher during the practical period of teacher training (''Lehramtsreferendar''), * more generally, individuals going through a preparatory service ('' Vorbereitungsdienst'') or administration-internal traineeship for 'senior service' career positions as public servants (''

Beamte The German civil servants called ' (men, singular ', more commonly ') or ' (women, singular ') have a privileged legal status compared to other German public employees (called '), who are generally subject to the same laws and regulations as emp ...

''). This includes different areas of the public sector, for instance police, libraries, archives, administrative technical services, or diplomatic service. All law graduates must article as 's for two years before being admitted to practice. The traineeship is intended to provide practical knowledge that cannot be taught at university.Encyclopædia Britannica: "Referendar (German Jurisprudence)"
/ref> During the trainee phase, law graduates are employed and paid by the state. Trainees pass through different stages, working as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

at different types of courts, for the local public prosecutor's office, and at lawyers' offices. The training comprises several stages that give the ' experience working under supervision in various fields of law. For trainee teachers the preparatory service lasts between 18 and 24 months depending on the state. During this time, 's are employed by and paid for by the state as candidates for the 'upper' or 'senior' service ranks as government employees (''

''), depending on which type of school they are training at. A teacher's traineeship consists of academic courses as well as hands-on teaching. At the end of the traineeship, trainee teachers take their Second State Examination to qualify for government employment as teachers.

References

Bibliography

* Bruno Katterbach, ''Referendarii utriusque signaturae a Martino V ad Clementem IX et praelati signaturae supplicationum a Martino V ad Leonem XIII'' (Vatican City: Bibliotheca apostolica Vaticana, 1931). * Christoph Weber, ''Die päpstlichen Referendare 1566-1809: Chronologie und Prosopographie'' (Stuttgart: Hiersemann, 2004). * *the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica (passim) * {{Use British English Oxford spelling, date=May 2019 Ecclesiastical titles Titles