''Nisi prius'' () (Latin: "unless before") is a historical term in

English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...

. In the 19th century, it came to be used to denote generally all

legal action In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...

s tried before judges of the

King's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

and in the early twentieth century for actions tried at

assize The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

by a judge given a commission.Curzon (2002) Used in that way, the term has had no currency since the abolition of assizes in 1971. Courts Act 1971

Trial at ''nisi prius''

Diagram of common-law courts in England and Wales before the Judicature Acts

Before the reforms of the

Judicature Act 1873 The Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 (sometimes known as the Judicature Act 1873) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1873. It reorganised the English court system to establish the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and ...

, civil cases at

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

were begun in one of the three courts that sat in

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

: the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

, Court of Exchequer and King's Bench. Because of their historical origins, these courts were to some extent in competition, especially as their respective judges and officers lived on the fees deriving from them. Given that travel to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

was an onerous burden during the medieval period, however, the Statute of Westminster II provided in 1285 for

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal ...

of fact in civil cases at the local assizes. ''Nisi prius'' translates as "if not sooner" or "if not before" in addition to "unless first": when the action was started in London, the sheriff was ordered to have the

juror A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England dur ...

s there for trial on a certain day "unless before" (''nisi prius'') that day the case was heard at assize in the claimant's county.Cornish & Clark (1989) ''p.''23 After trial at the assizes, the case could be referred back to the original court, from where there was a possibility of further appeal to the

Court of Exchequer Chamber 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 ...

.Cornish & Clark (1989) ''p.''25 After the reform of the common law courts in 1873, actions were only said to be tried at ''nisi prius'', and a judge said to sit at ''nisi prius'', when he sat, usually in the King's Bench Division, for the

of actions. By a resolution passed by the judges of the King's Bench Division in 1894 it was declared of the utmost importance that there should be at least three courts of ''nisi prius'' sitting continuously throughout the

legal year The legal year, in English law as well as in other common law jurisdictions, is the calendar during which the judges sit in court. It is traditionally divided into periods called "terms". Asia Hong Kong Hong Kong's legal year is marked as Cerem ...

: one for special

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England du ...

causes, one for common jury causes, and one for causes without juries.

''Nisi prius'' record

The ''nisi prius'' record was, before the Judicature Acts, the name of the formal copy of proceedings showing the history of the case up to the time of trial. After the trial it was endorsed with the ''postea'', showing the result of the trial, and delivered by the officer of the court to the successful party, whose possession of the ''postea'' was his title to

judgment Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...

. Since the Judicature Acts there is no ''nisi prius'' record in civil actions, the nearest approach to it being the deposit of copies of the statements of case for the use of the judge, and there is no ''postea'', the certificate of the associate or

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

as to the result of the trial superseding it.

Cultural references

''Nisi prius'' is mentioned in the Gilbert and Sullivan

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'', in the song "As Some Day it May Happen" in a list of items that "won't be missed": "And that ''Nisi Prius'' nuisance, who just now is rather rife, the judicial humorist—I've got him on the list!"Gilbert, W. S
"As Some Day it May Happen"
the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, ''The Mikado'' Web Opera, accessed 1 July 2013

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017 Latin legal terminology Legal history of England English legal terminology