L'exemple, sous l'Ancien Régime, d'une juridiction française de droit privé non dépourvue de prérogatives administratives

Abstract

The Présidiaux were created in 1552 in order to speed up trials and diminish the influence of the high judicial courts (Parlements). They were at the core of a complex judicial organization and helped to enforce the Justice of the King. Although the Presidial of La Rochelle appears to be relatively unknown (and even forgotten) nowadays, it was of paramount importance in the judicial and political background of La Rochelle under the Monarchy. It embodied the power of the King. After the 1627 siege, its members were forced to declare themselves Catholics. Not only did the Presidial exercise Justice, it was also a source of Law, especially thanks to its administrative and police powers. For the King, it was a tool of social regulation, dedicated to fighting the Protestants and supervising citizens’ activities. But the Presidial of La Rochelle was also a political and social body, longing for autonomy – it was structured as a provincial parliamentary oligarchy. It was socially powerful and, as such, took precedence over the other jurisdictions and easily competed with rival bodies. Although it had been undermined by the judicial reforms, its Officers attempted to work themselves up the social ladder towards nobility, as is shown by the Presidial’s external signs of wealth and grandeur. In the 18th century, the Presidial of La Rochelle was still a middle jurisdiction, torn between its capacities and its ideals – a jurisdiction whose dilemma was to be neither lower, nor yet supreme.