prerogative courtn.
/prᵻˈrɒɡətɪv ˌkɔːt/, U.S. /p(r)əˈrɑɡədɪv ˌkɔrt/ 1. The court of an archbishop for the probate of wills in which effects to the value of five pounds are left in each of two or more dioceses within his province. Now historical.Its jurisdiction was transferred in 1857 to the Court of Probate.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > ecclesiastical discipline > court > archbishop's court > [noun]
audiencec1451
Court of Audience1467
Audience Court1593
prerogative1604
prerogative court1604
prerogative office1648
officiality1742
commissariat1762
1604 tr. Constit. & Canons Ecclesiasticall 1603 xcii. sig. P3v The Apparitor of the Prerogatiue Court.
1604 tr. Constit. & Canons Ecclesiasticall 1603 xcii. sig. P2 Apparitors both of inferiour Courts, and of the Courts of the Archbishops Prerogatiues.]
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 181 The Prerogative court, in which the Commissarie sitteth upon Inheritances fallen either by the Intestate or by will and testament.
?c1663 B. Whitelocke Diary (1990) 181 He went to Doctors Commons as a Counsell for the Judge of the prerogative Court.
1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. xxxii. 509 The court where the validity of such wills is tried, and the office where they are registered, are called the prerogative court, and the prerogative office, of the provinces of Canterbury and York [Abbrev. P.C.C. and P.C.Y.].
1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire II. iv. iv. 326 The Prerogative Court has jurisdiction of all wills and administrations of personal property left by persons having bonâ notabilia or effects of a certain value, in divers jurisdictions within the province.
1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. III. 346 The archbishops in their prerogative courts, the bishops in their consistories, the archdeacons in some cases..exercised jurisdiction in all these matters.
1954 M. Beresford Lost Villages Eng. ix. 315 Of the prerogative courts, we have documents from Star Chamber and Requests in London, but the records of the Council of the North and of the Marches are few.
2004 D. Dean et al. Production & Consumption Eng. Households, 1600–1750 iii. 29 Those of the highest social status, or with property in more than one Consistory Court, had their probate granted by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.
2. U.S. A probate court.Now only in New Jersey.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > judicial body, assembly, or court > [noun] > specific inheritance or probate courts
commissaries' court?1529
Orphan's court1568
schynd1577
commissary court1644
Court of Probate1655
commissarial1680
prerogative court1702
probate court1726
1702 Acts & Laws His Majesties Colony Connecticut in New-Eng. 24 The Judge..shall from time to time, hold and keep the Court, for Probate of Wills,..with full power to act in all matters proper, for a Prerogative Court.
1816 R. S. Coxe Rep. Supreme Court New-Jersey 1 155 The orphan's Court is..a court partaking of the powers of a chancery and perogative jurisdiction, instituted by law to remedy and supply the defects in the powers of the perogative court, with regard to the accountability of executors, administrators and guardians.
1885 Trenton (New Jersey) Times 19 May 1/1 No motion to dismiss an appeal in the Prerogative Court shall be heard unless notice of such motion has been given or the proctor of the other party is in court.
1917 New Jersey Equity Rep. 88 263 An appeal was taken to the prerogative court.
1990 New Jersey Law Jrnl. (Nexis) 15 Feb. 88 Insofar as probate matters were concerned, the Prerogative Court and the Orphans Court were to be abolished and the Chancery Division was to succeed to their jurisdiction.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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