254:; while the compurgators swore that they believed that he spoke the truth. It was an eminently unsatisfactory way of arriving at the merits of a claim, and it is therefore not surprising to find that the policy of the law was in favour of its restriction rather than of its extension. Thus it was not permitted where the defendant was not a person of good character, where the king sued, where the defendant was the executor or administrator of the person alleged to have owed the debt, or in any form of action other than those named, even though the cause of action were the same. No wager of law was allowed in
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72:, 500 if the matter under dispute was worth 1000 or more. The wager of the winning party would be returned, but the loser's would be forfeited to the state. While the reasoning lay, in theory, in the idea of a sacrifice to the gods, its main effect was to discourage frivolous litigation since the sums laid down as wagers were substantial.
192:, of the highest antiquity in their origin, survived up to a comparatively late period in the history of both legal systems. The form of the wager survived long after its reason had been forgotten. The general prevalence of the wager form of proceeding is perhaps to be attributed to the early conception of a
108:
Used from around the 3rd century BC for the recovery of a specific thing or specific sum of money (such as from a debtor), it did not require a wager as such, but the parties exchanged promises to the effect that the loser would pay to the winner one third of the sum at issue. If the plaintiff won,
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averred the laying of a wager of with the defendant that a certain event was as he alleged; the defendant admitted the wager, but disputed the allegation; on this issue was joined. This procedure was abolished by s. Iq of the Gaming Act 1845. (W. F. C.)
249:
is the bond of union between the two stages of law. In the wager of law the defendant, with eleven compurgators, appeared in court, and the defendant swore that he did not owe the debt, or (in detinue) that he did not detain the plaintiff's
180:- has had extended employment in various cases which may be noticed here. The determination of cases, civil and criminal, by means of wager or analogous forms of procedure, was a characteristic feature of ancient law. The
269:
was created by statute, it became a common form to insert a proviso that no wager of law was to be allowed in an action for the penalty. Wager of law was finally abolished in 18 33 (3 & 4
40:. In some cases, if the party lost, the wager went to the other party, to compensate him for his inconvenience, rather than to the court to cover costs.
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who decided the dispute submitted to him, not as an executive officer of the state, but as an arbitrator casually called in (see
265:- proceeding originally upon a fictitious averment of a promise by the defendant - as a means of recovering debts. Where a
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system, it was used whenever another procedure was not prescribed by statute. Both parties had to lay down a wager of 50
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Another form of judicial wager in use up to 1845 was the feigned issue, by which questions arising in the course of
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223:, a system which is now thought to have had an appreciable effect on the development of the English
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cases laid down by statute. It did not require any wager at all and so was much less risky for the
245:, feigned in Roman law - no doubt represents an advance in legal development. The technical term
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or stake. Wagers in the ordinary sense of the term are dealt with under the headings Gaming and
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37:
8:
188:- at first a real, then a fictitious, wager - and the wagers "of battle" and "of law" in
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even though the cause of action were a simple debt. This led to the general adoption of
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227:. It also has some points of resemblance, perhaps some historical connexion, with the
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law, Ex. xxii. 10; but it seems historically to have been derived from the system of
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176:; but the method of wagering - in principle the putting of a decision to the
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241:). The use of the oath instead of the real or feigned combat - real in
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This section incorporates text from a publication now in the
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This section incorporates text from a publication now in the
88:", "complaint before the judge or arbiter") was used only in some
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The procedure in a wager of law is traced by
Blackstone to the
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62:The standard procedure for litigation under the
85:legis actio per iudicis arbitrive postulationem
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237:, and the reference to oath of Scots law (see
280:proceedings were sent for trial by jury in a
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109:he received four thirds of the sum, and the
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83:
113:received one third of the sum if he won.
24:procedure was in force during the early
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361:
52:, and the wager differed in each one.
48:There were three different types of
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28:, both parties had to lay down a
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219:, introduced into England from
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1:
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77:Ludicis arbitrive postulatio
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82:This procedure (in full, "
233:and the decisory oath of
36:, probably to discourage
326:Encyclopædia Britannica
142:Encyclopædia Britannica
329:(11th ed.). 1911.
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182:legis actin sacramenti
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154:
152:(derived, through Fr.
145:(11th ed.). 1911.
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117:From 1911 Britannica
38:frivolous litigation
34:preliminary hearing
20:system, while the
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284:court. The
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243:English law
91:in personam
57:Sacramentum
30:legal wager
293:References
282:common law
273:. c. 42).
271:William IV
263:assumpsit
196:as a mere
158:from Lat.
369:Roman law
286:plaintiff
257:assumpsit
235:Roman law
111:defendant
103:Condictio
96:plaintiff
363:Category
338:See also
278:chancery
221:Normandy
208:c. x.).
26:Republic
317::
267:penalty
252:chattel
230:sponsao
198:referee
190:England
174:Betting
161:vadium,
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32:at the
16:In the
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213:Mosaic
178:hazard
166:pledge
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321:Wager
202:Maine
194:judge
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150:Wager
137:Wager
69:asses
239:Oath
225:jury
186:Rome
323:".
184:at
170:bet
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