[3] 1-Procedure for the Annual Elections of Consuls and Judges of Appeals

Each year on the day before Christmas, elders of marine corporations, senior members of the sea guilds, ⁽¹⁾ patrons of vessels and sailors or a majority of them shall assemble at the church of Saint Thecla, and there by election and not by drawing of lots, shall elect by an unanimous or majority vote two members from among the membership of these associations, one from each association, but not from any other guild, organization, office, or profession, one Consul and one Judge of Appeals who will hear cases on appeal from the decision of the Consuls.

These elections shall be held by the authority vested in the Elders of the Sea Guild under the charter granted to them by His Majesty the King and his predecessors.

2-The Consular Oath of Office

On Christmas Day ⁽²⁾ the newly elected Consuls will be administered their oath of office in the Church of the Most Holy Virgin of the Candles by the Civil Judge of the City of Valencia ⁽³⁾ provided that the Civil Judge had taken the oath of his office before His Majesty the King or the Governor-General, swearing that he would perform the duties of his office impartially and honestly and that he will mete out justice impartially to those of humble origin as well as those of rank and distinction, and that he will remain loyal and faithful to His Majesty the King.

3-Installation and the Administration of the Oath of Office to the Judge

[4] On the day after Christmas the Consuls , accompanied by a few members of the Sea Guild, will present the newly elected judge to the Procurator of the Kingdom of Valencia or to his representative in whose presence the judge will take an oath that he will perform his duties impartially and conscientiously. Anyone who is presented to the Procurator in this manner as Judge of Appeals will be certified by the Procurator as a Judge.

Such is the custom. Although it had been stated that His Majesty the King or his Procurator would designate the person annually who would exercise the office of the judge, the Elders of the Sea Guild have exercised this privilege because His Majesty the King and his Procurator have never at any time since the inception of this privilege exercised their prerogative. ⁽⁴⁾ Therefore the procedure outlined should be followed.

4-How the Consuls Select a Clerk for Themselves and for the Judge of Appeals.

Consuls select persons who in their opinion appear to be best fitted for the performance of this office. However, if a Clerk who had served in the previous year appears to them to be satisfactory, they may retain him during their year in office. Other Consuls who will be elected later may follow this same procedure if they believe that the incumbent Clerk is fit to be continued in office.

The Judge of Appeals will adjudicate the issues with the help of the Consular Clerk after the Consular inquiry of the issues has been completed.

Consuls retain the authority to discharge the Clerk for cause and appoint another person to fill this office. The incumbent Clerk who was originally trusted with the duties of this office cannot contest the provision of this law.

5-Description of the Consular Seal

Consuls in their court will use a circular seal of office containing the Royal Coat of Arms on two sides of the shield, and on the third or bottom part of the shield there shall be a field of sea waves. Encircling [5] the seal there shall be a legend; Sigillum consulatus Maris Valentiae pro domino rege. ⁽⁵⁾

This seal is used by the Judge for any purpose which calls for an official seal. This seal is to be kept and guarded by the Clerk of the Consular Court.:

6-Qualifications and Disqualifications for Consuls and Judges

Those who are Consuls in a given year cannot succeed themselves into office until their immediate successors have vacated the office; similarly a new Judge will be appointed each year. However, the Consuls and the Judge may be reelected after an interval of one year, and one of the Consuls finishing his term of office may in the following year be elected Judge of Appeals. Similarly a judge finishing his tour of duty may be elected Consul for the following year.

7-Consuls May Designate Anyone They Wish to Finish Their Unexpired Term of Office

Both of the Consuls, or either of them, due to illness or business pressure or because of other necessity which will require that they leave the city of Valencia may appoint anyone they wish to fill their place as long as such a person is a member of the Sea Guild; the Judge of Appeals may do similarly.

8-Procedures Used by the Consuls in Pursuance of Their Official Duties and Primarily About Their Power to Issue a Subpoena

If there be deposited with the Consuls a written request that they arbitrate an issue, which lies within their jurisdiction in accordance with the customs of the sea, they will issue a written subpoena dispatched by a special messenger to the person so named. The party subpoenaed must reply to this order through the same messenger within the time limits set by the Consuls. ⁽⁶⁾

In his reply the accused will present evidence in his favor if he is able to refute the charges; in addition he will list the counter charges if he intends to use them in the litigation brought against him.

The accused shall reply to the charges made against him and in his refutation he shall state the motives for his defense, if he has any. [6] The accuser must repudiate these denials.

Each of the litigants will have three days to make and to deny these charges; however, a longer or shorter period of time may be decided upon by the Consuls. After the charges and the refutations have been made, and if the litigants demand, but not otherwise, although the litigation would not be illegal without this, the litigants will swear an oath ⁽⁷⁾ that they will not slander, that they will speak the truth and that they will in good faith answer the demands made and explain their motivations in the cross-examination made by one or the other of the litigants. if one of the litigants makes an objection to some issue and promises to submit evidence upon demand to substantiate his objection, he may ask for postponement. The first postponement, if granted, will be of ten days' duration. It will be possible to get four ten-day postponements provided that the party demanding them will take an oath that the fourth postponement is not demanded because of maliciousness or in order to prolong the litigation.

If it should happen that the litigants have witnesses who live far away, the trial will be delayed depending on the distance of the domicile of such witnesses as stated in the testimony of the litigants.

In each instance when a delay is granted the litigants will be ordered to be present when the trial is resumed while their witnesses testify, because these witnesses were summoned by the litigants, otherwise testimony under oath will be taken from these witnesses without the litigants' presence.

After all the postponements have been granted, the trial held, and all the witnesses examined, the Consuls as soon as possible will inform the litigants when the decision will be given. Upon the demand of the litigants a public examination of witnesses will be conducted. The litigants are not required to waive appeal at the time the decision is rendered. If an appeal is made, the sentence of the Consuls cannot be carried out.

Before or after the examination of the witnesses each litigant is allowed to present any documents or other creditable written data which can later be introduced and used as evidence. ⁽⁸⁾

9-Creditability of Witnesses

[7] After the witnesses are questioned, neither of the litigants will be allowed to make any written or oral reservations and objections to the testimony given by the witnesses or to the witnesses themselves.

However, if one of the litigants should assert that the witnesses or some of them called by the other litigant are his relatives who were called by him to testify in his favor, or that they are enemies of the litigants against whom they testified, or are persons of ill repute, the Consuls and their advisors ⁽⁹⁾ ought to take these charges under consideration and judge the value of such evidence dependent upon the reputation and the rank of the witnesses.

10-Litigation Procedure When Litigants Are Summoned by a Written Subpoena.

The Consuls, after summoning the litigants to be present at the reading of the verdict, will repair together with the Clerk to the meeting of the city Merchants' Guild and there order the charges to be read and explain the course that the litigation had taken, and will ask the advice of the Elders of the Guild. Next, they will call the meeting of the Elders of the Sea Guild, order the charges read in their presence, explain the course that the litigation had taken and ask for their advice. If, however, the Consuls desire to ask the advice of the Elders of the Sea Guild first, they may do so.

If they receive the same advice from the Merchants' Guild and the Elders of the Sea Guild, they will announce their decision. If, however, the advice given to them by the Elders of the Sea Guild is in disagreement with that of the Elders of the Merchants' Guild, or if the Consuls cannot accept their reasoning in this issue, the Consuls will decide the case on the advice given them by the Elders of the Sea Guild, because disputes ought to be resolved in conformity with their opinion and not with that of the Elders of the Merchants' Guild; if this be the will of the Consuls, since they are not forced to seek advice, neither by the provisions of the charter of His Majesty the King, nor under any other provisions or circumstances. They had been merely following an ancient custom in such matters.

11- Concerning Appeals

Anyone who feels aggrieved by the verdict mentioned previously, may appeal within a ten-day period from the day the decision was [8] publicly announced. Such an appeal is presented to, and accepted by, the Judges of Appeal of the Consulate together with the transcript of the trial which had been heard by the Consuls instead and in place of the usual letter of request. In this appeal it is necessary to list all the objections relating to the trial which the appellee believes to have been illegal and improper.⁽¹⁰⁾

12-Procedures Followed When Appearing Before the Judge of Appeals

The appellant is required to present himself with the Clerk of the Consular Court before the Judge of Appeals to file an appeal and to sue for vacating of the verdict, reversal of the decision, or for the review of the consular decision; the Judge having received the transcript of the trial is obliged to set a date for the review of the case and to summon the appellee to present himself in his court on that date.

However, if the appellant does not petition for an appeal orally or in writing within the prescribed ten-day period, the decision of the Consular Court will stand and be put into effect.

13-In an Appeal Proceedings No New Evidence or Issues May Be Introduced

In an appeal neither of the litigants is permitted to introduce any new issues or attempt to prove any new charges, and the presiding judge in conformity with the well established customs, which were followed by the Consuls, related to the issues and the petition for appeal, should give a decision in such an appeal after receiving proper advice. Such are the provisions of the charter given to the Elders of the Sea by His Majesty the King.

14-Procedure and Time Limitation for Lodging an Appeal

The appellant should file an appeal immediately. If he allows thirty consecutive or non-consecutive days from the day he filed an appeal to pass without pressing the issue, he shows by this lack of interest that he has dropped the issue and that he accepts the decision of the Consuls. ⁽¹¹⁾

[9] 15-Procedure for Issuing the Decision in an Appeal

The Judge of Appeals together with the Clerk will seek advice from the Elders of the Merchants' Guild as well as the Elders of the Sea Guild, as well as from others from whom advice was sought in the original hearing according to the procedure mentioned before. After receiving their advice , and if after determining that the Consular decision was impartially arrived at, he will approve it; but if he determines that it was erroneously arrived at, he will declare it null and void and will change it in conformity with the opinions received. There is no appeal from the decision of the Judge of Appeal, no matter what that may be, and no litigant can raise any objections. ⁽¹²⁾

Such are the terms of the charter bestowed upon the aforementioned Elders by His Majesty the King.

16-Challenge of Jurisdiction

If in any issue the person subpoenaed should challenge the jurisdiction of the court, the Consuls will resolve this matter before they can undertake any other issue. If after receiving advice they decide that they do have the jurisdiction to adjudicate the case, they shall force the person subpoenaed to submit to their jurisdiction, and will proceed to resolve the issue in conformity with what has been stated before. If however, after receiving due advice they determine that they lack the jurisdictional power to resolve the matter they shall refer the matter to the proper jurisdictional authority for adjudication.

17-Concerning Judicial Decisions Issued in an Oral Summons

If some issue is brought before the Consuls orally, the Consuls will hear the accusations made by each of the litigants and the oral testimony of the witnesses; they will also become well versed with any documentary or other pertinent information, and after this is accomplished, they will proceed with the litigants to the Elders of the Merchants' Guild to seek counsel; and there each side will present its grievances; this procedure should be followed in order that the litigants would not claim that the Consuls failed to properly present to the Elders, whose advice they seek, all the accusations as they were presented to them.

The Consuls then shall give a résumé of the testimony of the witnesses and shall present documents and other data which had been given to them by the litigants. After this is done, the litigants are excused [10] and the Elders of the Merchants' Guild offer advice to the Consuls on the issue brought for their consideration.

Similarly, in the manner mentioned above, Consuls repair to the Elders of the Sea Guild in order to seek their advice ; and after receiving it orally, they arrive at a verdict and issue their decision.

If either of the litigants demand that the decision be proclaimed in the ceremonial form and that the issue to which they were parties be reduced to a written document, this shall be done. ⁽¹³⁾

In all cases where the accusations are made and the testimony is given orally, there are no time limits set to produce the evidence, nor are other juridical formalities followed.

18-Appeal from Oral Decisions

Anyone who feels wronged by the abovementioned oral decision may announce orally within ten days that the decision was unjust. In such instances the Judge will proceed to the Consulate and there in the presence of both litigants will ask the Consuls what motivated them and on what grounds they reached their decision. Furthermore, the Judge accompanied by both litigants will proceed to the Elders of the Merchants' Guild and the Elders of the Sea Guild in order to ask their advice in the matter under consideration. This does not mean that they seek advice from the same Elders who had given it before but from other Elders, and after receiving it they will announce their verdict which will have to be prepared in writing according to the form prescribed in the charter of His Majesty the King.

The appeal process mentioned above should be concluded within thirty days, otherwise the decision of the Consuls will become binding as mentioned before.

19-Court Costs of an Original Litigation

Consuls shall have no authority to impose any court costs upon the litigants in any case of original litigation.

20-Court Costs in an Appeal Litigation

If the Judge of Appeals upholds the decision of the Consuls, he will in his verdict order the appellant to pay the legal expenses suffered by the other litigant in such appeal process.

If he overrules the Consuls or finds that the appellant was justified [11] in filing the appeal, he will not impose any court costs against the appellant because the latter was justified in making such an appeal, nor will he impose any court costs against the appellee.

21-Proceedings Which Can Be Brought Before One Consul

If one of the two Consuls is absent or is engaged in other pursuits it is possible to bring cases or other juridical matters including investigations before a single Consul; however, all findings in any investigations made and all decisions reached must be announced jointly by both of the Consuls and not only by one of them.

22-Jurisdictional Competence of Consuls

Consuls shall have jurisdiction in all matters relating to lading charges, damages suffered by the cargo loaded aboard the vessels, wages of sailors, shareholders of vessels, sale of vessels, throwing of cargo overboard, command of vessels entrusted to patrons or sailors, indebtedness of shipowners who took out loans to equip the vessels, obligations of the merchants to shipowners, obligations of shipowners to the merchants, of all salvage found on the sea and the sea shore, outfitting of vessels, galleys, barques, and of all types of agreements which generally refer to the customs of the sea.

23-Execution of Sentence

Consuls oversee the execution of their sentences as well as those of the Judge of Appeals; all fines will be collected from the personal property, the vessels, and other possessions of the person found guilty. This shall be done in the following manner: upon the demand of the party who won the judgment the convicted party will be ordered, in a period of ten days from the date of conviction, to pay the amount awarded from the cargo and other possessions which are free of claims, or from the possessions of third parties which he designates, and whose possessions are not burdened by claims, and can be sold to satisfy the judgment; otherwise the claim will be paid from the possessions of the guilty party as designated by the party who was awarded the claim payment. ⁽¹⁴⁾

24-Disposition of the Property of the Convicted Party

The City Summoner will within ten days make public all personal property of the convicted party as designated by him, his vessels, or [12] any other property of whatever type listed by the convicted party. if the convicted party does not list such property, the aggrieved party will designate the possessions of the convicted party and they will be sold at a public auction to the highest bidder; and from the proceeds of the sale the damaged party will receive the sum awarded in addition to all expenses which he suffered in this litigation, after he gives a guarantee that he will return the amount awarded if another party should present an earlier and more justifiable demand to the abovementioned award.

25-A Creditor Who Cannot Post a Guarantee Bond

If a creditor is a foreigner or if he is a citizen of the city and will testify under oath that he cannot find a bondsman or guarantor, the City Summoner will post an announcement, that the Consul will pay a specified amount for the property which belongs to a given person, to such a creditor, who under oath had testified that he could not find a guarantor; however, if anyone should claim that he has some right or claim to the auctioned property, or has money due to him for some of this property, he should report to the Consuls within thirty days, to prove the validity of his claim; otherwise the money will be paid to the creditor without further delay.

In the event that no one makes such a demand within the thirty-day period, the amount of the awarded claim will be paid by the Consuls without bond.

26-Disposition of the Real Property of the Convicted Party

In the event that the convicted person does not have any personal property, such as seagoing vessels or other watercraft, but he owns real property, the Consuls should write to the city court or to the court in whose jurisdiction such property is located, stating that they awarded a specific amount in damages to be paid from the estate of that person to another party, and that their decision was upheld by the Court of Appeals, if an appeal had been made, and because the convicted person does not have any personal property from which the Consuls could satisfy the claim awarded, they petition such court that it would in their stead and in their name carry out the judgment out of the real property of the convicted person, because the Consuls do not wish to attempt to sell the real property, this not being the customary procedure of their office.

Thus the aforementioned court acting in the capacity of an executor of the Consular decision will carry out the execution of the sentence according to the decree of the Consuls or the Judge of Appeals, and [13] in accordance with the procedure established by the special provisions of the charter given to the city, or by following the custom of the locality where the real property is located.

27-Concerning a Patron Who Demands Payment of Lading Charges and a Merchant Who Refuses to Pay Such Charges Due to Loss or Damage of the Cargo Shipped

If a patron of an open vessel or other vessel demands from a merchant payment of lading charges for transporting his cargo, and the merchant claims he is not obligated to pay until the patron will furnish him with an itemized bill of lading which would account for the loss of certain cargo, which he claims on the basis of a list furnished him by his partner, or on the basis of any other claim that such cargo was loaded aboard the vessel, or if he claims that the cargo was damaged due to the carelessness of the patron while the patron claims that such charges are unfounded, the merchant will be forced to pay the patron of the vessel at once and without further delay lading charges for all the cargo delivered in good condition, as well as for the cargo that is waterlogged or damaged in other manner, provided that the patron will furnish to the Consuls a guarantor who will promise to completely satisfy the demands of the merchant concerning the cargo which he claims has been lost, waterlogged, or damaged by the negligence of the patron.

This type of demand for payment of lading charges need not be presented in writing under the condition that the amount of the lading charges will be attested to in a document or the merchant will admit the amount due in some other accepted manner.

28-Concerning Remuneration or Wages of Sailors

In a litigation over wages due to a sailor who is suing a patron of a vessel for his wages the charges need not be presented in writing. ⁽¹⁵⁾

29-Prosecution of a Patron for the Recovery of a Loan

In a litigation over a loan based on a written promissory note given to a creditor by the patron of a vessel, the claim made need not be presented in writing, but the creditor must appear before the Consular [14] Court and demand that he receive satisfaction on the basis of the promissory note. If the time limit on the note has expired, the Consuls will order the patron to pay the amount due to the creditor in three or four, but no longer than ten days, depending upon the amount of the loan, or to designate cargo free of liens of third parties, and paid for, which can be used to satisfy the amount of the promissory note. Otherwise the cargo designated by the creditor will be used to satisfy the lien.

After the completion of these arrangements, the creditor will be paid in the manner established above in order that the decision of the Consuls be carried out.

30-Posting of a Bond to Assure the Execution of a Verdict

If the summons demands that the defendant furnish a guarantee in the action brought against him; otherwise he must be restrained, summoned, and if he is a foreigner, he must furnish a guarantee bond at once, or it will be necessary to lock him in the city jail and keep him there for the duration of the trial, if he swears an oath that he has no means with which to pay the amount which will be assessed against him, he should be let out of the prison, unless he was imprisoned for other cause, according to the customs of the sea, pursuant to which he must be further restrained in chains until he satisfies the terms of the judgment against him.

However, if a citizen of the city is summoned, and if the Consuls are aware of the fact that he has the means which would suffice to pay the claim, they should designate the date by which he will furnish a guarantor. If the Consuls after receiving such a demand did not force the guilty party to produce a guarantor, and the person summoned fails to appear before the Consuls and cannot be found, and his possessions are not sufficient to satisfy the judgment against him, the Consuls will be forced to reimburse the aggrieved party from their own personal means to the amount adjudged.

31-Consular Jurisdiction

Marine Consuls have complete jurisdiction in all matters which must be arbitrated according to the basic laws and customs of the sea, which are described and explained in the customs of the sea. ⁽¹⁶⁾

32-Regarding Priority of Claims of Creditors When a New Vessel Is Auctioned to Satisfy the Creditors [15]

If upon the demand of a creditor, an open boat or any other type of newly constructed vessel is sold before launch and prior to its leaving the drydock or if it has undertaken any voyage, the suppliers of wood, tar, nails, pitch, sails, and other equipment which has been purchased to outfit the vessel, regardless of whether or not these suppliers have any written proof, will be entitled by law to be paid first before any other creditors who shared in building the vessel, from the sum realized from the sale of such a vessel, and they will be paid even before any of those who had extended credit to the vessel's builders and have written proof of this.

33-When the Amount Received from the Sale of a Vessel Is Insufficient to Satisfy Claims of All the Creditors

If the amount realized from the sale of the aforementioned vessel is not sufficient to pay the shipwrights and the suppliers of lumber, pitch, nails, caulking, and other supplies used in the construction of the vessel, the money should be divided among them according to the amounts due them, because creditors of this category have equal rights to the available assets and no preferential treatment can be asked for [by any of them] or given any consideration.

34-Which of the Creditors Has the Legal Priority to a Claim When a Vessel Is Sold After Completing Its First Voyage

If after completing a voyage, an open boat or any other type of vessel is sold upon the demand of the creditors, the first persons to be paid from the proceeds of this vessel's sale will be the sailors and servants aboard the vessel, because no one can have a prior and more just claim than the sailors and the service personnel to be paid from the money realized from selling such a vessel.

Next will come the creditors who had advanced money for the construction of the vessel according to the date of their loans, beginning with the earliest date.

Finally, the rest of the creditors beginning with the earliest dated loan; each creditor upon being paid will provide a guarantor who will guarantee that the sum will be returned if he is not entitled to it, or if he takes an oath that he cannot produce a guarantor, there will be a public announcement made of a thirty day payments moratorium, as has been stated previously.

In the event the vessel had already completed a voyage and there remain some obligations to be paid to the personnel and suppliers of lumber, pitch, nails, caulking, and other materials which were necessary [16] for the construction of the vessel, this category of creditors, if they lack written proof of the amount due them, will have no privileged claims and cannot have prior claims to those who have written proof of the amount due them.

If the equity of the patron of the vessel who had arranged these loans is insufficient to satisfy the claims of the creditors, the difference will be met by the guarantors if they had guaranteed that the patron would repay these loans; otherwise they will not be held responsible for the repayment of these loans , because the patron of the vessel was not authorized to use them as guarantors if he failed to receive from them the authority in writing that they would guarantee the loans.

35-When the Wife of a Patron Has a Prior and More Justifiable Claim

If the wife of the patron of a vessel has received a legal judgment to her share of her husband's wealth and the right to anticipate the increase of that wealth, and the husband has no other property sufficient to satisfy her economic rights, and this property has been submitted by her for liquidation, she will be able to place a claim on the proceeds from the sale of the vessel; if according to her marriage certificate it appears that she had prior claim to her husband's wealth than any creditor relative to the sale of such a vessel, then in such a case her right to share in the equity her husband had in the vessel will be judged prior and more justifiable than the claims of all her husband's other creditors. ⁽¹⁷⁾

36-Procedures to be Followed by Consuls in Arbitrating Disputes

The Consuls are empowered by the charter of His Majesty the King to arbitrate all disputes brought before them immediately and in a summary manner without any publicity and without the formality of a regular judicial procedure, that is, based on the justice of the facts brought to their attention and in conformity with accepted procedures as dictated by customs and laws. ⁽¹⁸⁾

37-Consular Fees are to be Paid by the Litigants

In all cases of litigation brought before them either orally or in writing, in which the Consuls will issue a decision, they will receive [17] a fee from each of the litigants amounting to one penny for each livre awarded in damages. This is to mean that if the litigation is for 100 livres in damages and the decision of the Consuls is to award 20 livres or nothing at all, they will still receive from each of the litigants one penny for every livre asked in the suit, and in that proportion for the amount awarded in any suit. ⁽¹⁹⁾

38-Fees of the Judge of Appeals

The Judge of Appeals receives compensation based upon the sum awarded by the Consuls in the amount of three pennies per livre but only if the case has been brought before him in the process of appeal from the Consular decision and not under any other circumstances.

39-Suspicion of Partiality on the Part of the Consuls

If one or both of the Consuls are excluded from arbitrating an issue because they are suspected of partiality by one of the litigants party to a case before them, and these suspicions appear to have been well founded, they must select one Elder of the Sea Guild, if only one of the Consuls is excluded, but if both of the Consuls are excluded, they must select two Elders who are above reproach, from among the membership of the Sea Guild.

Together they adjudicate the issue and arrive at a decision, but do not receive a higher stipend than the aforementioned three pennies per livre awarded from each of the litigants, and they divide this fee amongst themselves.

40-Suspicion of Partiality on the Part of the Judge of Appeals

If in like manner the Judge is excluded from the case upon suspicion of partiality, he must select one member of the Sea Guild, who will be acceptable to both litigants, and with him he will adjudicate the issue under appeal and will share his stipend with him.

41-The Manner by Which Consuls and the Judge Arrive at Decisions in Accordance With the Customs of the Sea or After a Consultation With Other Parties

Consuls and the Judge of Appeals arrive at decisions by reference to the basic customs of the sea, which have been written and specifically provided for this purpose; however, in the event that these [18] written customs fail to resolve the issues, they arrive at their verdict with the advice and agreement of the Elders of the Merchants' Guild and the Sea Guild, given by a majority vote, taking into consideration the quality of persons who give counsel.

42-Demand of a Guarantee When Seizure of a Vessel Is Ordered

In all instances when the Consuls order seizure of a vessel and its cargo as a guarantee, according to the provisions of the law, if, however, the lading charges for the cargo aboard have not been paid, it will be exempted from seizure; in such cases a guarantee seizure is not generally demanded. ⁽²⁰⁾

43-Decree of King James Regarding the Oath of Office of Attorneys

We make it known, that we James ⁽²¹⁾ by the Grace of God, King of Aragon, Majorca, and Valencia, Count of Barcelona and the City of Urgel, Proprietor of Montpelier, wish and ordain for the greater welfare of the City and Kingdom of Majorca, which we ordain for us and for our heirs forever, that all attorneys take the oath of office by repeating the following:

I, so and such, take this oath, that I shall faithfully perform the duties of an attorney-at-law, that I shall not accept any litigation which in accordance with my conscience I shall consider unjust, and that I shall not listen to, defend or encourage anyone to accept any evil undertaking or utter malicious accusations in any litigation under my direction; if, however, at the beginning, or at halfway, or at the end of any case in which I am acting as the defense attorney, the issue will appear to me to be unjust, I will inform the party whose defense I have undertaken, that I shall not use any means which are in conflict with my conscience, that I shall not enter into any agreement and that I shall proceed in such a way so as to aid my client in telling the truth.

With this statement we come to the end of the procedures used in the Consular courts.
 

1. Generally the term "senior members" is used. However, in a few instances the designation "senior sailors" appears to be preferable.

2. December 11-12 according to the Julian calendar. The holy day, Christmas , was used to emphasize the dignity of the office.

3. Assembly held in a large church to accommodate all members and to stress the solemnity of the occasion of Appeals.

4. Reference here is made to the Royal Charter issued in 1284 by King Peter II of Aragon. The first Judge to hold this office was appointed in the manner prescribed. His successors were actually elected by the Sea Guild membership.

5. "Seal of the Consul of the Sea in the dominion of the King of Valencia."

6. If delayed by the former, the messenger had to be paid an extra fee.

7. Sacramentum calumniae. This oath consisted of a statement from the accuser that his accusations were bona fide and made in good faith and from the accused that his defense and counter charges were valid and made in good faith.

8. Written depositions under oath and in the presence of witnesses were acceptable by all responsible lay and ecclesiastical persons.

9. These advisors could not be called a jury within the present meaning of the word. Their prestige, however, dictated to a great degree what the verdict would be.

10. It was a well established custom that the judge of a lower court would submit his legal opinion and a progress report of the case to the Judge of Appeals. This was changed to include the entire transcript of the trial.

11. The non-consecutive period probably refers to the legal holidays and religious holy days which occurred within any given thirty day period.

12. One could appeal directly to the King if one had well-connected friends at the Court.

13. Posted on doors of public buildings after proper and repeated announcements were made by the town crier.

14. Inability to repay an obligation resulted in imprisonment.

15. This was essential due to the illiteracy of the sailors. It would have been a great burden and expense to demand a written allegation from a poorly paid sailor who would have been forced to hire a notary or an attorney to prepare such a document.

16. This refers to the laws and customs written within the pages of the Consulate.

17. She had the right to demand at least the amount she brought to her husband in the form of a dowry.

18. Sola facti veritate attenta.

19. Livre, a French coin equal in value to a pound of silver.

20. Such an order did not exempt from seizure any cargo owned by the patron of a vessel.

21. King James (1213-1276) issued these ordinances for the Island of Majorca.