Definition of praemunire
Etymology
Shortened form of praemunire facias.
Noun
praemunire (uncountable)
- (law, historical) The offence, in English law, of appealing to or obeying a foreign court or authority, especially a papal court or authority.
* 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate 2010, p. 165:
The law of praemunire dates from another century. No one who is alive now quite knows what it means.
Further reading
In English history, Praemunire or Praemunire facias was a law that prohibited the assertion or maintenance of papal jurisdiction, imperial or foreign, or some other alien jurisdiction or claim of supremacy in England, against the supremacy of the Monarch. This law was enforced by the Writ of Praemunire facias, a writ of summons, from which the law takes its name.
The name Praemunire may denote the statute, the writ, or the offence.
Praemunire in classical Latin means to fortify. In medieval Latin, praemunire was confused with and used for praemonere, to forewarn, as the writ commanded that the sheriff do (facias) warn (praemunire) the summoned person to appear before the Court.
Praemunire was repealed by the Criminal Law Act 1967.
References:
- Wiktionary. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
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