Constitution
The court was a statutory court established under an act of the British Parliament. The court had virtually unlimited powers to deal with criminal offences. The court was constituted by a Deputy Judge Advocate, or as the office came to be more commonly called, “Judge-Advocate”. He sat with six military officers to constitute the tribunal. The first deputy judge advocate was David Collins.
In its early days, the court was convened when required. It was convened following a precept issued by the governor under his hand and seal. There were therefore no regular sittings during the early years of the settlement, and it met only whenever the governor summoned it.
Read more about this topic: Court Of Criminal Jurisdiction
Famous quotes containing the word constitution:
“A constitution is the arrangement of magistracies in a state.”
—Aristotle (384–323 B.C.)
“In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution of our country with our dearest domestic ties; adopting our fundamental laws into the bosom of our family affections; keeping inseparable and cherishing with the warmth of all their combined and mutually reflected charities, our state, our hearths, our sepulchres, and our altars.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)
“The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)