Trial and visit ordinances in the kingdom of Navarre

Abstract

During the XVI and XVII century, visits were the primary procedure to control, correct and reform the way royal high tribunals worked. The aim of this research is to analyse the visits made in the high tribunals of the Kingdom of Navarre and the ordinances that resulted from them. The historical context refers to that of a Kingdom that had recently been conquered and incorporated into the Castilian crown. In that process, the ordinances worked as the main mechanism to reform the high royal courts of the Kingdom, which were different from the ones in Castile as they were based on their own legal tradition and jurisdiction. Thus, this research article focuses on studying the reforms that brought those visits and the consequences that applying the ordinances had in terms of jurisdiction and organization within the royal courts in Navarre. In addition, this work also examines the observance, power and compilation of these legal mechanisms.