JUDICIARY

that branch of the government whose task is the administration of justice. The principal work of the judiciary is the adjudication of controversies. The court must decide all questions of law; and, if the case is not before a jury, the court must also rule on the facts. Not all of the work of the judiciary is to decide controversies, however. Many matters brought before it are uncontested. The majority of civil casessuch as those involving divorce, child custody, or the interpretation of contractsnever come to trial and are settled out of court. In such cases, the court's function is administrative. When it does have to decide controversies, a body of regulations governs what parties are allowed before the court, what evidence will be admitted, what trial procedure will be followed, and what types of judgments may be rendered. Any judicial proceeding involves the participation of a number of people. Although the judge is the central figure, along with the parties to the controversy and the lawyers who represent them, there are other individuals involved, including witnesses, clerks, bailiffs, administrators, and jurors when the proceeding involves a jury. Rules govern the types of things that may be accepted as evidence; the code pertaining to this is known as the law of evidence. The judicial proceeding itself follows another set of rules, and the types of judgments that may be rendered are established by legislation. Although the stated function of the courts is to administer justice according to rules enacted by the legislative branch, courts also unavoidably make law. In deciding, for instance, how the legislative provisions are to be applied to specific cases, the courts make law. They also make law, in effect, by laying down rules for future cases; this is known as the doctrine of precedent. After a court decision is made, it may or may not require enforcement. In many cases the parties accept the judgment of the court and conform their behaviour to it. In other cases, a court must order a party to cease a particular activity. In such cases, an injunction is issued, and, if it is disobeyed, the court may find the nonconforming party in contempt, sentencing him to jail or levying a fine. The enforcement of such injunctions, however, is carried out by the executive branch. In the early Middle Ages, judicial functions were not separated from the legislative or executive ones, all governmental functions being carried out by the monarch or other ruler. Starting around the 12th century, however, both rulers and church heads began to entrust decisions involving the administration of justice to professionals. The church's highest central court, for instance, called the rota, was formed of professional lawyers. The rise of a class of civilians trained in law at a university contributed to the gradual separation of judicial from administrative functions. Today in most judicial systems the enforcement function is left to the executive branch, while the courts administer justice.