STAR-CHAMBER


Meaning of STAR-CHAMBER in English

( n. )

An ancient high court exercising jurisdiction in certain cases, mainly criminal, which sat without the intervention of a jury. It consisted of the king's council, or of the privy council only with the addition of certain judges. It could proceed on mere rumor or examine witnesses; it could apply torture. It was abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641.

Webster's Revised Unabridged English Dictionary.      Пересмотренный полный словарь английского языка Webster.