page_title: Exchequer of Pleas
section_title: Barons
hierarchical_section_title: Exchequer of Pleas / Officers / Barons
caption_attribution_description: English: Sir Fitzroy Kelly (1796-1880)
context_page_description: The Exchequer of Pleas or Court of Exchequer was a court that dealt with matters of equity, a set of legal principles based on natural law and common law in England and Wales. Originally part of the curia regis, or King's Council, the Exchequer of Pleas split from the curia during the 1190s, to sit as an independent, central court. The Court of Chancery's reputation for tardiness and expense resulted in much of its business transferring to the Exchequer. The Exchequer and Chancery, with similar jurisdictions, drew closer together over the years, until an argument was made during the 19th century that having two seemingly identical courts was unnecessary. As a result, the Exchequer lost its equity jurisdiction. With the Judicature Acts, the Exchequer was formally dissolved as a judicial body by an Order in Council of 16 December 1880.
  The Exchequer's jurisdiction, at various times, was common law, equity, or both.
context_section_description: The main judicial officers were the Barons of the Exchequer, or barones scaccari, who were originally the same judges as those of the Court of King's Bench, only becoming independent positions after the Exchequer's separation from the curia regis. In the early years of the Exchequer's existence, the Barons were the chief auditors of the accounts of England, a role passed to dedicated auditors during the reign of Edward II. With the Exchequer's expansion during the Tudor era, the Barons became more important; where previously only the Chief Baron had been appointed from the Serjeants-at-Law, with the other Barons mere barristers, it became practice for all Barons of the Exchequer to be Serjeants. This further increased the Exchequer's standing, since for the first time it put the Exchequer at the same level as the Court of Common Pleas and Court of King's Bench, where all judges were already required to be Serjeants.
  At least one Baron sat to hear a case, with convention insisting on a maximum of four Barons after the rule of Edward IV; as a mere convention, it was occasionally broken. When one Baron was ill or otherwise unable to sit it was felt appropriate to appoint a fifth, as in 1604 when Baron Sotherton was ill, and in 1708, when Baron Smith was called to Edinburgh to be a temporary Chief Baron of the Scottish Exchequer. In 1830 a fifth Baron was permanently added to relieve court congestion; at the same time, a fifth judge was added to the Court of Common Pleas and King's Bench. The First Baron was the Chief Baron of the Exchequer; if the Chancellor and Treasurer were unavailable, he was the head of the court. When he was also absent the Second Baron took charge, and so on; in one case in 1659, the Fourth Baron was the only judge available. The Second, Third and Fourth Barons were known as puisne Barons; initially treated as individual offices, after the time of James I the order was determined by the judges' seniority. Unlike in the Court of King's Bench, the different positions did not equate to different degrees of power; each Baron had an equal vote in decisions.
  Barons were appointed by letters patent and sworn in by the Lord Chancellor, head of the judiciary. During the 16th century they held their offices quamdiu se bene gesserint, or "during good behaviour". A Baron could leave the Exchequer in one of three situations; resignation, death, or appointment to another court, which automatically made their office void. The letters patent expired after the death of each monarch; when the new one was crowned, a Baron would have to receive a new patent or leave his office. This was mostly a routine event; from 1550 to 1714 all but nine continued in office after the crowning of a new monarch.
caption: Sir Fitzroy Kelly, the last Chief Baron of the Exchequer
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