oa Juridisch pluralisme en gebruik van justitie

Summary

This article compares the litigation of the Feudal Court of Brabant and the Council of Brabant between the early fifteenth and the end of the eightteenth century.

After a quantitative assessment of the volume of litigation of both institutions, it is argued that from the seventeenth century onwards, many feudal cases were increasingly treated by the Council of Brabant, and no longer by the Feudal Court. Several contemporary observers argued that the quality of the Feudal Court left something to be desired. The driving force of the growing role of the Council of Brabant seems to be the preference of the users of the courts for a more professional justice.