Quomodo iv/iiciwm debeat ordinari, et de con
The Oath of Integrity
Litigants must swear an oath of good faith to ensure justice and prevent calumny in the courtroom.
What exactly is the oath of calumny? The plaintiff and the defendant are bound by necessity, and it is clear what awaits the one who refuses to take the oath, as well as the rules regarding the oath of advocates and the penalties for those who act in bad faith, whether by prevarication or by stalling. To ensure the truth comes out faster, the judge won't allow the litigants—the principal parties—to proceed until they've taken an oath, pledging to pursue their case with justice and avoid any calumny. The plaintiff must swear that they have not brought the lawsuit with the intent of making a false accusation, but because they believe they have a good case, and that they will do nothing in the course of the trial in bad faith, so that no evidence or dilatory tactics are demanded, but only what justice seems to require. The defendant, however, will swear that they have come to contest the case believing they are acting in good faith, and that they will not act in bad faith at any point in the trial, demanding from the judge or the adversary only what they believe must be presented for the sake of truth and the necessity of justice. In the final part of the oath, both parties must pledge that they haven't given or promised anything—and won't give anything—personally or through an intermediary, to the judges or anyone else regarding this case, except for what the law permits to be paid to advocates and other specific individuals. If the plaintiff refuses to swear this oath, they are excluded from the case and lose their right to sue as a dishonest litigant. However, a defendant who refuses to take the oath is treated as having confessed and must await a sentence of condemnation.
The Duty of Advocates
Advocates are bound by oath to act with truth and fairness, and judges must ensure parity between opposing counsel.
To ensure a more reliable examination, advocates themselves must be bound by oath from the start of the legal contest to act with truth and good faith. They must swear to strive with all their strength and resources to present what they believe to be just and true for their clients, leaving no effort undone, and promising not to drag out the proceedings through deliberate delay. For these cases must be brought to a conclusion by the judges within two or three years. The judge will also balance the advocates between the parties, whether requested or not, so that the case may proceed on equal footing. This parity consists of the merit of their virtue, the sharpness of their intellect, the depth of their counsel, the reputation of their knowledge, and the authority of their name, so that these factors may, if possible, be weighed between the parties on a scale of equity. If one advocate has a more favorable reputation than the others, the judge will do his best to compensate for this on behalf of the opposing party. Anyone who has learned the secrets of one litigant must not act as an advocate for the adversary, unless perhaps he has dealt separately with several others without the judge's connivance, ensuring the other party is not deprived of an equal defense. Nor is there anyone who, once warned by the judge, can refuse to provide a defense to any party without a reasonable excuse, unless he wishes to have the court closed to him, so that he is not heard in the future when conducting cases. If an advocate acts with duplicity, a severe penalty must be imposed on the offender, proportionate to the nature of the offense. For the duty of advocacy must be fulfilled most faithfully and without injury to the adversaries.
Conduct and Consequences in Court
Legal proceedings must be conducted with decorum, and those who engage in calumny, prevarication, or tergiversation face severe penalties.
Arguments, not insults, should be the way to contend; and by the prince's edict, anyone who abandons the business at hand to act with insolence—whether openly or deviously—in insulting their opponent suffers a loss of reputation. But while a lawyer is owed a fee as an honorarium, they are not permitted to be a fixer or a broker of lawsuits, making deals for a share of the winnings that cause the client heavy loss and a kind of plunder. Whatever a lawyer alleges in the presence of their client is to be taken as if the client had said it themselves, unless the client immediately—that is, within the next three days—contradicts it. Even if it happens that a lawyer loses the case, their reputation is in no way harmed if they have omitted nothing relevant and have faithfully championed their client's justice; for they are not compelled to support a lie. If any injury arises from the case, it falls upon the litigants, whether the action was civil or criminal. Whatever the case may be, the final judgment declares this, condemning or absolving the accused, and sometimes it very wisely pours out the stings of bitterness upon the instigators themselves. To say nothing of civil cases—in which it's nonetheless possible to find the same thing—the recklessness of accusers is detected in three ways and is subject to three penalties. For they either bring false charges, conceal the truth, or abandon the accusation. Making false charges is calumny; hiding the truth is prevarication; and dropping an accusation entirely is tergiversation. However, the Remian law requires that those who bring calumnious charges face a penalty similar to the one they sought; yet, if the accused is acquitted and it's established that the accuser acted out of an honest mistake, they should be cleared. If, however, they are caught in clear calumny, they are condemned to the legal penalty. This is made clear by the judge's own words: if the verdict is 'You have not proven it,' the accuser is spared; but if it is 'You have brought a calumnious charge,' the accuser is condemned. And although the judge may not have imposed a specific penalty for infamy, the power of the law will still be exercised against them to the extent that it carries the stigma of disgrace.
Read the original Latin
ceptione sacramenti calumpniae, quod ea? necessitate praestant actor et reus, et quid immineat iUi qui iuramentum subire detrectat, et de sacramento aduocatorum, et penxi calumniatorum, siue praeuaricantium aut tergiuersantium. Vt uero rerum ueritas citius iUucescat, litigatores ipsos personas uidelicet principales non ante ad Ktem iudex admittit quam ei praestito sacramento faciant fidem quod iustitiae suae insistent et calumpniam omnem facient procul. Actor quidem iuret non calumpniandi animo litem mouisse sed existimando bonam habere causam et quod nichil in tota lite faciet calumpniose ut nec probatio nec dilatio frustratoria exigatur sed id solum quod iustitia uidetur exigere. Reus autem iurabit quod putans se bona instantia uti peruenit ad reluctandum et quod in nuUo totius litis articulo calumpniose uersabitur, id solum a iudice uel aduersario exigens quod pro ueritate putat ex necessitate iustitiae exhibendum. Vterque uero iuramenti sui extrema clausula hoc complectetur, ut iurent se nichil dedisse aut promisisse aut daturos esse uel per se uel per mediam personam siue iudicibus siue aliis quibuscumque personis pro ea causa exceptis his quae aduocatis et quibusdam aliis certis personis de iuris indulgentia praestari licet. Quod si actor sic iurare recusauerit, exclusus a lite cadit ab actione tamquam improbus litigator. Reus uero detrectans subire iuramentum habetur pro confesso et sententiam dampnationis expectat.
Sed et ipsi patroni causarum, quo fidelior possit esse examinatio, ab ipsa contestatione litis iuramento artantur ad ueritatem et fidem, iurantes quod, cum omni uirtute sua omnique ope quod iustum et uerum existimauerint clientibus suis inferre procurabunt, nichil studii relinquentes prout cuique possibile est et quod ex industria sua non protrahent lites. Nam eas oportet a iudicibus infra biennium uel triennium terminari. Ipsos quoque aduocatos pari distributione partibus exaequabit, siue eos petierint siue non, ut aequo Marte possit causa procedere, Haec autem paritas et in uirtutis merito et uiuacitate ingenii, consilii prof unditate et opinione scientiae et nomiais auetoritate consistit, ut haec omnia, si fieri potest, apud partes quadam aequitatis lance librentur. Quod si unius prae ceteris est fama hilarior, ex officio iudicantis prout poterit parti aduersariae compensabitur. Qui tamen alicuius litigatonim archana praenouit, non patrocinabitur aduersario, nisi forte citra coniuentiam iudicis separatim cum pluribus alter tractauerit ut alteri paris defensionis copia subtrahatur. Nec est qui a iudice monitus sine excusatione probabili possit cuicumque parti patrocinium denegare, nisi forum sibi praecludi uelit, ut postmodum in causis agendis minime a audiatur. Si uero pra uaricatus fuerit aduocatus, in conuictum oportet pro qualitate commissi penam grauissimam exerceri. Munus siquidem patrocinii fidelissime implendum est et sine aduersariorum iniuria.
Rationibus namque non probris contendendum est, et ex edicto principis patitur opinionis dispendium quisquis negotio derelicto procax in aduersarii sui contumeliam aut palam pergit aut subdole. Sed, licet patrono merces ex causa honorarii debeatur, concinnatorem uel redemptorem litium esse non licet, ut certae partis emolumentum cum graui damno litigatoris et quadam depraedatione paciscatur. Quicquid autem patronus aUegauerit praesente domino perinde est habendum ac si proferatur a domino, nisi ex continenti, id est infra proximum triduum contradixerit. Ldcet autem patronum uinci contigerit, in nuUo leditur fama eius, si nichil omisit ex contingentibus et clientis sui iustitiam fideliter fouit; non enim cogitur patrocinari mendacio. Si quid uero lesionis afiert causa, in litigantes cadit, siue ciuiliter siue criminaliter actum sit. Hoc autem, quicquid sit, sententia diffinitiua declarat, quae reos condemnat uel absoluit et interdum in ipsos auctores consultissime acerbitatis efiundit aculeos. Nam, ut de ciuilibus taceatur, in quibus tamen est eadem inuenire, accusatorum temeritas tribus modis detegitur tribusque subicitur penis. Aut enim calumpniantur aut praeuaricanc tur aut tergiuersantur.
Est autem calumpniari crimina falsa intendere; praeuaricari uera abscondere; at in uniuersum ab accusatione desistere tergiuersari est. Sed lege Remia calumpniantes ad uindictam poscit similitudo supplicii, ita tamen ut postquam reus absolutus fuerit, cum de accusatoris consilio et mente constiterit, si iusto errore lapsus est, absoluatur, Si uero in euidenti calumpnia deprehensus est, pena legitima condempnatur. Quod ipsius pronuntiationis manifestatur uerbo; nam, si pronuntiatum est 'Non probasti pepercit actori; si uero, ' Calumpniatus es,' condempnauit eum; etlicetde pena infamiae nichil subiecerit,tamenpotestas legis aduersus eum exercebitur, adeo ut importet infamiarti.
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