Justice of the King's Bench

The King's Bench was a court of common law which modern academics argue was founded independently in 1234, having previously been part of the curia regis.

[2] The court became a key part of the Westminster courts, along with the Exchequer of Pleas (qualified to hear cases involving revenue owed to the King) and the Court of Common Pleas (qualified to hear cases between subject and subject); the latter was deliberately stripped of its jurisdiction by the King's Bench and Exchequer, through the Bill of Middlesex and Writ of Quominus respectively.

In 1828 Henry Brougham, a Member of Parliament, complained in Parliament that as long as there were three courts unevenness was inevitable, saying that "It is not in the power of the courts, even if all were monopolies and other restrictions done away, to distribute business equally, as long as suitors are left free to choose their own tribunal", and that there would always be a favourite court, which would therefore attract the best lawyers and judges and entrench its position.

Eventually the government created a High Court of Justice under Lord Coleridge by an Order in Council of 16 December 1880.

At this point, the King's Bench formally ceased to exist.