Justiciar

In medieval England and Scotland the Chief Justiciar (later known simply as the Justiciar) was roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister as the monarch's chief minister. Similar positions existed on the European Continent, particularly in Norman Italy. The term is the English form of the medieval Latin justiciarius or justitiarius ("man of justice", i.e. judge).

A similar office was formed in Scotland, though there were usually two or three, the Justiciar of Scotia and Justiciar of Lothian (and in the 13th century the Justiciar of Galloway), these offices later evolving into a national one called Lord Justice-General. The Justiciar of Ireland was an office established during English rule. (See Lord Chief Justice of Ireland).

Following the conquest of the Principality of Wales in the 13th century, the areas that became personal fiefs of the English monarchs were placed under the control of the Justiciar of North Wales and the Justiciar of South Wales.

England

In the Kingdom of England the term Justiciar originally referred to any officer of the King's Court (Curia Regis), or, indeed, anyone who possessed a law court of his own or was qualified to act as a judge in the shire-courts. In each English shire, the Sheriff was the king's representative in all matters. The only appeal against decisions of the Sheriff or his courts was to the king. During the reign of William Rufus many sheriffs were severely overworked; Rufus eased the burden by appointing local justiciars in some shires.

Lawspeaker

A lawspeaker (Swedish: lagman, Old Swedish: laghmaþer or laghman, Danish: lagmand, Norwegian: lagmann, Icelandic: lög(sögu)maður, Faroese: løgmaður, Finnish: laamanni) is a unique Scandinavian legal office. It has its basis in a common Germanic oral tradition, where wise men were asked to recite the law, but it was only in Scandinavia that the function evolved into an office. Two of the most famous lawspeakers are Snorri Sturluson and Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker.

Sweden

In Sweden, this office was the most important one of regional governments, where each lagsaga (usually the same as the traditional province) was the jurisdiction of a lawspeaker who was subordinate to the lawspeaker of Tiundaland. The lawspeaker presided over the Things, worked as a judge and formulated the laws that had been decided by the people. The lawspeaker was obliged to memorize the law and to recite it at the Thing. He was also responsible for the administration at the thing and for the execution of the decisions, and it was his duty to safeguard the rights and liberties of the people and to speak in their behalf to the king or his representative. It was the lawspeaker who, on the behalf of the people, recognized the elected king when he passed on the Eriksgata. However, after the establishment of the province laws, ca 1350, he would participate at the Stone of Mora with twelve companions from his jurisdiction.