contra pacem regis . It was of paramount importance to the king in order to protect his realm that peace and order be maintained, bearing in mind there were no effective armies or law-and-order organs. King’s Courts served the purpose of maintaining law and order. The King’s Courts were resorted to instead of settling disputes privately by force of arms and private vengeance and revenge. State of Law-and-order or state of peace was very important for the kingdom anxious to ensure that production of goods, services and reproduction is not interrupted.
42 Trespass and Procedure followed when King’s Peace is violated All forms of Liabilities we know of today were born out of an ancient remedy of TRESPASS. Trespass is the mother of Criminal Law, Law of Tort and the Law of Contract we know of today. Origin of modern Law of Tort can be traced to remedies developed from about 13th Century onwards in King’s Common Law Courts. Every action (alleging breach of King’s Peace ) in the 13th Century onwards had to be commenced by the issue of a Royal Writ . Litigation in the Middle Ages was founded on writs. In those days a writ (Latin: breve ) was a letter from a superior, containing a message to the addressee, normally a request or an instruction. In law, a writ meant a command of the King directed to the relevant official, judge or magistrate, containing a brief indications of a matter under dispute and instructing the addressee to call the
