The Origin of the Grand Jury and the Assize of Clarendon (1166)

Abstract

The history of the English jury starts with many questions. For instance, the origin of the regulative assizes, the source of grand juries and trial juries, the influence of other legal systems are still the subjects of professional disputations in Great Britain. From among these the author gives an introduction to the reforms of King Henry II of England who is supposed being one of the “fathers” of the early juries or bodies of twelve sworn lawful men of the county to present facts about dangerous wrongdoers.
The most emblematic legal source to this topic is the Assize of Clarendon (1166). One can read a brief summary about the process led to this special piece of law and the documented origin of the very first juries.