Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > King's Bench or Queen's Bench

The highest common-law court in England until its end as a separate tribunal in 1875.

The Court of the King's Bench or Court of the Queen's Bench derived from the royal court first established by William the Conqueror in the eleventh century. The royal court, called the curia regis, was not a judicial body in the modern sense. Rather, it was an assembly of English lords and noblemen that resolved matters of special importance to the king. As the king traveled about England, the royal court followed, advising him and deciding cases.

The royal court was reorganized by the Crown in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and renamed the Court of the King's Bench or Court of the Queen's Bench. This court existed as an alternative to the Court of Common Pleas, which was comprised of professional judges. At first the two courts heard different types of cases. However, over the course of several centuries, the Court of the King's...