Judge conservator of the English
Original title: Conservador dos Inglêses
Judge chosen by British residents of Madeira under an old treaty to hear their disputes with Portuguese, a privilege ended by the treaty of 1842.
Under an old treaty, British subjects resident in Madeira enjoyed the right to choose a judge to try them whenever they had to answer for any disputes or quarrels arising between them and the Portuguese. This judge, whom they called the judge conservator (conservador, special judge for British subjects) of the English, had to hold a law degree, and the choice was subject to confirmation by the Portuguese government. According to an old English work, the corregedor (royal district magistrate) was always the judge chosen, and his impartiality was customarily rewarded with an allowance of 400 dollars a year. This right of the English ended with the treaty of 20 July 1842, although it was established that, should any of them have to be tried in the Portuguese courts, the jury would be made up of British and Portuguese subjects. This provision has long since ceased to apply.