Corregedor
The corregedor was Madeira's senior judicial officer, permanently present from 1767, with jurisdiction over the whole archipelago. The office was abolished in 1835 when the 1832 judicial reform was applied.
There had been corregedores (royal district magistrates) in Madeira since the time of the donataries, but only from 1767 onwards was there a permanent corregedor here. He was the senior judicial officer, and his jurisdiction extended over the whole archipelago. He received a lodging allowance provided by the Council, and when he was unable to act he was replaced by the juiz de fora (crown-appointed judge from outside the district) or, failing him, by the most senior of the councillors (vereadores).
When the judicial reform of 16 May 1832 was put into effect in this district on 15 October 1835, the corregedores disappeared and were replaced by the juízes de direito.
- The 1766 decree was applied to Madeira, and the first permanent, separate corregedor and juiz de fora took office, regularising justice on the island.
- A national judicial reform abolishing the corregedores was decreed, applied in Madeira only in 1835.
- The 1832 judicial reform took effect in Madeira, ending the old regime of corregedores and installing two julgados with juízes de direito in Funchal.