Judicial organisation 1From the old regime to 1838
Judicial organisation
Original title: Organização Judicial
Describes how the courts of the Madeira archipelago were organised, from the single comarca of absolutist times, through the two comarcas created after 1835, to the four comarcas established in 1875 and later changes up to 1931.
1From the old regime to 1838
Under absolutism the whole Madeira archipelago formed a single judicial district (comarca), with Funchal as its seat. It had a corregedor (royal district magistrate) and a juiz de fora (crown-appointed judge from outside the district), both appointed by the Crown, and was divided into five julgados, each with its own ordinary judge (juiz ordinário, locally elected lay judge): Machico, Santa Cruz, Ponta do Sol, Calheta and São Vicente. There was also a judge of pious bequests (juiz dos resíduos) and three judges of orphans, one in Funchal, another in Calheta and the third in São Vicente. All these magistracies were overseen by the Junta de Justiça (see that entry), which, as we have read somewhere, decided all criminal cases carrying a penalty of no more than ten years’ deportation; its decisions could be appealed to the higher courts of the Kingdom (reino, i.e. mainland Portugal), which sat in Lisbon.
On 15 October 1835 the old judicial system came to an end, and two julgados were set up, both seated in Funchal, each with its own district judge (juiz de direito). In 1838 these julgados came to be called judicial districts – the eastern and the western. The first comprised four julgados and the second five, each of them presided over by an ordinary judge. The eastern judicial district stretched from the parish (freguesia) of the Sé, Funchal Cathedral (Sé), to that of Arco de São Jorge, and also included the island of Porto Santo (‘holy harbour’). The western judicial district ran from the parish of São Pedro to that of Ponta Delgada (‘slender point’) and Boaventura (‘good fortune’), which borders on Arco de São Jorge. On 27 May 1838 the ordinary judges were elected for the newly created julgados; the Madeiran newspaper A Chronica (‘The Chronicle’), for the year 1838, records how the parishes were distributed among these julgados.
2The four comarcas of 1875 and later changes
The decree of 12 November 1875 established four judicial districts (comarcas) in Funchal, and the justice-of-the-peace districts (julgados de paz) of these judicial districts are at present organised as follows:
Judicial district of Funchal. It has nine julgados: that of São Pedro, with the parishes (freguesias) of São Pedro and São Roque; that of the Sé, with the parishes of the Sé, Santa Luzia and Monte; that of Santa Maria Maior, with the parishes of Santa Maria Maior and São Gonçalo; that of Campanário, with the parishes of Campanário and Quinta Grande; and those of São Martinho, Santo António, Câmara de Lobos, Estreito de Câmara de Lobos and Porto Santo, with the parishes of those names.
Judicial district of Ponta do Sol. It has five julgados: that of Ponta do Sol, with the parishes of Ponta do Sol, Canhas and Madalena do Mar; that of Ribeira Brava, with the parishes of Ribeira Brava, Tábua and Serra de Água; that of Calheta, with the parishes of Calheta and Arco da Calheta; that of Estreito da Calheta, with the parishes of Estreito da Calheta, Jardim do Mar and Prazeres; and that of Ponta do Pargo, with the parishes of Ponta do Pargo, Fajã da Ovelha, Paul do Mar and Achadas da Cruz.
Judicial district of São Vicente. It has five julgados: that of São Vicente, with the parish of that name; that of Porto Moniz, with the parishes of Seixal, Ribeira da Janela and Porto Moniz; that of Ponta Delgada, with the parishes of Ponta Delgada and Boaventura; that of São Jorge, with the parishes of São Jorge and Arco de São Jorge; and that of Santana, with the parishes of Santana, Faial and São Roque do Faial.
Judicial district of Santa Cruz. It has four julgados: that of Caniço, with the parishes of Caniço and Camacha; that of Machico, with the parishes of Machico, Caniçal, Água de Pena (part) and Santo António da Serra (part); that of Porto da Cruz, with the parish of that name; and that of Santa Cruz, with the parishes of Santa Cruz, Gaula, Água de Pena (part) and Santo António da Serra (part).
The former ordinary judges (juízes ordinários) who served in the julgados were abolished by the decree of 29 July 1886.
The judicial organisation described above was profoundly altered when the Judicial District of São Vicente was abolished by the decree of 9 June 1927. In 1931 a municipal court district (julgado municipal) was created, covering the three parishes of the municipality (concelho). See Judicial Administration, District Judges, Ordinary Judges and Justices of the Peace.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 06-
The 1832 judicial reform took effect in Madeira, ending the old regime of corregedores and installing two julgados with juízes de direito in Funchal.
-
The two julgados were converted into the eastern and western comarcas, both seated in Funchal.
-
The juízes ordinários of the newly created julgados were elected.
-
A decree reorganised Madeira's judicial administration into four comarcas: Funchal, Ponta do Sol, Santa Cruz and São Vicente, making São Vicente the seat of a judicial district.
-
A decree definitively abolished the juízes ordinários (ordinary judges).
-
Decree abolishing the comarca of São Vicente.
-
A decree created the julgado municipal of São Vicente, covering the three parishes of the municipality.
Place
Places mentioned · 19
Abroad
- Arco de São Jorge
Santana. Limit of the eastern comarca of 1838.
North-coast parish of the municipality of Santana, separated from São Jorge in 1676, over which the Pico do Arco de São Jorge (837 m) rises. It still had no cemetery in 1862 and became a julgado of the Funchal comarca in 1927. It is linked to Boaventura by a path across the Entrosa escarpment, and its forests were damaged in the 1919 fire.
- Boaventura
São Vicente. Limit of the western comarca.
North-coast parish in the municipality of São Vicente, one of the three parishes forming its julgado and concelho. Its serras are a habitat of the pau branco, and it suffered damage in the floods of 1895. Off its coast lie the Boaventura islets, also called ilhéu Porco and ilhéu Vermelho.
- Calheta
Old julgado with a judge of orphans.
Calheta is a town, parish and municipality on Madeira's south-west coast and one of the island's oldest settlements. The Elucidário covers its name, early settlers such as Pedro Berenguer, its church and many chapels, including one of a former Franciscan convent, and the 1834 riot.
- Câmara de Lobos
Julgado of the Funchal comarca.
Parish west of Funchal. The Elucidário traces its name to Zarco's discovery voyage and describes its churches, chapels and collegiate chapter, early settlers, fishing community and renowned vineyards. It also records the parish's localities, boundaries, levadas and population.
- Caniço
Santa Cruz. Julgado of the Santa Cruz comarca.
Caniço is a parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz, lying on the boundary between the captaincies of Funchal and Machico. Its early settlers included Gaspar Rego, Vasco Fernandes Rego and Álvaro de Ornelas, whose family founded morgados there; its alcaide and judge were appointed by the Funchal senate. The parish includes the Garajau statue, the Jesuits' Socorro residence and the Quinta do Barão da Conceição.
- Funchal
Head of the single comarca under absolutism and seat of the later courts.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Lisbon
Portugal. Seat of the higher courts to which appeals went.
The Portuguese capital, seat of the Relação court and of the Misericórdia whose privileges and statutes were extended to Funchal. Henrique Franco de Sousa studied at its Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and Luiz José Baiardo moved there in 1821.
- Machico
One of the five old julgados and later a julgado of the Santa Cruz comarca.
The parish of Machico was the landing place of the discoverers Zargo and Tristão Vaz and the seat of the captaincy of Machico; the parish was founded c. 1450. The Elucidário covers its clergy and stipends, chapels, historical events, mineral springs, localities, population and notable natives.
- Ponta Delgada
São Vicente. Limit of the western comarca and later a julgado.
Ponta Delgada is a parish on Madeira's north coast, one of the three parishes of the concelho of São Vicente, with a headland and a small fishing harbour. Its feast of Senhor Jesus is a great pilgrimage of vows, and it was the seat of a capitania-mor. It recorded 409 cholera deaths in 1856.
- Ponta do Sol
Old julgado and head of a comarca from 1875.
South-coast parish and municipality, settled from about 1440 by Rodrigo Enes 'o Coxo'. Its parish church of Nossa Senhora da Luz holds a triptych. The Elucidário also records its quay of 1848, paid for by the council, and the royal visit of 1858.
- Porto da Cruz
Machico. Julgado of the Santa Cruz comarca.
North-coast parish created in 1577 and noted for good-quality wines. It was transferred from Santana to Machico municipality in 1852 and was the seat of a capitania-mor. It was also a fishing port where some sperm whales were landed.
- Porto Moniz
Julgado of the São Vicente comarca.
North-western parish and municipality with a quay and a tolerable port that serves as a good landing when southerly winds close the south coast. It has one of the oldest Magdalene chapels in northern Madeira, whose feast falls on 22 July. It was the birthplace of Dr Manuel Gomes Jardim.