Instance Cause

Church of England legal process

An Instance Cause was a type of legal process in the English church courts. Legal action in these ecclesiastical courts was either instigated as an Instance Cause or an Office Cause (Office Jurisdiction).[1][2][3] An Instance Cause was pursued by a particular plaintiff against a particular defendant whilst in an Office Cause the court acted as plaintiff. Instance causes were taken between parties in marital disputes, or between members of a community in pew disputes or defamation litigation.

References

1. ^ A.J. Willis, Church life in Kent: being church court records of the Canterbury Diocese, 1559-1565 (Pillimore, 1975), p. 34.
2. ^ R.B. Outhwaite, The rise and fall of the English ecclesiastical courts, 1500-1860 (Cambridge, 2006), p. 17.
3. ^ D.A.Spaeth, The Church in an age of danger: parsons and parishioners, 1660-1740 (Cambridge, 2000), p. 60.