The Aulic Council (from the Latinaula, court in feudal language, in antiquity a Hellenistic type of grand residence, usually private) was originally an executive-judicial council for the Empire. Originating during the Late Middle Ages as a paid Council of the Emperor, it was organized in its later form by the German king Maximilian I by decree of 13 December 1497. It was meant as a rival to the separate Imperial Chamber Court, which the Imperial Estates had forced upon him by promulgating the Ewiger Landfriede at the Diet of Worms two years before. Maximilian emphasised the fact that the Emperor embodied supreme legal authority and would continue to answer legal requests addressed to him. During the reign of Charles V, the Aulic Council responded to hundreds of petitions, as the Emperor was often absent from the Empire.[1]
Each emperor summoned a new Council upon his accession to the throne. According to a regulation issued by Emperor Ferdinand I in 1559, the Council was composed of a president, a vice-president, a vice-chancellor, and 18 councillors, who were all chosen and paid by the Emperor, with the exception of the vice-chancellor, who was appointed by the Elector of Mainz in his capacity as Imperial archchancellor. Of the 18 councilors, six were Protestants, whose votes, when they were unanimous, were an effective veto, so that a religious parity was to some extent preserved. On the death of the Emperor, the Council was dissolved and had to be reconstructed by his successor.
The relationship between the Aulic Council and the Imperial Chamber Court is described as both competitive but also cooperative, depending on the situation.[1] In the 17th century, the cases involving noble families increasingly moved under the review of the Aulic Council, in part due to the slowness in the Imperial Chamber Court.[2]
When Napoleon I's gains after the Battle of Austerlitz and the Peace of Pressburg culminated in the end of the Holy Roman Empire, the Aulic Council likewise ceased to exist in 1806 as an imperial institution.
Responsibilities
Like the Imperial Chamber Court, the Aulic Council was an appeals court, in which matters that could not be settled were brought to the Emperor for deliberation.
The Aulic Council commonly dealt with feudal disputes. These included "imperial overlordship, protecting imperial fiefs, all issues relating to investitures, inheritance, pawning, or purchase of fiefs, and all sorts of lawsuits related to these matters."[3] The Aulic Council also had influence in Northern Italy. The Aulic Council also dealt with constitutional disputes, especially in Imperial cities and imperial knightly territories.[1] It also proved to be a major court when it came to succession disputes within the Empire. For example, the Aulic Council was charged with dealing with cases such as the Jülich Succession and the succession in the Ernestine duchies.
In addition to the aforementioned responsibilities, the Aulic Council also dealt with house pacts. An example of this is the Nassau Family Pact, which was submitted to review by the Aulic Council.[2]
Examples of Cases Settled
In the 18th century, Rheingraf Karl Magnus of Grehweiler contracted large loans by forging the consent of his subjects. He used these funds to pay for his construction projects. When his fraud was uncovered, the Aulic Council sentenced him to 10 years in prison.[1]
Sources
1 2 3 4 5 Wilson, Peter H. (1999). The Holy Roman Empire, 1495 - 1806. Studies in European history (1. publed.). Basingstoke: Macmillan [u.a.] ISBN978-0-312-22360-1.
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