Judicial History In Medieval and Early Modern England

Edward Peter Stringham, Fayetteville State University School of Business and Economics, and Todd J. Zywicki, George Mason University School of Law, have published Rivalry and Superior Dispatch: An Analysis of Competing Courts in Medieval and Early Modern England as George Mason University Law & Economics Research Paper No. 10-57. Here is the abstract.

In most areas, economists look to competition to align incentives, but not so with courts. Many believe that competition enables plaintiff forum shopping, but Adam Smith praised rivalry among courts. This article describes the courts when the common law developed. In many areas of law, courts were monopolized and imposed decisions on unwilling participants. In other areas, however, large degrees of competition and consent were present. In many areas, local, hundred, manorial, county, ecclesiastical, law merchant, chancery, and common law courts competed for customers. When parties had a choice, courts needed to provide a forum that was ex ante value maximizing.

Download the paper from SSRN at the link.