(French). A crown court, where, in the old régime, councillors were allowed to plead, and where justice was administered
in the king's name. The Paris Parlement received appeals from all
inferior tribunals, but its own judgments were final. It took
cognisance of all offences against the crown, the peers, the bishops,
the corporations, and all high officers of state; and, though it had no
legislative power, had to register the royal edicts before they
could become law. Abolished by the Constituent Assembly in 1790.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
