Preußisches Obertribunal

The Preußisches Obertribunal, abbreviated PrObTr (English: Prussian Supreme Tribunal), was between 1703 and 1879 either the sole or one of the supreme courts of the Kingdom of Prussia. The court played a significant role in shaping Prussia's legal system and had major influence on the administration of justice in the kingdom.

The court was founded by Frederick I in 1703 as the Oberappellationsgericht zu Berlin (Superior Court of Appeals in Berlin) and underwent several reorganizations. In 1748, it was disestablished and integrated into the Kammergericht, where it became the Kammergericht's fourth senate. In 1782, the tribunal was separated from that court and named Geheimes Obertribunal (Secret Supreme Tribunal). In the wake of the German revolutions of 1848–1849, it was renamed to Obertribunal (Supreme Tribunal), before it was disestablished in 1879 and succeeded by the Reichsgericht, which became the sole supreme court of the German Empire.

History

Oberappellationsgericht zu Berlin (1703–1748)

The Oberappellationsgericht zu Berlin (Superior Court of Appeals in Berlin) was founded in 1703 by Frederick I, after the Prussian king had obtained a limited privilegium de non appellando. The privilegium generale de non appellando limitatum, which Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I had granted on 16 December 1702, allowed Prussia to establish a supreme court, whose decisions could not be appealed to the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire – the Reichskammergericht and the Aulic Council. The privilegium was limited to cases involving not more than 2,500 gold guilders. The court, at least initially, had local jurisdiction for the Prussian provinces of Farther Pomerania, the Duchy of Magdeburg, the Hochstift Halberstadt (a Hochstift), the Duchy of Cleves, the County of Mark and the Principality of Minden.