13 July 1804

Procedure and Evidence

Evil causes 4th order

5. Anti-merits

1(a) continued

In a quirk. By a decision foreign to the merits.

The point on which a decision, contrary /adverse/ to the merits of the cause is pronounced, may belong either to the substantive or to the adjective branch of the law. The latter only belong to the subject now in hand.

On a question belonging to procedure, by a decision on a point foreign /contrary/ to the merits I understand any decision by which the ultimate ends of procedure are either of the disfulfilled.

1. Fulfilment of the productions issued by the part in question of the substantive branch of the law: 2. avoidance to produce vexatious effects not predicted by the part in question of that substantive branch: - but more especially of the first of these two ends which is the main end and that one of the two which is most apt to be disfulfilled /exposed to be in this way disfulfilled/.

A decision of this sort will accordingly have taken place to the prejudice of the demandants side, as often as of punishment or satisfaction fail to be \have been\ applied and rights to be \have been\ conferred, the decision from which such failure results, being grounded on any other consideration than that /the -------/ such punishment, satisfaction, or rights were respectively not done, viz: according to the prescription of some article of substantive law: to the prejudice of the defendant's side, as often as punishment /a punishment demanded/ or the obligation of rendering the /a/ satisfaction demanded - or the obligation corresponding to the right demanded, has been imposed on any other ground than that of their being regularly due: viz. according to the prescription of some article of substantive law as before.