Editing New France (section)

====Royal judges and the Sovereign Council====
On 13 October 1663, the royal court replaced the Seneschal Office (''sénéchaussée''). Canada was divided into three districts: the district of Quebec City, the district of [[Trois-Rivières]], and the district of [[Montreal]].{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=247}} Each district had its own separate jurisdiction with a judge appointed by the Crown, known as the civil and criminal lieutenants general.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=247}} They were responsible for all legal matters, civil and criminal, in each of the districts.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=247}}

In addition to the royal judges, there were other judicial officers in each district. The clerk of court (registrar) was responsible for transcribing all court proceedings as well as other documents relevant to each of the cases.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|p=}} The king's attorney (''procureur du roi'') was responsible for inquiring into the facts and preparing the case against the accused.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=249}} In the districts of Quebec City and Montreal, the royal judges had special lieutenants to substitute them whenever they were absent or sick.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=249}} Feudal courts heard minor cases.<ref>{{cite book |first=W.J. |last=Eccles |title=The French in North America (1500–1783) |location=East Lansing, Michigan |publisher=Michigan State University Press |date=1998 |page=80 |isbn=978-1-5504-1076-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.champlain2004.org/html/08/08_e.html |title=Exhibitions/Administration/The Administration of Justice |publisher=Champlain2004.org |access-date=30 June 2010 |archive-date=11 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611233729/http://www.champlain2004.org/html/08/08_e.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The reform also brought the [[Sovereign Council of New France]] (''Conseil souverain'') into existence, which was later renamed the Superior Council (''Conseil supérieur''). The Sovereign Council effectively acted as the functional equivalent of a Council of State (''Conseil d'État'') for New France, having the authority to hand down verdicts on final appeal.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=248}} Initially, the Council convened once every week, and the quorum of the Sovereign Council was seven for criminal matters, or five for civil cases.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=248}} The council's practices evolved over time. At the Sovereign Council there was a king's attorney-general (''procureur général du roi'') in charge of the similar tasks as the district king's attorneys.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=251}} He was also responsible for supervising the king's attorneys' daily operations as well as execution of royal edicts and regulations passed by the council in their respective districts.{{sfnp|Lareau|1881|page=252}}