47-537: The Revolutionary Tribunal was established during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders. The term revolutionary tribunal or revolutionary court may also refer to: Revolutionary Tribunal The Revolutionary Tribunal ( French : Tribunal révolutionnaire ; unofficially Popular Tribunal ) was a court instituted by the National Convention during
94-642: A Revolutionary Watch Committee in every neighbourhood and the creation of the Committee of Public Safety on 6 April 1793. The court was to hear cases of alleged counter-revolutionary offences from across France. It was composed of a jury of twelve. This was an innovation in French justice, borrowed from English law (although for the Revolutionary Tribunal the jury was carefully selected from politically reliable activists). It had five judges,
141-556: A lower chamber called the Council of Five Hundred (with, accordingly, 500 members), and a collective Executive of five members called the Directory (from which the historical period gets its name). Due to internal instability, caused by hyperinflation of the paper monies (" Assignats "), and French military disasters in 1798 and 1799, the Directory lasted only four years, until overthrown in 1799. The French Consulate era began with
188-451: A magazine. Along with other Jacobins, he urged in the fifth issue of his magazine the creation of an " armée révolutionnaire " in Paris, consisting of at least 20 or 23,000 men, to defend the city, "liberty" (the revolution), maintain order in the sections and educate the members in democratic principles; an idea promoted by Jean-Jacques Rousseau . The provisional Revolutionary Tribunal
235-554: A public prosecutor, and two deputy prosecutors, all nominated by the Convention; and from its judgements, there was no appeal. Jacques-Bernard-Marie Montané became President of the Tribunal until he was replaced in his post on 23 August 1793 by M. J. A. Herman . Fouquier-Tinville served as public prosecutor. The lists of prisoners to be sent before the tribunal were prepared by a popular commission and signed, after revision, by
282-604: A time of crisis in the new French Republic . The War of the First Coalition was going badly. An unsatisfied Dumouriez wanted to restore a (constitutional) monarchy and reintroduce the French Constitution of 1791 . The provisional government responded by taking a number of measures to defend the integrity of the Republic. Even in these circumstances, the Convention was initially reluctant to restore
329-474: The Committee of General Security and the Committee of Public Safety jointly. On 5 September 1793, the Convention split the Revolutionary Tribunal into four concurrent chambers so that the number of cases it dealt with could be greatly increased. It also decided that all jurors in the Tribunal should be directly appointed by the Committee of Public Safety or the Committee of General Security. This followed
376-451: The French Revolution for the trial of political offenders . In October 1793, it became one of the most powerful engines of the period often called the Reign of Terror . Early 1791 freedom of defence became the standard; any citizen was allowed to defend another. From the beginning, the authorities were concerned about this experiment. Derasse suggests it was a "collective suicide" by
423-560: The Place St Antoine and later to the Place du Trône-Renversé . As the Revolutionary Tribunal accelerated the pace of executions in Paris, it became impractical to have it in the city. The powers of the Revolutionary Tribunal were granted by the Convention, and there was only limited criticism of it. Royalists, émigrés and federalists were clearly opposed to the Tribunal and its workings, but since public criticism in support of
470-754: The Reign of Terror . Despite growing discontent with the National Convention as a ruling body, in June the Convention drafted the Constitution of 1793 , which was ratified by popular vote in early August. However, the Committee of Public Safety was seen as an "emergency" government, and the rights guaranteed by the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the new constitution were suspended under its control. The constitution of
517-476: The Revolutionary Tribunal by a decree of 29 October 1793. Robespierre became one members of the Committee of General Defence to coordinate the war effort. Danton, Charles-Francois Delacroix , Beurnonville and several other deputies were sent to Belgium to question and arrest Dumouriez. Other measures taken in response to the crisis around the same time included the formal establishment of
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#1732787666260564-512: The coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799. Members of the Directory itself planned the coup, indicating clearly the failing power of the Directory. Napoleon Bonaparte was a co-conspirator in the coup and became head of the government as the First Consul. On 18 May 1804, Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor of the French by the Sénat conservateur . He would later proclaim himself Emperor of
611-598: The history of France , the First Republic ( French : Première République ), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France , and officially the French Republic (French: République française ), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution . The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First Empire on 18 May 1804 under Napoléon Bonaparte , although
658-413: The Convention approved a report by Saint-Just proposing the abolition of the existing revolutionary tribunals in individual départements and requiring all suspects to be sent to the main tribunal in Paris, due to reports of corruption in the provincial tribunals. On 21 May 1794 the government decided that the judicial system would be centralized, with almost all the tribunals in the provinces closed and all
705-492: The Convention did not agree to create the Tribunal, he argued, the people would be compelled to make their own justice. "Let us be terrible," said Danton, "so that the people will not have to be." On this basis, the Convention finally agreed that there should be established in Paris the Extraordinary Criminal Tribunal ( Tribunal criminel extraordinaire ), which received the official name of
752-475: The National Convention adopted the Constitution of the Year III . They reestablished freedom of worship, began releasing large numbers of prisoners, and most importantly, initiated elections for a new legislative body. On 3 November 1795, the Directory was established. Under this system, France was led by a bicameral Parliament, consisting of an upper chamber called the Council of Elders (with 250 members) and
799-405: The Revolutionary Tribunal to three days. They also prevented the Revolutionary Tribunal from calling witnesses, or from allowing defense counsel. Juries were to convict or acquit entirely on the basis of the accusation and the accused's own defense. Further, the new laws confined the Tribunal to only two possible verdicts – acquittal or death. Finally, the law cancelled all previous legislation on
846-490: The Revolutionary Tribunal, about half were acquitted (the number dropped to a quarter after the enactment of the Law of 22 Prairial Year II) (10 June 1794). Before 22 Prairial the Revolutionary Tribunal had pronounced 1,220 death sentences in thirteen months; during the forty-nine days between the passing of the law and the coup of Thermidor, 1,376 persons were condemned (an average of 28 per day). First French Republic In
893-418: The Revolutionary Tribunal. On 10 March, responding to serious disorder in the streets of Paris, Georges Danton , with Robespierre's support, proposed its revival, but the majority of deputés were not in favour. After a long debate, towards midnight, Danton was able to persuade a majority to vote for it only by raising the spectre of further uncontrolled massacres, as had taken place the previous September. If
940-400: The Tribunal dealt with 178 accused. 53% of these were set free after initial examination by a judge, without a full trial, while a further 17% were tried and acquitted by a jury. 5% were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment or deportation, and 25% were sentenced to death. From its formation up to September 1793, the Tribunal heard 260 cases and handed down 66 death penalties. As a result, it
987-731: The beginning of 1793 to the Thermidorian Reaction , around 17,000 people were sentenced and beheaded by some form of revolutionary court in France (in Paris or in the provinces), in addition to some 25,000 others who were summarily executed in the September Massacres, retributions in the War in the Vendée and elsewhere. The Paris Revolutionary Tribunal was responsible for 16% of all death sentences. Of all those accused by
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#17327876662601034-617: The case against Marat collapse, but two days after his case was brought, members of the Paris Commune responded by bringing a case to the Tribunal against 22 leading Girondins. This case was dismissed, but the principle that Convention members could be tried by the Tribunal was an important one, and ultimately led to the Girondin leaders being tried and executed in October 1793. During the months when Montané served as its President,
1081-565: The country, particularly in the South East, as anti-Jacobin mobs attacked and murdered people who had been associated with revolutionary tribunals in their area. On 14 February 1795 for example, Joseph Fernex , who had served as a judge on the Tribunal in Orange , was killed and thrown into the Rhône by a mob. On 27 June other members of the same tribunal received the same treatment. From
1128-620: The coup of Thermidor in July 1794, some people expected the Revolutionary Tribunal to be abolished, but this did not happen. In the five days after the Thermidorian Reaction, the Convention freed 478 political prisoners, but 8,000 still remained incarcerated, despite popular demands for a general amnesty. On 1 August 1794 (14 Thermidor Year II) the Prairial Laws were revoked, meaning that the burden of proof against suspects
1175-508: The following day, guillotined. After most of those associated with the previous radical government had been eliminated, the Revolutionary Tribunal was finally discontinued on 31 May 1795 (12 Prairial Year III). While the Convention itself had most people associated with the Revolutionary Tribunal in Paris executed, no similar official process was followed in the provinces. In 1795, the First White Terror broke out in parts of
1222-650: The form of government changed several times. This period was characterised by the downfall and abolition of the French monarchy , the establishment of the National Convention and the Reign of Terror , the Thermidorian Reaction and the founding of the Directory , and, finally, the creation of the Consulate and Napoleon's rise to power. Under the Legislative Assembly , which was in power before
1269-547: The guilt or innocence of defendants. The judges would then invoke punishments in accordance with the 1791 Penal Code... Early March the War in the Vendée and the War of the Pyrenees began; the population of the Austrian Netherlands were in insurrection against the French invasion. The situation was alarming. On the evening of 9 March, a crowd gathered outside the Convention, shouting threats and calling for
1316-480: The interference of officials of the War Ministry which employed many Jacobins. He attacked not only Pache , the former minister of war, but also Marat and Robespierre. Dumouriez had long been unable to agree with the course of the Convention. He was disenchanted with the radicalisation of the revolution and its politics and put an end to the annexation efforts. The Revolutionary Tribunal was re-established at
1363-550: The lawyers in the Assembly. In criminal cases, the expansion of the right ... gave priority to the spoken word. By December 1791 deputies voted themselves the power to select the judges, jury and accusateur public . On 15 February 1792 the Tribunal Criminel was installed with Maximilien Robespierre as accusateur . On 10 April Robespierre decided to give up his position and became an ordinary citizen who published
1410-415: The monarchy in Paris or in the press would be regarded as treasonable, it barely existed. At the same time, there were periodic demands from Enragés and Hébertists that the Tribunal accelerate its work and condemn more of the accused. Among the first to speak up publicly against the Tribunal was Camille Desmoulins in his short-lived journal, " Le Vieux Cordelier ". As a result of his criticisms he
1457-530: The news that rebels in Toulon had handed the city over to the British and several days of rioting in Paris. One of the earliest cases brought to the Tribunal led to its most famous acquittal. On 13 April 1793 Girondin deputés brought an accusation against Jean-Paul Marat . Crucially, this involved waiving the immunity enjoyed until then by members of the Convention (Marat was himself a deputé). Not only did
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1504-541: The passion and sense of urgency among the various factions. In the insurrection of 10 August 1792 , citizens stormed the Tuileries Palace , killing six hundred of the King's Swiss guards and insisting on the removal of the king. A renewed fear of counterrevolutionary action prompted further violence, and in the first week of September 1792, mobs of Parisians broke into the city's prisons. They killed over half of
1551-497: The political leaders who had taken an active part in what was eventually called the Reign of Terror. On 16 December 1794 (26 Frimaire Year III) Jean-Baptiste Carrier was sentenced to death and executed. On 6 May 1795 (17 Floreal Year III), the former President of the Revolutionary Tribunal, Martial Herman , the former Chief Prosecutor Fouquier-Tinville and fourteen former jury members of the Revolutionary Tribunal were convicted, and
1598-501: The prisoners, including nobles, clergymen, and political prisoners, but also common criminals, such as prostitutes and petty thieves. Many victims were murdered in their cells: raped, stabbed, and/or slashed to death. This became known as the September Massacres . As a result of the spike in public violence and the political instability of the constitutional monarchy, a party of six members of France's Legislative Assembly
1645-626: The proclamation of the First Republic, France was engaged in war with Prussia and Austria . In July 1792, Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick , commanding general of the Austro–Prussian Army, issued his Brunswick Manifesto , threatening the destruction of Paris should any harm come to King Louis XVI of France . This foreign threat exacerbated France's political turmoil amid the French Revolution and deepened
1692-520: The radical movements of the Enragés , food shortages and riots, the revolt in the Vendée and in Brittany , recent defeats of its armies, and the desertion of its commanding general." Most notably, the Committee of Public Safety instated a policy of terror, and perceived enemies of the republic began to be executed by guillotine at an ever-increasing rate. This began a period which is known today as
1739-445: The reformed criminal justice system of 1791 as well as features with a more 'extraordinary' or 'revolutionary' potential. A bench of five judges would be responsible for running the court itself, but the Convention would control the caseload through deputies elected to a commission de six . Cases would then be presented to the court by an accusateur public (public prosecutor) helped in his work by two deputies, and jurors would decide on
1786-515: The removal of all "traitorous" deputies who had failed to vote for the execution of the king. On 12 March 1793, a provisional Revolutionary Tribunal was established; three days later the Convention appointed Fouquier-Tinville as the " accusateur public " and Fleuriot-Lescot as his assistant. On 11 March, Dumouriez addressed the Brussels assembly, apologising for the actions of the French commissioners and soldiers. On 12 March Dumouriez criticised
1833-560: The republic did not provide for a formal head of state or a head of government. It could be discussed whether the head of state would have been the president of the National Assembly under international law. However, this changed every two weeks and was therefore not formative. After the arrest and execution of Robespierre on 28 July 1794, the Jacobin club was closed, and the surviving Girondins were reinstated. A year later,
1880-502: The same subject. Without being explicit, this removed the immunity of members of the Convention which up till then had protected them from summary arrest and required that the Convention itself vote to send any of its members to trial. Three days after the Prairial laws were passed, the guillotine was moved out of Paris. It had previously stood on the Place du Carrousel , was then moved to the Place de la Revolution , and then again to
1927-435: The trials held in Paris. The provincial tribunals which were allowed to continue their work were Bordeaux, Arras, and Nîmes in the south, as well as Arras and Cambrai in the north. Following the attempted assassinations of Convention members Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois on 23 May and Maximilien Robespierre on 25 May 1794, on 10 June (22 Prairial Year II) the so-called " Prairial Laws " were passed. These limited trials in
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1974-602: Was assigned the task of overseeing elections. The resulting Convention was founded with the dual purpose of abolishing the monarchy and drafting a new constitution. The convention's first act was to establish the French First Republic and officially strip the king of all political powers. Louis XVI , by then a private citizen bearing his family name of Capet , was subsequently put on trial for crimes of high treason starting in December 1792. On 16 January 1793 he
2021-399: Was convicted, and on 21 January, he was executed. Throughout the winter of 1792 and spring of 1793, Paris was plagued by food riots and mass hunger. The new Convention did little to remedy the problem until late spring of 1793, occupied instead with matters of war. Finally, on 6 April 1793, the Convention created the Committee of Public Safety , and was given a monumental task: "To deal with
2068-410: Was criticized as ineffective by some Jacobins . The Law of Suspects (17 September 1793) greatly increased the number of prisoners who were imprisoned and might be brought to trial. Between October and the end of 1793 the Tribunal issued 177 death sentences. Similar tribunaux révolutionnaires were also in operation in the various French departments. However, on 16 April 1794 (27 Germinal Year II)
2115-691: Was established on 17 August 1792 in response to the Storming of the Tuileries , to ensure that there was some appropriate legal process for dealing with suspects accused of political crimes and treason, rather than arbitrary killing by local committees. The provisional Tribunal was abolished in November 1792 at the start of the trial of Louis XVI , and during this time had sentenced twenty-eight people to death. Mostly these were ordinary criminals rather than political prisoners. It incorporated elements from
2162-463: Was expelled from the Jacobin Club. Later he was arrested, tried and executed together with Danton. On the eve of his execution, Danton expressed his regret for having advocated the Tribunal. "It was just a year ago that I was the means of instituting the Revolutionary Tribunal; may God and man forgive me for what I did then; but it was not that it might become the scourge of humanity." After
2209-491: Was once again with the prosecution. Soon afterwards, all of the judges on the Revolutionary Tribunal were replaced, and the local surveillance committees were curtailed, so that there were henceforth to be only twelve in Paris and one per district outside the capital. The Law on Suspects however remained in force. The Revolutionary Tribunal was used by the Thermidorian Convention as an instrument to destroy
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