Concept in Definition ABC

The magistrate is a concept that has a long history of use. Originally its use had the mission of appointing public officials, specifically in Ancient Greece it was used the word to designate those people who held administrative or judicial positions at the request of the condition.
In any case, we must say that it was mostly used in these times to refer to those officials who had the mission of judging people and enforcing the sentence.

As a relevant condition, they were required to remain independent of the power and of course also with respect to the parties to the cause in which they intervene with the clear objective of guaranteeing the fairness of their decisions and moving away from political pressures.

In times of Roman empire, the figure of the magistrate also held relevance and they were people who were chosen to take care of the administration of the city but also displayed judicial and even legislative functions. Among the magistrates the consuls, censors, aediles, praetors and tribunes stood out.

When the power of the emperor reached its maximum splendor and then began to monopolize more functions, the magistrates began to lose weight and power and in many cases were subdued by the emperor, losing flat all the independence.

Today we use the term as a synonym for judge

Meanwhile, at present, the word is used extensively in our language as a synonym for judge.

The judge is that official who is part of the power or judicial system of a nation and whose main and excluding function is to judge a fact, a person and according to his conclusion on what happened, issue a sentence of acquittal or guilt. In the latter case, the opinion will indicate the penalty to be served by the culprit.

The judge in question may be the head of a court to which cases arrive in which he must intervene as such given the competence of the jurisdiction.
On the other hand, the judge can integrate courts of Justice superiors such as the Supreme Court of Justice, the highest court when it comes to imparting justice in a nation, or also other courts of lower rank.

Photos: iStock - artisteer / baona

Topics in Magistrate