Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

franchise court

Hist. A privately held court that (usu.) exists by virtue of a royal grant, with jurisdiction over a variety of matters, depending on the grant and whatever powers the court acquires over time. ( In 1274, Edward I abolished many of these feudal courts by forcing the nobility to demonstrate by what authority (quo warranto) they held court. If a lord could not produce a charter reflecting the franchise, the court was abolished. - Also termed courts of the franchise.