COURT, in a legal sense, is defined a place in which justice is judicially administered. And as by our constitution the sole executive power of the laws is vested in the person of the king, it follows that all courts of justice, which are the medium by which he administers the laws, are derived from the power of the crown. For whether created by act of parliament or by letters patent, or subsisting by prescription (the only methods by which any court of justice can exist), the king's consent in the two former is expressly, and in the latter impliedly given. In all these courts the king is supposed, in contemplation of law, to be always present; but as that is in fact impossible, he is there represented by his judges, whose power is only an emanation of the royal prerogative.
For the more speedy, universal, and impartial administration of justice between subject and subject, the law has appointed a variety of courts, some with a more limited, others with a more extensive jurisdiction; some constituted to inquire only, others to hear and determine; some to determine in the first instance, others upon appeal and by way of review.