1. Concept and origins
A Schöffenstuhl (Low German Schöppenstuhl) is an independent college of finders of justice and verdicts (Judgment). The institution developed during the Middle Ages in conjunction with municipal constitutions, municipal law, and kindred systems (Stadtrechtsfamilien, “families of municipal law”) [2]. The Schöffenstühle dispensed justice on request, and issued legal information (legal notifications; legal guid…