Definition
"Sittings in London and Westminster" refers to the sessions of the English Courts of Nisi Prius held in London and Westminster for the trial of civil cases. Because London and Westminster fell outside the geographic boundaries of any of the established assize circuits, the ordinary system of sending judges on circuit to try cases did not apply to these localities. Instead, judges of the High Court of Justice sat in London and Westminster at designated times — called "sittings" — to perform the same function that assize judges performed elsewhere in England and Wales: the trial of issues of fact before a jury.
Criminal matters arising in London were not handled at these sittings. Felonies and serious misdemeanors were instead tried at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), a distinct tribunal with jurisdiction over criminal cases from London, Middlesex, and parts of the surrounding counties.
The "sittings" were organized into recognized terms and vacation periods corresponding to the legal calendar, and the timing of when cases could be brought to trial in London and Westminster was governed by those schedules.
Why It Matters in Research
This term is primarily encountered in English common law procedural materials from the nineteenth century and earlier. Researchers working with pre-Judicature Act sources — writs, pleadings, nisi prius records, or treatises on common law practice — need to understand that "London and Westminster sittings" describes a procedural mechanism that was the functional equivalent of assizes, not a separate or superior court.
The Judicature Acts of 1873–1875 restructured the English court system substantially, and the older vocabulary of "nisi prius," "sittings," and "circuits" gradually gave way to reorganized divisional and trial court terminology. A researcher reading pre-Judicature Act procedural texts will encounter this phrase frequently; post-reform materials may use it in a residual or transitional sense.
The distinction between civil sittings (London and Westminster) and criminal jurisdiction (Central Criminal Court) is easy to miss in older sources. Conflating the two leads to misreading of procedural history in both civil and criminal contexts. Researchers tracing the history of a specific civil action should look to nisi prius records; researchers investigating criminal matters must look to Central Criminal Court records separately.
American researchers should note that this term has no direct domestic counterpart. It reflects a specifically English solution to the geographic anomaly of the capital cities sitting outside the circuit system. References to it in American legal dictionaries and encyclopedias of the nineteenth century (including Rapalje & Lawrence) are descriptive of English practice and have no bearing on American procedure.
Historical Dictionary Support
Rapalje & Lawrence state the rule cleanly: London and Westminster are not comprised within any circuit, Courts of Nisi Prius are held there before judges of the High Court of Justice, and criminal cases go to the Central Criminal Court. This entry is concise and accurate as a description of mid-to-late Victorian English practice.
The historical dictionaries do not elaborate on the scheduling mechanics of the sittings, the distinctions between Michaelmas, Hilary, Easter, and Trinity sittings, or the procedural rules governing when cases could be set down for trial in London as opposed to at the assizes. Researchers needing that level of procedural detail should consult contemporaneous English practice manuals, such as those by Archbold or Chitty on pleading and practice, rather than relying on dictionary entries alone.
No significant divergence exists among historical sources on this term's meaning. It is a narrow procedural descriptor with a stable definition across the period in which it was in active use.
Jurisdictional Note
This term applies exclusively to English legal practice and has no American equivalent. American readers encountering it in nineteenth-century legal texts are reading a description of English court organization. It is not relevant to any American jurisdiction.