What is "court of peculiars"

Peculiar \Pe*cul"iar\, n.

1. That which is peculiar; a sole or exclusive property; a prerogative; a characteristic.

   Revenge is . . . the peculiar of Heaven.
   --South.

2. (Eng. Canon Law) A particular parish or church which is exempt from the jurisdiction of the ordinary.

   Court of Peculiars (Eng. Law), a branch of the Court of Arches having cognizance of the affairs of peculiars.
   --Blackstone.

   Dean of peculiars. See under Dean, 1.

The Court of Peculiars is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England.

The court sits with a Dean, who is also the Dean of the Arches. The Registrars are the Joint Provincial Registrars. The Court of Peculiars deals with all legal matters from peculiar parishes in the province. Until 1545, ecclesiastical judges were required to have a degree in canon law; thereafter, they only needed a doctorate in civil law. Binding precedent was only introduced into the ecclesiastical courts in the nineteenth century.