571
Other court officials taking part in investigations and related pro-
cedures under the authority of, or in connection with, the judges
included ¢alsu¢lu (cf. 2.1.2 above) and “bailiffs” (manzatu¢lu) (cf. 3
below).- L
3.1 Parties
Where there was a multiplicity of litigants, the co-plaintiffs or defen-
dants could be collectively represented by one of their number, who
would act in the name and interests of all. Women and slaves—the
latter probably acting on behalf of their masters—had full capacity
to initiate proceedings before the judges. “Substitutes” (pù¢u) could
go to court as official representatives of the plaintiffs.3.2 Object
3.2.1 The rich corpus of Nuzi documents recording lawsuits, in
their various procedural stages, exclusively concerns litigation between
private parties, whatever the object of the accusations, charges, claims,
and rebuttals. Disputes between Nuzi citizens and the central palace
authority are not documented.^143.2.2 A common feature exhibited by all legal cases dealt with by
the courts is that they are within the sphere of civil law. The judges’
verdicts exclusively concern (1) decisions about ownership, tenure
and usufruct of real or movable property, including chattel slaves
and other unfree persons; (2) penalties of various kinds as compen-
sation for material and “moral” damage caused by the unlawful
actions of one party against his opponent. In other words, crimes
and delicts are dealt with by the courts only insofar as they are rel-
evant to the civil aspects of the litigation. Disputes cover an extremely
wide range of matters, but the great majority concern real estate
and breach of contract.^15(^14) See, however, EN 9/1 405, a case concerning theft of straw from the palace
granary by three men who were found guilty and condemned to pay a fine to the
palace.
(^15) Cf. the catalogue of tablets recording or related to lawsuits in Hayden, Court
procedure.. ., 221–26.
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