The judicial branch has the power to try criminal case by jury. A jury is a group or body of people usually 12 in number, sworn to give a judgement or verdict in a legal case based on the evidences passed and assessed to them in the court. Hearing cases are done by jury trial or trial by jury. A trial by jury is a legal proceeding wherein the jury will either makes findings or makes verdict of fact which then direct the action of a judge. The juries are distinguished from a bench trial whereby a judge or a panel of judges make all the findings and or decisions.
The cartazes system was created in 1502 to control and enforce the Portuguese trade monopoly over a wide area in the Indian Ocean. It granted merchant ships protection against pirates and rival states.
