During the French occupation of our country (1795-1813), a significant change occurred in the existing legal order. After the Netherlands was annexed to France by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1810, French legislation was also introduced here.
Justice of the Peace Court
By Imperial Decree of July 9, 1810, the Netherlands was divided into departments, districts, cantons, and municipalities. A justice of the peace court was established in every main town of a canton, including Aalten. The canton of Aalten consisted of the municipalities of Aalten and Dinxperlo.
The task of the justice of the peace was to resolve conflicts peacefully before they were brought before a ‘real’ judge, in order to save a great deal of expense. In addition, the justice of the peace had the authority to handle small, low-cost cases. Other powers of the justice of the peace lay primarily in personal and family law.
Cantonal Court
In 1838, the legal system was reorganized again, and the justice of the peace was replaced by the cantonal judge. The justice of the peace courts of Aalten and Winterswijk were then merged into the Aalten cantonal court. This court covered the fourth canton of the third district (Zutphen) of the Gelderland Court of Appeal and was classified as a fifth-class subdistrict court based on the Act of July 1, 1830.
The Aalten cantonal court held its sessions in the town hall on the Markt. In 1861, a cantonal house of detention was built in Prinsenstraat, with six cells and a jailer’s residence.
The Aalten cantonal court was abolished in 1877. From that moment on, the municipalities of Aalten and Winterswijk belonged to the canton of Groenlo. The municipality of Dinxperlo was transferred to the canton of Terborg.
Archive
In 1968, the archive of the former Aalten cantonal court was transferred to the State Archives in Gelderland, along with the oldest part of the Groenlo archive. In 1961, the transfer of the Public Prosecution Service archive, which was still located in the Aalten town hall, took place.
Judges and clerks of the justice of the peace and cantonal court in Aalten 1811-1877 (still incomplete)
Additions are welcome!
| Term of office | Justice of the Peace | Details |
| ? | Jan Izak Huinink (1739-1822) | |
| ? | Abraham Casper Salomon ten Bokkel (1761-1831) | lawyer, notary, land clerk, justice of the peace, temporary mayor of Aalten, and deputy bailiff |
| ? | ? | |
| Term of office | Cantonal Judge | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1838-1855 | Joseph Gerard van der Schaaff (1798-1877) | formerly justice of the peace in Aalten, honorably discharged |
| 1855-1877 | Frederik Willem Jacob Immink (1822-1893) | formerly clerk of the Aalten cantonal court, subsequently subdistrict judge in Groenlo |
| Term of office | Clerk | Details |
| 1811 | Campegius Lambertus Vitringa (1786-1864) | formerly a lawyer in Arnhem, subsequently clerk in Harderwijk |
| Jan Willem te Gussinklo (1787-1829) | ||
| 1838-1839 | Jan Derk Schepers (1800-1848) | formerly clerk of the justice of the peace court in Aalten, subsequently municipal tax collector in Dinxperlo |
| 1839-1843 | Jillis van Beuil (1803-1843) | formerly a letter collector in Aalten, died in office |
| 1843-1852 | Bernard Andries Roelvink (1818-1882) | formerly substitute prosecutor at the district court in Zutphen, subsequently notary in Aalten |
| 1852-1855 | Frederik Willem Jacob Immink (1822-1893) | formerly a lawyer in Borculo, subsequently cantonal judge in Aalten |
| 1855-1877 | Cornelis Philippus Jacobus Penning (1817-1888) | former position unknown, placed on redundancy pay in 1877 due to the abolition of the Aalten cantonal court |
