<P> In 1664, the Custom of Paris (coutume de Paris) was formally set as the main source of law for civil law in France's overseas empire . All royal judges and king's attorneys in New France had to be thoroughly familiar with this compilation of rules . The Custom governed various civil aspects of the daily life in New France, including property, marriage, inheritance, and so on . </P> <P> The Island of Montreal was a special case because its judiciary had been previously held by the Society of St - Sulpice . In 1663, Governor - General of New France Augustin de Saffray de Mésy originally considered appointing Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve the Governor of the Island of Montreal and consolidating a royal jurisdiction on the island, but the plan garnered the St - Sulpicians' disapproval, who held the Island as its own fiefdom and effectively acted as the island's governor . In other words, the Sovereign Council had not been able to seize effective control over the legal matters of the Island; instead, the St - Sulpicians administered justice on the island . </P> <P> It was not until 16 September 1666, that the St - Sulpicians finally handed over the justice of the Island of Montreal to the Intendant of New France . In 1693, the French king commanded the replacement of the ecclesiastical courts in Montreal with a royal court composed of one royal judge, with appeals going to the Sovereign Council . The introduction of a royal court on the Montreal Island also resulted in the abolition of the feudal court in the fief of Trois - Rivières (then held by the Jesuits). </P> <P> In the Quebec City district, the lower court (tribunal antérieur) was established in 1664 and had jurisdiction to try cases at first instance, but then it was abolished in 1674 . The Sovereign Council appointed trial judges (juges inférieurs) to adjudicate cases at first instance until the Provostry of Quebec (prévôté de Québec) was created in May 1677 . </P>

The french saw louisiana as the center of a great commercial empire based on