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Under the Ancien RΓ©gime, the judiciary of France was divided into several local bodies known as parlements. Despite the similarity of their names to the modern parliamentary institution, the Ancien RΓ©gime parlement were quite different. They formed a powerful component of the French judicial system, serving as the highest courts of appeals for their region. They were also responsible for promulgating the King of France's laws within their jurisdiction - or refuse to do so. In this way they functioned as checks on absolutist royal power.
The most prestigious and famous of these was the Parlement of Paris, created around A.D. 1260. This sounds like the judicial authority the lecture is talking about.