_ 99 _ The said Chief Justices may not be imprisoned or summoned during their period of office in any civil or criminal charge except by order of the Viceroy or the Court of Appeal. Since it is important for the good administration of justice that the Chief Justices have the authority appropriate to the posts to which I appoint them and considerable inconvenience has arisen if they were subordinate to the Captains and hindered by them in a manner which prevented them from carrying out their duties with the integrity and liberty appropriate to God’s service and mine. In order to make provision for this, it is my command that the said Captains shall have no jurisdiction or superiority over the Chief Justices, nor intervene in any matter concerning their office. If the said Chief Justices commit any crime or excess which the Captains think they should report to the Viceroy, they shall do so by letter, which the Viceroy will forward to the Court of Appeal so that proceedings may be taken against them as justice demands. The said Chief Justices’ signatures shall carry the same authority as those of the district corregidores in accordance with their instructions and my ordinances.
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