Catholic Church. Rota Romana

From the earliest days of the Church judicial problems and reserved cases were referred to Rome for solution. By the end of the twelfth century this continual and ever-increasing flood of requests became too burdensome for the Consistory of Cardinals. The popes, therefore, began to refer cases to members of the papal household who were called cappellani papae. This group, which was dependent on the Apostolic Chancery (ID VATV032-A), seems to be the antecedent, if not the origin of the Roman Rota. Because the cappellani "heard" the cases they began to be called auditores (auditors), the title still given to judges of the Rota.

At first the auditors merely heard the cases, gathered the evidence, submitted their opinions, and then referred them to the pope for decision. Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) was the first to give the auditors the power, in certain cases, to render decisions themselves, although he still reserved confirmation of the decision to himself. His successors extended this concession. After Gregory X (1271-1276), the popes rarely intervened in judicial cases. During the pontificate of Nicholas IV (1288-1292), five auditors handled the cases. A half-century later, however, the number had increased to twenty-one, but there was not yet any diversity of function.

...