Puisne [fr. puisne Fr.], junior, inferior, lower in rank. The several judges and barons of the former Common Law Courts to Westminster, other than the chiefs, were called puisne. By s. 5 of the (English) Judicature Act, 1877, a puisne judge of the High Court means, for the purposes of that Act, a judge of the High Court other than the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice of England, and their successors respectively. Puisne judges of the High Court shall be styled Justices of the High Court [(English) Jud. Act, 1925, s. 2 (4)]. The term is also used as meaning later for subsequent with reference to mortgagees and the like, e.g., puisne mortgagees.
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