A seat of judgment or tribunal for the administration of justice; the seat occupied by judges in courts; also the court itself, as the “King’s Bench,” or the aggregate of the judges composing a court, as in the phrase “before the full bench.” The collective body of the judges In a state or nation, as distinguished from the body of attorneys and advocates, who are called the “bar.” In English ecclesiastical law . The aggregate body of bishops.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
