Tancred, De criminibus et qualiter agitur contra criminosos (ca. 1216)

Incipit:  Quoniam rei publice interest ut crimina non remaneant impunita .  .  . nota quod quattuor modis agitur de crimine .  .  . in modum denunciationis, inquisitionis, exceptionis, et accusationis. (Because it benefits the public good that crimes should not remain unpunished .  .  . note that crimes are brought to court in four different ways:  .  .  . through denunciation, investigation, exception, and accusation).

Genesis 18:21 "Descendam et videbo utrum clamorem qui venit ad me, opere compleverint, an non est ita, ut sciam."  (I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.)

Luke 16:2  "Et vocavit illum, et ait illi: quid hoc audio de te? redde rationem villicationis tuae." (And he called him and said to him, "What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.")

 At the end of his pontificate Innocent III promulgated a decree at the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) that laid down extensive rules about how and when an ecclesiastical judge could prosecute criminals under his jurisdiction. This conciliar canon, Qualiter et quando (c.8), established basic rules for ecclesiastical judges to investigate and punish criminal clerics. Its provisions were based on a number of earlier decretal letters that Innocent’s curia had sent in answer to questions that judges had posed about the rules governing court procedure. In Qualiter et quando two biblical passages justified Inquisitio:  Genesis 18:21 and Luke 16:2