The Ordinance of the Staple was an Ordinance issue in the Great Council in October 1353. It aimed to regularise the status of staple ports in England, Wales, and Ireland. In particular, it designated particular ports where specific goods could be exported or imported. These were called the 'staple ports'. It also established dedicated courts, known as the courts of staple, where disputes relating to commercial matters could be heard, in preference to the courts of common law.