Institutions of the Judiciary in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (XIV-XVI centuries): structure, classification, competence

Abstract

The article deals with the classification of the judiciary in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as the GDL), which included most Ukrainian lands during that period. The purpose of the work is to identify institutes of justice that were active during the Middle Ages in the GDL, to study their structure, to classify and competence each of them. Following the majority of researchers in the history of national law, the author shares the view that the three stages of the evolution of the organization of justice in the specified period. The periodicisation is based on the well-known principle of court ownership, distinguishing state and non-state courts. Characterization of each of the judicial institutions is carried out. It noted that state courts were under the direct jurisdiction of the Grand Duke and his government officials, while non-state courts were not subordinate to government officials, but their decisions were found to be legitimate. Such courts have arranged both the Grand Duke of Lithuania (the master) and the general population, since the former sought to relieve the courts, and the latter sought opportunities to resolve the dispute on the spot, without long journeys and the pecuniary expense of keeping the letter and spirit of the law. The author pays the most attention to land courts created on the basis of customary Ukrainian law. They originated in the fourteenth century. from the tradition of the Russian faithful courts. It is considered by public courts operating throughout Ukraine's ethnic territory, mostly in rural areas. Cities and towns that were not in Magdeburg law were also included in the land area. Representatives of various sections and strata of Ukrainian society participated in his work, starting with the peasantry and ending with the nobles-government. Attention is drawn to the jurisdiction of land courts in criminal proceedings. It has been proven that property crimes - theft, robbery, robbery, arson - were distinguished from criminal cases considered by land courts. Qualified death penalty was practiced, first of all hanging, burning, quartering. Initially, all the inhabitants of the land district (suburbs) came under the jurisdiction of the land courts, but subsequently the nobility was granted the right to sue the commercial court. The findings of the paper stated that despite the variety of judicial institutions, the competence of each court was sufficiently clearly defined.