THE JUDICIAL REFORM OF PETER THE GREAT IN THE CONTEXT OF ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSFORMATIONS (1717–1727)

Abstract

The judicial reform occupies a special place among other transformations of Peter the Great. Some researchers call it the first attempt to “separate the trial from the administration”. Other scholars believe that the judicial reforms of the first quarter of the 18th century cannot be separated from the management reforms, since the changes in the court and administration were closely related to each other and had common ideological foundations expressed in the works of cameralists. The article is devoted to the analysis of the judicial reform of 1717–1727. The study focuses on the exploration of the organization of the court and “lower” tribunals, originally represented by provincial and city courts. The author characterizes the locations of court and provincial tribunals and considers the main reasons for the creation (or not creation) of judicial districts in provinces. In addition, attention is drawn to the peculiarities of the formation of judicial districts of city judges and judicial commissioners. As a result of the analysis of legal acts and documents of the court’s office, the author concluded that the second provincial reform had a strong influence on the implementation of the judicial reform. Despite the attempts of the Judicial Collegium to distribute judges evenly across the country, judicial transformations spread from the center (St. Petersburg and Moscow) to the southern and eastern periphery. In some cases, the determination of the composition of judges and their placement in judicial districts was inconsistent, which predetermined the partial and then full return of judicial powers to local administrators.