Preparing and Issuing the Judicial Statutes of 1864: Foundations of the Reform and Sources

Abstract

The article analyzes the preparatory work behind the judicial reform of 1864 in Russia. It focuses on the 74 volumes of The Case on the Transformation of the Judiciary in Russia compiled by Sergei Zarudny, one of the reform developers. The author analyzed the role of individual participants in the development and implementation of the reform. The subjective factor proved to be the main criterion in drafting the reform of the Judicial Statutes in 1864. The preparatory process included two stages and combined the focus on domestic experience and traditions with foreign innovations. Together, these two approaches made it possible to accumulate the domestic legal experience with some useful trends from abroad, which resulted in effective new courts and a perfect judicial system. The reform of 1864 owed its success to the universal principles and institutions introduced into the Russian legal system in the second half of the XIX century. In addition, the author also attempted to answer the question of whether it was necessary for Russian legislators to turn to foreign legal models and experience.