Judicial Code of Ivan IV the Terrible was compiled in 1550. It was based on the previous document, written three years earlier under Ivan III. The new code of laws was the first official normative legal act in the history of Ancient Russia, which was recognized as the only source of legality of legal proceedings. The general characteristic of the Judicial Code of 1550, which includes a brief description of its main provisions, is presented in this article.
Prerequisites for Creating a New Document
In the XV-XVI centuries, the process of formation and unification of Russian lands ended, and a single centralized state appeared. Now all power was concentrated in Moscow and was in the hands of the Grand Duke. From there he ruled over all his lands.
At this time, there were significant changes in the issue of land ownership, since the period of feudalism was beginning. These changes led to the fact that previously adopted laws could no longer fully regulate the new relations that appeared in the socio-economic sphere. There was a need to create a more updated and improved source of legal relations, which could be guided by when deciding on a particular issue. Therefore, the prerequisites for the emergence of a new edition of the Codex were the reforms carried out by Ivan the Terrible, and the irrelevance of the previous code of laws. In addition, there was a need to concretize some of his articles.
The purpose of creating a new document, which was the Code of Laws of 1550, a summary of which will be given below, was to close the numerous gaps of the outdated code of laws. This was achieved by supplementing it with more modern and detailed legal acts.
Creating an updated Judicial Code
The maturity of Ivan the Terrible coincided with the time when the Judicial Code of 1550 was compiled. The history of the creation of this document is as follows: under the influence of the clergyman Sylvester, as well as with the help of a special circle of advisers gathered around the ruler, the king began to carry out reforms. The beginning of their implementation is associated with the solemn cathedral, which was held in Moscow in 1550-1551. It was on it that the previous Codex of 1497 was edited. Of the 100 articles existing in the new document, 37 appeared only with the advent of Ivan the Terrible. The main text of the old code has undergone significant revision.
Summary
In the middle of the XVI century in Russia, articles of the new law determined the relationship of people not only with each other, but also with the state. All of them entered the Judicial Code of 1550. A brief summary and description of his main articles shows an updated approach to its creation, compared with the early codes of laws. The lawsuit of Ivan the Terrible includes the norms of civil, property, liability, inheritance, criminal law, as well as a description of the search and trial.
Key Points
Ivan the Terrible with his brothers and close boyars received the Judicial Code of 1550. The main provisions of this document confirmed the previous custom, according to which in court, in addition to the governors appointed by the king, there were elders and the so-called kissers, that is, jurors who kissed the cross. They were official and regular participants in litigation. In addition to the governors, the protocols should have been drawn up and zemstvo clerks. Papers were considered valid only after they were signed by the headman and kissers. The governors and their assistants - tyuns could not arrest anyone without explaining to them the reasons for their detention.
Also in Sudebnik, special attention was paid to local and central government. The changes affected mainly the governor's leadership, but the old feeding system was preserved.
The general characteristic of the Judicial Code of 1550 includes the social part of the new legislation. It concerns two main issues - the dependent population, which were serfs and peasants, and land tenure. The new document was intended to improve the justice process and provide an opportunity for representatives of the local population to control it.
In the XVI century, the abuse of power by persons appointed by the sovereign, as well as judges, was widespread. This state of affairs could not but be reflected in the King's Code of Law. This document contains articles that say that judges should not take promises, avenge and make friends with each other. Moreover, the ban was not general and vague; a completely specific punishment was imposed for disobedience: levying a fine, imprisonment, or whipping.
The general characteristics of the Judicial Code of 1550 will be incomplete, if not to mention another very important position. The judge did not have the right to send the plaintiffs from himself before he could understand the essence of their complaint. If the official did not properly perform his duties and these facts of abuse reached the king, then the servant of the law himself could go to jail.
Civil Law
They were necessary for the regulation and further development of increasingly complicated socio-economic relations. Its subjects could be both collectives consisting of two or more people, and private individuals. All aspects in this area were regulated by the Code of Laws of 1550. Property law could be acquired by agreement, seizure, award, find, or prescription.
The most common way to obtain property rights at this time was the contract. It was concluded until the middle of the 16th century exclusively in oral form. At the end of the century, the treaty already existed in the form of a written transaction called bondage. Such a document was signed by personally binding parties. If they were illiterate, the paper was signed either by their relatives or spiritual fathers.
Over time, a serf or notarial type of transaction arose, according to which contracts relating to the alienation of real estate entered into legal force only after they were registered.
Inheritance Law
The main direction of its development in the XIV-XVI centuries was not only the expansion of the circle of heirs, but also the consolidation of their property rights. And this was largely facilitated by the new Judicial Code of 1550. Briefly, the main provision of the Law of Succession can be formulated as follows: it allowed to make a will to any member of the family. It was compiled in writing, and then approved in the presence of a clerk and rumors.
The circle of heirs under the then law consisted of children and surviving spouses. But in some cases it included other relatives. For example, if the case concerned inheritance of estates. Only those sons who lived at the time of the death of the head of the family in his house could receive their part of the property. The brothers should have inherited in equal shares. If the family had not only sons, but also daughters, then the latter did not have any rights to real estate.
St. George's Day
The previous code of laws relating to the transfer of villagers from one village to another, as well as from the old landowner to the new one, also entered Sudebnik in 1550. The peasants were allowed to make such movements only within a strictly defined period - in the fall a week before St. George's Day and during the same time after it. This gave the right to choose a good landowner and, it should be noted, many used it, moving away from poor owners.
Why did such movements occur in the fall? This was due to the fact that when the harvest was already completed, the transition of the peasant from the former lord to the new one became absolutely painless for both of them. The very nature of land relations prescribed a two-way restriction on such actions. For example, the landowner did not have the right to drive the peasant out of the leased land before harvesting, and the peasant, in turn, could not leave the landlord without paying him after the end of the harvest. Thus, the law established a clear time period during which both parties had to pay each other.
Criminal law
Thanks to the new document adopted by Ivan the Terrible, some laws have undergone significant changes. Criminal law was no exception. A judicial code of 1550, unlike the previous one, did not define a crime as an offense, that is, causing moral or material damage to a group of people or an individual, but began to relate to them illegal acts committed against the state. Thus, a criminal offense was considered non-compliance with the requirements established by the rules, as well as failure to fulfill the will of the sovereign.
Classification of Offenses
In the new Codex for the first time began to use the systematization of offenses. At the top step were crimes committed against the state. First of all, sedition belonged to them - treason to their country or prince, weaving a conspiracy, a call for rebellion or rebellion.
A notch was a crime of misconduct and offenses against the government and the court itself. It could be a bribe, counterfeiting, false testimony, embezzlement, etc.
Next came the criminal acts committed against the individual. These included murder and insult by action or word. The latest were property crimes: abduction of a slave, theft, robbery and robbery.
Methods of reckoning
A judicial code of 1550 significantly complicated the system of punishments for crimes committed, and also introduced new ones - isolation and intimidation of the criminal. The worst punishment was, of course, the death penalty. Only the sovereign could cancel it. A very severe punishment was the so-called commercial execution, when the offender was whipped in the market square. Other corporal and self-punishment were also applied.
There were additional sanctions in the form of fines and other monetary penalties. They directly depended on the social status of the victim and the severity of the deed.
So briefly looks at the general characteristics of the Judicial Code of 1550. The document of the XVI century describes in sufficient detail the main principles of centralized Russian state management. It is worth noting that the code of laws of Ivan the Terrible is not only a historical monument, but also the foundation on which modern law is based.