The emergence of new regulations in ancient Russia was usually caused by significant changes in society. For example, the Judicial Code of 1550 appeared after the uprising of 1547, the Cathedral Code - after the rebellion of 1648.
In conditions of increasing complexity of feudal relations and the formation of a centralized state, new forms of legislative acts were necessary. They became statutory letters. They regulated the activities of nurses, limited to some extent their arbitrariness. The earliest such normative acts are considered Belozersky and Dvina statutory letters . The first was adopted in 1488, the second in 1397-1398. Consider their features.
Who accepted the Belozersky charter?
This normative act was put into effect after the Belozersky principality became part of Russia. Judging by the date, one can understand under which tsar the Belozersky charter was introduced into practice - this is Ivan III. This legal document became an example of the policy of the Grand Duke of Moscow in relation to the annexed lands. Separate norms Belozersky registered charter 1488 were included in the first all-Russian Code of Laws of 1497.
Structure
Belozersky registered charter included 23 articles. She was a collection of civil, administrative and procedural rules.
The first part of the document contained provisions on the distribution of powers between local authorities and the princely administration, secured the procedure for legal proceedings. The regulatory act determined the rights of trading people, the amount of duties levied on them.
Belozersky charter: characteristic of 1 part
This section regulated the duties of governors, as well as their judges. The first received money at the entrance of people to governorate. Accordingly, from here their name is entry. The size of the fee in the Belozersky charter was not determined. Payers themselves decided how much to pay.
After entering people, viceroyalty and Tiun fees (poop), as well as requisitions of closers, were collected. They were paid twice - at Christmas and on Peter's Day. The size of the former is 7 altyn and 2 money, and the latter is 3 altyn from the plow. Tiun feed was paid on the same days and accounted for half of the governor's feed. Closers of closers - 4 money for Christmas and 2 - for Peter's day. Viceroys, tyuns and closers did not have the right to collect duties themselves. They received them from sotskih in the city.
The governors, in addition to feed, received a clear duty from guests or visiting trade people. If the vessel was large, then the Whatman (his superior) paid the hryvnia and money for each person. Whatman of small ships paid only per person. If visiting merchants sold their goods in unspecified places, a commandment was taken from them and from direct sellers. Two rubles were charged from each - one received the governor, the other - customs. The goods themselves were taken and transferred to the income of the Grand Duke.
Managerial authority
The governor needed to divide the camps and volosts between the closers in such a way that each of them controlled a certain territory and did not enter another district. The closer was a kind of judicial police officer, a judicial investigator. He was sent to villages and villages to study matters on the spot. He could ride one horse without a worker. Where he had lunch, he could not sleep, and where he slept, he could not eat.
Tiunov, closers and governors were appointed once a year.
Court of law
It is mentioned in the second section of the Belozersky charter .
At the court of the governor or tyun should have been present "good people" and Sotsky. Without them, it was forbidden to judge.
In the Belozersky charter, the procedure for establishing court fees was enshrined. They were determined by the price of the claim. Each applicant had to preliminarily evaluate the requirements, and indicate the amount in the petition. If the plaintiff and the defendant put up before the court, they were charged in hryvnia. The same amount was established in the case when the dispute was brought to a duel, but the parties, having stood at the field, entered into a settlement agreement. If the duel was still held, then the loser had to pay the entire claim to the applicant, as well as a “baking sheet” against the demands of the governor, tyun and closer.
Criminal penalties
If someone committed tatba (theft), murder or robbery, the perpetrator was first charged with the victim’s lawsuit, and then the governor charged him with the sold and the fee to the treasury.
If it was not possible to establish a murderer, the camp or parish where the murdered person was discovered should have paid 4 rubles of fines.
If someone, having caught a thief, released him without transferring to the judicial authority, this was called lynching. The culprit paid 2 rubles to the governor.
If someone was found stolen, the same rules were observed that were established in Russian Truth. The owner of the identified property on the vaults searched for it until the 10th arch, until he found a person who indicated where he took this thing. If a person withdrew the charge, the governor did not receive duties from him.
In private
It was so called that the plaintiff, together with the bailiffs, seized the suspect from the castle. Everything that was visible in the house, in the yard was not considered red-handed. This definition is present in the Belozersky letter, but is absent in the Russian Truth and other previous regulatory documents.
Marriage Fees
They are mentioned in the third section of the letter. Fees for the extradition of girls to marriage were established for the governor and the sovereign foreman. If someone gave the daughter in marriage to another volost, then he would pay a "breeding marten." She made up Altyn. If they married “abroad,” that is, not in the Belozersky princedom, they paid 2 altyns. At the wedding, the marten was not charged in their parish. In this case, the governor was paid only the wedding ("newly-born ubrus"), amounting to 2 money. Vladychny foreman received 3 money for issuing a "sign" for the wedding.
Managerial Responsibility
Section 4 of the letter stated that in case of abuse of governors, tyuns or closers, people can complain to them to the Grand Duke. At the same time, they have the right to set the deadlines by which the perpetrators must appear for trial.
Dvina letter
This regulatory document was given to the Dvina region in 1397 by the Grand Moscow Prince Vasily Dmitrievich. At that time, the Dvinyans separated from the Novgorodians, to whom they obeyed for a rather long time.
Since after joining the Moscow Principality in the Dvina region a trial was to be conducted according to Moscow rules, the inhabitants turned to the Grand Duke with a request to give them such a normative act that they could be guided in litigation.
The Dvina letter contains mainly provisions regulating procedural issues and establishing income that the great ruler of Russia could use.
In this normative act, hanging was first introduced, the obligation of the community to extradite a murderer (murderer) to the governor was established. In the letter, the promise was defined as a bribe, provided for 2 forms of murder - intentional and unintentional. In addition, a new crime was enshrined in the normative act - an insult to a word, responsibility for theft for the third time was tightened. The letter provided for punishment for governors for neglect and abuse of authority. Since the Dvina region was part of the Moscow principality, they were responsible to the Moscow judiciary for all their actions.