Judicial reform of Alexander II and its historical and legal significance for the Russian constitutional system
Abstract and keywords
Abstract (English):
Introduction. The article is devoted to the study of a number of historical and legal problems related to the evaluation of the results of the judicial reform of Alexander II (the second half of the 19th century). Considering whether the experience of this reform is applicable to the constitutional system of modern Russia, the author believes that although the Emperor Alexander II did not risk to make full-scale constitutional changes and octroy the constitution, his reforms as a whole and systemic unity constituted a fundamentally new state pattern, which, while preserving the principle of autocracy and a number of other key features of unlimited monarchy, demonstrated significantly updated state-legal forms of organization and activities of the public authority. Despite all the attractiveness of Alexander II’s plans, we cannot say today that they are really necessary for modern Russia in their completeness and authenticity, but what is very important for the modern theoretical and methodological assessment of the judicial reform is the pragmatism of the public administration of the second half of the 19th century. It preferred the path of democratization first of the judicial system and local (zemstvo) self-government, and only then, if it was necessary at all for the relevant historical and legal conditions of the Russian statehood development of period in question, constitutionalization of popular representation, universal and equal elections, multiparty system, separation of powers and supremacy of human rights. Methods. The work used a set of methods, which are developed and tested by historical and legal science and the theory of state and law. The methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, dialectical approach, method of comparative jurisprudence were especially actively used. Results. The author proves that the existing law enforcement system in modern Russia is incomplete, imperfect and should not be subjected to theoretical and methodological idealization in this regard. Besides, judicial activity, prosecutorial, investigative and police practices need further humanization based on the requirements of constitutional principles and norms. Partial use of the experience of judicial reform of the second half of the 19th century, especially in the context of the institutionalization of jury trials, could contribute significantly in achieving this goal.

Keywords:
judicial reform, reign of Alexander II, constitutionalization, jury trial, prosecutor’s office, judicial enquiry, sworn attorneys, police
Text
Text (PDF): Read Download
References

1. Selezneva N. M. O neprekhodyashchey tsennosti sudebnoy reformy Aleksandra II / Aleksandr II i yego vremya : K 200-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya : sbornik rabot yubileynoy Mezhdunarodnoy konferentsii, 17–19 dekabrya 2018 g. – Sankt-Peterburg: [b. i.], 2019. – S. 357–367.

2. Ternovtsov A. V. Velikaya sudebnaya reforma Aleksandra II // Chelovek i zakon. – 2021. – № 12. – S. 34–46.

3. Marenko A. V. Sudebnaya reforma Aleksandra II / Teoreticheskiye i prakticheskiye problemy razvitiya sovremennoy yuridicheskoy nauki : sbornik nauchnykh statey / pod obshch. red. B. M. Magomedova. – Rostov-na-Donu: Rostovskiy institut (filial) federal’nogo gosudarstvennogo byudzhetnogo obrazovatel’nogo uchrezhdeniya vysshego obrazovaniya «Vserossiyskiy gosudarstvennyy universitet yustitsii (RPA Minyusta Rossii)», 2017. – S. 68–70.

4. Il’in A. V. Sudebnyye reformy Aleksandra II kak pervyy shag k konstitutsionalizatsii Rossii / Prokuratura i sudebnaya sistema Rossii: istoriya i sovremennost’ : materialy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii, k 150-letiyu Sudebnoy reformy 1864 goda, 27 noyabrya 2014 g. – Sankt-Peterburg: Sankt-Peterburgskiy yuridicheskiy institut, 2015. – S. 20–23.

5. Lezhnin O. D. Razvitiye sudebnoy sistemy Rossii (ot reformy Aleksandra II do nastoyashchego vremeni) / Pravovoye obrazovaniye : sbornik nauchnykh statey / pod red. I. V. Bukharovoy, A. A. Nikitinoy. – Rostov-na-Donu: Rostovskiy institut (filial) federal’nogo gosudarstvennogo byudzhetnogo obrazovatel’nogo uchrezhdeniya vysshego obrazovaniya «Vserossiyskiy gosudarstvennyy universitet yustitsii (RPA Minyusta Rossii)», 2021. – T. 16. – S. 418–424.

6. Volchenko O. Yu. Sudebnaya reforma Aleksandra II kak istoriko-pravovaya predposylka razvitiya konstitutsionnogo instituta sudebnoy zashchity prav cheloveka v Rossii // Sovremennoye obshchestvo i pravo. – 2023. – № 5 (66). – S. 3–11.

7. Maksimov M. A. Sudebnaya reforma epokhi Aleksandra II v trudakh otechestvennykh issledovateley (kratkiy obzor) / Gosudarstvo i pravo: teoriya i praktika : sbornik nauchnykh statey / pod red. I. R. Mustafina. – Nizhniy Novgorod: Dyatlovy gory, 2023. – S. 38–39.

8. Dorskaya A. A. Sudebnaya reforma 1864 g. v kontekste pravovoy reformy Aleksandra II / Nauchnyye trudy. Rossiyskaya akademiya yuridicheskikh nauk : sbornik statey. – Moskva: Yurist, 2015. – Vyp. 15. – S. 110–115.

9. Lavitskaya M. I. Tendentsii razvitiya instituta svidetel’skikh pokazaniy v poreformennoy Rossiyskoy imperii / Aktual’nyye voprosy prava, ekonomiki i upravleniya : sbornik materialov II Vserossiyskoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii studentov, aspirantov i molodykh uchenykh, Ul’yanovsk, 24 aprelya 2020 g. – Cheboksary: Izdatel’skiy dom «Sreda», 2020. – S. 221–226.

10. Savenkova M. I. Vliyaniye sudebnoy reformy 1864 goda na stanovleniye sistemy sudov obshchey yurisdiktsii v Rossii // Yevraziyskiy yuridicheskiy zhurnal. – 2021. – № 5 (156). – S. 119–121.

11. Tsechoyev V. K., Ruban D. Ye. Vzaimovliyaniye prestupleniy i repressivnoy sistemy nakazaniy v inkvizitsionnoy yustitsii Rossiyskoy imperii 1864–1890-kh gg. // Vlast’ Zakona. – 2018. – № 1 (33). – S. 53–60.

12. Dashayev S. M. Sozdaniye instituta prisyazhnykh zasedateley – tsentral’nyy element sudebnoy reformy Aleksandra II / Festival’ prava : sbornik trudov VI Vserossiyskoy nauchnoy molodezhnoy konferentsii, 15 dekabrya 2020 g. – Stavropol’: Paragraf, 2021. – S. 65–69.

13. Bredikhin I. A. Effektivnost’ suda prisyazhnykh v ugolovnom protsesse: pravovoy analiz / Pravo, obshchestvo, gosudarstvo: istoriya, sovremennyye tendentsii i perspektivy razvitiya : sbornik trudov III Mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii studentov i magistrov, Lipetsk, 30 noyabrya 2022 g. / pod obshch. red. V. V. Solov’yovoy. – Voronezh: Avtonomnaya nekommercheskaya organizatsiya po okazaniyu izdatel’skikh i poligraficheskikh uslug «Nauka-Yunipress», 2022. – Ch. 2. – S. 78-83.

14. Averchenko A. K. Formirovaniye i razvitiye ugolovno-protsessual’nogo statusa sudebnogo sledovatelya v period sudebnykh reform Aleksandra II (1860–1864 gody) // Istoriko-pravovyye problemy: novyy rakurs : setevoye izdaniye. – 2014. – № 9. – S. 217–231. – URL: https://ipp.kursksu.ru/magazine/archive/number/118 (data obrashcheniya: 18.02.2024).

15. Bastrykin A. I. Ot sledstvennykh kantselyariy do sledstvennogo komiteta // Rassledovaniye prestupleniy: problemy i puti ikh resheniya. – 2017. – № 4. – S. 9–15.

16. Tarakanova N. G. Pravovoye obespecheniye nezavisimosti sudebnoy vlasti v Rossii: sudebnaya reforma Aleksandra II // Sovremennoye obshchestvo i vlast’. – 2016. – № 3 (9). – S. 21–24.

17. Dikovskaya L. I. Sudebnaya reforma Aleksandra Vtorogo / Evolyutsiya rossiyskogo prava : materialy XX Mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy konferentsii molodykh uchenykh i studentov, 28–29 aprelya 2022 g. – Yekaterinburg: Ural’skiy gosudarstvennyy yuridicheskiy universitet, 2022. – S. 134–141.

18. Markhgeym M. V., Tonkov Ye. Ye. Sudebnaya reforma v Rossii: preyemstvennost’ i modernizatsiya // Nauchnyye vedomosti Belgorodskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Filosofiya. Sotsiologiya. Pravo. – 2014. – № 16. – S. 241–252.

19. Denisov I. S., Allalyyev R. M., Katsarskiy M. I., Smirnov M. G. Sravnitel’naya kharakteristika sostoyaniya sudebnoy sistemy Rossiyskoy imperii do i posle sudebnoy reformy 1864 goda. Chast’ 1 // Bylyye gody. – 2022. –№ 17 (3). – S. 1189–1196.

20. Anfalov A. A., Khudoborodov A. L. Vliyaniye sudebnoy reformy 1864 goda na modernizatsiyu rossiyskogo obshchestva vtoroy poloviny XIX – nachala XX vekov // Vestnik Yuzhno-Ural’skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Sotsial’no-gumanitarnyye nauki. – 2013. – № 1. – S. 8–10.

21. Lapteva L. Ye., Nemytina M. V., Mikheyeva Ts. Ts. Zemstvo i mirovoy sud v Rossii: organizatsiya publichnoy vlasti na mestnom urovne // Bylyye gody. – 2019. – № 54 (4). – S. 1679–1691.

Login or Create
* Forgot password?