Changes in the judicial system on the territory of Belarus after incorporation into the Russian Empire (as a result of the three partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1772, 1793, 1795) are described in detail and comprehensively in this article. During the reign of Catherine II, the local judicial system had become the object of the governments activities aimed at streamlining it, strengthening state control over it, introducing a model of the judiciary based on the Russian model. In this context the introduction of the provincial reform of 1775 by Catherine II was especially important. At the same time, in the sphere of civil proceedings Polish language and local legal norms (the Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania of 1588 and the resolutions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealths Sejm) were remained. This contributed to adaptation of new courts to specificity of this territory. On the other hand, it was a sign of recognition and securing a special political and legal status for the western borderland of the empire. After the change on the Russian throne of Catherine II by her son Paul I, the structure of the judicial authorities of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was restored.
Source: Hushchynski I.H. (2019) Transformation of the judicial system in the territory of Belarus (1772–1796). Journal of the Belarusian State University. History. № 1: 34-45
Source web-site: https://journals.bsu.by/index.php/history/article/view/387/307
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