Legal Regulation of Village Courts at the End of the XIX Century – the Beginning of the XX Century: Formation and Competencies

In the Russian Empire in the XIX century – the beginning of the XX century there were a large number of local judicial bodies designed to quickly and effectively resolve minor civil disputes and punish minor offenses in accordance with religious, national or territorial customs. One of such bodies was the village court, established in 1870 in the Cossack territories, and then reformed in 1891 and divided into the court of village judges and the court of honorary judges. The purpose of this study is to identify the powers of the village courts and the legislative requirements for their personnel, to consider the genesis of the village court as one of the forms of local courts at the end of the XIX century. To achieve this goal, the Regulations on Public Administration in the Cossack troops were analyzed on May 13, 1870 and the Regulations on Public Administration of Cossack villages on June 03, 1891; the place and role of the village court in the system of Cossack self-government were shown; archival materials and works of modern scientists were reviewed. Dialectical, systemic, historical-genetic and comparative-legal methods were used in the study.

As a result of the conducted research, the conclusion is made about the village court as an important part of the Cossack public self-government. The electability of the judges of the village court ensured both the representation of the interests of the broad strata of the village, and the involvement of the most authoritative and conscientious Cossacks in public activities. The jurisdiction of the village courts was determined by law and enabled the village residents to resolve the vast majority of disputes on the spot, without resorting to trips to general judicial institutions.