THE ROLE OF THE VOLOST COURTS IN DAILY LIFE OF PEASANTS (ON THE MATERIALS OF ORLOV PROVINCE OF THE EARLY XX CENTURY)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the role of volost courts in the daily life of peasants of Orel province of the early XX century. The development of township proceedings occurred in the period from 1861 to 1917, the Power in the establishment of parish courts attempted to enter the peasant customary law in the sphere of formal law. Despite the positive trends, contemporaries attributed the lack of education of judges to the shortcomings of volost proceedings, the predominant influence of volost scribes, formalism in the analysis of cases, drunkenness and bribery and other negative aspects. This contributed to the reform of the volost court procedure, the introduction of the Institute of Zemstvo chiefs and later to the actual meeting in the system of magistrates ' courts. The volost court acted as the primary court, which allowed for appeals and cassation of its decisions. As a result, the volost courts have become increasingly subordinate to the formal judicial system. Modern researchers studying the history of volost legal proceedings, in General, note its positive impact on the development of legal relations in the village. In their opinion, the Institute of volost courts played an important role in the social and legal development of pre-revolutionary Russia. In General, the volost courts had a positive impact on the development of domestic legal proceedings, because thanks to their activities there was an acquaintance of peasants with civilized legal ways of resolving emerging problems.

Keywords

• volost court
• peasants
• orel province
• customary law
• justice
• legal consciousness