Notes, Resolutions, and States in the System of Normative Legal Acts of the Russian Empire in the Early XIX Century

Abstract

In the early XIX century, the legal practice of the Russian Empire used several forms of normative legal acts. The legalized forms were provided for by Article 53 of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. The list included manifestos, decrees, instructions, etc. The author matched normative legal acts with the legal prescriptions that implemented them, as well as identified the forms of normative acts that were not provided for by the Code of Laws. The Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire also contained some other forms of normative acts, not mentioned in the Code. These other forms included timesheets, posters, plans, journals, etc., approved by the Emperor. States, resolutions, and notes were the most popular variants. States determined the composition of a specific business entity or element of a state mechanism, e.g., a ministry, an office, a police or military unit, etc. Sometimes, they indicated positions and corresponding salaries. Resolutions were Emperor’s written responses to an action (message or act) of a government representative. Notes were proposals of specific measures and actions sent to the Emperor by a government representative. The Emperor gave them legal force with certain formulas, e.g., To Execute or So Be It. These forms of acts were quite wide-spread during the reform period. The article describes the place of states, resolutions, and notes in the system of normative acts, as well as provides their quantitative analysis.

Keywords

• law
• sources of law
• normative legal act
• law of the xix century
• russian legislation
• complete collection of laws of the russian empire