Gendarmerie in the Habsburg Empire: legal framework, organizational structure, activities

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the organizational and legal aspects of the formation, reorganization, regulatory and legal support, and activities of the institute of gendarmes of the Habsburg dynasty, including in western Ukraine in the period of ser. XIX - early XX century. In the first quarter of the XIX century the process of organizational form of the military police, which became the prototype of the future gendarmerie, was actively underway. By establishing the institution of the gendarmerie, the government circles of the Austrian Empire sought to quickly find new, effective forms of public order and political stability in the state. The powers of the gendarmerie included the task of maintaining public order and ensuring state security, and during the war - the functions of the military police at headquarters of various levels. On the territory of Ukrainian lands, the gendarmerie had regional administrations - in Lviv for Galicia and Chernivtsi for Bukovina. The stages of reforming and regulatory support of gendarmerie structures, requirements for candidates, social guarantees are analyzed. It is proved that the legal institute of the gendarmerie was the result of a synthesis of law enforcement functions, military-type service organization, and political tasks. Legislative enforcement of reliable guarantees for the performance of gendarmes, high salaries, and social security, allowed to form a highly professional staff, and this allowed the gendarmes to provide a reliable mechanism for protecting law and order and the existing political system.