Habsburški mejni kordon proti Osmanskemu cesarstvu kot branik zdravja in njegove kazenskopravne osnove

Abstract

In the 16th century, the Habsburgs started constructing a defensive buffer zone known as the Military Frontier to deter Ottoman incursions. The region was deliberately militarised and fell under full military administration along with its civilian population. As the Ottoman threat gradually diminished from the late 17th century onwards, the Military Frontier lost its defensive significance. However, due to the severe risk of infectious diseases, especially the plague, spreading from the southeast, the authorities made use of the military regime at the border to combat epidemics. They assigned the military cordon the task of a permanent sanitary cordon, enhancing the existing infrastructure and adapting the health regime to the strict hierarchical system of the military administration. In addition to the norms regulating the cordon’s structure and the implementation of security measures at the border, criminal regulations aimed at ensuring prevention and thereby protecting public health were also drawn up. This contribution presents the genesis of the cordon, analyses the relevant criminal code regulations from the 18th and 19th centuries, and evaluates their effect.