Law enforcement activities of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth courts in right-bank Ukraine in the XVІІІ century

Abstract

The article is devoted to the law enforcement activities of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth courts in Right-Bank Ukraine during the XVIII century. The significance of judicial power in the life of the contemporary gentry corporation is investigated. The article describes the importance of Lithuanian charters for the reform of judicial institutions. The principles of formation, personnel and jurisdiction of the courts of first instance are outlined: land court, which considered civil proceedings; castle court dealt with criminal cases; sub-commerce court performed the function of establishing the boundaries of gentry land holdings. The principles of the work of the appellate institution, the Lublin tribunal, are presented. It is determined that in the XVIII century in the right-bank Ukraine there was a developed river-Polish judicial system, which provided protection of law by special bodies. The peculiarity of the created Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth judicial power was not only its creation in the region by the local elite, but also that it functioned without state intervention and guaranteed the dominance of the gentry in everyday life. The legal culture of the noble community demanded that "justice" be achieved during the trial. In fact, the local nobility of the Right Bank, which was responsible for social stability both in its environment and in the region, was interested in fair legal proceedings and respect for the rule of law.