Reforms of the Military Judicial System of Switzerland in 1799-1800: on the Question of French Influence

Abstract

The proposed article is devoted to the history of two reforms of military justice in Switzerland – 1799 and 1800. It describes a chronologically small but very important stage of the transition to a new military-judicial organization associated with foreign interference in the affairs of the country. The purpose of the study is to present the main changes in the military justice of Switzerland and the degree of influence on them of the French institutions of the late XVIII century. The object of study here is the military-judicial law of the Helvetic Republic, reflected in the laws of July 27, 1799 and November 24, 1800. The subject of the study is the process of reforming military justice in Switzerland at the reception of the norms of French law. When working on the materials of the topic, the comparative historical research method, contextual analysis of legal documents and structural and functional analysis of judicial and legal institutions of the two countries were applied. As a result, the study showed that the reforms created a new system of military justice, which was connected only with the military organization and did not depend on the cantonal affiliation of military personnel. The reform of 1799 differed from the reorganization of 1800 by the greater radicalism and democracy of the institutions created, which corresponded to the political aspirations of various ruling groups that succeeded each other in the Helvetic Republic leadership. Nevertheless, both reforms were oriented towards the assimilation of the French experience of the military judicial system of the era of the Great Revolution. The borrowing of foreign military-judicial law in Helvetia was not limited to the complete copying of foreign norms, Swiss legislators were able to show a certain originality in their adoption. The main difference of the Swiss military judicial organization was the introduction of a three-tier system of military courts and the preservation of the institution of disciplinary councils, which in the French Republic by the end of the XVIII century already ceased to exist.