Juridical Life Research Articles

European course of Republic of Moldova: socioeconomical and juridical aspects

The article analyzes various aspects of socioeconomic and juridical life of the Republic of Moldova in the context of European integration. The author pays special attention to the functionality of state institutions and the level of trust, perception of the population regarding the quality of the act of justice, the quality of the act of government as a whole. The analysis reveals major problems that need to be solved from the perspective of bringing our country closer to the community space, to join the European Union. The extensive use of the results of different sociological investigations allows the author to make a comparative and dynamic analysis of the situation in the field of justice and other fields of activity.

Myths of Violence

This essay critically addresses ten prevailing assumptions about violence: (1) violence is natural; (2) violence comes easily to humans; (3) violence attacks a juridical life; (4) violence is the result of underdevelopment; (5) violence is the result of difference; (6) violence is a sign of absolute power; (7) violence is associated with some death drive; (8) violence can be intelligent through a mastery of technology; (9) the opposite of violence is a just peace; and (10) violence is an assault on the sacred meaning of life. In doing so, it opens up a conversation on the meaning of political violence and makes an impassioned call to free ourselves from sacred myths that bind us to a problem that still appears insurmountable.

Frison, Philippe and Sevastyanova, Olga (eds) Novgorod ou la Russie oubliée. Une république commerçante (XII e –XV e siècles) (review)

REVIEWS 345 some reflections on the potential of psychoanalysis here; but, although Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams was translated into Russian in 1904 and sold more copies in Russia before the First World War than in any other country, Markov does not seem to have engaged with it. Because the impact of African art on the Russian avant-garde was less obvious than that of other more loaded sources of ‘primitivism’ and perhaps because of Markov’s untimely death at the age of thirty-six in 1914, the subject has tended to be overlooked. But it is a rewarding and highly relevant one. Vladimir Markov and Russian Primitivism: A Charter for the Avant-Garde is fascinating precisely because it throws light on aspects of the avant-garde that were never completely resolved but which nevertheless expose some of the diverse intellectual processes that lay behind the explosion of Russian creativity at a most crucial time. Howard, Buzinska and Strother should be congratulated for bringing a swathe of new material and analyses to this dynamic and complex phenomenon. Christie’s Education Andrew Spira Frison, Philippe and Sevastyanova, Olga (eds). Novgorod ou la Russie oubliée. Une république commerçante (XIIe –XVe siècles). Le Ver à Soie, Paris, 2015. 459 pp. Maps. Illustrations. Figures. Notes. Chronology. Bibliography. Indexes. €59.00 (paperback). For French readers, discovering a new book in their language dedicated to the history of Novgorod should be a thrill. So far, there has been only a recent exhibition catalogue, focusing mainly on the archaeology of the city: Russie viking: vers une autre Normandie? Novgorod et la Russie du Nord, des migrations scandinaves à la fin du Moyen-âge (VIIIe –XVe s.), edited by Sandrine Berthelot et d’Alexandre Musin (Paris and Caen, 2011. The book is not cited here). Part encyclopedia, part handbook, Novgorod, ou la Russie oubliée covers almost every aspect of the city’s life during its Golden Age, from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries. It is divided into five parts: 1. ‘Novgorod and its geographical context:TheBalticandSlavicmacrocosm,themicrocosmofthecity’;2.‘Political and juridical life’; 3. ‘Economic and social life’; 4. ‘Religious and cultural life’; 5. ‘Novgorod in the historiography: from local chronicles to the Novgorodian myth’. Among the twenty-seven chapters, some excellent contributions stand out. Jukka Korpela on Novgorod’s relations with Nordic countries (ch. 3), Lidia Korczak on relations with Lithuania (ch. 4), Thomas Stiglbrunner on Novgorod’s topography (ch. 6), Claire Lefeuvre on Birch bark documents (ch. 17). Catherine Squires’s articles on Novgorod’s relations with the West (ch. 4), ‘Foreign trading stations’ (ch. 15), and ‘Cultural relations between Novgorod SEER, 94, 2, APRIL 2016 346 and the West’ (ch. 23) are among the best parts of the book. Unfortunately, some other sections are weaker and demonstrate evident contradictions. It is true that an authorial collective is not obliged to follow one single line, the days of Soviet historiography being over, but at times the reader feels that perhaps the book would have benefited from it. Not surprisingly, the volume bears the mark of Valentin Lavrentevich Ianin, who has dominated Novgorod studies for over half a century. Ianin’s masterful book about Novgorod’s posadniki (two editions, 1962 and 2004), his consistent participation in archaeological diggings, his publication of Old-Russian seals, his reading and editing of the birch bark documents, all deserve admiration. Yet, as the authors note, a major part of his work, written under the inspiration of Marxist ideology, privileged the perspective of class struggle (p. 378), and he also contributed to ‘develop[ing] the myth of an almost general alphabetization of Novgorod’s population’ (p. 379). The editors of the volume, therefore, face a dilemma. They want to overturn Ianin’s theories, but are obliged to do so on the basis of his foundational research. In the end, they abandon their revolt. Ianin’s theory about Novgorod’s foundation is reproduced on p. 36, before Olga Sevastyanova’s short chapter on the same subject (pp. 41–44). Chapter twenty-seven, which gives an overview of Novgorod’s history, is merely a translation of Ianin’s theses (V. L. Ianin, Ocherki istorii srednevekovogo Novgoroda, Moscow, 2008, pp. 375–39...

The Commentaries on the Tridentine Decrees in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: The First Remarks on a Category of 'Prohibited' Works

The Commentaries on the Tridentine Decrees in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries:The First Remarks on a Category of 'Prohibited' Works* Lorenzo Sinisi The Canones et decreta of the Council of Trent were first officially published in Rome by Paolo Manuzio in March, 1564. They undoubtedly constituted a text of primary reference and played a central role within the framework of sources of canon law throughout the long period that extended from their publication to the creation of the first Codex iuris canonici almost a century ago. This set of laws – particularly those of a disciplinary character, which were, for the first time, clearly separated from those of a dogmatic nature – was certainly not intended to overturn the system inherited from the mediaeval period, the essential basis of which was to be found in the collections of the Corpus iuris canonici. Nevertheless, it did not fail to innovate numerous points (over 200 according to a census made in the second half of the 18th century) of the law encompassed within those same collections. Thus, it soon came to constitute a revision of and a complement to them, becoming indispensable to teaching, judicial practice and the care of souls.1 [End Page 209] And yet, despite this evident central role in the juridical life of the Church, in the years following the Council – from the last decades of the sixteenth century to the middle of the seventeenth — we have no record of teachings devoted specifically to the 'lectura' of the Tridentine decrees in university and ecclesiastical institutions. Likewise, we have very few traces of exegetical and doctrinal works dealing with the decrees; and this in a period when publishers were already busily engaged in reproducing the text, possession of which had been prescribed by a considerable number of bishops in their synodal legislation as obligatory for the clergy.2 The reason for this anomaly is well known. It is to be found in a passage of the papal bull Benedictus Deus, whereby Pius IV confirmed all the Tridentine decrees, en bloc and without modifications, thereby meeting the request made by the assembly during the closing session of the Council;3 indeed, besides [End Page 210] ratifying all the Council's rules and prescribing their full observance 'ab omnibus Christifidelibus', the pope approved a rigorous ban on writing and publishing 'commentarios, glossas, annotationes, scholia, ullumve omnino interpretationis genus super ipsius Concilii decretis' without express authorisation from the Apostolic See.4 Infringement of this ban would elicit severe punishment, including excommunication 'latae sententiae'. The stated purpose was therefore to prevent the reform delineated in the decrees from being adulterated or nullified by arbitrary interpretations. This provision fits into a long-standing tradition of diffidence towards doctrinal 'interpretatio', as manifested not only in civil legislation, from the Justinian's texts up to the later medieval collections of 'ius proprium', but also in canon law, as clearly witnessed by Nicholas III's papal bull Exiit qui seminat of 1279.5 At the time when it was written, the ban issued by Pope Pius was much more restrictive than the one included in the 1279 bull, in that it made no reference even to the legitimacy of literal interpretation. However, it had consequences that were much more far-reaching. Indeed, it gave rise to a situation that was objectively unfavorable to the development of canonical doctrine by the traditional channels and methods. Moreover, it paved the way to the establishment of the Congregation of the Council, which, alongside its original executive duties of applying the Council reform, would very soon assume the prerogative to sanction an authentic interpretation of the disciplinary decrees.6All of this [End Page 211] came about because, unlike the above-mentioned Justinian and statutory bans, which actually had very little effect, Pius' provision was perceived as something that really did have to be observed. At least this was so outside the reformed camp, in which markedly critical initiatives had flourished right from the outset, such as the comments of Martin Chemnitz and Innocent Gentillet.7 A deterrent that was even more effective than the gravity of the sanctions themselves was the fear of their implementation, which at the time seemed to...

Adulteresses and fornicatresses in Serbian law in the first half of the XIX century

The work was published in Serbian language in the review “Juridical Life”, t. II, 2013, nr 10, p. 205–221.

International Relations as Juridical Life: Rethinking ‘the International’ in International Theory

This article advances an account of “the international” in which “juridical life” is taken as the dominant ethic and ultimately the force of “the international” within the discipline of international relations. It evaluates the foundational myths of international politics in terms of its capacity to exercise juridical power, in the service of the state as a geopolitical entity. It examines the ethics of doing “the international” and how rationalities of the international are contained within legalist rationalities of international politics. Drawing upon the ideas of Giorgio Agamben, it proposes an alternative conceptualisation of international life in which the juridical is dispossessed of its political rationality. Such an outlook allows for the reframing of international politics at a critical distance from geopolitical orthodoxies within international theory and opens up new possibilities for ethics in international politics.

Educating law students as good citizens Is the Romanian legal education system ready to fulfill its social mission?

In the last twenty years, Romania has made a long quest from the Communist centralized learning system to the world ideal of academic self-determination and responsibility. Yet nowadays law graduates do not consider themselves ready for a juridical life. Even if they know the law very well, they are not able to operate with it, at the beginning of their career. The purposes of our study are to identify the causes of this situation and to recommend some solutions.

Canon Law and Ecumenism

The Jurist 69 (2009) 171–189 171 CANON LAW AND ECUMENISM1 Walter Cardinal Kasper* Four years ago the Church commemorated the fortieth anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council. In these days the Church commemorates the twenty fifth anniversary of the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law. These two events are intimately and intentionally linked to each other; and it is the task of this paper to reflect on the relationship between the two of them regarding the ecumenical commitment promoted by Vatican II and canon law. This presentation will focus in particular on the Church’s commitment to restore the unity of all Christians as one of the guiding principles of the council. The author will ask how this commitment was received in the Code of Canon Law and in the later juridical activities of the Church. The intention of this paper It is not the author’s intention to reflect on specific norms in the Code of Canon Law or on other post-conciliar legislative texts that address particular ecumenical questions, such as inter-confessional marriages, ecclesiastical funerals for baptized non-Catholic marriage partners, or the ecumenically crucial problem of communicatio in sacris. These questions are surely important for the everyday life of the Church and of many Christians, especially those who live in inter-confessional marriages and families, a notable problem especially in those local churches where there is a large number of non-Catholic faithful. But such kinds of questions, which were officially addressed in the 1993 Ecumenical Directory, are not within the area of the author’s direct professional competence. The author will concentrate rather on questions of principle, such as the general relation between ecclesial doctrine, in our case the doctrine * President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. 1 The present text was originally a lecture entitled “Diritto canonico ed ecumenismo” given by Walter Cardinal Kasper on January 11, 2008 at the Pontifical Salesian University (Pontificia Università Salesiana) on the occasion of the twenty fifth anniversary of the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law. The editor of The Jurist is especially grateful to Cardinal Kasper for permission to translate the text into English and publish it here. He also thanks Father Markus Graulich, SDB and Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp, Belgium for their invaluable assistance in preparing the translation. 172 the jurist of the Second Vatican Council, and canon law, especially insofar as canon law has an impact on ecumenism. The author will not enter into the problems raised by some of our ecumenical partners coming especially from a Protestant tradition, who ask whether it is possible or even permissible to translate the gospel and ecclesial doctrines into juridical terms at all.2 According to the Catholic understanding codification is legitimate and even helpful for the purposes of a concrete realization and application of the gospel and ecclesial doctrines within the body of the Church and in its everyday life. Nevertheless, even for Catholic doctrine there remain open some questions regarding theology and canon law. For example, one may ask: in what sense and to what degree can and must canon law be understood as a juridical interpretation and application of church doctrines? Or can one perhaps note a transformation from one level to another level through canon law, a displacement that is not simply terminological? The author does not intend and is not in a position to give final answers to all these questions and to the questions which will be raised subsequently . Rather he desires to reflect concretely on the question: What does it mean for the Church’s juridical life that the Church at Vatican II committed itself explicitly and irrevocably to the promotion of the unity of Christians (UR 1, Ut unum sint [UUS] 3)? The purpose of this paper is to discover not only how the interpretation, drafting, and application of juridical norms can contribute to the implementation of the ecumenical thrust of the council, but also, and above all, how canon law itself can foster the restoration of the unity of Christians. The Commitment to Ecumenism The author’s intention to speak about the “commitment to ecumenism ” in relation to canon law...

The Doctrine of the People of God and Hierarchical Authority as Service in Latin Church Legislation on the Local Church

* Catholic Theological Faculty, University of Erfurt, Germany. 1 Pope Benedict XVI prefers to speak of a “hermeneutic of reform” and not of “a hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture.” See his address to the Roman Curia as Christmas greetings on December 22, 2005: published as Ansprache von Papst Benedikt XVI. an das Kardinalskollegium und die Mitglieder der Römischen Kurie beim Weihnachtsempfang am 22. Dezember 2005, Verlautbarungen des Apostolischen Stuhls, Nr. 172 (Bonn: Sekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz, 2006) 10ff. 328 The Jurist 68 (2008) 328–349 THE DOCTRINE OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD AND HIERARCHICAL AUTHORITY AS SERVICE IN LATIN CHURCH LEGISLATION ON THE LOCAL CHURCH Myriam Wijlens* More than forty years after the council and almost twenty five years after the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law it seems rather appropriate to investigate the contribution that post conciliar juridical structures have made to the reception of the teaching of Vatican II in the Latin Church. Or to phrase this in the form of a question: what contribution did the legislation of the Church make so that the council could shape the lives of people and the life of the Church? To investigate such a question implies working on the basis of three presumptions: first, that legal structures can make a contribution to the reception of the council or by the same token could also hamper it; second, that there is an intended connection between the council and the post conciliar juridical life of the Church; and third, that a modality can be found allowing for a secure way to judge the reception of Vatican II. It will be necessary to attend to these presumptions before we can address the central question of this contribution. That central question finds its origin in the great reform1 in the ecclesiology of Vatican II vis-à-vis the pre-Vatican II ecclesiology, namely to see the Church not so much as a perfect society with a strong focus on the hierarchical structure, but more as the people of God and hierarchical authority as service. When this doctrine is taken as a hermeneutical criterion , two questions may be raised: first, how well was the doctrine received in the legislation of the Church? And second, what role does and should it play today not only in the interpretation but also, and in particular , in the application of the legislation, that is, when law and life meet? Whereas the former question can be answered by attending to the promulgated legislation and thus might produce a reliable and verifiable answer , the latter one will be more speculative in nature, because it is more 2 For a reflection on the application of the law see Myriam Wijlens, “Das zweite Vatikanum als Fundament für die Anwendung des Rechtes: Hermeneutische Reflexionen und praktische Konsequenzen,” Theologie der Gegenwart 50 (2007) 2–14. 3 The papers reflecting the first results of the investigation conducted by the members of the Peter and Paul Seminar are published in The Jurist 64 (2004) 1–360. 4 In the previous research project this author focused on the cooperation of bishops in supra national or continental structures. See Myriam Wijlens, “Exercising Collegiality in a Supra-national or Continental Institution such as the FABC, CCEE and ComECE,” The Jurist 64 (2004) 168–204. This study revealed that the different juridical responses to the nature of the power exercised by these institutions depend very much on one’s ecclesiological point of departure. If one starts from membership in the college of bishops without too much attention being paid to the connection of the bishop to the local church, this will imply that such cooperation is considered to involve only a few members of the college and thus cannot be given too much weight, since the few cannot speak for the whole college . If, on the other hand, one starts from the perspective that membership in the college and responsibility for a local church are concurrent, this implies that the bishop is to be a pontifex between the local church and the universal Church and vice versa. Both these perspectives reflect the weakness of the fact that they still start from the perspective of bishops and not from the local...

The Law as Index, Phenomenon, and Element—Conceptual Steps Toward a General Sociology of Law*

“The general life of society cannot extend its sway without juridical life extending its sway at the same time and in direct relation” (Durkheim, 1933, p. 65).