[Primary sources of the Judicial reform of Alexander II.] The Judicial Statutes of November 20, 1864, with the ...

[Primary sources of the Judicial reform of Alexander II.] The Judicial Statutes of November 20, 1864, with the reasoning on which they are based. Parts III and IV.
St. Petersburg. In The Printing House Of The Second Department Of Its Own E. I. V. Office, 1866. - LVII, 237, [1], 58 p.; IV, 145, [1] p. Hardcover combined; enlarged format (17.5 x 26 cm). The binding is worn, the spine is completely lost; rare foxings on the pages.

[The judicial system that existed at the beginning of the reign of Alexander II in Russia was defined in basic terms by the "Institution of the Provinces" of 1775. The judicial system consisted of three levels: county, provincial, and national. The system reflected the general features of the legislation of the era of Catherine II — wide electability, collegiality, a combination of separate class institutions at the lower level, mixed colleges with the representation of different classes at the middle level and government agencies at the top.

A comprehensive reform of the judicial system and judicial proceedings, known as the Judicial Reform of Alexander II, was developed in 1861-1863, approved in 1864 and carried out in 1866-1899.

The reform provided for a complete change in the judicial system, with the creation of two branches of the courts-magistrates and general judicial institutions, each of which had two instances (justices of the peace and world congresses; district courts and judicial chambers)and the Cassation Departments of the Senate as a general third instance.

The reform has significantly changed the principles and procedures of judicial proceedings: the court became transparent, open and oral, with an adversarial process, in which the parties received equal rights to provide and refute evidence; a judicial investigation was introduced into the criminal process, which checked the data of the preliminary investigation. The institution of juries was created, which were called for the trial of those accused of serious criminal offenses. The trial of the case in the courts was limited to two instances (first and appeal), for the jury - one instance, and for all cases-one cassation instance.

The judicial branch was completely separated from the administrative branch; the judicial investigation was separated from the police and became procedurally independent. The judges of the general courts became permanent, and the justices of the peace became elected for a term. In addition to the court itself, the judicial investigation, the prosecutor's office, the notary office were reformed, and the estate of sworn attorneys (the bar) was created. The reform was accompanied by the replacement of judicial personnel, which led to a significant improvement in the skills of judicial officials and the elimination of corruption. The fundamental documents of the reform were the Judicial Statutes of 1864 (the Establishment of judicial Seats, the Statute of Criminal Proceedings, the Statute of Civil Proceedings, the Statute on Punishments Imposed by Justices of the Peace).]