Anita Boros, Gyula Koi (eds): Sustainability and Law
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8.Other socio-legal, historical and general aspects
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8.4. Sustainability, law, administration. Historical background of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation/Soviet Union (Gyula Koi)
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8.4.2. Historical Foundations of Statehood in China and Russia

8.4.2. Historical Foundations of Statehood in China and Russia

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The root of the ancient Chinese State was the so-called hydraulic, well-field (pump-field) system (Chin. 井田制度; Jǐngtián zhìdù; Fr. systéme de champs communaux; Ger. Brunnfeldsystem), from which walled (constructed) cities (settlements with ‘walls and markets’) developed. The importance of well lands and the walls surrounding them was already prominent at the beginning of the state’s formation.1

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The historians of the agricultural civilisation wrote about mythical dynasties that never existed, but the real origin of the Chinese State goes back to 221 BC, to Qin Shi Huangdi, i.e. Emperor Qin Shi (259-210 BC, re. 221-210 BC), the founder of the Qin dynasty. The literate officials were the so-called mandarins (for their importance, see what is written in point 3). Already in ancient times, there existed a specific rule for calculating deadlines. This rule relied on the institution of official holidays, – days off from work – which were unknown to either farmers or merchants. In the early centuries, they were allowed to take care of their own (family) affairs every fifth day, and later, for a millennium, every tenth day, if their family was within reach. Perhaps this is why Confucius (551-479 BC), also known as Kung-zi, or Master Kung, the creator of the state philosophy of the Chinese State, could say: ‘He who plows often goes hungry; but he who studies, gains income through it.’2

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The most seminal legal documentof the Kievan Rus’ state from the 11th century is the Russkaja Pravda (lit. “Russian Justice/Truth”). Its antecedents were the princely legislation and judicial practice that preceded it. Three versions are known. The first is the short version (Rus. Русская Правда Краткой Редакции; Russkaja Pravda kratkoj redakcii), which was created during the reign of the Grand Prince of Kiev Jaroslav I the Wise (979-1054, reign: 1019-1054). It mainly contained rules of customary law, criminal law and private law, which were intertwined with new rules established by the ruler. For example, the possibility of clan blood feud remained among freedmen, but tariff compensation or composition (Lat. compositio tarifalis) could serve as a form of monetary redemption. The second version is the extended Pravda (Rus. Русская правда простанной редакции; Russkaja Pravda prostannoj redakcii), a 12th-century compilation, which was issued under the baton of Prince Vladimir Vsevolodovič Monomach. It supplemented the previous rules with rules of legislative organisational law;land ownership was also a prominent issue discussed.3

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The third version is the abridged Pravda (Rus. Русская Правда сокращенной редакции; Russkaja Pravda sokraščennoj redakcii), which owes its name to the fact that the 15th-century copies contain a mechanically abbreviated text, with additions applied to the changed conditions of the 15th century. The source of East Slavic law is the Greek Orthodox Church Law of Byzantine origin. A notable product of the turn of the 14th-15th centuries is the Novgorod-Pskov Sudnaja Gramota, or Judicial Knowledge, a collection of laws. In the 15th century, a new form of legislation appeared, the Tsar’s open order, the ukaz. The Code of Laws of Ivan III (1440-1505, reign: 1462-1505), the I. Sudebňik, or Code of Laws of 1497, codified the litigation activities of the courts. The II. Sudebňik dates from 1550, from the time of Ivan IV the Terrible (1530-1584, reign: 1547-1584). In the 15th-16th centuries, the Russian Orthodox Church Law was also reformed. In 1649, the national assembly, the Zemskij Sabor (Rus. Земский Собор, lit. ‘Assembly of the Land’) approved the National (Cathedral) Code of Laws (Rus. Соборное Уложение; Sobornoje Uložeňije), which consolidated the serf system for a long time.4

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The Hungarian-born professor of Ruthenian origin, who earned a doctorate in law from the University of Pest and began his career as a professor of Staatswissenschaft-type political science at the Law Academy in Oradea (Hun. Nagyvárad), Mihály Balugyánszky (1769-1847, in Hungary/country of origin taught: 1789-1803; abroad [Russian Empire] taught: 1803-1813), the founding rector of the legal predecessor of today’s St. Petersburg State University (the Tsarist University of St. Petersburg, founded in 1819, later the Andrej Aleksandrovič Ždanov State University of Leningrad, the second most important Russian higher education institution), and Michail Michailovič Speranskij, (1764-1832) who summarised Russian private law in the 15-volume code of laws entitled Collection of Laws [Rus. Свод законов; Svod zakonov] in 1832.5

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We note that the best and most reliable Russian collection of laws – text edition (of Russkaja Pravda) is the work of a German author, Leopold Karl Goetz (1868-1931). This monograph and its annotated German translation are still exemplary today.6

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

An analysis of the complete Russkaja Pravda revealed several themes, including: criminal legislation, the institution of fines, blood money, the system of fines, princely tribunal, property protection, theft, arson and robbery, illegal bird hunting, debts, slave trade, the fire and water test, the law of inheritance, and the procedure for proving. Of the regulations, the prince (Rus. царь; tsar’) held his tribunal in the castles. The right to administer justice was delegated to a deputy (Rus. mхим; thim), criminal cases were handled by a judge (Rus. вирник; virnik), and the judges were assisted by a scribe (Rus. mетельник; metelnik). The code did not establish corporal punishment against free Russians.7
1 Ecsedy (1987) op. cit. 9-24., 84-111.
2 Ecsedy I. (1990). Hétköznapok és ünnepek a régi Kínában. [Weekdays and Holidays in Ancient China]. (Budapest: Corvina). 78-79. ISBN: 963-13-2894-5
3 Horváth P. (1957). A középkori falusi földközösség jogtörténeti vonatkozásai. Tudományok doktora (DSc) értekezés. [Legal aspects of the medieval village land community. Doctor of Science (DSc) thesis.]. (Budapest: Author’s own publication). 36. ISBN no.
4 Horváth P. (1994). A keleti szláv (feudális) jog. [East Slavic (feudal) law]. In: Horváth P., Kajtár I., Nagy L., Révész T. M., Stipta I., Zlinszky J.: Általános jogtörténet I. [General legal history I.]. ( Eds.: Horváth P., Révész T. M.). (Budapest: Nemzeti Tankönyvkiadó) 162-167. On the typology of legal development and the connections between comparative law and legal history: Horváth P. (1974). Tudománytörténeti és módszertani kérdések a jogtörténet köréből. [Historical and methodological issues in the field of legal history.]. (Budapest: Közgazdasági és Jogi Könyvkiadó). 502. ISBN: 963-220-042-X
5 Földi-Hamza (1998) op. cit. 76. At this point in the sub-chapter, it is necessary to refer to the very deep source processing of the history of Russian-Hungarian relations, regarding which it is now possible to refer only to the two most typical domestic works: Hodinka A. (1916). Az orosz évkönyvek magyar vonatkozásai. „Az orosz évkönyvek teljes gyűjteménye” (Polnoe sobranie Russkich’ Letopisej) köteteiből a M.[agyar] Tud.[ományos] Akadémia Történeti Bizottsága megbízásából fordította:--.--. [“The Complete Collection of Russian Annals” (Polnoe sobranie Russkich’ Letopisej) by order of the Historical Committee of the H.[ungarian] Academy of Sci[ences]:--.--.]. (Budapest: MTA). (4), 510. ISBN no.; Font M. ed., trans., int., comm. (1996). Magyarok a Kijevi Évkönyvben. [Hungarians in the Kievan Annals]. (Szeged: Szegedi Középkorász Műhely). 350. ISBN: 963 482 151 2 Szegedi Középkortörténeti Könyvtár 11.
6 Goetz, L. K. (1910-1911). Das Russische Recht (Russkaja Pravda) I. Die älteste Redaktion des Russischen Rechtes II. Die zweite Redaktion des Russischen Rechtes. (Stuttgart:Verlag von Ferdinand Enke). viii, 312.; viii, 282.
7 Lázár G. (1890).A Ruszkaja pravda. - Az orosz jog, [Ruskaja pravda. - Russian law]. In: Lázár G.: Az Orosz Birodalom történelme I. A legrégibb időktől egészen Dimitrij Konstantinovič nagyfejedelem haláláig -1362. [History of the Russian Empire I. From the Most Ancient Times to the Death of Grand Duke Dimitrij Konstantinovič -1362.] (Temesvár: Csanád Egyházmegyei Könyvsajtó). 140-151. On the problems of separating crimen and delictum: Goetz (1910-1911) op. cit. I. 227-228. On inheritance (in the case of boyars, widows, and peasants): Goetz (1910-1911) op. cit. I. 53-55.
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