The Middle Ages Legislation

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a polyethnic country with the majority of the Belarusians and minorities of the Zhamoity, the Ukrainians, and the Polish.

The Belarusians-Lithuanians were characterized by democracy founded in the community traditions of the Polatsk principality of the times of Rahvalod and Usiaslau Charadzei. Democracy led to the spirit of freedom, formed moral and legal views on independence and understanding of personal values. These very principles were the basis for the principal legislation documents of the Duchy and, first of all, of the Statute book – The Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Three versions of The Statute are known –of 1529, 1566 and 1588. The thirdversion, considered to be the most perfect, was compiled by the best lawyers supervised by oustanding politicians of the Middle Ages, Chancellor of the GDL Astafei Valovich and his follower Leu Sapieha.

The Statute of 1588 was the most perfect collection of legislation documents in Europe at that lime. The third Statute book was in force for two and a half centuries until 1840. It was intelligible because of being written in vernacular Belarusian. Meanwhile, Roman law with its principal ideas in Latin prevailed in the majority of European countries at that time, and Latin was not clear for common people. Every state document in the GDL was written in Belarusian. This can be easily proved by the archives of the Duchy called the Metric of the GDL. It numbers 600 volumes of state documents which were removed to Russia, and are now kept in Moscow.

With the Statute as the basis for a legal state, not personal will but government, ruled by law, was established. The Statute of 1529 was adopted as the only law for everyone in the GDL. According to the Statute of 1566 the major and minor nobility, middle classes, and peasants became citizens enjoying their full rights. The Duke's power was restricted by state institutions, such as Soim and Rada. The power was divided into legislative, executive, and judicial.

The Grand Duchy Statute of 1588 is rightfully considered to be a classical example of legislation of the Middle Ages. It confirmed the sovereignty of the Duke, established social and political systems of the state, rights and duties of the people, and the principles of a legal system. The Statute officially declared religious tolerance and was responsible for every person's rights, with no connection to his social position and faith. The Grand Duke was obliged to guard the borders of the Duchy and try to return the lost lands. The criminal law was worked out in details, and the presumption of innocence was introduced. The Statute of 1588 seems to be the first European code which sought to protect nature.

The third version of the Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was translated into Polish, Russian, German, and some other languages. It had a considerable influence on the legislation systems of Poland. Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, and Russia.

Text F.Read and translate the text. Make up the summary in writing.

The Center of Government and Justice

King Edward the Confessor first decided to build a palace beside the River Thames in the 11th century. His successors extended the palace and made it their main residence. Gradually, Westminster became the center of government and justice. At first, Parliament was organized by the monarch as a way of governing the country. He or she called different groups together: the Lords represented the Church and aristocracy whilst the Commons were used by the rich land-owners to put forward the views and interests of their own town or village.

Over the centuries power gradually passed from the monarch to Parliament but not without a few problems. During the reign of James I, for example, Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament. James' son, Charles I, thought that he could rule the country without the help of Parliament, but these dreams led to his death. He tried to make parliament do what he wanted, but after years of quarrelling he finally lost his patience. One day he burst into the House of Commons with several hundred men and tried to arrest its leaders. They had already escaped. But the struggle between king and parliament was not finished and the country was thrown into a civil war, which only stopped when Charles was finally beheaded in 1649.

The Queen still opens the new session of Parliament each autumn by reading 'the Queen's Speech', which describes the main policies of the Government. However, this takes place in the House of Lords and she is not allowed to enter the House of Commons. This tradition goes back to the time of Charles I, more than three hundred years ago, and reminds everybody that the monarch must not try to govern the country.

Westminster Abbey. Opposite the Houses of Parliament stands Westminster Abbey. A church has stood here since Saxon times when, in the year 750 AD, a Benedictine Abbey was founded. It was known as West Monastery (Westminster), from its position 3 miles (five kilometres) west of London's centre. From Norman times British monarchs have been crowned there and since the 13th century they have been buried there. Many other famous people are also buried in Westminster Abbey including statesmen, musicians and writers.

Summing up

Speak on:

a. A knowledge of law is a necessity for any person.

b. Every country tries to provide laws.

c. British law comes from two main sources.

d. Legal System of Great Britain.

e. Ancient legal codes.

f. The Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

g. Westminster – the Center of government and justice.

Revision translation

a) Англо-саксонская правовая семья или семья ²общего права²

В отличие от государств романо-германской правовой семьи, где основным источником права является закон, в государствах англо-саксонской правовой семьи основным источником права служит судебный прецедент, нормы, сформулированные судьями в их решениях. Это означает, что однажды сформулированное судебное решение становится обязательным для всех других судей.

Проблема соотношения закона и судебного прецедента в Англии своеобразна. Внешне она решается просто - закон может отменить прецедент, а при коллизии закона и прецедента приоритет отдается первому. Но при этом необходимо иметь в виду огромную роль судебного толкования закона, которое дано ему в предшествующих судебных решениях, именуемых «прецедентами толкования». В Англии предпочитают цитировать вместо текста закона судебные решения, в которых он применен.

В англо-саксонскую правовую семью входят наряду с США и Англией Северная Ирландия, Канада, Австрия, Новая Зеландия, а также 36 госу­дарств - членов Британского Содружества.

«Семья общего права», как и римского права, развивалась на основе принципа: «Право там, где есть его защита». Несмотря на все попытки кодификации, дополнения и совершенствования положениями «права справедливости», оно в основе своей является прецедентным правом, созданным судами. Однако это не исключает возрастания роли статутного (законодательного) права, которое является обязательным для всей Англии.