Old Russian Law


Old Russian Law or Russian Law was a legal system in Rus', in later Old Rus' states, in Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in Moscow Rus'. Its main sources were Old Slavic customary law and Zakon Russkiy, which was partly written in Rus'–Byzantine Treaties. Other sources were Old Scandinavian customary law and Byzantine law.
The main written sources were Russkaya Pravda and Statutes of Lithuania.

History

Ryad

According to Old Russian chronicles, in 862, Slavs and Finns invited Varangians under the leadership of prince Rurik to rule in their land:
Early Russian state settled on the oral treaty, or "ryad" between the prince with his armed force on the one hand, and tribal "nobility" and formally all people on the other hand. The prince and his druzhina defended people, decide lawsuits, provided trade and built towns. And people paid tribute and took part in irregular military. During the ensuing centuries the ryad was playing an important role in Old Russian princedoms: the prince and his administration found their relationship with people on the treaty. A breach of the treaty could result in exile of the prince or even in murder of the prince.

Written secular law Dyakonov, Mikhail. Essays on Social and Political System of Old Rus' / 4th edition, corrected and supplemented. - Saint Petersburg, 1912. – XVI, 489 p. ().Yushkov, Serafim. Course of the History of State and Law of the USSR">Soviet Union">USSR. - Moscow: Yurizdat (Juridical Publisher), 1949. - Vol. 1: Social and Political System and Law of Kievan State">Kievan Rus'">Kievan State. - 542 p. (.Zimin, Aleksandr">Aleksandr Zimin">Zimin, Aleksandr. Pravda Russkaya. - Moscow: Drevlekhranilische ("Archive"), 1999. – 421 p. ().

One of the result of Rus'–Byzantine Wars was conclusion of Treaties with Byzantine in the 10th century, where, apart from Byzantine legal rules, also Zakon Russkiy - rules of Old Russian oral customary law reflected.
Yaroslav's Pravda of the beginning of the 11th century was the first written law in Rus'. This short code regulated the relationship between the princely druzhina and the people concerning criminal law. After Yaroslav's death, his sons Izyaslav, Vsevolod, Svyatoslav and their druzhina got together and promulgated a code concerning the violation of property rights in princely lands in the middle of the 11th century. Yaroslav's Pravda and Pravda of Yaroslav's sons became a basis for the Short edition of Russkaya Pravda.
In the period of Vladimir Monomakh's reign at the beginning of the 12th century, the Vast edition of Russkaya Pravda was given, which contained rules of criminal, procedural and civil law, including trade, family law and rules of the bond of obligation.
Later written secular law also included statutory charters, trade treaties, statutes of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, big codes of Moscow Rus' - Sudebniks, and other texts.

[Byzantine law] and church law

Translations of Byzantine legal codes, including Nomocanon, were widely spread in Old Rus', but it wasn't widely applied in secular or church legal practice, restricted mainly in canon law. The Church in Old Rus' did not have wide influence and depended on the power of the state. Thus, church law mainly dealt with family law and sanctions against moral violation.
See also: church statutes of prince Vladimir and prince Yaroslav.

Main sources

Oral sources

Foreign sources
Native sources
It was in part a record of oral law and revision of foreign sources: