Judicial and Investigative Functions of Magistrate’s Court of the Russian Empire in the Late 19th – Early 20th Century (Based on the Materials from Arkhangelsk Governorate): Projects, Practice of Implementation, Contradictions

The article deals with the problem of combining the judicial and investigative functions of the magistrate’s court of the Russian Empire in the context of the judicial reform of 1864 in the outlying territories of the state. Historiographical analysis shows that the features of the judicial and investigative dualism of magistrate’s court have rarely become the subject of research interest of Russian scholars. The article discusses the main motives for combining judicial and investigative functions. Three main reasons for that are identified: the need to optimize public spending in the implementation of judicial reform; the need to bring the magistrate’s court closer to the local population; the need to optimize judicial activities. The author makes an overview of the general chronology of the legislative consolidation of this feature in the remote regions of the Russian Empire and offers a classification of models for the implementation of judicial and investigative functions by magistrates, in which differences between regions are highlighted in relation to the distribution of these powers. Referring to Arkhangelsk Governorate as an example, the author considers in detail the evolution of the views and assessments given by the leaders of the Ministry of Justice and local representatives of the judicial department to the effectiveness of the abovementioned model of magistrate’s court. It is noted that the attitude towards the judicial and investigative functions of magistrate’s court changed from the unconditional acceptance of this measure to the categorical denial of its benefits for local justice. The article characterizes the features of the legal status of magistrates in Arkhangelsk Governorate. It is noted that the jurisdiction of magistrate’s court was generally similar to the model of the Transcaucasian magistrate’s court. On the basis of archival materials, including the data on the effectiveness of the magistrate’s court activities in Arkhangelsk Governorate, it is assumed that there were no adequate and timely measures to strengthen the staff of local magistrate’s courts. It is concluded that the experience of functioning of the judicial and investigative model of magistrate’s court in Arkhangelsk Governorate as a whole can be considered unsuccessful.

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