| Abstrakt: |
The current stage of State-building in Ukraine and the maturation of the rule-of-law State and civil society necessitate a continuing investigation into the history of Ukrainian law from the new methodological perspectives. In this sense, a particular difficulty arises with regard to research of the long periods when the Ukrainian nation did not have its own national State. Among them, there is a special period when the Ukrainian lands were a part of the Austrian (Austro-Hungarian) and Russian Empires in the late XVIII - early XX centuries. Positive law and legislation were imperial in essence and aimed at entire elimination of Ukrainian statehood and law. The very national identity of Ukrainians and the existence of Ukrainian culture and language were under threat, especially in the Russian Empire. In this context, it is extremely important to study the history of Ukrainian law as a legal tradition manifested in cultural and legal identity of Ukrainian people, their legal consciousness, legal memory, customary law and real regulation of legal relations. The article focuses on the history of Ukrainian law, Ukrainian legal tradition under the rule of the Austrian (Austro-Hungarian) and Russian Empires. Given the specifics of this research, alongside the common methodology, the author also applied the phenomenological approach with regard to the study of historical and legal phenomena and processes, the legacy of the German historical school of law, and the culturological and civilizational approach. After final elimination of Ukraine's autonomy within the Russian Empire, Ukrainian law was applicable in its territory until the 1840s. The Ukrainian legal tradition was manifested through effectual provisions of the Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Magdeburg law, and local law of custom. Its character is evidenced by the content of codification monuments of Ukrainian law, which did not become effective: "Collection of Lesser Rus' laws" (1807) and "Code of Local Laws of the Western Provinces" (1837). Customary law primarily dealt with issues of property, obligations, family and inheritance law. Issues relating to crimes and penalties were regulated only by separate provisions of customary law. Both Empires sought to establish full control over the public law domain. Efforts of the Ukrainian national-conscious intelligentsia also had an important role to play, as they researched, preserved and logically structured Ukrainian law. All these factors entailed the revival of Ukraine's legal system in 1917-1918. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
