| Abstrakt: |
The article is devoted to the study of the development of the idea of equality before the law and before the court as a component of the general principle of equality in Ukraine during the second half of the 14th - the first half of the 17th century. The authors emphasize that the legal structure of the Ukrainian principalities, which were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the rights of autonomy, did not change for a long time, and therefore the principles and norms of law developed during the princely era dominated until the middle of the 15th century, and in the field of justice - to the middle of the 16th century. At the same time, the complication of social relations gradually led to changes in the state-political organization and social-legal spheres. The social strata that began to form during the princely period began de jure to form into estates, among which the magnates were at the top of the social hierarchy, and later - the nobility (from the middle of the 16th century). The authors conclude that during the studied period, the idea of equality before the law and before the court evolved as a component of the general legal principle of equality. For the first time, it was officially established by the norms of the Sudebnyk Casimir IV in 1468, and later by the norms of the Lithuanian Statute. The declaration of this dominance in the conditions of existence of the medieval state had a rather progressive meaning, but the state-hierarchical social organization made its content mostly declarative. The idea of equality before the court was realized as fully as possible in the activities of ancient customary legal institutions, a special place among which was occupied by the institution of a court of justice. It was an effective body of justice of the Ukrainian people, and its practice contributed to the preservation of the ancient Ukrainian legal tradition in the field of justice. The rules of conduct (common law) developed over many centuries by courts of justice not only ensured access to justice for broad sections of the population, regardless of social status, but also cultivated universal human values, among which the idea of equality of all before the law and before the court occupied a special place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
