Juridica

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Toomas Anepaio, Marju Luts-Sootak — 2012-05-13 12:48:34

Agreements between Estonians before the 13th Century

Kristjan Oad — 2012-05-13 12:49:11

The paper ‘Agreements of Estonians with Strangers in the 13^th Century\', published by the Estonian jurisprudent Jüri Uluots, in the Estonian law journal Õigus in 1935–1936, is probably one of the most frequently republished texts about the history of Estonian law. Although reprinted several times, little attention has been paid – at least in print – to the very core of the paper, the approach Uluots took to Estonians\' agreements. This article intends to bridge the gap. As unfounded criticism is fruitless, a new suggestion has been proposed for each previous one. This can be done thanks to the development of medieval studies and archaeology over the past 75 years, which has created improved possibilities for discussing the topic.

Prof. Uluots divided his paper into three parts. The first part gave an overview of the sources used (mostly sections of the Livonian Chronicle of Henry), the second part examined the subjects of agreements by making references to other works by Jüri Uluots, and the third part focused on the content of agreements. This article takes a closer look at the Estonian subjects of the agreements and their evolution.

Jüri Uluots was of the opinion that in the 13^th century, agreements were entered into in Estonia by colleges of elders representing ‘lands\', i.e. national units. The author of this article believes that such an approach is no longer relevant. Rather, in the 13th century, agreements were entered into by Estonian families of higher standing on behalf of the rulers. Jüri Uluots, and even more recent researchers, believed that the names of various regions – Revelia, Ugaunia, etc., – found in the Chronicles stood for political associations (‘lands\'). Considering the origins of the sources, they were rather the names of cultural regions of a particular location (cultural regions) that were empirically distinct. New larger areas under a particular ruler sometimes coincided with cultural regions and sometimes did not.

University of Tartu Court in the 19th Century

Jüri Jegorov — 2012-05-13 12:49:29

This article mainly focuses on the development of the structure and administration of the judicial bodies of the University of Tartu in the 19th century. The article will first provide an overview of the general bases and principles of the activities of the University Court, and then it will discuss the competence of the Court and the organisation of proceedings. The author describes proceedings conducted based on the University Statutes of 1803 and 1820, as well as those based on the Student Regulations of 1838 and 1868. A separate account is given about the facts and figures of the University Court: how many sittings were held, how many cases were heard, and what kinds of punishment were imposed. The nature of punishments –such as detention in a punishment cell, removal from the register of students, expulsion and expulsion with no right of readmission – is explained in greater detail. The activities of the students\' court of honour and secret courts of honour are briefly discussed as well. The author concludes with the description of the termination of the activities of the University of Tartu Court.

‘There are two gods standing before the judge, two laws and a pressing need to serve one and the other, i.e. both.\'

Olja Kivistik — 2012-05-13 12:49:48

By the beginning of the 20^th century, Czarist Russia (encompassing also the territory of Estonia) faced a situation in which several criminal codes applied. The simultaneously applicable codes did not relieve conflicts in penal law or the problem of inconsistency but added to controversy. The lack of consistency between the codes undermined peoples\' sense of justice and contradicted the legal order of the state.

This article gives an overview of the criminal codes applicable at the beginning of the 20th century, their casuistic composition and punishments. It also describes the approach used in the case of blasphemy. The analysis has been carried out using the judgments of the Tallinn Circuit Court made in the czarist era when the old and the new penal code applied simultaneously.

Historical Experience of Republic of Estonia with Several Penal Laws in 1918–1940

Marin Sedman — 2012-05-13 12:50:09

Substantive penal law has been little harmonised in the European Union to date. The entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon put an end to the system of pillars, and subsequent directives, prescribing minimum rules for offences and punishments imposed for particularly serious cross-border crimes depending on their nature, impact or the need to combat them on common grounds are directly applicable. This will create a situation in which we will have our national penal law and that of the European Union—two simultaneously applicable penal laws. It is not clear yet what the direct applicability of penal laws will look like.

The first Republic of Estonia was also characterised by several sources of penal law. This article will discuss the sources of penal law up until 1935, applied only by regular courts. In addition to the penal law applicable by regular courts, there was also military penal law applied by military courts of the Republic of Estonia. Besides legislation applied by regular courts, this article will examine the principles of applying penal law and the resulting problems. This suggests that we have past experience with simultaneous applicability of several penal laws, as well as indicating what kind of challenges can arise from such simultaneous applicability of penal laws.

Signs of Constitutional Review by Court in Judicial Practice of Supreme Court during Application of Constitution of 1920

Marelle Leppik — 2012-05-13 12:50:26

In Estonia, people are often of the opinion that the institute of constitutional review can be examined starting from 1992, i.e. from the establishment of the Constitutional Review Chamber of the Supreme Court. Scepticism stems from the grammatical analysis of the Constitution adopted in 1920, and it is easy to identify that the Constitution made no mention of a constitutional court or any other constitutional review body. This, however, cannot be used to infer that constitutional review had been unknown or insignificant upon the establishment of the Republic of Estonia.

In 1927, the administrative department of the Supreme Court explained in its decision that ‘Estonian courts must follow § 86 of the Constitution, pursuant to which each instance of the court in which the constitutionality of a certain law is contested is entitled and obliged to solve the matter. [...] Also, the court must refrain from implementing a law if the court establishes that it is unconstitutional\'. The Supreme Court was of the opinion that, after the provision had entered into force, the entire court system (ex post) was competent to exercise constitutional review, even though there were no formal rules in place for constitutional review proceedings.

To analyse how the Supreme Court handled the task assigned to the judicial system and assumed by itself, this article has taken as the basis the judicial practice of the administrative chamber of the Supreme Court. All the cases have been selected from the period when the Constitution adopted in 1920 applied without any amendments from 1920–1934.

From Russia via Germany to Italy: Teaching Roman Law and its Forefathers in Estonian University (1919–1940)

Hesi Siimets-Gross — 2012-05-13 12:50:45

Estonian was adopted as the language of instruction at the University of Tartu in 1919; however, lectures were in fact delayed until 1920 because of the Estonian War of Independence. The studies that had been carried out in Latin, Swedish, German and Russian up to that point were to be switched into Estonian to as large extent as possible. Leo Leesment, a well-known Professor of Law, has divided the history of the Department of Law between 1919 and 1940 into three periods. The first period is characterised by the influence of Russian jurisprudence, the second period by the transfer to Estonian jurisprudence, and the third period was that of Estonian jurisprudence per se. This article gives an overview of the teaching of and research into Roman law during this period.

The author is of the opinion that certain periods can be also distinguished in teaching Roman law, yet they differ from the periods of jurisprudence identified by Prof. Leesment. As regards Roman law, the first period is the Russian and German period during which the Roman law system was taught by Seeler and Grimm, two former students of the Russian Seminar of Roman Law in Berlin, the period lasting up to 1934. Jüri Uluots, who also taught Roman law, was their student and belongs to the same period. The second period is, on the one hand, a period of Estonian jurisprudence; on the other hand, the strongest influence came from Italian Roman law as mediated by Prof. Ernst Ein. Perhaps the Italian influence would have lasted longer in a different political environment, now it remained limited to Prof. Ein.

Between Idealism and Realism. Approach to Public and Private International Law in Law Journal Õigus from 1920–1940

Hendrick Rang — 2012-05-13 12:51:01

Section 3 of the applicable Constitution of Estonia sets out that generally recognised principles and rules of international law are an inseparable part of the Estonian legal system. The second sentence of § 4 of the Constitution adopted in 1920 also provided that the general regulations of international law applied in Estonia as inseparable parts of its legal order. In the new wording of the Constitution of 1920, which entered into force on 24 January 1934, no amendments were made to § 4. The second sentence of § 4 of the Constitution that entered into force on 1 January 1938 set out that the generally accepted regulations of international law applied in Estonia as inseparable parts of legal order in Estonia.

Hence, there is constitutional continuity as regards international law being an essential part of the Estonian legal order. This article gives an overview of the approach to public and private international law issues in 1920–1940 in the law journal Õigus, which was the only law journal at that time: what was considered worthy of being discussed, whether the opinions of the authors of the period were rather realistic than idealistic and what could have caused it.

Legal Vocabulary and Education, Acquisition of Specialised Vocabulary

Merike Ristikivi — 2012-05-13 12:51:19

The use of Latin terms permits general evaluation of the intellectual standing and legal culture of lawyers, including legal education. This article examines the acquisition of specialised professional vocabulary essential for lawyers over three periods when law was taught in Estonian: the period separating the two World Wars, the Soviet era, and the period following the restoration of independence. The author describes the main methods used for learning Latin legal terms during these periods as well as the training aids used at the university, for teaching and learning vocabulary. Legal publications have been taken as the basis for assessing the use of terms over these periods.

Examination of legal publications unveils clear links between the use of foreign terms and legal education. In the first period of independence in Estonia, knowledge of Latin was an essential element of the legal profession. In-depth knowledge of professional vocabulary and a strong linguistic background are also clearly reflected in the articles contributed by the lawyers of the time to the law journal Õigus (Law). In the Soviet era, learning Latin became rather superficial and mostly focused on general vocabulary. Poor knowledge of professional vocabulary can also be detected in the first years of the journal Eesti Jurist (Estonian Lawyer) and especially in Nõukogude Õigus (Soviet Law) where specifically legal terms were seldom used. In the current independence era, Latin has regained its position in jurisprudence. In contrast with the modest recourse to specialised vocabulary in the Soviet era, the law journal Juridica makes heavy use of Latin terms, and foreign words are, above all, applied to convey specific legal connotation.

Jüri Jegorov 90: from colleagues

Heino Siigur, Advig Kiris — 2012-05-13 12:51:40

Jüri Jegorov 90: from colleagues

Jüri Jegorov\'s personal bibliography

2012-05-13 12:52:37

Jüri Jegorov\'s personal bibliography