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Penal law on Latvian territories was influenced by the law of states, which were governing this land. You can observe German, Danish, Polish, Swedish legal acts being in force there. From the beginning of 18th century the influence of Russian law was becoming stronger and stronger. All important Russian penal codes were in force in Latvia. Among them the most important was the 1903 penal code. It has been in force in independent Latvia for many years and influenced constructions of 1933 Latvian penal code. In 1940 Latvia was occupied by Soviets and was included into USSR as a Soviet republic. Soviet penal regulations were in force in Latvia. Even now former Soviet legal doctrine has big influence on penal law in independent Latvia.
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Not all actions taken towards the commitment of a crime contain a sufficient degree of social danger to justify a reaction with the strong means of criminal law. But at what stage of crime does criminal liability begin? Preparation? Attempt? This article intends to determine the point at which a behaviour turns from being inoffensive into being socially dangerous in the history of Russian criminal law, assuming that the social and political changes Russia experienced within the past 150 years could not have been without impact on it. As a matter of fact, the determination of the aforementioned „sufficient degree” of social danger widely depends on the aims a legislator strives for with its criminal laws. The more repressive the intent, the earlier liability begins. In criminal science objective and subjective approaches, as well as a set of unifying theories, intend to substantiate the minimal conditions of punishment for uncompleted crimes. Unlike the objective approach, requiring a real danger for the concrete object of crime, the more repressive subjective theory basically founds pre-completing liability on the pure intention of the subject of crime. Russian criminal law began considering the beginning of criminal responsibility in the mid 19th century. The first criminal code of 1845, mainly influenced by the objective approach, did not fit the stoutly repressive interests of the empire’s regime. The 1864 modifications of the criminal code introduced a unifying approach, clearly dominated by subjective elements. Repression from then on would mainly depend on the criminal’s view on his behaviour (art. 115 criminal code of 1864), even if punishment for preparation of crime remained exceptional.Acts on criminal law by the Soviet government were to begin with unstructured, but repressive. Surprisingly, the first criminal codes did not strongly disagree with the empire’s traditions. The turning point towards complete arbitrariness is marked by the 1926 Criminal Code, which introduced a material concept of crime giving up „formal confinements” of tribunals. Soviet authors may have always pretended an objective background of the material approach founded on the subject’s social danger, but the repressive purposes and results clearly demonstrate its subjective nature. This is particularly clarified by the impact of the new code on the beginning of criminal liability. In order to amplify the society’s power of impact against crime (and subversion), the criminal code provided for regular liability of attempt and preparation of crime. It abandoned limitations stipulating that preparation shall be considered as any „creation of requirements for a crime”. It hence opened responsibility for any kind of real or alleged action, or even omission, and made preparation of crime (especially of counterrevolutionary acts) one of the main incriminations during Stalin’s repression period. Not abandoning the material concept, the 1960 and 1996 Criminal Codes sustained the written elements of offence, and criminal law became more reliable again. Nevertheless neither the criminal code of 1960, nor the criminal code of 1996 abolished liability for preparation of crime, even if the later one restricts liability to preparation of grave and eminently grave crimes. Regardless of the fact that current Russian legal literature does not actively discuss the foundation of criminal liability, it appears very clear that since 1864 all Russian legislators (as well as most in the world) mainly started from subjective concepts when fixing the beginning of criminal liability. Soviet criminal law was thus unable to emancipate from the traditional approaches and even amplified arbitrariness under the criminal code of 1926. Today, the most excessive consequences of arbitrariness are eased by objective frictions, shown for instance in an obligatory mitigation of punishment for attempt and preparation of crime.
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The final years of the Soviet Union were dominated by a desperate attempt to resolve the economic and social impasse. It was also a period of searching for new ways of legislation, which would enable the efficient and least burdensome for the power transition from the post – totalitarian system to the strictly limited system of quasi-democracy. Replacement of the totalitarian state solution by imitate democratic institutions was a way of maintaining power by the elite. Implemented change did not protect from the final collapse of the Soviet Union, but even accelerated it. The election of Gorbachev as the first executive President of the Soviet Union – which was made as a result of changes in the Soviet constitution – was an attempt to consolidate (and to legitimate) of power. Nevertheless this fact did not strengthen his position, quite the contrary, undermined it. Analogous changes took place in the constitutions of the others republics and were push up by local leaders because elections for the President of the Republic gave them a real and independent of the political center power.
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Review of: "Nauki historycznoprawne w polskich uniwersytetach II Rzeczypospolitej"; ed. Magdaleny Pyter, Lublin 2008, 423 pages; by: Krzysztof Szczygielski
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Review of: Jill Harries "Law and Crime in the Roman World"; Cambridge University Press 2007, X+148 pages; by: Piotr Kołodko
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Review of: Małgorzata Łuszczyńska "Philosophy of Law by Czeslaw Martyniak"; Publisher UMCS, Lublin 2008, 321 pages; by: Ireneusz S. Grat
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Place: Lvov, Ukraine Date: 24–25 April 2009
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Legal problems connected with the defining of pregnancy and with the protection of the interests of the unborn child were at first regulated in Senatus consultum Plancianum de liberis agnoscendis, and next in the edict de inspiciendo ventre custodiendoque partu and in the rescriptum divi Fratres. Senatus consultum Plancianum regulated only the question of establishment of paternity in marriage. Edict de inspiciendo ventre custodiendoque partu regulated the procedure, which should have been undertaken after the husband’s death, when former wife claimed to be pregnant. The main reason for these regulations was to eliminate the growing number of illegal practice concerning establishment of paternity, when the child was born after the death of his father or after the divorce of his parents.The results of applying the edict de inspiciendo ventre custodiendoque partu could have the legal importance for the future position of the unborn child. The edict regulated the procedure, which should have been applied after the death of husband, when woman was claiming to be pregnant. Once the procedure was applied, the praetor could grant bonorum possessio (D. 25, 4, 1, 10 i D. 25, 4, 1, 15). According to edictum, you could apply: inspectio ventris, custodia ventris and custodia partus to a pregnant woman. These institutions were used to confirm the fact of pregnancy and to observe the pregnant woman and the delivery. The edict de inspiciendo ventre custodiendoque partu was in use in case of the death of a husband of a pregnant wife and the purpose of this edict was to protect from simulation of pregnancy.According to the edict, the widow had to inform everybody potentially interested (or legal representatives) about pregnancy in one month’s time. The most important group which had to be informed, comprised of heirs of the dead person. According to the Ulpianus’s commentary, both testimonial and ab intestato heirs should have been informed.
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Leonard Piętak (1841–1909) was a Polish professor of law. He worked at the University of Lvov. He was interested in both Roman law and actual legislation problems of Austrian commercial and exchange law. Piętak is an author of many valuable papers, particularly Prawo spadkowe rzymskie (Roman law of succession, vol. 1–2, 1882–1888). He was twice elected Rector of University of Lvov – in academic years 1881/1882 and 1888/1889. He was elected Dean of the Law Faculty as well – three times (in academic years 1878/1879, 1883/1884 and 1890/1891). Professor Piętak was a member of many international and domestic scientific societies. Besides of his research, Piętak was also engaged strongly in politics, holding an office of minister for Galicia to an imperial government in Vienna from 1900 to 1906.
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The purpose of the article is to present the constitutional development of the Republic of Lithuania after the First World War (1918–1926). This period may be divided into two parts: period of provisional constitutions (1918–1922) and period of the Constitution of Republic of Lithuania, which was enacted on August 1, 1922 and abolished in fact by a coup d’état in 1926. The parliamentary system of government was adopted by the first provisional constitution, which was enacted by the Taryba (Council of State) on November 2, 1918. The second provisional constitution was enacted on April 4, 1919. The institution of the President of the State was introduced by virtue of this constitution. The third provisional constitution was enacted by the Steigiamasis Seimas (Constituent Assembly) on June 10, 1920.The Constitution of Republic of Lithuania adopted parliamentary system of government, which was known in provisional constitutions. The unicameral parliament (the Seimas) was the most important body of state authority. The President of the Republic was elected by the Seimas. He could be dismissed by the Seimas, too. The Cabinet of Ministers was appointed by the President. The Cabinet of Ministers had to get the vote of confidence from the Seimas. The Seimas could give the vote of no confidence, too. In this case the Cabinet of Ministers had to hand in its resignation. In practice the political scene was dominated by the Christian Democratic Party. It lost general election only in 1926. A coup d’état, which took place some months later, indicated the end of democratic system of government.
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The position of the Council of State in the constitution from 1952 has been modeled on organs which existed in the states of so-called “real socialism”. It was based on the theory of the unity of state authority and on the theory of supremacy of the representative organs over other state bodies. The Council of State was, together with Sejm, the main state organ, but Sejm was regarded as a supreme organ. The Council of State was directly subordinated to Sejm, which could control its activity. It was described as a “smaller body” of Sejm, because only MPs could be elected to the Council of State. Its role and position was determined by the constitutional competences. The most important of them were connected with the replacing Sejm’s functions, such as passing the decrees, which had the same force as the acts of parliament. The Council of State was also a collective head of state, but its activity on this field de facto had no importance for its real position.
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The change of political climate in 1956 gave an opportunity to start open discussion about the condition of Polish judicial system. You could mention opinions in which lawyers demanded repairing “errors of the past” and proposed to impose measures for retaining legality in future. The basic topic of this discussion was concentrated on question of rehabilitation of those, who were unjustly punished in Stalin era. Judges and prosecutors were involved in the process of rehabilitation. The measures undertaken in 1956–1957 were far from expectations and from today’s perspective these measures can be qualified as insufficient.
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Review of: "Development of Czechoslovak law 1945–1989"; ed. J. Kuklík, Publisher. linde, Praha 2009, 727 pages; by: Piotr Fiedorczyk
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Review of: Francesca Scotti "The deposit in Roman law. Texts with translation Italian and commentary"; Torino 2008, XXVIII+244 pages; by: Piotr Kołodko
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Review of: Wacław Komarnicki "Polish political law (genesis and system)"; Publisher Sejmowe, Warsaw 2008, 592 pages; by: Stanisław Bożyk
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Review of: "Fascinating paths of the philosophy of law"; ed. Jerzego Zajadło, Legal Publisher lexisNexis, Warsaw, 2008, 328 pages; by: Karol Kuźmicz
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