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Parish records are an interesting source material for researching the issue of beliefs in returning dead. Parish records of deaths rarely relate the funerals of people other than the God-fearing citizens who rested in the parish necropolis or those killed in tragic circumstances, usually as a result of an accident. From the end of the 16th century, the areas of the Silesian-Moravian borderland, or northern Moravia itself, were the scene of fierce struggles against the dead rising from their graves. Later, mainly eighteenth-century publications began to use the term defining these phenomena as magia posthuma. The intensity of beliefs in posthumous magic peaked in late 17th and early 18th centuries. It was widely thought at the time that a deceased person whose body does not show normal, post-mortem changes (rigidity) was a witch or a sorcerer. In Silesia and Moravia effective forms of dealing with harmful deceased people were developed in the period of 16th-18th centuries. Based on the analysis of existing source material, we know that the most frequent course of action was to find the grave of the “undead”in the cemetery, exhume the corpse and destroy it. All these measures against corpses who rose from their graves had to leave a trace in the parish books. In the discussed area, the oldest entries from records of death concerning the beliefs in dead who returned to plague the living can be found in the volume for the Silesian city of Strzegom (German: Striegau) covering the years 1589–1715. Some interesting research material is also provided by entries made in the records of death in the small town of Ryžoviště(German: Braunseifen) for the years 1583–1640 and 1640–1717. One of the last entries in the death records was made on 1 March 1755, when the Empress Maria Theresa issued a decree forbidding the persecution of people accused of witchcraft, treasure hunts with the aid of magic and also the exhumation or burning of the bodies of people accused of posthumous magic.
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The current Austrian Civil Code goes back to 1811, after more than 200 years it still is in force in Austria –though with many amendments. Its origin and development is connected to the political history of the Austrian Empire, later the Dual Monarchy and its successor states in the 20th century. The paper analyses the significance of the Austrian Civil Code on the development of civil law in Central Europe on the verge of the collapse of the old empires and the emergence of the new political systems. Especially the question of the influence of the Austrian Civil Code on Polish law and inversely the influence of Polish lawyers on the development of the Austrian Civil Code is addressed. Due to the character of the inclusion of the Polish parts into the Austrian Empire in the 18th century the paper raises the question of the role of civil law in forced unions.
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The article describes the consultative activities of the Professors and Doctors of the Faculty of Law of the Jagiellonian University in the years 1817–1833. On the basis of Article 15 of the 1815 Constitution of the Free City of Krakow, they examined whether it was admissible for the parties to the court proceedings to lodge a third instance appeals against the consistent decisions issued by both of the first instance court and the court of appeal. This was deemed to be possible if the judgements were found in violation of substantive civil law or important forms of court proceedings. I briefly describe the form of proceedings by the Faculty of Law, including the appointment of case clerks, the convening of meetings, and the procedure for passing resolutions. Based on extensive archival materials, stored in the Jagiellonian University Archives and the National Archive in Krakow, I reconstruct three such proceedings. They concerned provisions on the form of legal acts for evidence purposes (Article 1341 KN) and contracts with a private signature (Article 1325 KN), as well as a provision on matrimonial property relationships (Article 1443 KN). In the first case, the opinion of the Faculty of Law determined a correct line of jurisprudence, while in the second, its interpretation of the provision narrowed the code dimension of contract freedom and constrained the principle of pacta sunt servanda. The last opinion is an example of an incorrect interpretation of the Napoleonic Code.
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The following text examines the topic of unifying territories with disparate legal traditions as exemplified by Czechoslovakia during the first years of its existence and interpreted by Vratislav Kalousek (1883–1936), an unjustly forgotten clerk at the Ministry of the Interior, a lawyer and a contributor to inter-war legal magazines. He analyzed how the Czechoslovak law –drafted by the Czechoslovak officials of the Cisleithanian tradition –was implemented in the newly acquired lands, namely in Slovakia and in Carpathian Ruthenia. Vratislav Kalousek perceived the foundation of Czechoslovakia, based on uniting lands with a different history, as well as cultural, social and legal traditions, as a situation in which it was necessary to act swiftly, instead of slowing the process down with emphasis on accuracy typical for legal theory.
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This article pertains to the use of relevant sources of law for the purpose of historical interpretation. The article is divided into three sections. The first section is dedicated to theoretical issues and presents the concept of sources of law and the types of legal interpretation, in particular historical interpretation. The next section describes examples of how sources of law may be applied in conjunction with historical interpretation. It discusses, inter alia, the application of historical interpretation in court rulings, the functioning of joint land property, agricultural reform in Poland after the Second World War, the consequences of the inflation policy and the associated occurrence of what is referred to as mortgage discharge, i.e. the repayment of the amounts due by the mortgagors. In the last section of the publication, the author summarises his reflections focusing primarily on the meaning of sources of law in the context of applying historical interpretation in contemporary court rulings. The author’s final conclusion is that using the sources of old law and the interpretation thereof are an important component of the legal system currently in effect.
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Commission prepared for the Civil Reform Committee (1814–1815). Historical Source EditionAs part of the source publication series begun in the second fascicle of the twelfth volume of Krakowskie Studia z Historii Państwa i Prawa [Krakow Studies in History of State and Law], we are publishing this time documents related to the preparation of the Civil Reform Committee, which operated in 1814–1815, to develop a new national civil code to replace the Napoleonic Code: 1. Wstęp przy wprowadzeniu planu do kodeksu cywilnego [Introduction to the Plan of Implementation of the Civil Code], 2. Plan Bieńkowskiego do nowego kodeksu cywilnego [Bieńkowski’s Plan for the New Civil Code], 3. Projekt Linowskiego do uformowania komisji mającej wygotowaćKsięgęprawa cywilnego i procedury [Linowski’s Plan for Forming a Commission to Prepare a Book of Civil Law and Procedure] and fragments of minutes of the Civil Reform Committee sessions regarding this draft. Source material on matrimonial law published in two last issues of the „Krakow Studies”in 2019 differed from the documents published in this fascicle because they were intended to serve only a partial reform of the Napoleonic Code envisaged for a temporary period, until a new civil code was developed. Antoni Bieńkowski presented his Plan for Implementation of the Civil Code at the session held on 20th November, 1814, less than a month after presenting the drafts of matrimonial law to the Civil Reform Committee (23rd October). The introductory part of the Plan presents the general assumptions regarding the works. They are followed by a list of the planned chapters and a justification of the adopted order. The actual Plan itself (second document) lists the same titles of chapters, along with the issues that should be regulated in a given place, and then it indicates where the models to follow could be sought. The debate related to the presentation of Bieńkowski’s Plan and the scope of activities in this field entrusted to the Committee by Emperor Alexander, took place at sessions held from 17th to 24th November. It ended with the preparation of Aleksander Linowski’s Plan for Forming a Commission to Prepare a Book of Civil Law and Procedure on 27th November. This document planned three stages of codification works: first, a 9-member commission was to draft both codes, and then departmental deputies were to work on them (first personally, and then representatives of them, with some Committee members). The last stage of preparatory works was to be comprised of meetings of five senators and members of the Council of State with selected Committee members and a representatives of departmental deputies.
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The XXV Annual Forum of Young Legal Historians was organized by three Belgian universities: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Universitélibre de Bruxelles, and UniversitéSaint-Louis Bruxelles. It took place from 5th through 8th June, 2019. This years’forum concerned identity and citizenship, what was echoed in vast majority of the conference papers. The conference consisted of nearly 90 scholars representing more than 20 states, including non-European countries. As usual, the host country’s delegation presented the largest group of young legal historians. 6 speakers were representing the University of Warsaw, 3 Jagiellonian University, and 2 the University of Gdansk. The universities of Bialystok and Lodz, had one representative each during the Forum.
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The work presents the achievements of Professor Grodziski. Research directions, major publications, didactic and organizational activities at the Faculty of Law and Administration, and membership in scientific organizations and associations are presented. The professor reactivated Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was an outstanding expert on the Old Polish Sejm and the history of Galicia and Austria. In short, he was an excellent teacher.
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The aim of the study is to reveal the connections and inspirations between Roman and contemporary regulations of warranty, as an element of European heritage. The material for the study consists of Justinian’s “Digest”, Gellius’and Cato’s works, contemporary Polish warranty legislation –the Civil Code, its amendments and executive acts. Juridical, medical and philosophical views of ancient Roman lawyers on animal health in the mentioned material were examined and analyzed. The views of the ancient Romans reflected in Polish civil law were pointed out. Studies have been carried out, comparing the ideas that provide the background for legal norms of warranty. It has been proved how different defining of health and disease in veterinary medicine can affect divergent legal regulations in relation to animals sold. The functionality criterion was affirmed to be applicable not only as one of warranty premises, but also as a motor for legal development.
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In this article, the author tries to present Paul Orosius’s political doctrine, taking its connection with the tradition of imperial theology of Eusebius of Caesarea and the philosophy of Augustine of Hippo as references. The main source material is the historiographic study of Orosius from the beginning of the 5th century – Seven Books of History Against the Pagans. The considerations focus on the interpretation of four key themes: the Roman Empire, monotheism, peace, and Christianity. Orosius shares the prevalent belief of Christian writers of the late antiquity, that God gives special protection to the Roman Empire. He emphasizes the importance of the peace that prevailed in the time of Augustus, and gives theological and political interpretation of the temporal coincidence of Octavian’s reign and Christ’s birth. On the basis of proper interpretation of symbolic historical events, Orosius built a kind of political ecclesiology. This doctrine advanced the principal that the Roman state and the Church were united by a common mission to promote the Christian faith. At the same time, in Book Seven, Orosius confronts an attempt at the historiosophical interpretation of barbarian invasions that threatened the prosperity of the empire. Based on factual material, he relativizes the relationship between the Roman Empire and Christianity. The state appears as a subsidiary power to the Church’s evangelizing mission, which concept is also reflected in the ethos of the good ruler proposed by Orosius.
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Since judges played a significant role in a justice system founded upon customary law and court praxis, it comes as no surprise that their conduct was widely commented on in 16th and 17th century Poland. The purpose of this article is to introduce a literary image of judges and their profession during a given period of time. In poetry and political works one could find either positive or negative impressions of an old-Polish judicial officer. The former was rather infrequent and usually performed the function of literary speculum of the profession, in which impartiality and fairness were emphasized the most. The latter was ubiquitous. Judges were repeatedly condemned for their favouritism and partisanship (especially towards moneyed or powerful interests), as well as their susceptibility to both bribery and undue leniency. No wonder the aphorism spread: “Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through”. Unfortunately, the authors hardly ever provided readers with concrete remedies, but demanded most importantly improvement in virtue. The coexistence of the two different images of judges proves that the society of that time craved esteemed and highly regarded judicial officers, who, above all, were expected to be impartial and objective.
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The publication of Cesare Lombroso’s The Criminal Man in 1876 is generally considered the birth of criminology. The new science did not emerge all of a sudden but resulted from a longer process. Various attempts, feasible for the scientific method at successive stages of its development, were made to explain the reasons for criminality before the arrival of the era of positivism and contemporary science, and the construction of Lombroso’s theory of the born criminal. Franz Joseph Gall proposed the theory of phrenology, claiming that the shape of the brain is decisive for criminal tendencies. Philippe Pinel perceived the cause of crime in “mania without delirium”, and James C. Prichard in “moral insanity”. The developing social sciences and the positivist physicalism governing them made it possible to handle the statistical aspects of the phenomenon (A.M. Guerry, A. Quetelet). Such novel scientific information reached Poland mostly through physicians, yet was hardly interesting for lawyers brought up on the foundations of the classical school. In criminal law, they a priori rejected determinism together with the achievements of contemporary science. The first of the Polish lawyers to support the concept of determinism in human and social behaviours was professor of criminal law Józef MichałRosenblatt. He also realised that the new discipline of criminology, distinct from criminal law, was being born. In 1888 Ludwik Krzywicki, a social philosopher, teacher, and sociologist could have been the first to use the term “kryminologia”in Poland. He also challenged Lombroso’s theory, criticising it from Marxist and sociological positions. However, one of the most fascinating Polish criminologists of the late 19th century was professor of forensic medicine Leon Wachholz.
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The basic issue of the article concerns the peasants’problems with respect to common rights of forest and pasturage (which in Austria was called Servituten). The issue has never been adequately researched, but rather has only been described in a general or fragmentary way. The examples of the villages of Odrzykońand Bratkówka (which belonged to one estate at the time), illustrate the peasants’struggles over issues such as rights to wood, forest litter, and grazing of their cattle on the noblemen’s estates. In a chronological structure the article presents the most important events that influenced the functioning, evolution, and attempts of peasants to gain confirmation of these rights. It also contains information about the process of regulation their laws in the second half of the 19th century. Therefore, the main issue of the article regards the question of the inequality of the peasant’s chances despite the law’s theoretical equality.
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On July 18, 1917, the Provisional Council of State approved “Temporary Provisions on the Organization of the Judiciary in the Kingdom of Poland”. These regulations granted the organization and functioning of the courts in the area of the newly created Kingdom of Poland, and was therefore binding in Łódź. It specified, inter alia, the rules for appointing lay judges to the courts of peace and regional courts. In Łódź, the implementation of the rules met numerous problems, related for example to the increase in the number of cases that were to be resolved with the participation of lay judges. There was also a problem with the initially low salary received by lay judges and the time needed by the City Council of Łódźto select candidates.
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The German occupiers abolished the Supreme Court in the General Government. In the Polish (non-German) judiciary sector, there was no court of the highest instance to ensure the unification of jurisprudence. The competence to ensure the uniformity of jurisprudence and resolve existing doubts and legal issues was transferred to the courts of appeal. The objective of the present article was to demonstrate the procedure and practice of issuing legal theses by the Court of Appeal in Kraków. The article also presents changes in the composition of the judges and the territorial jurisdiction of the Kraków Court of Appeal. Archival sources constitute the source basis of the work. We also resorted to the latest subject literature. The work is based mainly on the analysis of archival sources and legal acts, so the scientific methods typical of the history of law were applied.
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The present source publication is the fifth in a series encompassing the most important documents related to preparations for the replacement of French codes with national codification written by the Civil Reform Committee which worked between 1814 and 1815. Herein are contained the minutes of the sessions held by the Committee which concern a key debate among its members who argued as to whether to derogate the French Code of Civil Procedure in its entirety or only in fragments which were considered to be the most burdensome in Polish realities. Moreover, the publication also includes the first part of “The project of the civil judicial procedure in first instance”(primary procedure) presented by Franciszek Grabowski, a preeminent traditionalist in the Committee, along with fragments of the minutes reporting the course of the discussion concerning the project. Together with the second part of the proposition submitted by Grabowski encompassing enforcement proceedings, a counterproject of the code of civil procedure by progressive judge Antoni Bieńkowski, as well as a debate over these two proposals, which are to be published in the next issues of “Krakowskie Studia z Historii Państwa i Prawa”, the materials presented below portray the crux of the debate held over the Code de procedure civile of 1806, which aroused much controversy, and which was in fact the most criticized part of the French legislation in force in Polish territories.
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