Magistrate (Russia)
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In the judiciary of Russia an office of the magistrate or justice of the peace (мировой судья), is a judge that handles minor civil and criminal cases. Magistrates handle criminal cases where imprisonment is for less than three years such as slander, petty hooliganism, public drunkenness, and serious traffic violations of a non-criminal nature, minor civil cases such as simple divorces, some property cases, disputes over land, and some labor cases, as well as some federal administrative law cases.[1]
In Russian Empire the concept of magistrates' courts (Russian: мировой суд) existed (there is none in modern Russia).
History
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The concept of magistrates' courts was introduced in
The regulations in the Russian Empire provided for establishment of local courts with justices of the peace to deal with minor offences, who could not impose sentence more than one year of imprisonment. Each justice of the peace was supposed to serve in a circuit one
They judged minor criminal and civil cases. They were individually elected from the ranks of local self-government bodies, zemstvos in the rural areas and municipal dumas in the towns.
Candidates for this office had to meet certain conditions: completed secondary school education and own real estate of 15 000 rubles in rural districts, 6000 rubles in the capitals, and 3000 rubles in other towns. Most of justices were minor landowners.[a] Zemstvos could sometimes elect justices of the peace without the property qualification only with a unanimous vote. Justices of the peace were elected for three years, and were confirmed in office by Governing Senate. They could not be dismissed during their term in office except by indictment under process of law.
There were two classes: acting justices and honorary justices. The acting justice normally sat alone to hear causes, but, at the request of both parties, he might call in an honorary justice as an assessor or a substitute. In all civil cases involving less than 30 rubles and in criminal cases punishable by no more than three days' arrest, his judgment was final. In other cases appeal can be made to the "assize of the peace" (mirovoy syezd), three or more justices of the peace meeting monthly (like the English quarter sessions), which acted as a court of appeal and a high court. From there, another appeal could be made on points of law or disputed procedure to the Governing Senate, which could send the case back for a retrial by an assize of the peace in another district.
Modern Russia
Justices of the peace constitute the lowest level of the
The magistrates are the only judges of the regional level within the judiciary of Russia. All other courts, including the district courts, are federal, as they are financed from the federal budget and their judges are appointed by the president of Russia, while the magistrates are financed from the regional budgets and are usually appointed by regional legislatures or elected by the population of a judicial district .[citation needed]
See also
Notes
- mujik rather than the wealthy landlord.[2]
References
- ^ a b c Terrill 2009, p. 425.
- ^ A Short History of Russia and the Balkan States, Encyclopaedia Britannica Company, Limited, 1914, Chapter IX "Judicial and Military System", pp.40-42
- Terrill, Richard J. (2009). World Criminal Justice Systems: A Survey (7 ed.). ISBN 978-1-59345-612-2.
Further reading
- . Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906.
