The court procedure enacted by Dusan's code: Evidence and position of the defendant
This paper deals with the provisions on the judicial proceedings of medieval Serbia enacted in Dusan's Code. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview and analysis of the irrational and rational evidence of that period, as well as to point to the position of the defendant, bearing in mind...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Law
2018-01-01
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| Series: | Zbornik Radova: Pravni Fakultet u Novom Sadu |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0550-2179/2018/0550-21791803283M.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818574700816629760 |
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| author | Mirkov Željko D. |
| author_facet | Mirkov Željko D. |
| author_sort | Mirkov Željko D. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper deals with the provisions on the judicial proceedings of medieval Serbia enacted in Dusan's Code. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview and analysis of the irrational and rational evidence of that period, as well as to point to the position of the defendant, bearing in mind this system of evidence. The judicial proceedings in Dusan's Code were predominantly organized in accordance with the rules of the indictment principle, however, what can also be observed is the onset of the understanding that the violation of certain norms is not only an issue of an individual. As a rule, the decision to initiate the judicial proceedings was dependant on the will of the injured party, and only exceptionally, in the event that the offense violated the public interest, the proceedings were initiated ex officio. In the sphere of evidence, it is possible to differentiate between irrational and rational evidence. The oath, the jury and the divine courts are considered to be the irrational evidence of this period. Among the rational evidence in Serbian medieval law, there is mention of 'obličenije' (capture of the offender in the act); 'svod', which the defendant used to prove that he did not steal the object of the crime, but that he came into possession of said object through someone else; including witnesses, documents and confessions. The existence of rational evidence meant proof of the defendant's guilt, in which case the irrational evidence was not presented. It was the absence of rational evidence that led to the presentation of irrational evidence, which means that irrational evidence was subsidiary in relation to rational evidence. If the defendant's guilt was proven by rational evidence, the strength of this evidence could not be mitigated by any type of irrational evidence, therefore it was not possible to cumulatively apply rational and irrational evidence. Some of the provisions of Dusan's Code give rise to the division of social classes, which was their characteristic: different social classes used different evidence to justify the same criminal offense, and the type and severity of the imposed criminal sanction was dependant on the social class to which the defendant belonged. During the proceedings, the defendant took an oath, which, given the influence of religion on the lives of people at that time, could have influenced him to tell the truth during the proceedings. After the hearing, the defendant could not alter his original testimony, and during the proceedings he was obliged to adhere to the case in dispute and could not blame the injured party for another criminal offense. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-15T00:30:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f988f66ccfc240bbbea416ae95dbe748 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0550-2179 2406-1255 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-15T00:30:02Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Law |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Zbornik Radova: Pravni Fakultet u Novom Sadu |
| spelling | doaj.art-f988f66ccfc240bbbea416ae95dbe7482022-12-21T22:42:03ZengUniversity of Novi Sad, Faculty of LawZbornik Radova: Pravni Fakultet u Novom Sadu0550-21792406-12552018-01-01523128312960550-21791803283MThe court procedure enacted by Dusan's code: Evidence and position of the defendantMirkov Željko D.0Osnovno javno tužilaštvo Kikinda, KikindaThis paper deals with the provisions on the judicial proceedings of medieval Serbia enacted in Dusan's Code. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview and analysis of the irrational and rational evidence of that period, as well as to point to the position of the defendant, bearing in mind this system of evidence. The judicial proceedings in Dusan's Code were predominantly organized in accordance with the rules of the indictment principle, however, what can also be observed is the onset of the understanding that the violation of certain norms is not only an issue of an individual. As a rule, the decision to initiate the judicial proceedings was dependant on the will of the injured party, and only exceptionally, in the event that the offense violated the public interest, the proceedings were initiated ex officio. In the sphere of evidence, it is possible to differentiate between irrational and rational evidence. The oath, the jury and the divine courts are considered to be the irrational evidence of this period. Among the rational evidence in Serbian medieval law, there is mention of 'obličenije' (capture of the offender in the act); 'svod', which the defendant used to prove that he did not steal the object of the crime, but that he came into possession of said object through someone else; including witnesses, documents and confessions. The existence of rational evidence meant proof of the defendant's guilt, in which case the irrational evidence was not presented. It was the absence of rational evidence that led to the presentation of irrational evidence, which means that irrational evidence was subsidiary in relation to rational evidence. If the defendant's guilt was proven by rational evidence, the strength of this evidence could not be mitigated by any type of irrational evidence, therefore it was not possible to cumulatively apply rational and irrational evidence. Some of the provisions of Dusan's Code give rise to the division of social classes, which was their characteristic: different social classes used different evidence to justify the same criminal offense, and the type and severity of the imposed criminal sanction was dependant on the social class to which the defendant belonged. During the proceedings, the defendant took an oath, which, given the influence of religion on the lives of people at that time, could have influenced him to tell the truth during the proceedings. After the hearing, the defendant could not alter his original testimony, and during the proceedings he was obliged to adhere to the case in dispute and could not blame the injured party for another criminal offense.https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0550-2179/2018/0550-21791803283M.pdfcourt procedureDusan's Codeevidencedefendant |
| spellingShingle | Mirkov Željko D. The court procedure enacted by Dusan's code: Evidence and position of the defendant Zbornik Radova: Pravni Fakultet u Novom Sadu court procedure Dusan's Code evidence defendant |
| title | The court procedure enacted by Dusan's code: Evidence and position of the defendant |
| title_full | The court procedure enacted by Dusan's code: Evidence and position of the defendant |
| title_fullStr | The court procedure enacted by Dusan's code: Evidence and position of the defendant |
| title_full_unstemmed | The court procedure enacted by Dusan's code: Evidence and position of the defendant |
| title_short | The court procedure enacted by Dusan's code: Evidence and position of the defendant |
| title_sort | court procedure enacted by dusan s code evidence and position of the defendant |
| topic | court procedure Dusan's Code evidence defendant |
| url | https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0550-2179/2018/0550-21791803283M.pdf |
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