JUDICIAL AUTHORITY REFORMS IN MEDIEVAL SERBIA, BOHEMIA AND POLAND

Abstract

judiciary in the medieval Slavic world. In the 14^th century, three important legal codes were enacted in Serbia, Bohemia, and Poland: Dušan’s Code, Maiestas Carolina and Statutes of Casimir the Great, respectively. The proclamation of these three codes was the result of strengthening the powers of their rulers: Emperor Dušan, the Bohemian king Charles IV, and the Polish king Casimir. Almost at the same time, these rulers passed very similar legal provisions on the reorganisation of courts.The main idea was to introduce special state judges, with the aim of suppressing and limiting the feudal and other forms of judiciary in their respective states.The reform of courts, the judiciary and court proceedings was part of the prevalent attempts to centralise state authority in the three Slavic states. This process is a phenomenon of substanital relevance in the history of Slavic law, particularly given the fact that it involved the most powerful rulers of these medieval states, who were one another’s contemporaries.