The Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Origins, Shape, Functioning, Relics

Abstract

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was one of a few countries in Renaissance Europe that created a codified law. In 1529, 1566, and 1588 it was brought by monarchs and estates. It was mainly due to the profound transformation of a social structure, fast political and economic changes, a necessity to reinforce the state, and strengthen the bounds between Poland and Lithuania in the face of Muscovite danger. Lithuanian and Ruthenian customary laws, hitherto privileges, norms of Polish, Roman, Magdeburg, Masovian, Ecclesiastical (both Catholic and Orthodox) laws, and practice experience were the sources of the codification.
The Third Statute, the most excellent of the statutes of Lithuania, consisted of 14 chapters that included 488 articles. The code attempted to cover the entire legal system (so-called political an judicial law), e.g., the political system, rights of estates, private and criminal laws, administration of justice and judicial procedure. Like previous Lithuanian codes, the Third Statute declared the territoriality of law principle. Humanitarian ideas influenced the code: emphasized in the in dubio pro reo principle limited the responsibility of juveniles, granted public defender for the poor, and eliminated most of the causes for enslaving. Despite numerous attempts, it was not revised. The Sejm constitutions, precedent judgments of the common courts, and the resolutions of the Permanent Council in the second half of the 18th century decided matters not regulated by the code. Still, applying the Statute in practice sometimes differed from its literal meaning. After the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russia gradually limited the scope of use of the Third Statute, and finally, it was annulled in 1840. Nonetheless, it had some practical importance after that date. Yet, by the end of the 19th century, some trials in succession cases wer based on its norms and some of its institutions were transferred into customs still in use in the third decade of the 20th century. The Third Statute also played an essential role as a symbol of the separateness
of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, both during the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and in the 19th century.