Judical Process Against Criminal Acts in Continental Croatia in the Early Modern Ages

Namjera ovog rada je prikazati tijek kaznenog postupka u Mađarskoj i kontinentalnom dijelu Hrvatske na kraju 16tog i početku 17tog stoljeća. Autor obraća pozornost specifičnom povijesnom kontekstu koji okružuje kazneni postupak i otkriva njegovo srednjovjekovno podrijetlo. Budući da nije postojala ideja državnog suvereniteta i iz njega proizašle zakonodavne vlasti, većina postupovnih formi oslanjala se na običajno pravo. Postupak je bio spor i neučinkovit, a kazneni je progon uvijek započinjao privatnom tužbom jer nije postojao javni interes za progonom kaznenih djela. Modernizaciji koju su započeli habsburški vladari na početku 16tog stoljeća s namjerom uvođenja javnog kaznenog progona, čvrsto se suprotstavilo hrvatsko i mađarsko plemstvo duboko ukorijenjeno u slobodama i povlasticama predaka. Ovaj se rad temelji na knjizi „Directio methodica“, koju je napisao Ivan Kitonić, jedan od vodećih pravnih stručnjaka svog vremena. „Directio methodica“, prvi put tiskana 1619., zamišljena je kao vodič i uputa strankama bez pravnog obrazovanja.The purpose of this paper is to present the course of criminal proceedings in Hungary and the continantal part of Croatia at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century. Author focuses on the specifi c historical context which surrounds the legal procedure and reveals its medieval origin. Most of the procedural forms were based on customary law while there was no idea of state sovereignity and its legislative power. Procedure was slow and ineffective and criminal prosecution always started with a private action because there was no public interest in prosecuting the criminal offences. Modernization, introduced by Habsburg monarchs at the beginning of the 16th century, which tried to install the concept of public criminal prosecution, was strongly opposed by Hungarian and Croatian nobility deeply rooted in their ancestral freedoms and privileges. This paper is based on „Directio methodica“, a book by Ivan Kitonić, who was one of the leading experts of his time on legal procedure. „Directio methodica“ was fi rst published in 1619. and it was intended to serve as a guide-book for parties without any legal education