Features Of The Legal Practices Application In The Decisions Of The Township Courts In Russia In The Nineteenth Century

In the present article the concept of legal custom as a source of law is researched. The role of legal customs in Russian Empire is shown. It is proved that during the Russian Empire period legal custom played an important role in the legal system, being one of the building blocks. Peculiarities of township courts activity are researched. Significance of legal customs for proceedings in the township courts is shown. For the importance of township courts in the Russian Empire played the fact that in their work they used existing among peasants customs and it was sanctioned by the authorities. Author stresses out that by recognizing custom, state thus authorizes current pattern of behavior in the society, a way of resolve conflicts that to the greatest extent are consistent with the understanding of justice by the society. To the legal custom, following features: custom is formed as a result of certain action frequent repetition; the source of the legal custom formation is a social consciousness; customs largely reflect the level of the society development at the particular stage; customs has quite a local character; customs reflect collective understanding on the fair nature of law. In the article two features which the judicial system of the Russian Empire had in the post-reform period: presence of class township courts as a class judiciary and application of legal customs to the township courts are noted. Combination of these two features allowed government to preserve patriarchal relations in the countryside. Such conservation, to some extent, was contrary to the liberal orientation of the "great reforms" of Alexander II, hindered development of the capitalist relations in the country, delaying implementation of the judicial reform principles