Division III. 3(a). Subjects of the department of the provincial chancellery: Judicial part (Justice)

4. Attached to each court was a chancellery — consisting of a secretary and 5 scribes. Members were elected by the nobility for 4 years; the chief judges, upon the governor's recommendation, were confirmed by the Senate; the remaining members — by the governor. Full sessions were supposed to be held from November 1 to March 1. But these courts primarily considered civil cases — land litigations; whereas criminal and investigative cases were handled in the provincial chancelleries, under the appeal of the Collegium of Justice for Livonian, Estonian, and Finnish Affairs '). Let us note, in conclusion, that in the project for the construction of the city of Torzhok in 1767, a court of conscience is already mentioned °). As for the conclusion of civil acts, initially under Peter the Great they were executed in town halls, under the supervision of burgomasters, who set up special desks for this purpose °). With the establishment of the provinces, deed affairs came under the jurisdiction of the provincial chancelleries *). Upon the formation of the nadvorny courts, deed affairs came under their administration. The institution for deed affairs was then called an office. In St. Petersburg, the deed office was attached to the Collegium of Justice °), in Moscow and in other cities where there were nadvorny courts — attached to the nadvorny courts 6); in cities where these courts did not exist, deed offices existed separately. The highest administration of deed affairs was initially entrusted to the Armory Chamber ”), in 1706 it passed to the Moscow town hall *), and in 1719 — to the Collegium of Justice °). After the abolition of the nadvorny courts, deed affairs came under the administration of provincial governors and voivodes, and finally in 1775 were concentrated in the provincial chancelleries °). Thus, the execution of deeds, being closely connected with civil justice, followed the latter in its departmental transfer. When, with the establishment of the provinces in 1775, civil justice was separated from the provincial chancelleries and concentrated in the civil chambers and district courts, the execution of deeds also passed to the civil chambers and district courts. Thus, before the establishment of the provinces, governors, like the regional rulers of the 17th century, concentrated civil, criminal, and administrative justice in their hands. The provincial chancellery was the highest judicial instance, to which appeals against the decisions of provincial and city voivodes were brought. But prior to the establishment of the provinces, there was a growing awareness of the inconveniences arising from the combination of justice and administration in the hands of regional rulers. This awareness prompted the government to establish special institutions for the administration of justice: thus, Peter the Great established the position of Landrichter, and set up nadvorny and other courts; during the 18th century, other judicial institutions appeared — the Judicial and Investigative prikazy, investigative expeditions and offices; thus civil justice was separated from administration in the Belarusian provinces; in the project for the city of Torzhok, the idea of a court of conscience is evident. Thus, little by little, the principle of separating justice from administration was developed; and in the establishment of the Judicial and Investigative prikazy, a striving to separate civil justice from criminal justice is evident. Nevertheless, before the establishment of the provinces, justice was not separated from administration, and the governors, along with their subordinate voivodes, were not only rulers, but also judges. The establishment of the provinces represents a decisive attempt to establish a different order: it clearly expresses the awareness of the inconvenience 'that in one and the same place, where the administration of the province is managed, along with state revenues and accounts, together with the deanery or police, and on top of that, criminal cases and civil courts are administered ').' Therefore, the legislatrix sought to confine the governor's activities within the limits of administration, eliminating his direct participation in justice. Here are the principles by which she thought to achieve this goal: 'the sovereign's viceroy is not a judge, but a guardian of the legislation issued by His Imperial Majesty, an intercessor for the common and sovereign's good, a defender of the oppressed, and an instigator of voiceless cases.... ) The sovereign's viceroy must intercede for anyone who is being dragged through cases, and compel the judicial bodies of his viceroyalty to decide such and such a case, but he by no means interferes in its proceedings, for he is like the master of his province, and not a judge... If something unjust were determined in a judicial body, then the sovereign's viceroy may suspend the execution and report to the Senate, and concerning urgent matters, to His Imperial Majesty as well. (This especially concerns criminal cases, in the sentencing to deprive someone of life or honor, and in such cases execution should not take place at all without reporting to the governor-general *).' Soon after this, it was confirmed to the governors not to interfere in the proceedings of judicial-civil cases: a decree of 1799 ordered the governors not to review the chambers' decisions on litigation cases and not to stop their execution °). The current relationship of the governors to justice is also based on the principles established by Catherine.