Dušan's Code
Encyclopedia
Dušan's Code was enacted by Tsar Dušan in two state congresses: in May 21, 1349 in Skopje
and amended in 1354 in Serres
. It regulated all social spheres, so it can be considered a medieval Serbian constitution
. The Code included 201 articles. The original manuscript
is not preserved, but around twenty copies of the transcript, from the 14th to 18th century, remain. The Code was based on Roman
-Byzantine law
. The legal transplanting is notable with the articles 171 and 172 of Dušan's Code, which regulated juridical independence. They were taken from the Byzantine code Basilika
(book VII, 1, 16-17). The Code had its roots in the first Serbian constitution
— St. Sava's Nomocanon from 1219, enacted by Saint Sava
. This legal act was well developed. St. Sava's Nomocanon was the compilation of Civil law
, based on Roman Law
and Canon law
, based on Ecumenical Councils. Its basic purpose was to organize the functions of the young Serbian kingdom and the Serbian church. The Serbian Empire flourished, becoming one of the most developed countries and cultures in Europe.
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
and amended in 1354 in Serres
Serres, Greece
Sérres is a city in Macedonia, Greece. It is situated in a fertile plain at an elevation of about 70 m, some 24 km northeast of the Strymon river and 69 km north-east of the Macedonian capital, Thessaloniki. The Rhodope Mountains rise to the north and east of the city...
. It regulated all social spheres, so it can be considered a medieval Serbian constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
. The Code included 201 articles. The original manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
is not preserved, but around twenty copies of the transcript, from the 14th to 18th century, remain. The Code was based on Roman
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
-Byzantine law
Byzantine law
Byzantine Law was essentially a continuation of Roman Law with Christian influence, however, this is not to doubt its later influence on the western practice of jurisprudence...
. The legal transplanting is notable with the articles 171 and 172 of Dušan's Code, which regulated juridical independence. They were taken from the Byzantine code Basilika
Basilika
The term Basilika or 'Basilica' refers to a code of laws issued by the Eastern Roman emperor Leo VI the Wise . Written entirely in Greek, the 'Basilica', in 60 books, adapt the 6th-century Justinian code to the conditions of the 9th- and 10th-century Empire, and include laws issued by Leo VI and...
(book VII, 1, 16-17). The Code had its roots in the first Serbian constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
— St. Sava's Nomocanon from 1219, enacted by Saint Sava
Saint Sava
Saint Sava was a Serbian Prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law and literature, and a diplomat. Sava was born Rastko Nemanjić , the youngest son of Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja , and ruled the appanage of Hum briefly in...
. This legal act was well developed. St. Sava's Nomocanon was the compilation of Civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
, based on Roman Law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
and Canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
, based on Ecumenical Councils. Its basic purpose was to organize the functions of the young Serbian kingdom and the Serbian church. The Serbian Empire flourished, becoming one of the most developed countries and cultures in Europe.
On the Law
- Further commandeth our Imperial Majesty:
- Should our Imperial Majesty write a letter
- Out of wrath, or out of love
- Or out of mercy for any one,
- And should such a letter contravene the Code
- And be at variance with the law and justice
- As set down in the Code,
- The judges
- Shall not comply therewith
- But shall judge
- And act withal as justice commandenth.
On Poor Women
- Any poor woman unable to litigate
- Or defend herself shall choose an attorney
- Who shall speak on her behalf.
- The poorest hemp-spinstress shall be as free as a priest shall.
On Prisoners
- Whoso escapeth from prison to the Imperial Court, be he a serf of the Crown, or of the Church, or of a nobleman, shall by the act itself be set free; should he be bearing any gifts for the man to whom he hath escaped, he shall return them to the man from whom he hath escaped.
- Whoso escapeth from the prison at our Imperial Court to the patriarchal court shall be set free; also shall be set free any man who escapeth from the patriarchal prison to the Imperial Court.
- Also, should any one give shelter to a man from a foreign land, and that man be a fugitive from his master of from justice holding our imperial letter of clemency, said letter shall not be contested; should he hold no such letter, he shall be returned wherefrom he hath escaped.
See also
- ZakonopraviloZakonopraviloThe Nomocanon of Saint Sava was the first Serbian constitution and the highest code in the Serbian Orthodox Church, finished in 1219. This legal act was well developed. St...
- Serbian EmpireSerbian EmpireThe Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire...
- Serbia in the Middle Ages
- Corpus Juris CivilisCorpus Juris CivilisThe Corpus Juris Civilis is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Eastern Roman Emperor...
- ConstitutionConstitutionA constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
Further reading
- Alexander Soloviev
- Selected Monuments of Serbian Law from the 12th to 15th centuries (1926)
- Legislation of Stefan Dušan, Emperor of Serbs and Greeks (1928)
- Dušan's Code in 1349 and 1354 (1929),
- Stojan NovakovićStojan NovakovicStojan Novaković , was a Serbian literary critic, scholar, politician and diplomat, and the foremost Serbian historian of nineteenth century, holding the post of Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia on two occasions.He was born in the western Serbian city of Šabac and died in the southern city of...
, Zakonik Stefana Dušana cara srpskog 1349. i 1354. (Legal Code of Stefan Dušan, Serbian Emperor, 1349 and 1354), BelgradeBelgradeBelgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, 1898 - Т.Флоринский (T Florinsky), Памятники законодатльной дъятельности Душана Царя Сербовъ и Грековъ (Legislature Monuments of Tzar Dusan, Emperor of Serbs and Greeks), KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, 1888 - Batrićević, Ana, "Legal Transplants and the Code of Serbian Tsar Stephan Dushan: A Comparative Study" (December 22, 2006). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=953277