The formation and development of the justice of the peace in the Irkutsk province in the late XIX – early XX century: historical and legal aspect

The article analyzes the features of the formation and development of world justice in the Irkutsk province in the context of Judicial reform in the regions of Siberia at the end of the XIX century. The legal basis for the formation of the Institute of World Justice in the Irkutsk province was the Law of May 13, 1896 on the introduction of Judicial statutes in the Siberian provinces and regions. The magistrates’ courts formed on the basis of this Law successfully functioned in the Irkutsk province from 1897 to 1917. The legal status of justices of the peace in the Irkutsk province, as well as in Siberia as a whole, was based on the appointment, turnover and dependence of these judges. In addition to the judicial function, magistrates were assigned additional functions – investigative and notarial. The need for magistrates to perform non-judicial functions led to their large excess workload. Such a workload of magistrates in almost every district of the Irkutsk province had a negative impact on the quality of the administration of justice: procedural deadlines were often violated; law enforcement mistakes were made; the rights of defendants, victims and persons under investigation were violated. In this regard, an increase in the number of magistrates’ precincts and a partial revision of their boundaries in order to more evenly burden magistrates was an urgent need. During the judicial reform in Siberia, it was decided to refuse to create a congress of magistrates as an appellate instance for magistrates’ courts. This function was assigned in the Irkutsk province to the Irkutsk District Court, which led to an increase in its workload. Much attention is paid to the study of the main problems of the organization and functioning of magistrates’ courts in the Irkutsk province in the late XIX – early XX centuries. According to the results of the study, the author attributed to such problems: insufficient financing of magistrates’ courts; lack of qualified judicial personnel and their high turnover; poor living conditions of magistrates’ courts in rural and other remote areas. However, in general, the author comes to the conclusion that the magistrates’ courts in the Irkutsk province functioned much better than the pre-reform courts. They were closer and more accessible to the public and dealt with criminal and civil cases more quickly.