УЧАСТЬ ПРЕДСТАВНИКІВ ГРОМАДСЬКОСТІ У ЗДІЙСНЕННІ КОПНОГО СУДОЧИНСТВА ЗА УКРАЇНСЬКИМ ЗВИЧАЄВИМ ПРАВОМ

The article analyzes the features of the participation of public representatives in the implementation of kopa litigation under Ukrainian customary law. Ukrainian customary law is an important national value and heritage, a part of Ukrainian spiritual culture, which reflects its essence. A manifestation of the authority of Ukrainian customary law is the formation of kopa (public) courts on its basis in Ukrainian lands (14th–18th centuries). The norms of Ukrainian customary law attached special importance to the administration of justice. The activities of the kopa courts in the Ukrainian lands testified to its democratic nature, the accessibility of the people to the administration of justice, and the observance of integrity by the kopa judges during the administration of justice. It is noted that the history of the formation of democratic elements regarding the participation of the public in the administration of justice, integrity, and access to justice in the Ukrainian lands dates back to ancient times. The first judicial bodies in the Ukrainian lands were formed already in the pre-state society of the Eastern Slavs. They were pre-state communal courts, which functioned in the form of judicial powers of the elders of tribal communities. The first forms of participation of the representatives of society in the administration of justice existed in Ukrainian law even in the pre-state period. In the judicial system of the Kyivan Rus' state, an important place was occupied by verv courts, which were judicial bodies of territorial communities – vervs. They largely resembled a jury trial, but they decided not only questions of fact, but also had to impose punishment on those guilty of a crime. In the 14th century. the transformation of the verv courts into kopa courts took place, which were also elected collegiate bodies of public justice, guided in their activities primarily by the norms of Ukrainian customary law. The composition of the kopa courts was formed democratically as a result of the election of the corresponding number of kopa judges for each case by the communities (usually rural) that were part of the kopa district. The kopa courts, whose sessions were held mainly in the open air with wide public participation, investigated crimes, decided civil and criminal cases, and executed the decrees they adopted. The activity of the kopa courts on Ukrainian lands testified to its democratic nature, the accessibility of the people to the administration of justice. In addition, there was a functional connection between the kopa courts and the state, which was manifested in the participation of the vyzh and voznyi in the kopa judicial proceedings, the possibility of appealing kopa decrees in state courts, etc. The competence of the kopa courts included both civil and criminal cases (in particular, cases of serious crimes). It is shown that the composition of the kopa court consisted of kopnyks, that is, kopa judges (court men) and the community present at the trial. The kopa judges knew Ukrainian customary law well, had a heightened sense of justice and responsibility, were distinguished by high moral purity, honesty, lived honestly, and adhered to the rules of morality and customary law. Only they had the right to make a decision in the case. In addition to the kopa judges, one or two men from three villages of the neighboring kopa district were invited to the large kopa. They were called “outsiders” in the kopa judicial proceedings. They did not have the right to vote, but these subjects of the process followed the course of the trial. Landowners and state officials could be present at the meeting of the kopa court, but also without the right to vote. The rest of the kopa assembly was made up of the peasantry (community), that is, the public, whose mandatory participation in each meeting of the kopa court ensured the maximum publicity of the trial. It is emphasized that the historical experience of the organization and operation of the kopa courts in Ukraine testifies to the presence of democratic traditions of the administration of justice among the Ukrainian people. Ukrainian customary law provided for public access to justice, the integrity of judges, and set a moral example of impartiality, objectivity, and dynamism of kopa courts in Ukraine. It seems that today every judge must be able to penetrate the spirit and content of the law and cultivate a sense of justice, because only such a judicial process can be called justice. National historical legal experience shows that access to justice and the integrity of judges are characteristic features of Ukrainian law, which have been formed and functioned on Ukrainian lands for centuries. From the experience of the activity of the public judiciary in Ukraine during the 14th–18th centuries, it follows that for a modern Ukrainian judge, integrity should be perceived as his professional independence, honesty, impartiality, incorruptibility, conscientiousness, adherence to ethical norms and demonstration of impeccable behavior in professional activities and personal life, as well as in relation to which there are no doubts about the legality of the sources of origin of property, compliance of the standard of living of the judge or his family members with the declared income, etc. Access to justice and the integrity of a judge are also important in the development of civil society and a democratic, legal state. Keywords: access to justice, public participation, integrity of judges, kopa judiciary, justice.