Features of exercise of control by regional courts in Halichina in the field of judiciary (1855-1918)
Authors: Kovalchuk I. V. 
Published: February 2024

The article analyzes the peculiarities of control by regional courts in Galicia in the field of judicial proceedings (1855–1918). It is noted that as a result of the reform of the Austrian judiciary in the middle of the 19th century. a three-level judicial system was created: district, district (regional), higher regional courts. Special attention is focused on the characteristics of the historical experience of control by regional courts in Galicia in the field of judicial proceedings. in the studied period. It is noted that regional courts in Galicia were entrusted with the function of control, and in fact internal control, over the activities of the court itself and the institutions that operated under it – the Chamber of Advocates, the Chamber of Notaries. An important element of control was supervision over the state of detention of prisoners in the district of responsibility of the court. In the case of Eastern Galicia, these are Lviv and one Stanislaviv prison. The controlling function was directly related to the disciplinary activity of regional courts. Another important component of the activity of regional courts was the role of appellate bodies for courts of first instance in civil cases (for criminal cases, such a body was the Higher Regional Court). The study of the legal foundations of the organization and activity of regional courts in Galicia (1850–1918) proves the presence of certain positive experience that can be used in reforming the current legislation of Ukraine on the judiciary. The experience of regional courts in Galicia as part of Austria-Hungary convinces us of the need to respond to social challenges in a timely manner and bring the judiciary into line with needs. As a result of political and legal changes in the middle of the 19th and the second half of the 19th century. citizens of Austria-Hungary were guaranteed the constitutional right to judicial protection. In their activities, judges of regional courts in Galicia were guided by the law and tried to resolve disputes on the basis of current Austrian legislation. Any abuse of the official position was punished, as evidenced by the processed archival materials.

It is noted that, based on the historical experience of regional courts in Galicia (1850–1918), in modern conditions in Ukraine it is important to: develop a new procedure for the selection of judges on a competitive basis, which will ensure the qualification evaluation of judges according to the same transparent criteria and provide for regular evaluation of the professional activity of judges, enshrining in the legislation the principle of raising the professional level of judges as the main criterion for the promotion of a judge in a professional career; introduce mechanisms for achieving the unity of judicial practice by using the research and analytical capabilities of higher specialized courts, strengthening the role of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, ensuring their close cooperation with academic institutions (the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, leading higher legal educational institutions); to develop integrity control mechanisms, in particular, the provision by judges and family members of judges of extended declarations of property status, income and expenses, the introduction of proportional sanctions for failure to submit or submission of an incomplete or unreliable declaration, including through an effective system of measures against a judge who is suspected of corruption actions, clear normative regulation of the institute of functional immunity of a judge; to improve the procedure for the distribution of cases between courts, according to which minor civil and criminal cases must be transferred for consideration and resolution to the future magistrate’s court at the first instance level, which would significantly reduce the burden on the newly created district courts, and serious criminal cases should be transferred to district courts for consideration with the participation of jurors, where a professional judge will supervise the judicial process, compliance by the parties to the process and the imposition of punishment, which will eliminate the corruption component in the courts; for appellate and cassation institutions to establish a clear distinction regarding the consideration of cases in appellate and cassation institutions; legislate the following: if the price of a civil lawsuit is up to 50 subsistence minimums established by the state at the moment, then the decision of the court of first instance must be final and will not be subject to appeal in the appellate court; if the price of the claim will be from 50 to 100 subsistence minimums established by the state at the moment, then the civil case can be appealed in the appellate instance and its decision must be final (this will significantly relieve the work of the appellate and cassation instances). in order to prevent abuse, it is necessary to specify and adhere to a reasonable term of consideration of the case in the appellate courts of Ukraine and to ensure the equal rights of the participants in the court proceedings for an appeal (as well as a cassation) appeal based on the general permissive method of legal regulation.