The national historical and legal science is still experiencing the consequences of Russian historiography of the Old Rus’ State and its law which dominated over a long period, in terms of interpreting historical events and facts in the spirit of the Russian Empire’s ideology and the Marxist concept of class struggle. Works by Ukrainian scholars still remain outside of Russian historiography.

 The purpose of this article is to make a brief overview of the concepts and conclusions made by national scientists about establishment of law and the State-building processes in Kyivan Rus’.

In this article the author refers to the chronicle evidence of Rus’, the Old Rus’ State, its law and sources of law according to M. Vladymyrskyi-Budanov, M. Hrushevsky,M. Maksymeiko, R. Lashchenko, M. Chubatyi, and others. These authors argue that in Kyivan Rus’ the system of rules of oral customary law – Zakon Rus’ky (Rus’ Law) – was most widespread. Ukrainian historians of law associated written forms of Old Rus’ law with the first Rus’-Byzantine treaties and legislation of Volodymyr the Great. The author of the article studies the history of Rus’ka Pravda (Rus’ Law), its title and sources, Kyiv origin and editions of Soviet times, and draws conclusions about shortcomings present in the studies concerning this outstanding monument of law.

It is proved that treaties of Rus’ with Byzantium of the X century are significant monuments of national and international law and evidence that customary law and written law had high development level as early as at the stage of establishment of the Kyivan State. It is shown that these monuments reflected the broad interests of Rus’ in peaceful relations with the Byzantine Empire, protection of its unstable southern frontiers – the mouth of the Dnieper, the Danube, and neighbourship with Greek colonies in the Crimea. At the same time, Rus’-Byzantine treaties are valuable sources which allow studying the socio-economic relations and the development of law in Kyivan Rus’, as well as political, economic and cultural ties with Byzantium. Since Rus’-Byzantine treaties are international legal acts, they reflect certain rules of Byzantine law which often were transformed by their drafters in the interests of the Rus’ party thereof. In their entirety, these treaties witnessed a significant influence which Kyivan Rus’ had on the establishment of international law of the X century. They were the first documents of the Middle Ages when the basics of private international law were formed, and their rules were much ahead of Western European medieval law of those times.

The development of Kyivan State’s law was influenced by adoption of Orthodoxy and christianization of population. The article defines the content and the system of rules of the Church Statutes (Ustavy) of the great Kyivan princes Volodymyr and Yaroslav the Wise, which are still insufficiently studied by modern researchers. The author also highlights rare acts – monuments of the State of Galicia-Volhynia.

Based on the conclusions made by Ukrainian scholars of the late XIX – early XX centuries, we refute the Russian stereotype about the form of the Old Rus’ State as an early medieval monarchy built on the suzerainty-vassalage principle.

Outstanding monuments of Old Rus’ law evidence: the founders and lawmakers of the Kyivan State transformed an enormous layer of ancestral customs into customary law, used the experience of judicial practice of Rus’ princes and regulation of new social relations, assimilated a part of rules of Byzantine law and – in Rus’ka Pravda (Rus’ Law), in Statutes (Ustavy) legislation embodied high-level legal thought, legal culture, and legislative technique.

Bibliography

Authored books

1. Boiko I, Kryminalni pokarannia v Ukraini (IX–XX st.): navchalnyi posibnyk [Criminal Penalties in Ukraine (IX–XX Centuries): Study Guide] (Lviv nats un-t im I Franka 2013) (in Ukrainian).

2. Boiko I, Pravove rehuliuvannia tsyvilnykh vidnosyn v Ukraini (IX–XX st.): navchalnyi posibnyk dlia studentiv vyshchkh navchflnykh zakladiv [Legal Regulation of Civil Relations in Ukraine (IX–XX Centuries): Study Guide for Students of Higher Educational Institutions] (Atika 2013) (in Ukrainian).

3. Chubatyi M, Ohliad istorii ukrainskoho prava: istoriia dzherel ta derzhavnoho prava [Review of the History of Ukrainian Law: History of Sources and State Law] (Noosfera 1994) (in Ukrainian).

 4. Hrushevskyi M, Istoriia Ukrainy-Rusy [History of Ukraine-Rus’], t 3 (Naukova dumka 1993) (in Ukrainian).

5. Jushkov S, Russkaja Pravda. Proishozhdenie, istochniki, ee znachenie [Rus’ka Pravda (Rus’ Law). Origin, Sources, and Its Significance] (Zercalo 2002) (in Russian).

6. Lashchenko R, Lektsii po istorii ukrainskoho prava [Lectures on the History of Ukrainian Law] (Ukraina 1998) (in Ukrainian).

7. Maksimejko N, Lekcii po istorii Russkogo prava [Lectures on the History of Rus’ Law] (Tip i litogr N V Petrova 1907) (in Russian).

8. Miroshnichenko Ju i Udovik S, Rus’-Ukraina: stanovlenie gosudarstvennosti [Rus’Ukraine: Establishment of Statehood], t 1: Rus’-Ukraina s drevnejshih vremen do sozdanija imperii [Rus’-Ukraine from Ancient Times to Establishment of the Empire] (Vakler 2011) (in Russian).

9. Yermolaiev V, Vyshchi predstavnytski orhany vlady v Ukraini: istoriia, teoriia ta praktyka [Supreme Representative Public Authorities in Ukraine: History, Theory and Practice] (Pravo 2017) (in Ukrainian).

Edited books

10. Antolohiia ukrainskoi yurydychnoi dumky [Anthology of Ukrainian Legal Thought], t 2: Istoriia derzhavy i prava Ukrainy: Ruska Pravda [History of State and Law of Ukraine:Rus’ka Pravda (Rus’ Law)] (Shemshuchenko Yu holova redkol, Iuryd kn, 2002) (in Ukrainian).

 11. Dnistrianskyi S, ‘Zahalna nauka prava i polityky (Frahmenty)’ [‘General Science of Law and Politics (Fragments)’] v Politolohiia. Kinets XIX – persha polovyna XX st.: khrestomatiia [Political Science. End of the XIX – First Half of the XX Century: Reading Book] (Semkiv O red, Svit 1996) (in Ukrainian).

12. Pamjatniki russkogo prava. Vyp. 2. Pamjatniki prava feodal’no-razdroblennoj Rusi. XII–XV vv. [Monuments of Rus’ Law. Vol. 2. Law Monuments of Feudal Fragmented Rus’. XII–XV Centuries] (Jushkov S red, Gos izd-vo jurid lit-ry 1953) (in Russian).

13. Polnoe sobranie russkih letopisej [Full Collection of Rus’ Chronicles], t 2: Ipat’evskaja letopis’ [Hypatian Chronicle] (Jazyki russkoj kul’tury 1998) (in Russian).

14. Polnoe sobranie russkih letopisej [Full Collection of Rus’ Chronicles], t 38: Radzivilovskaja letopis’ [Radzivill Chronicle] (Nauka 1989) (in Russian).

15. Polnoe sobranie russkih letopisej [Full Collection of Rus’ Chronicles], t 4, ch 1: Novgorodskaja Pervaja letopis’ mladshego i starshego izvodov [Full Collection of Rus’ Chronicles. Novgorod First Chronicle of Senior and Junior Versions] (Izd-vo Ros Akad Nauk 1950) (in Russian).

16. Povest’ vremennyh let. Po Lavrent’evskoj letopisi 1377 g.: ist.-lit. ocherk [The Tale of Bygone Years. According to the Laurentian Chronicle of 1377: Historical Literary Essay], ch 1 (tekst i perevod, Adrianova-Peretc V red, Izd-vo AN SSSR 1950) (in Russian).

17. Pravda Ruska Yaroslava Mudroho: pochatok vitchyznianoho zakonodavstva: navchalnyi posibnyk [Rus’ka Pravda (Rus’ Law) of Yaroslav the Wise: the Beginning of National Legislation: Study Guide] (Demydenko H ta Yermolaiev V uklad, 2-he vyd, zmin ta dopovn, Pravo 2017) (in Ukrainian).

18. Rossijskoe zakonodatel’stvo X–XX vekov [Rus’ Legislation of the X–XX Centuries], t 1: Zakonodatel’stvo Drevnej Rusi [Legislation of Old Rus’] (Janin V otv red, Jurid lit-ra 1984) (in Russian).

Journal articles

19. Fedoriv S, ‘Vichova spadshchyna starodavnoi Rusi’ [‘Veche Heritage of Ancient Rus’’] (1998) 27–28 Khronika-2000. Ukrainskyi kulturolohichnyi almanakh 69-80 (in Ukrainian).