The judicial reform of Alexander II is generally considered one of the most successful and the most consistent (along with the military reform) of all the reforms of Alexander II. A completely new court system and a completely new order of legal proceedings were established. The main results were the introduction of a unified judicial system instead of a cumbersome set of courts of the estates of the realm courts, and fundamental changes in criminal trials. The latter included the establishment of the principle of equality of the parties involved, the introduction of public hearings, the jury trial, and a professional advocate that had never existed in Russia. However, there were also problems, as certain obsolete institutions were not covered by the reform. A;sp, the reform was hindered by extrajudicial punishment, introduced on a widespread scale during the reign of successors of Alexander II - Alexander III and Nicholas II.
The judicial reforms started on 20 November 1864, when the tsar signed the decree which enforced four Regulations (Establishment of Judicial Settlements, Regulations of Civil Proceedings, Regulations of Criminal Proceedings, and Regulations of Punishments Imposed by Justices of the Peace).
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