Државна власт у Крушевачком округу 1840-их: правни и друштвени аспекти

Abstract

This book presents examples from the mid-19th century Kruševac county which illustrate how the state authorities functioned in that area. These examples are taken from the practice of the Municipality and County court of Kruševac. The cases before us are a reflection of life in a small environment in the Serbian provinces in the mid-19th century. The cases mentioned in this book speak of the functioning of local government at the local level in Serbia in the mid-19th century. We see that local power-makers, who were at the same time at the very top of the state or themselves representatives of the local government, participate in or influence the work of local state bodies, for the purpose of realizing their own interests and personal gain. Quite often, a good deal of local property was owned by these powerful people. They acted as commanders, their word was mostly heard everywhere, and all the business on the local level was in some way related to them. Th ere were numerous allegations of abuse against the local powerful, but in spite of these, but their actions remained as before. It is very noticeable that the whole of Serbia was under the control and administration of a small circle of elite local powerful with good connections and positions at the top of state power, who were interconnected and who cooperated, and sometimes their interests were conflicting. Also, the cases cited testify to the fact that in the work of the state bodies themselves there was mutual friction and intolerance and that the cooperation of different institutions of government was not always at the highest level. On the other hand, the ministries which were superior to the the chief of the municipality, still considered complaints and did not always accept the information served lightly. Local powerful, e.g. Chief Petrovic, did not always get the solution they initially wanted, but the one that was more a matter of compromise, i.e. least damaging to the parties, the truth and the government itself.

Th e district court of Kruševac represented a part of the Serbian district court system, which was the foundation of the judiciary in Serbia. Our intention was to mark the place and role of this Court in the life of the District, and also in the Serbian judicial system, hoping to encourage further research of this Court’s history.