Judicial and legal reforms of Frederick II of Prussia and Paul I

Introduction. The topicality of the study is related to clarifying the degree of influence of the ideas and practices of Frederick II the Great on Paul I in public policy, in particular in carrying out a number of reforms. Such research contributes to rethinking of the history of the Russian autocracy not only in the XVIII century, but also in the general history of Russia.

Materials and Methods. The research was conducted on the basis of a systematic approach, objectivity and historicism principles, and. In addition, general scientific methods of information analysis and synthesis, methods of deduction and induction, as well as the historical and comparative method were used.

Analysis. The influence of the Prussian King Frederick II is commonly associated with the military reform of Paul I and the introduction of Prussian orders into the Russian army. However, it seems that the experience of Prussia during the time of Frederick the Great was used in other transformations of Paul I, including judicial and legal reforms, since the Russian emperor considered the Prussian model of government relevant for Russia. Building a Prussian-style state required innovations in various fields; the worldview and political discourse of the XVIII century played an important role in their implementation. To identify the ideas and practices of Frederick II of Prussia in the judicial and legal field, original works in German were used, demonstrating the key provisions of the reform of the Prussian king. The judicial and legal reform of Paul I are reflected in a number of works by Russian historians, but they do not provide a detailed comparison of the aspects of reform in Prussia and Russia. The facts demonstrating the similarity of the ongoing transformations include the abolition of torture and corporal punishment, the restructuring and centralization of judicial administration, unification and the creation of new legislation.

Results. According to the results of the conducted research, it can be concluded that judicial and legal reforms were conditioned by the influence of Enlightened absolutism and were aimed at overcoming judicial arbitrariness and the implementation of humanistic ideas.

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