Spravedlivost’ or Samartlianoba: Language & the Reformed Courts in Georgia

Abstract

This essay explores the challenges of prosecuting crime in the borderlands of the Russian Empire, focusing on the Georgian provinces in the wake of the 1864 Judicial Reform. The requirement that all legal proceedings be conducted in Russian created significant obstacles to the administration of justice, as linguistic barriers hindered the effective evaluation of evidence and judicial decision-making. Georgian jurists, serving as investigators, lawyers, and judges, grappled with these complexities, advocating for solutions rooted in positivist legal principles. Though their efforts did not result in legislative change, their engagement with the legal system reflected an assertion of professional authority and a claim to judicial institutions within the empire.