Srpske srednjovekovne povelje kao izvor Dušanovog zakonika

Abstract

Rad analizira srpske srednjovekovne povelje kao potencijalni izvor normi Zakonika cara Dušana. Iako su se brojni eminentni pravnici i istoričari bavili pitanjem izvora ovog značajnog spomenika, mišljenje je autora da tema srpskih povelja kao njegovih izvora još uvek nije dobila zadovoljavajuću stručnu obradu. U yvodu se daje pregled glavne dosadašnje literature posvećene ovoj materiji (kako one u kojoj se direktno otvara pitanje izvora Dušanovog zakonika, tako i one koja se bavi poveljama ili pojedinim oblastima i ustanovama srednjovekovnog srpskog prava), iznose osnovni argumenti za odabir teme i objašnjava sistematika njenog izlaganja; konačno, navodi se odabir izvora koji su korišćeni u toku istraživanja. U prvom delu teze razmatra se pitanje pojma i karaktera povelja kao zakonodavnih akata, te njihovog odnosa sa Dušanovim zakonikom. Za ovo istraživanje se može reći (iako je i samo po sebi od značaja za domaću pravnu istoriju) da predstavlja prethodno pitanje za pristupanje glavnoj temi rada. U njemu se porede vrste i osobine srpskih povelja sa njihovim romejskim uzorima, na osnovu čega se daje radna definicija povelje kao normativnog akta. Dalje se daje pregled najrelevantnijih shvatanja o pojmu zakona (kao prava uopšte) i načelu zakonitosti u srednjovekovnom srpskom pravu, o karakteru Zakonika u poređenju sa poveljama i o njegovom položaju u okviru Dušanove trodelne kodifikacije. Ha kraju se objašnjava odnos Zakonika i povelja, relevantan kako za njihovo paralelno postojanje u srpskom pravnom sistemu u vreme donošenja Dušanovog zakonika, tako i za dalju praksu donošenja povelja. U drugom, glavnom delu rada razmatra se pravna građa iz povelja srpskih vladara donetih pre Dušanovog zakonika zajedno sa odredbama ovog akta i analizira se mogući uticaj povelja na Zakonik, odnosno recepcija ustanova iz povelja od strane Dušanovih zakonopisaca.

The thesis analyses Serbian medieval charters as the potential sources of the Code of the Emperor Stefan Dušan. Although the question of the sources of this significant legal monument has already attracted the attention of numerous prominent lawyers and historians, the author argues that the subject of Serbian charters as its sources still has not been covered to a satisfactory degree. The introduction supplies an overview of the primary existing literature on this subject (both the works directly focused on the sources of Dušan's Code, as well as the ones dealing with charters or certain areas and institutions of medieval Serbian law), delivers the primary arguments for the selection of the subject and explains the systematics of its presentation; finally, it contains the selection of the source material used during the research. In the first part of the thesis the author considers the concept and the nature of charters as legislative acts, as well as their relation to Dušan's Code. This research (albeit important for Serbian legal history on its own) can be considered a preliminary issue for the main subject of the thesis. The author compares the types and properties of Serbian charters and their Rhomean (Byzantine) models and offers a working definition of charters as normative acts based on that comparison. Further the author gives a review of the most relevant notions of the Serbian medieval concept of zakon (in its sense as law in general) and the principle of legality in medieval Serbian law, of the nature of the Code compared to the charters and its position within Dušan's tripartite codification. Finally, the author explains the relation of the Code and the charters, relevant both to their parallel existence as sources of law in the time when Dušan's code was enacted, but also to the further practice of passing charters. The second, main, part of the thesis contains an analysis of the legal contents of the charters of Serbian rulers that predate Dušan's code and the Code's own articles, with an attempt to determine the possible influence of the charters on the Code, i.e. the reception of institutions regulated in the charters by Dušan's legislators.