Проаналізовано творчий доробок історика права ХІХ ст. І. М. Собестіанського щодо деяких аспектів права Київської Русі. Основну увагу приділено
його науковим поглядам щодо розуміння кругової поруки в давньоруському праві.
The author has analyzed the creative work of the law historian of the XIX century
I. M. Sobestiansky (1856–1895) in regard to some aspects of the law in Kievan Rus.
The main attention has been paid to his scientific views on understanding the joint responsibility
in the Old Russian law.
The scholar stressed the need to study ancient Russian law in connection with
other Slavic laws, believing that it could reveal many controversial issues of the ancient
Russian law. However, he warned that three important conditions should be followed.
First of all, we should use only such sources, the historical reliability of which is not
subject to doubt. Secondly, reliable sights should be subjected to philological elaboration
in advance. Thirdly, starting a comparative study of any ancient institution, one
must be free from all biased ideas generated by the sense of national pride.
It has been noted that under the institution of joint responsibility in the XIX century
scholars understood the group responsibility of the ancient territorial communities
for crimes committed in their district. I. M. Sobestiansky argued that the basis of the joint
responsibility is not the commonality of origin, but the relations of neighborhood and
public land tenure, since joint responsibility in Russia is mentioned in Russkaia Pravda
concerning the responsibility of the rural territorial community (“verv”). The researcher
drew attention to those cases when such a community freed from a fine (“vyra”).
In his study on the joint responsibility I. M. Sobestiansky picked up homogeneous
facts to the facts of Slavic history from the legislation of the Hindus, Jews, Old-
German law, legal customs of Montenegro, Albanians and other peoples. As a result, he
made a substantiated conclusion that the joint responsibility is inherent not only to
Slavic people, but exists in many nations, being a product of a certain degree of social
development.
Проанализирована творческая наработка историка права ХІХ в. И. М. Собестианского относительно некоторых аспектов права Киевской Руси. Основное
внимание уделено его научным взглядам относительно понимания круговой поруки в древнерусском праве.
