The Mariupol Greek Court: Jurisdiction and Activities

Abstract

This article considers the structure of the Mariupol Greek Court and the changes that have taken place during its operation. The study defines the fundamental spheres of the institution’s activity as well as identifies its areas of responsibility. The Mariupol Greek Court has long been recognised as the local self-government body which embodied the autonomous position of the Greeks in the administrative system of Russia. However, due to the specific conditions of its existence, it was unable to exercise the privileges granted to Greek immigrants by Catherine II’s Letter of Grant. The liquidation of the Mariupol Greek Court was a direct consequence of the public administration system reforms carried out in the ’60s and ’70s of the 19th century. A significant decrease in the efficiency of administrative functions provided additional arguments for the elimination of Greek self-government in the Russian Empire. Extrapolating the modern terminology to the political and legal realities of the 18th and 19th centuries, the authors identify the Mariupol model of Greek self-government as a certain prototype of national and territorial autonomy.