marju luts-sootak the decisions made by the Livonian High Court. In the Swedish court system, there was no appellation process for these, but in the Russian period, appellations could be made to the justice collegium of Livonia, Estonia and Finland. This, in its turn, had another appellation instance, namely the highest collective administrative institution of the Russian Empire, which over time became more and more similar to the highest court of the state. This institution was also founded by Peter the Great and named Ruling/Governing Senate (in Russian: Правительствующий Сенат; in German: Dirigierende/Regierende Senat).52 What was at least officially non-existent in the Russian Empire, however, was the ordinary beneficium revisionis or the possibility to send a further appellation to the monarch himself. In fact, appealing to the Tsar instead of the senate was forbidden by punishment of death in Russia.53 Although the ukases of the emperor do not explicitly mention Livonia and Estonia, the same regulation must have been in force also in these provinces, since otherwise they probably would not have been later included among those laws of the Russian Empire that were to be in force in the Baltic governorates.54 In other words, the court system above the provincial level remained by no means the same for the Livonian High Court, as there was now a possibility to appeal to a higher court. The situation was even more different for those who actually wanted to file an appeal – instead of a royal audience or at least a baroquely polite welcome in the office of a state bureaucrat, they could expect to be hanged if they tried to pass by the justice collegium or the Governing Senate and appeal to the morach directly. On the provincial level, the changes seem much less important. The courts for the rural population, i.e. land courts and the Livonian High Court, were all retained and continued to function according to the re51 The Livonian High Court, the magistrate of Riga, Estonian Higher Land Court and the magistrate of Reval (Tallinn). 52 See: Amburger, Erik 1966 pp. 71-76. 53 See: Peterson, Claes 1979 p. 326. Peterson is mistaken about the date (19 December 1718). In fact, the ukases in question were issued on 22 December 1718. Cf. Polnoje Sobranije, Collection 1649-1825, vol. 5 (1713-1719), art. 3261, 3262, 3264. 54 Cf. Bunge, Friedrich Georg von (ed.) 1823 pp. 34-35. 231
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