the swedish court and appeal system Already in this period, they had never made up full half of the court personnel. The most important reform, and the foremost disruption in the eighteenth century Livonian provincial constitution and court system was Catherine the Great’s introduction of the so-called regency constitution (in German: Statthalterschaftsverfassung) in 1783.60 Thereby, all the local courts and administrative institutions were abolished or reorganised.61 TheJustizkollegiumthat had until then functioned independently was integrated with the Ruling Senate. This might also have been the end of the Swedish-era court system, if it had not been for the particular character of the Russian Empire. Peter and Catherine were not the only absolutist rulers in Russian history; Catherine’s successor Paul also had similar ambitions. In his case, it meant that most decisions made by Catherine were to be reversed. In 1796, Tsar Paul also re-established the previous court and administrative system in the Baltic provinces. The 13-year break caused by Catherine in the knighthood’s ruling power, was later presented in Baltic German history writing as a traumatic event or a great misunderstanding.62 Tsar Paul influenced the legal situation in the Baltic provinces also by making his own decisions, not only by reversing those of his predecessor. 60 The standard work from a general historical perspective is Bienemann, Friedrich Gustav 1886. An emotional emphasis is added by the fact that Bienemann published his study at a time when the pressure of the central administration of the Russian Empire on the Baltic provinces was increasing day by day. 61 For an overview about the changes made in the court system of the Baltic provinces, see: Bunge, Friedrich Georg von 1874 pp. 306-307. 62 Cf. Engelmann, Johannes August 1889 p. 226: “Zweimal hat die Organisation der Provinzialverwaltung Liv- und Estlands Rußland das Muster zur Organisation seiner Provinzialverwaltung geliefert: unter Peter d. Gr. und unter Katharina II. … Katharina II. Organisation war systematischer, aber auch schematischer. Jedenfalls hat sie die Form der russischen Provinzialverwaltung auf ein Jahrhundert bestimmt. Die Ostseeprovinzen traf dabei das eigenthümliche Loos, daß die Kaiserin in den Provinzen das Original durch die Kopie ersetzte, eine Anomalie, welche Kaiser Paul wiederum beseitigte.“ 234 The continuities and changes in the Livonian court and appeal system during the nineteenth century
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