Vol.1, No 3, 1999 pp. 295 - 323
UDC 177.9.:340.13(091)(497.11)
JUSTICE AND DUSHAN'S LEGISLATURE
Milijan Popović
Faculty of Law, Novi Sad
Abstract. It is just 650 years since the passing of Dushan's Code, the final act of the universal codification of the law of the medieval Serbia, which together with Matthew Blastaros' Abridged Syntagm and the so-called Justinian Code make Dushan's legislature.
Dushan's legislature, first of all Dushan's Code, was investigated from the axiological standpoint, according to Plato's and Aristotle's paradigms. Such an approach has enabled reasonableness of Dushan's legislature to be established, instead of establishing historical phenomenon, what the historians do.
Dushan's estate monarchy was a timocracy (timarchy), which means a form of a state which at least deviates from Plato's perfectly righteous state. Secular lords, as a military estate, together with the ruler, the supreme military commander, performed the principal function, military, in the Serbian medieval state, while the clergy performed those religious, cultural and social. It is, therefore, that those were privileged estates. According to the situational justice principle and in view of their merits in the state, the privileged estates had the right of property to the land (dominium directum) and the ruler the right of the supreme property to the land (dominium eminens), the so-called free heritage and many other privileges beyond the economic field. Dependent population, however, since its activities, although indispensable, were not directly connected with the principal, military function, had the right to use the land (dominium utile), the so-called subordinated heritage and in turn a lot of tributes and obligations.
Also, existing in Dushan's legislature, and first of all in Dushan's Code, was Aristotle's general justice, understood as legitimacy, explicitly formulated at several places and particularly in Articles 171 and 172. Mostly containing provisions of the public law character, Dushan's Code feature distributive justice represented to a high degree, which is demonstrated in distributing honours and goods in proportion with merits. Also, there existed a special form of the distributive justice featured by an outstandingly social function. Namely, Dushan's Code takes care of the poor, wretched, sick and frees them from various burdens imposing obligations on the Church and courts to help them. Finally, Dushan's Code recognizes Aristotle's court and criminal justice as well, as a form of corrective or synalagmatic justice which is demonstrated in establishing the middle between the good and the evil, i.e. equivalency, done by the court. This special form of justice, however, was not consistently put into effect.
As for its depth and reasonableness, Dushan's legislature, and first of all Dushan's Code, is an example of a majestic medieval law codification.
Key Words: Plato's justice, situational justice, general justice, distributive justice, court justice, estate monarchy, timocracy
PRAVDA I DUŠANOVO ZAKONODAVSTVO
Navršilo se 650 godina od donošenja Dušanovog Zakonika, završnog dela univerzalne kodifikacije prava srednjovekovne Srbije, koja zajedno sa Skraćenom Sintagmom Matije Vlastara i tzv. Justinijanovim zakonom ćini Dušanovo zakonodavstvo.
Dušanovo zakonodavstvo, a pre svega Dušanov zakonik, propitivano je sa stanovišta aksiološkog, po Platonovoj i Aristotelovoj paradigmi. Takav pristup omogućio je da se utvrdi umnost u Dušanovom zakonodavstvu, umesto uvrđivanja istorijske pojavnosti, što rade istoričari.
Dušanova staleška monarhija bila je timokratija (timarhija), a to znači oblik države koji namanje odstupa od Platonove savršeno pravedne države. Svetovna vlastela, kao vojni stalež, zajedno sa vladarem, vrhovnim vojnim zapovednikom, vršila je glavnu funkciju, vojnu, u srpskoj srenjovekovnoj državi, a sveštenstvo religijsku, kulturnu, prosvetnu i socijalnu. Otuda su to bili privilegovani staleži. Prema principu položajne pravde, s obzirom na svoje zasluge u državi, privilegovani staleži su imali pravo svojine na zemlji (dominium directum), a vladar i pravo vrhovne svojine na zemlji (dominium eminens), tzv. slobodnu baštinu, a i brojne druge povlastice u vanekonomskoj sferi. Zavisno stanovništvo, pak, s obzirom da njihova delatnost, iako nužna, nije bila direktno povezana sa glavnom, vojnom funkcijom, imalo je pravo uživanja na zemlji (dominium utile), tzv. potčinjenu baštinu, a za uzvrat brojne dažbine i terete.
Isto tako, u Dušanovom zakonodavstvu, a pre svega Dušanovom Zakoniku, prisutna je Aristotelova opšta pravda, shvaćena kao zakonitost, izričito formulisana na više mesta, a posebno u čl. 171. i 172. Kako je Dušanov Zakonik sadržavao najviše odredbe javnopravnog karaktera, u njemu je, u visokom stepenu, zastupljena distributivna pravda, koja se ispoljava u raspodeli časti i dobara, srazmerno zasluzi. Postojao je i jedan poseban oblik distributivne pravde, sa izrazito socijalnom funkcijom. Naime, Dušanov Zakonik vodi računa o siromašnim, ubogim, bolesnim, oslobađa ih raznih tereta, a nameće obaveze crkvi i sudovima da ih pomažu. Najzad, Dušanov Zakonik poznaje i Aristotelovu sudsku ili krivičnu pravdu, kao oblik korektivne ili sinalagmatičke pravde, koja se ispoljava u uspostvaljanju sredine između dobra i zla, odnosno ekvivalentnosti, što čini sud. Ovaj posebni oblik pravde, međutim, nije na dosledan način sproveden.
Po svojoj dubini i umnosti, Dušanovo zakonodavstvo, a pre svega Dušanov Zakonik, je primer velićanstvene srednjovekovne pravne kodifikacije.
Ključne reči:  Platonova pravda, položajna pravda, opšta pravda, distributivna pravda, sudska pravda, staleška monarhija, timokratija.