The ‘Golden Age of Legislation’ in Finland 1863–79: Judicial Reforms in a Societal Context

Abstract

Finland was part of Russia’s multi-national empire from 1809–1917. This period of autonomy witnessed several different phases. The phase that started from the ascent of Alexander II to the throne and ended some decades later is known as the ‘Golden Age of Legislation.’ The Finnish Diet could convene from 1863 after a moratorium of a half a Century. This dynamic period witnessed a huge amount of legislative changes. Legislative structures typical to Estate society were dismantled and a legislative basis suitable for a capitalist economy was established. There were not only changes in private law; major changes were also made in other fields of law. For example, principles of criminal law were discussed in the Diet of 1863–64, and changes that modernized and made criminal punishments were enacted in 1866 even though a total reform of the Criminal Code was not realized before 1889. It is important to put these reforms in a societal context. These reforms can be explained by connecting them to the changing power structures of the Empire. Alexander II’s policy aimed at modernizing society and he set about doing this by maintaining an autocratic rule. This allowed Finland to carry out societal reforms; reforms which served the interests of a new commercial class recruited partly from the nobility and partly from the bourgeoisie. In comparison, it is clear that Finnish reforms and Russian reforms of 1864 had a common societal basis in their aim of serving the interests of the economy. However, this led to legal reforms in different fields of law reflecting the economic, societal and political conditions in Finland and in the Empire.