Organic regulations

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Organic regulations, 1832

The organic regulation ( Romanian Regulamentul Organic , Russian Органический регламент Organitscheski reglament ) was the first constitutional piece of legislation in the Danube principalities, i.e. in Wallachia and Moldova , the forerunner states of today's Romania . It came into force at the instigation of the Russian occupation authorities in 1831/1832 and remained in force until 1858.

prehistory

The Danube principalities had been under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire for several centuries , with an increasing influence of the Russian Empire becoming noticeable from the beginning of the 19th century. The Ottomans appointed Greeks from Istanbul , so-called Phanariotes, as princes of Moldavia and Wallachia. The powers of these princes were not regulated by law, in practice they ruled without any restrictions and used rampant corruption for their own enrichment.

Moldova and Wallachia were occupied by Russia in the Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) , which the Treaty of Adrianople (1829) confirmed.

Emergence

Pavel Dmitrievich Kisselev

The Russian occupying power, which was initially represented by General Seltushin, convened a commission of large landowners ( boyars ) in 1829 , which was supposed to work out a constitutional law under Russian supervision. Four boyars each from Wallachia and Moldova formed this body, which met for the first time on April 19 in Bucharest and was chaired by the Russian consul. After a few months, Seltushin was replaced by the liberal-minded General Pavel Dmitrijewitsch Kisseljow , who tried to bring his progressive ideas into the negotiations and in some cases enforced them by ordinance.

The work of the commission was completed in April 1830, approved by the tsarist government in Saint Petersburg with minor changes and then forwarded to the boyar assemblies in Bucharest (capital of Wallachia) and Iași (capital of Moldova). There boyars again discussed the submission in extraordinary meetings. It was legally adopted in Wallachia in July 1831 and in Moldova in January 1832.

The Ottoman Empire recognized the Organic Regulations as valid on January 29, 1834. In return, Russia ended its occupation of the Danube principalities, but retained considerable influence through its consuls. Formally, the Ottoman Empire again became the suzerain of Moldavia and Wallachia.

content

Wallachian Boyar Assembly, 1837

Administrative, judicial and military tasks were defined for the first time in the organic regulations.

It determined that the legislative power was exercised by an assembly ("divan"), which was dominated by the boyars, in which some church dignitaries also sat, but the civic element was completely absent. The deputies were elected for five years. The regulations stipulated the composition of the divans (35 members in Moldova, 43 in Wallachia) as well as the right to vote (from 25 years) and passive (from 30 years). Only boyars were allowed to vote.

The assembly met periodically (annually) and had the authority to approve budget proposals and taxes. It could not be dissolved by the prince. The executive power lay with princes, who were elected for life by an extraordinary divan. In addition to the numerically dominating boyars, this also included representatives of the Orthodox Church and the cities. This assembly had 132 members in Moldova and 192 in Wallachia.

The choice of the prince had to be confirmed by Russia. The prince could reject resolutions of the legislative assembly without giving reasons. He thus had an absolute right of veto, but could no longer enact laws at his own discretion. In disputes, both the prince and the national assembly could call the Russian consul as arbitrator, which gave him considerable influence. Other provisions of the regulations also enabled the tsarist empire to intervene in a variety of ways. These provisions remained in effect after the withdrawal of the Russian troops when the Danube principalities came back under Ottoman suzerainty. Moldova and Wallachia were thus simultaneously dependent on both the Russian tsar and the Ottoman sultan for several decades, although the influence of the latter was significantly less.

The previous feudal order was retained. The boyars were officially declared landowners, the land previously available to the peasants was reduced, and serf labor increased. The peasants were formally given permission to change feudal lords; torture has been abolished. In practice, a change of rule by the peasant was associated with almost impossible conditions. The farmers were largely denied civil rights.

The regulations stipulated that the traditionally privileged classes (boyars, priests, monks, civil servants) did not have to pay any taxes.

The text of the law made it possible to begin self-government at the municipal level, which initially mainly affected the larger cities. The richer citizens were entitled to elect a city council that raised taxes and made decisions about spending. The administrative bodies also received secure sources of finance, which served to finance hospitals, schools and water pipes, among other things, and to set up a “poor fund”.

The customs barriers within and between the principalities were removed, which should facilitate trade.

From now on the judiciary was separated from the administration. The legal system was organized in several stages, and court hearings had to be held in public. One detainee had to be brought before a judge within 24 hours; he was also entitled to a defense attorney. The imposition of preventive detention was made more difficult. The court rulings required confirmation from the prince.

The right of the princes, boyars and monasteries to keep Roma in a slave-like state was not affected by the organic regulations. However, a fund was created that was supposed to make it possible to settle the migrant Roma belonging to the princes (even forcibly).

The organic regulations contained negative views about the strong Jewish minority . These would enrich themselves in the rest of the people; their further immigration should be prevented. The regulations provided the legal basis for arbitrary expulsions. Jews were defined as a unitary group that had no civil or political rights and was prohibited from owning or renting land. Christian foreigners, on the other hand, had the opportunity to acquire citizenship of the respective principality.

In addition, the organic regulations contained elements of a “state development plan”.

Consequences and evaluation

With the Organic Regulations, the Danube Principalities first experienced parliamentarism. The basis for a uniform administration based on western liberal models was created and the principalities were integrated into the regional economic processes. This particularly facilitated the development of the cities in which self-governing bodies could be formed. On the other hand, the economic dependence of the peasants on the large landowners (boyars and Orthodox monasteries) strengthened, so that no improvement occurred for the rural population, who made up the vast majority of the population. The boyar class was able to stabilize economically and politically, whereas the exploitation of the peasants increased compared to the previous situation. This is one of the reasons why numerous farmers emigrated from the Danube principalities, mainly to Serbia and what is now Bulgaria .

In everyday practice, the established separation of powers was only reluctantly effective. On the part of liberal Wallachian and Moldovan forces, the stipulations on the separation of powers were viewed as inadequate; in particular, they were bothered by the prince's still dominant position. A more extensive curtailment of the ruler's power was, however, not very realistic under the given social circumstances. Even the modest approaches based on the rule of law were difficult to implement because the socio-cultural prerequisites were insufficient. The boyars in particular lacked an understanding of the principles of the separation of powers. Overall, the legal framework for Eastern Europe at the time was very liberal, but it also contained the foundations of a complicated, centralized, bureaucratic administration.

The creation of an organized police force has significantly reduced the number of crimes committed, particularly by foreigners.

The Organic Regulations were able to regulate the previously largely unorganized financial systems of both principalities and thus created the prerequisites for a single national currency and for the movement of money and goods. By establishing a free trade zone, it ultimately facilitated the unification of the two Danube principalities, which took place in a step-by-step process around 1860. The Christian Orthodox ethnic Romanians were given the same rights as the natives in the other principality.

The fact that the Organic Regulations were initiated by the Russian occupation forces and that they intervened openly and covertly in the Danube principalities several times over the next few decades led to a widespread rejection of both Russian influence and the legislation itself.

Further developments

Proclamation of Islaz, 1848
The Organic Regulations were burned in Bucharest in 1849

After the organic regulations and the Russian protective power initially enjoyed some popularity among the liberal layers of the principalities, it was viewed with increasing criticism because of the repeated influence of Russia. The powers that be in Moldova and Wallachia feared direct annexation by the Tsarist Empire. Domestically, too, the regulations were increasingly viewed as an obstacle to progress. During the revolution in Wallachia in 1848 , the rebels declared the organic regulations to be ineffective, and an original copy was even publicly burned at a demonstration in 1849 in protest against Russian influence. This happened after the Revolutionary Council of Wallachia had passed the so-called Proclamation of Islaz on June 9, 1848 in Islaz . It called for a fundamental transformation of society, universal suffrage, the secularization of church property, the abolition of slavery and a fundamental land reform. However, Russian and Ottoman troops crushed the uprising and put the regulations back into force. At the same time, however, the divans were dissolved by an additional ordinance.

After the Crimean War , in the Peace of Paris (1856) and in an ambassadorial conference in Bucharest in 1857, class suffrage was enacted, which also enabled peasants to participate in elections for the first time. The law remained in force until the Paris Convention of 1858, when the great European powers decided to create a unified state of Romania from the two Danube principalities. The country adopted a new constitution in 1866 when Prince Carol I was enthroned.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Harald Heppner : The Romanians and Europe from the Middle Ages to the present. Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 1997, ISBN 978-3-205-98832-8 , p. 196.
  2. ↑ a b Emanuel Turczynski: From the Enlightenment to early liberalism. Oldenbourg-Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 978-3-486-52781-0 , p. 110 f.
  3. ↑ a b Emanuel Turczynski: From the Enlightenment to early liberalism. Oldenbourg-Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 978-3-486-52781-0 , p. 131 f.
  4. ↑ a b c d Marx / Engels Complete Edition. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1975, ISBN 978-3-05-003488-1 , p. 1089 f.
  5. ↑ a b Dieter Beyrau, Michael Stolleis (Ed.): Reforms in Russia in the 19th and 20th centuries. Vittorio Klostermann, Frankfurt 1996, ISBN 978-3-465-02868-0 , p. 79 f.
  6. ↑ a b c Bernard Bolzano: Marx / Engels Complete Edition. Oldenbourg-Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 1990, p. 869.
  7. ↑ a b c d e Emanuel Turczynski: From the Enlightenment to early liberalism. Oldenbourg-Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 978-3-486-52781-0 , p. 112 f.
  8. ↑ a b Conversations Lexicon of the Present. K to O, Volume 3. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1840. P. 709.
  9. ↑ a b c d e f Dieter Nohlen et al .: The election of parliaments . Volume I - Europe . Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1969, ISBN 978-3-11-001156-2 , p. 1031 f.
  10. ↑ a b Emanuel Turczynski: From the Enlightenment to early liberalism. Oldenbourg-Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 978-3-486-52781-0 , p. 120.
  11. ^ Ernst A. [nton Franz Xaver] Quitzmann: German letters over the Orient. Travel descriptions Verlagbuchhandlung JB Müller, Stuttgart 1848, p. 307 f.
  12. ↑ Conversations Lexicon of the Present. K to O, Volume 3. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1840, p. 714.
  13. ↑ Ernst A. Quitzmann: German letters over the Orient. Verlagbuchhandlung JB Müller, Stuttgart 1848, p. 305 f.
  14. ↑ Joachim-Peter Storfa: The political writings of Mihai Eminescu. WUV-Universitätsverlag, Vienna 1995, ISBN 978-3-85114-239-6 , p. 89 f.
  15. ↑ Globus: Illustrated Journal for Country and Ethnology, Volume 12. F. Vieweg and Son, Braunschweig 1867, p. 294.
  16. ↑ a b Anatol von Demidoff: Journey to southern Russia and the Crimea, through Hungary, Wallachia and Moldova, in 1837. Verlag JU Kern, Breslau 1854. P. 131 f.
  17. ↑ Anatol von Demidoff: Journey to southern Russia and the Crimea, through Hungary, Wallachia and Moldau, in 1837. Verlag JU Kern, Breslau 1854, p. 134 f.
  18. ↑ Emanuel Turczynski: From the Enlightenment to early liberalism. Oldenbourg-Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 978-3-486-52781-0 , p. 125.
  19. ↑ Conversations Lexicon of the Present. K to O, Volume 3. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1840, p. 710.
  20. ↑ Anatol von Demidoff: Journey to southern Russia and the Crimea, through Hungary, Wallachia and Moldau, in 1837. Verlag JU Kern, Breslau 1854, p. 105 f.
  21. ↑ a b Dietmar Müller: Citizens on revocation. Jews and Muslims as Alterity Partners in the Romanian and Serbian National Code. Ethnonational Citizenship Concepts 1878–1941. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 978-3-447-05248-1 , p. 32 f.
  22. ↑ a b Dietmar Müller: Citizens on revocation. Jews and Muslims as Alterity Partners in the Romanian and Serbian National Code. Ethnonational Citizenship Concepts 1878–1941. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 978-3-447-05248-1 , p. 30 f.
  23. ↑ a b Emanuel Turczynski: From the Enlightenment to early liberalism. Oldenbourg-Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 978-3-486-52781-0 , pp. 23-26.
  24. ↑ a b c d Emanuel Turczynski: From the Enlightenment to early liberalism. Oldenbourg-Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 978-3-486-52781-0 , p. 117 f.
  25. ^ Guillaume Lejean: Ethnography of European Turkey. Verlag Julius Perthes, Gotha 1861, p. 20 f.
  26. ↑ Emanuel Turczynski: From the Enlightenment to early liberalism. Oldenbourg-Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 978-3-486-52781-0 , p. 111.
  27. ↑ Lucian Boia : History and Myth: About the present of the past in Romanian society. Böhlau Verlag, Cologne Weimar 2003, ISBN 978-3-412-18302-8 , p. 186.
  28. ^ Lothar Maier: Romania on the way to the declaration of independence 1866–1877. Oldenbourg, 1989, ISBN 3-486-55171-X , p. 52 ff.
  29. ^ General German Real Encyclopedia for the educated classes: Conversations-Lexikon, Volume 15, Part 2. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1855, p. 38.
  30. ↑ Harald Heppner: The Romanians and Europe from the Middle Ages to the present. Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 1997, ISBN 978-3-205-98832-8 , p. 185.
  31. ↑ Roland Prügel: In the sign of the city: Avant-garde in Romania, 1920-1938. Böhlau Verlag, Cologne / Weimar 2008, ISBN 978-3-412-16406-5 , p. 26.