Judicial Duel

(Russian, pole), a legal term in Russian sources of the 13th to 16th centuries.

The duel was usually considered an alternative to taking an oath by kissing the cross; witnesses on both sides could also be pitted against each other. Both the plaintiff and the accused could invoke the judicial duel procedure. The aged, minors, and members of the clergy had the right to hire a replacement. The participant who lost the duel or who refused to duel was considered to have lost the case. The participants had the right to accept reconciliation either previous to the duel or at its start. The judicial duel had become an anachronism by the mid-16th century, although it was mentioned in the Codes of Law of 1550 and 1589. By that time it had almost completely disappeared from legal practice.