Sudnyi Prikaz

(high court), a central and local institution in Russia from the 16th to 18th centuries. It had jurisdiction over the civil suits of privileged categories of landowners who were not under the jurisdiction of municipal voevody (governors).

The sudnye prikazy included the Vladimir Sudnyi Prikaz (1582–1699), the Dmitrov Sudnyi Prikaz (1595-early 17th century), the Kazan Sudnyi Prikaz (1591–1719), the Moscow Sudnyi Prikaz (1598–1699), and the Sudnyi Dvortsovyi Prikaz (Palace Sudnyi Prikaz, 1664–1709). In 1699 the Vladimir and Moscow sudnye prikazy were united into a single sudnyi prikaz, which existed for about a year. When the Iustits-Kollegiia (Collegium of Justice) was established, all the functions of the sudnye prikazy were transferred to it in 1719. From 1730 to 1882 the sudnyi prikaz located in Moscow had jurisdiction over investigations concerning fugitive serfs, registration of serfs’ legal documents, and lawsuits between landowners.