Legislation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia, and Samogitia as a source of legal regulation of arms circulation in Ukraine

The article is focuses on the study of the legislation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia, and Samogitia as a source of legal regulation of arms circulation in Ukraine. It emphasizes the inheritance of legal traditions of the united duchy from Russia, expressed in the use of the Rus’ Pravda as the main normative legal document until the adoption of the first Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia, and Samogitia in 1529. Considering that an entire section of the Rus’ Pravda is dedicated to regulating social relations connected to arms, this is seen as evidence of the importance of its legal regulation. It is noted that the arms production was regulated by Magdeburg law as a craft industry and did not require special licensing. It is highlighted that German city law significantly stimulated the spread of new technologies in weapon production, including by facilitating the migration of craftsmen from Western Europe. The work takes into account the First and Second Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia, and Samogitia (hereinafter referred to as the Statutes of the GDL), which regulated arms circulation in defense, civil, criminal, and labor law sectors. The dynamics of changes in provisions between the I and II Statutes of the GDL regarding the organization of defense primarily concerned changes in the types of personal weapons that must be possessed by those called to military service. Legislative features of the Statutes of the GDL regarding the inheritance of weapons have been identified. It has been established that the Statutes of the GDL contain direct norms concerning the right to bring weapons to courts and establish punishments for crimes committed using weapons. The peculiarities of the legal norms that determined the payment for the work of gunsmiths have been studied, revealing their dynamics between the I and II Statutes of the GDL. A general comparative analysis of the development of legal regulation of the circulation of weapons by the III Statute of the GDL was carried out. Based on the study of legal historical documents, it has been established that there were no legal norms that directly prohibited the possession of weapons during the period when Ukrainian territories were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia, and Samogitia are absent, except in cases concerning the possession of weapons by incapacitated persons. Conclusions have been made that the legislation of the GDL, like the modern national legislation of Ukraine, regulated social relations associated with arms circulation in criminal, civil, commercial, labor, and defense law sectors.