Legal encyclopedia. Letter K

KONI ANATOLY FEDOROVICH

(1844-1927) - a well-known judicial figure and writer.

Short biography: Born January 28, 1844 in St. Petersburg. He studied at the German school of St. Anne and in the second St. Petersburg gymnasium; Enrolled in 1861 in St. Petersburg University in the mathematical department; In 1862, Mr .. moved to the Faculty of Law of Moscow University, where he graduated from the course with a degree of candidate. After his presentation of the dissertation "On the Right of Necessary Defense", K. was intended to be sent abroad for preparation of the criminal law to the department, but because of the temporary suspension of these missions he entered the service first in state control, then in the military ministry. With the introduction of judicial reform, K. moved to the St. Petersburg Chamber of Justice to the post of assistant secretary, and in 1867 - to Moscow, secretary of the prosecutor of the Moscow Trial Chamber Rovinsky; In the same year he was appointed as a comrade of the prosecutor first of the Sumy, then of the Kharkov district court; In 1869 transferred to the same position in the St. Petersburg District Court; Participated in the introduction of judicial reform in the Kazan district as a prosecutor of the Kazan district court; In 1871, Mr .. appointed prosecutor of the St. Petersburg District Court; 4 years later he was appointed vice-director of the department of the Ministry of Justice, in 1877 - chairman of the St. Petersburg District Court, in 1881.

- Chairman of the Civil Department of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Justice, in 1885.

- Chief Procurator of the Cassation Department of the Senate, in 1891 - Senator. In this way K. survived the first thirty years of judicial reform at important judicial posts and witnessed the changes that have taken place during this time in the court case, the relationship to it both of governmental authority and society.

In 1875 K. was appointed a member of the Board of Management of the institutions of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna; In 1876 he was one of the founders of the legal society at St. Petersburg University; From 1876 to 1883 years. Was a member of a commission established under the chairmanship of Count Baranov to study the railway business in Russia; Was at the same time a teacher of theory and practice of criminal justice in the School of Law; In 1883 he was elected a member of the Society of Psychiatrists at the Military Medical Academy; In 1888, Mr .. was sent to Kharkov to investigate the causes of the collapse of the imperial train on October 17 of the same year and to guide the investigation of this case, in 1894 - to Odessa, to send a case about the death of the steamer "Vladimir"; In 1890, Kharkov University was elevated to the rank of doctor of criminal law (honoris causa); In 1892 he was elected to the honorary members of the Moscow University. With constant devotion, K. served the judicial statutes both during the period of his fascination with them and during the period of skepticism towards them.

K. created in his face a living type of accuser and judge, proving by his example that it is possible to serve the state protection of legal interests, without forgetting the identity of the defendant and not turning it into a simple object of investigation. As a judge, he reduced, in his words, "the great beginning of justice available to man in conditions of place and time to earthly, human relations," and as a prosecutor was "an accusing judge who could distinguish crime from misfortune, slander from a true testimony."

Russian society K. is known in particular as an orator. The courtrooms in the cases dealt with with his participation were overcrowded, the numerous public flocked to his literary and scientific speeches, his court speeches when they appeared in print were successful.

Extensive, non-limiting

A special field of knowledge, erudition, with a rich memory, gave him abundant material, which he knew how to use as a word artist. His judicial speeches were always distinguished by a high psychological interest, developed on the basis of a comprehensive study of the individual circumstances of each given case. With especial diligence he stopped to find out the nature of the accused and, only giving a clear idea of ​​"who this person", went on to further search for the inside of the crime. The character of man served him as an object of observation not only from external layers, but also from those special psychological elements from which the "I" of man is composed. Having established the latter, he ascertained what influence they could have on the birth of the will that had come about in the crime, and carefully noted the measure of participation of the person's living conditions.

Highlighting the basic elements of the personality and finding in them a source for understanding the crime under investigation, K. because of them did not forget not only the elements concerning minor, but even facts, apparently not very relevant; He believed that "in each criminal case, side-by-side circumstances arise about real, primary circumstances, which sometimes obscure its simple and clear outlines," and that he, as the bearer of the accusatory authorities, considered himself obliged to dismiss as superfluous bark, layered in practice. Cleared of accidental and extraneous appendages, psychological elements found in the face of K. a connoisseur, understanding of which all the tiniest shades of thought and feeling are available. The strength of his oratory was expressed in the depiction not only of static, but also of the dynamics of man's psychic powers; He showed not only what is, but also how the existing was formed. This is one of the most powerful and worthy aspects of his talent.

Motives of the crime as a sign of the inner, mental state of a person received special significance in the eyes of K.; He always cared about not only the establishment of the legal responsibility of the defendants, but also about the fair distribution of moral responsibility between them. The form of K.'s speeches is always simple and alien to rhetorical ornaments.

K. does not follow the methods of the ancient speakers who tried to influence the judge by flattery, intimidation and in general the excitement of passions, and yet he rarely has the ability to distinguish the best representatives of ancient eloquence: he is able in his word to increase the volume of things without distorting relations Between them and reality.

His attitude towards the defendants and, in general, the persons involved in the trial was truly humane. Malice and bitterness, often aroused by a long operation over the pathological phenomena of psychic life, are alien to him. Moderation of his was, however, far from weakness and did not exclude the harsh assessment of individuals and actions.

K. was not so much fascinated as he persuaded with his speech, with abundant images, comparisons, generalizations and accurate remarks that gave her life and beauty.

From 1894 to 1899 years. K. participated in the commission to review the judicial statutes, defending in their dissenting opinions their basic principles, advocating for the irremovability of judges, for the abolition of the judicial authority of zemstvo officers, for the inability to transfer police investigative functions. In 1900 he moved from the Criminal Cassation Department to the general meeting of the Senate. In the same year he was elected an honorary academician of the category of fine literature of the Academy of Sciences. In 1907 he was appointed a member of the State Council. In the Senate, he fought relentlessly, sometimes not without success, with administrative practice in sectarian affairs, especially in the persecution of Stundists. In the State Council, K. did not join any of the Soviet groups. From the department he speaks frequently, without leaving without a close evaluation of any bill on the judicial part. From speeches on other topics, the general attention was paid to speeches devoted to questions of religious politics, public morality (for example, about the guardianship of people's sobriety, about the abolition of the tote) and public education. K. enjoys wide and well-deserved public notoriety not only as a judicial speaker, but also as a lecturer and as a writer. In addition to the talent of presentation, the brilliance of images and comparisons, his lectures and lectures are distinguished by the content and careful development of the topic. In the choice of themes, K. is infinitely diverse.

For several years in the St. Petersburg legal society K. acted in annual meetings with obituaries of deceased judicial figures and captured in the memory of listeners the images of the main figures of the judicial reform: Zamyatnin, Butskovsky, Rovinsky, Stoyanovsky, Zarudny and Kovalevsky.

Especially the speeches and lectures of K. about Pushkin (1899), VS Solovyev (1901), AD Gradovsky, IF Gorbunov, IA Goncharov, graph DA Milyutin, "On the moral The beginnings of the criminal process, "" On the philosophical views of Prince Odoyevsky, "" On measures to combat prostitution. " He placed his literary monographs in special legal journals and in the general press: in The Herald of Europe, in the Historical Herald, in The Books of the Week, in the newspapers The Order, in the Russian Archive, and others. Proceedings of non-judicial content In 1906, K. united in the book "Essays and memories."

His judicial speeches withstood several editions. In1912 and 1913gg. He published two volumes "On the path of life", in 1914 - "Fathers and children of judicial reform."