The head administrative office, the Welfare Committee, was also a judicial authority until 1871. From the beginning, the colonists had always been subject to the common court system in criminal matters, as well as in civil cases involving non-colonists. All other legal matters between colonists and so-called police matters were under the authority of the mayor's jurisdiction (village office), district office, colonial inspector and the Welfare Committee.

The criminal matter decided which authority was responsible.

• criminal offenses
  • common courts (district court in Akkerman).
• Civil offenses between colonists and non-colonists
  • common courts
• Civil offenses between colonists (farm, inheritance and other disputes)
  • the village office (mayor) in minor cases
  • the district office (chief mayor) in important matters
  • the Welfare Committee as the highest authority.
• Police matters (counting sloth, theft, insulting the mayors)
  • depending upon the severity, colonial inspector, bailiff, welfare committee.

The mayor settled minor cases himself and punished the guilty parties. In severe cases he filed a report with the district office. There, the chief mayor had the powers of a judge and he could impose more severe punishments. What could not be handled by him was referrred to the colonial inspector or the Welfare Committee. The village clerk was the person knowledgable of the law and advisor to the mayor and the council concerning legal matters. Punishments at the communal level were often of a corporal punishment, but could also include monetary fines, community service and compulsory labor, arrests were relatively rare. In extreme cases, the district offices could demand expulsion from colonist status. All punishments had to be recorded in a special record, called a Schnurbuch. The Welfare Committee inspected these records from time to time and noted irregularities or incomplete records.

After the Welfare Committee was rescinded, the judicial power remained in the hands of the mayoral office. The mayor (in Krasna it was the chief mayor, See 4.8.2.2, Self Government on a local Level) was still permitted to punish offenses within limits, by fining people, ordering corporal punishment or arresting and incarcerating people in the village jail (Ostrok).

Independent courts were then created for the districts (Wolosts). These wolost courts, called “wolostnoj sudj,” were comprised of a president and threee judges, who were elected to office by the colonists directly by majority vote for a period of three years. They had to settle disputes of farmers and minor offenses on the lower levels.

The wolost court (The Krasna district had one of them.) was a regular farmers’ court, only farmers were the judges and they had no concept of the meaning of lawyer. It was mandated to keep Russian records. As needed, German was permitted in the proceedings. There was rarley any objection to the judgements.
E. Ruscheinsky writes: ¹⁾ For major offenses each district office had a wolost court, a district court. This court consisted of three lay assessors and a president. The lay assessors were elected from members of the community assembly. The election had the same format as the election for the chief mayor and his associates. The candidate with the most “bullets” was the president, The other three with the next highest votes were the associtaes. The community secretary also was the court reporter. He was the soul of this court and the expert. Before the wolost court was in session, the judges were sworn in by the county chief (Semski Natschalnik). The wolost court could mete out a punishment of one month in jail and in civil cases a fine of 600 rubles. People wanting to object against judgements made by the wolost courts had to file papers with the district court, called in Russian: “Usedne Sjesd.” This hardly ever happened in Krasna since it took a large amount of money to handle and during Russian times the rural commuities had no lawyers. They were only available in the district city.

Unfortunately, no names of the Krasna wolost judges are known, even though the position was important and respected in the community.

The powers of the judges and courts of the second half of the 19th century in Russia were complicated and details would take too much explanation here and as E. Ruscheinsky has pointed out, they played no major role for the colonies. Therefore only a few examples are provided here:

• Wolost courts had a justice of the peace as a singular judge and responsible for civilian and criminal cases of minor consequences. He was headquartered

in Tarutino.

• After the reformation of 1871 justices of the peace operated in Bessarabia instead of the colonial inspectors, initially as peace officers, who had executive and to some degree judicial power. This institute operated for only a few years.
• The Semski Natschalnik, bailiff or overseer, who replaced the peace officers (1893), also had judicial powers.

There were appeals courts and such above the wolost courts which need not be addressed here in depth.

The author has no detailed information about the individual rules of the times. Chroniclers of Krasna’s neighboring villages had the same propblem, as well. There are also only a few mentions. It is a fact, however that under Rumanian rule there were no more institutions comparable to the Russian wolost courts in the German colonies. It can be said, however, that in Rumania the executive and judicial powers were clearly separated.

• the Primar could settle dsiputes but had no judicial power
• the Pretor, in charge of the Plasa, contrary to the bailiff of Russian times, also had no judicial power.

The lowest court was the peace court (Judecattoria de pace) of the district and the one in Tarutino had the jurisdiction for Krasna. Then came the tribunal of the district city of Akkerman and above it was the appeals court (curtea de apel). The high court of revisions was the final authority. (Inalta Curte de Caszie schi revizuire).