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S.K. Sizov (Nizhny Novgorod) – Federal Justice in the Boiotian Koinon in Hellenistic Times

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Abstract

In the Boiotian koinon of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, many traditions of federal statehood in Boiotia, dating back to the classical period, have been preserved, including parallel administration of justice by city and federal courts. Information from narrative and epigraphic sources makes it possible to assign to the sphere of federal jurisdiction the adjudication of disputes between the poleis, primarily territorial ones, criminal justice in cases of crimes against the federation (murder of federal officials, attempted coup d’état), and also, probably, civil proceedings in those cases, when property litigation aff ected the interests of diff erent communities and their citizens. A number of scholars, not without reason, believe that an example of this last category of cases is the lawsuit between Nikareta of Thespiai and the authorities of the city of Orchomenos, which may have been settled only after the intervention of federal authorities. It is not yet possible to determine which bodies exactly played the role of federal courts in Boiotia – a permanent judicial institution or temporary commissions created each time to judge one or several cases. The suggestion that the college of thesmophylakes acted as the federal court seems to be rather controversial. With a certain degree of certainty, however, it can be argued that the Boiotians, unlike, say, the Achaeans and Thessalians, refrained from inviting foreign arbitrators to judge disputes that arose within the koinon, which fact indirectly may indicate an established system for using Boiotian judges to carry out functions of federal justice. The story told by Polybius (XX 6. 1–3) about the long cessation of all justice in Boiotia at the turn of the 3rd and 2nd centuries is rightfully attested in recent works as not very reliable, however, a certain crisis of legal proceedings, both on the municipal and federal level, during this period must have actually taken place, although the causes and manifestations of this crisis are not entirely clear.

Keywords

Boiotia, the Boiotian koinon, federal justice, court, territorial dispute, criminal cases, litigation between Nikareta and Orchomenos, Polybios.

Sergey K. Sizov

Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

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