THEODOR TARANOVSKI “THE PRINCIPLE OF LEGALITY IN THE CODE OF EMPEROR STEFAN DUŠAN”, COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME FOR THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ACADEMIC WORK OF S. LOZANIĆ, BELGRADE 1922, 146153.
Abstract
Theodor Taranovski (Θеодорь Васильевичь Тарановскій), born in 1875 in Poland, was a lawyer and historian of Slavic law, a doctor of Law, and professor at many universities. After the Russian Revolution, he emigrated to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, where he passed away in January of 1936. He completed his high school education in Warsaw and graduated from the Law Faculty of the Russian University. His first academic papers were published while he was still a student. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Law in 1899 and was appointed assistant Professor at the Department of Legal Encyclopedia at Warsaw University. In 1906, he became an Associate Professor. In 1908, he moved to the Faculty of Law, where he became a full professor after publishing his work Dogmatics of Positive State Law in France during the Old Regime.
After moving to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, he began teaching the History of Slavic law at the University of Belgrade, where he focused extensively on the study of Serbian medieval law, particularly Dušan’s Code. In Belgrade, he also became a member of the Royal Academy. He specialized in comparing different legal monuments of medieval Slavic law. His life’s work was dedicated to the history of Serbian law, particularly the History of Serbian Law in the Nemanjić State, which is the only comprehensive, systematic account of all aspects of legal relations during the most significant period of medieval Serbia. In this work, Taranovski also explores the history of society, describing and analyzing all social layers and groups. In addition to this work, one of his significant studies on Dušan’s Code is Dušan’s Code and the Empire of Dušan (1925). He also wrote The Task and Method of Legal History, Introduction to the History of Slavic Law, and Encyclopaedia of Law.
