Právněhistorické studie / Legal History Studies (Charles University journal; below referred to as PHS or Journal) is a scientific journal listed in the international prestigious database SCOPUS. The journal is published by Charles University in Prague under the guarantee of the Department of Legal History of the Faculty of Law of Charles University. It is published by the Karolinum Press. The journal focuses on the field of legal history and related topics.
Issue 1 of the Journal was published by the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences Publishing in June 1955. The Journal was initially published by the Cabinet of Legal History of the Czechoslovak Academy of Science (CSAV), later by the Institute of State and Law (CSAV) and then by the Institute of Legal History of the Faculty of Law of Charles University.
PHS is issued three times a year in April, August, and December and it presents original scientific works/papers as well as reviews, annotations and news from the scientific field of legal history. It also introduces annotated texts of a legal history nature. PHS accepts manuscripts from domestic as well as foreign authors. Manuscripts submitted by foreign authors are published in original language, namely in English, Slovak, German, French, Italian or Polish.
PHS (ISSN 0079-4929) is registered in the Czech national ISSN centre (supervised by the State Technical Library). The Journal is registered by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic according to Act No. 46/2000 Sb., on Rights and Liabilities for the Publishing of Periodicals and Change of Some Acts (Press Act), and it is allocated with registration number of periodical press MK E 18813.
PHS is an open journal and ensures open access to scientific data (Open Access). The entire content is released as open to the public on the web pages of the journal.
The journal is archived in Portico.
PRÁVNĚHISTORICKÉ STUDIE, Vol 55 No 1 (2025), 73–88
Equal (Re-)Distribution of Land as Promotor of Social Justice and Political Loyalty in the Republic of Estonia After WW I
Marju Luts-Sootak, Triinu Rennu, Karin Visnapuu
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/2464689X.2025.5
published online: 25. 04. 2025
abstract
The issue of land redistribution had become the most critical issue in society when the independence of the Estonian Republic was declared in 1918. Land was the primary source of livelihood at that time, and unfairly for Estonians, most of it belonged to Baltic German landlords. Estonians wanted to be masters of their land and cultivate it. To satisfy the “land hunger”, the land of the manors was expropriated and distributed to the peasants. At the same time, it was considered necessary for everyone to get the land as equally as possible. Secondly, the economic aspect was also important: the size of the land had to ensure the family’s economic livelihood. Estonians’ experiences managing things at the local municipality level and the already well-implemented land registry system contributed to the fact that changes in land use and ownership relationships took place quite smoothly, but still not without litigation. Belief in the functioning of the rule of law was confirmed in the administrative court, which checked the legality of land distribution in case of complaints.
keywords: The Republic of Estonia; land reform; land consolidation; divided ownership; land register; the rule of law
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Equal (Re-)Distribution of Land as Promotor of Social Justice and Political Loyalty in the Republic of Estonia After WW I is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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ISSN: 0079-4929
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