COURTS IN THE MEMEL TERRITORY
COURTS IN THE MEMEL TERRITORY

Summary/Abstract: The Memel Territory has exceptional history. It was the territory where the Baltic tribes lived. From the 13th century this territory gradually became a part of Prussia. After the First World War, according to the agreement between the British Empire, France, Italy, Japan and Lithuania, the sovereign rights to the Territory were transferred to the State of Lithuania. This action triggered a variety of issues. Disagreements arose in the area of justice. The article analyses the legal regulation of the organization of the judiciary of the Memel Territory from 1877 when the Law on the Courts Organization of the German Reich was adopted to 1939 when the Territory was occupied by Nazi Germany, and discusses the systems of both the general and specialized courts of the Territory. The main aim of the article is to fully identify the system of the courts of the Memel Territory. The article focuses mainly on the documents found in the Lithuanian Central State Archives (hereinafter – LCSA) and Gazette of the Memel Territory Government where the laws of the Chamber of Representatives of the Territory, the orders of the President of the Directorate, and the announcements of the territorial courts were published.

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