The Revolutionary Tribunal in France is a special judicial body created to punish political criminals during the Great French Revolution by execution. This body was created by Convention Decree on March 9, 1793.
Decree on the French Revolutionary Tribunal
The military courts had a provision that included the following items:
- The Tribunal was organized to punish the enemies of the French people.
- A person who encroached on public freedom was recognized as an enemy of the people.
- Those who called for the restoration of royal power were declared enemies of the people.
- Punishment for any crime was the death pen alty.
- The perpetrator was interrogated in open session.
- In the presence of clear material evidence, the testimony of witnesses was not taken into account as a mitigating circumstance.
- The man who tried to disrupt the food supply to Paris was declared a national enemy.
A brief history of military courts
This military tribunal was established as a judicialbody to fight against encroachers on the freedom, unity and equality of France. The regulation on the revolutionary tribunals assumed a harsh reprisal against all opponents of the young government. The new judiciary was greatly influenced by Couthon and Robespierre. The founder of the Revolutionary Tribunal is considered, directly, the Chaumette Convention, which took the initiative to organize a counter-revolutionary committee.
The Tribunal-Martial System
In the autumn of 1793, at the height of the repressions in Paris, the military tribunal was divided into four sections. Judges were appointed in the Committee of Public Safety and the Committee of State and Public Security. Three judges worked in each section, who conducted proceedings with the participation of 7-9 jurors chosen by them.
Investigation of cases The Revolutionary Council carried out according to the new order. Even moral evidence or physical evidence was enough to find a person guilty. The Revolutionary Tribunal did not conduct the initial investigation and the interrogation was combined with a judicial review. The cases were not subject to appeal and review; only one measure of punishment was applied to the convict - the death pen alty. The military tribunals had the task of political and social cleansing.
The abolition of the Tribunals and their future fate
The spring of 1794 brought the Jacobin dictatorship a strengthening of its position and the country's economy. Hunger gradually receded, food supplies improved, prices leveled off, unprotected social strata received benefits from the state. However, this yearpublic life became especially aggravated due to the appearance in the political arena of forces hostile to the Jacobins. The reason for strengthening control over society was an attempt on one of the statesmen. In order to maintain stability in the country and full power in its hands, the government is intensifying terror against the opposition and dissenting citizens.
History does not give definite interpretations regarding the reasons for the dissolution of the Revolutionary Tribunal. Historians speak of the following factors that influenced the cessation of his work:
- A. Sobul believes that with the coming to power of Thermidor, the era of terror faded away, so there was no need for his main tool either.
- P. Genife is of the same opinion. With the fall of the Jacobin dictatorship, the most brutal period of the revolution ended, which led to the gradual death of the organs through which cruel intimidation was carried out.
- A. Z. Manfred gave an explanation why the Thermidorians did not stop the activities of the tribunal after they came to power. They needed the Revolutionary Tribunal in order to legally liquidate the Jacobins and their associates. Having achieved the task, the need for this judicial body disappeared, so it was liquidated.
- B. G. Revunenkov assumed that the new coup brought revolutionary sentiments to naught.
- D. Yu. Bovykin, taking into account many points of view regarding the period of the reign of Thermidor, suggested that the new government did not see the need to preserve, however, through its reorganization tried to demonstrateFrance that this organ of the judiciary might not be as terrible as the Jacobins imagined it to be. This was proven by a number of processes, after which the Thermidorians shut it down.
Reaction to the organization of military courts
After the death of Louis XVI (January 21, 1793), the gallows of the Revolutionary Tribunal settled for a long time on the Place de la Concorde. Between January 25 and April 6, only one head fell on the scaffold. One deserter Bukal was executed, who escaped from the army, went over to the enemy, was arrested and captured 2 days after his escape.
The news of the organization of a new Tribunal, in which many pinned their hopes as the only means in the fight against the adherents of the monarchy, produced an unusual reaction. This excitement shocked the population so much that even the rumor of Dumouriez's fall made little impression.
The guesses of the crazy revolutionaries were confirmed and began to give their results. Marat's propaganda brought the people to such a state that they began to believe that killing enemies is the surest and only means in pursuit of a stable economic situation and a low price of bread. The establishment of these military courts was actively supported by the impoverished population of the country. Citizens of the country actively supported the abolition of the revolutionary tribunals.
First executions
On February 10, the Revolutionary Tribunal executed a new man, after which mass and indiscriminate trials began.
- On the 17th, two people were sentenced to deathmanufacturers of counterfeit banknotes. Merchant clerk Daniel Guzel and haberdashery merchant Francois Guyot felt a special need for money, which their earnings could not satisfy. For this they were hanged by the Jacobins in the early morning.
- On the 18th, another counterfeit money maker, Pierre-Severin Gunot, was hanged, as was a woman, Rosalia Bonne-Courier.
- On the 19th, another woman named Madeleine Vinereille was sentenced to death by the court for popularizing counterfeit paper money.
- May 1 and 3 were hanged: Antoine Juzo for emigration, Paul Pierre was accused of participating in a conspiracy that took place under the leadership of Beauvoir de Mazu.
- Soon they were going to execute Madeleine-Josephine de Rabecque - Madame Paul Pierre. The girl announced her pregnancy, so the execution of the sentence was delayed. This is the rare case when the Revolutionary Tribunal showed itself from a humane side. However, after some time, the delay was removed, and on the same day the girl was mercilessly hanged.
Parisians rejoiced, however, sometimes complaints were heard due to the fact that the execution pursues only ordinary people, bypassing the noble and rich. It became clear to everyone that not noble criminals, for whom the Tribunal was organized, but ordinary citizens were given to the court of the Revolutionary Tribunal. In order to defuse public tension and rehabilitate in the eyes of the people, on the 20th, two nobles and a priest were sent to the scaffold.
Innocent victims
There were many such victims:
- MarieAnna Charlotte Corday d'Armon is a noblewoman of French origin. Charlotte Corday was born on July 27, 1768 in a poor noble family. She was brought up in a monastery, and after returning from it, she continued her peaceful life with her father and sister in the small town of Cannes. Having lived a short life, the girl managed to know all her hardships and needs. Being brought up on the republican traditions of antiquity and on the example of the Enlightenment, she sympathized with the Great French Revolution with great trepidation and sincerely followed the dramatic events taking place in Paris. The political events of June 2, 1793 found the most painful reflection in her noble heart. The republic, which did not have time to establish itself, was collapsing before everyone's eyes, and it was replaced by the blood-drenched influence of an obscene crowd led by demagogues, led by Marat. With deep sadness, the girl looked at the misfortune that threatened her Motherland and freedom. Determination and a goal grew in her soul: to save her native country from chaos at any cost, even at the cost of her own life. The girl took the life of the vile Marat, for which she was executed. The young heroine was hanged by the decision of the Revolutionary Tribunal.
- Bailli, Jean Sylvain - astronomer and prominent participant in the French Revolution. The father of the future scientist wanted to see him as an artist, however, Jean became interested in literature, and later - the stars. Before the tragic events in Paris, he was engaged in the study of stellar space. The revolution tore him away from peaceful life, and he seriously took up politics, was elected a deputy of the third convocation in the city of Paris. Having sworn an oath to the king, in the mosttense days of uprisings participated in the executions of anti-monarchist forces. For loy alty and valor to the Motherland, he was hanged by decision of the Revolutionary Tribunal
- Martyrs of Compiegne - a group of Christians, consisting of 16 Carmelite sisters who stood up for the defense of the monarchy. The revolution also swept their small town, after which the monastery was closed, and all its inhabitants were relocated to private apartments. The nuns swore an oath to the new power, after which remorse forced them to abandon it. The authorities, wanting to carry out a demonstrative, instructive reprisal, executed the girls.
Changes to execution attributes
The level of executions carried out by the Revolutionary Tribunal has increased every day. For this purpose, on April 30, the old gallows were removed and replaced with a new one with some changes on the orders of Charles-Heinrich Sanson. He ordered some adjustments to be made in order to make a large number of promotions at the same time.
Emigration of the nobility
The fateful days of the revolution and the approaching fall of the monarchy greatly threatened the main pillar of the state - the nobles, which is why they began mass exoduses from the country. Their flight from France was a major mistake. The presence of the nobles and their influence could, to some extent, stop the revolutionary unrest in Paris and throughout the country. However, they were seriously frightened by the system of revolutionary tribunals, which threatened their lives.
Also, this circumstance could create conditions under which the royal power was overthrown in more humane ways. The French politician Mirabeau was very vehemently supportive of the idea of fleeing the country, which was in the air at the time. His activities became a direct cause of mass emigration of nobles. Leaving their estates and castles, the nobles left the royal throne without support, the army without a king.
Military terror as the main reason for the fall of the Jacobin dictatorship
The Jacobin leader, Maximilian Robespierre, created a circus-like court system, allowing people to be executed by jury. The Jacobin dictatorship collapsed due to mass terror in the country, which was carried out by revolutionary military tribunals.
The widespread deliverance of society from the enemies of the people and the revolution claimed many lives. The peasants, who were once satisfied with receiving land, became dissatisfied with harsh terror. All bloody attempts to retain power in their hands ended in defeat. The result of the short reign of the Jacobins was a coup d'état on July 27, 1794. After the arrest of the government, the convention approved the decision to arrest and hang Robespierre and his society. After the fall of the dictatorship, the Jacobin reforms and the Revolutionary Tribunal were overthrown, and a new directory regime was established in the country.
