The "Pravdonoša" journal in the letters of Božidar Petranović to Stjepan Ivićević

Abstract

This work is mainly based on the original letters of Božidar Petranović written to Stjepan Ivićević between 1851. to 1854. in connection with the journal "Pravdonoša”. Some questions, so far unrevealed, are illuminated as, for example, questions about the origin, development and the end of this journal. It was not only the first of the Croatian law journals but it also had a leading place within the South Slavic culture as an important source for the investigation of our legal, historical and cultural heritage. The “Pravdonoša” brings valuable articles on many law issues but the central ones are those that deal with the problem of positive law and corresponding legal procedures, especially from the standpoint of the struggle for the introduction of the Croatian language in the courts. If order to win in this struggle it was necessary (and this was the main role of the “Pravdonoša”) first to create a complete legal terminology in Croatian. As an interesting point it should be mentioned that Vice-Roy Josip Jelačić personally subscribed to forty issues of this journal.