The Lithuanian Statutes (in Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės statutai, in Belarusian: Статуты Вялікага княства Літоўскага) were three 16th-century legal codes (1529, 1566, 1588) all written in Old Belarusian, which formed the fundamental basis of the legal system for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a multinational European state that existed from 1240 to 1795.

The Statutes were a sign of the progressive European legal tradition, and were cited as precedent in Polish and Livonian courts, furthermore in 1649 the Russian legal code was rewritten according to Lithuania's Statutes. After forming a union with Poland, both the personal (dynastic) epoch (1385-1569) and the epoch of confederated statehood with Poland (1569-1795), Great Lithuanian Statutes were GDL's greatest expression of independence. The Lithuanian Statutes, especially the Third Statute, were so well-written that they answered society's needs for 250 years. In 1791, efforts were made to change the system and do away with the privileges of the nobility, creating a constitutional monarchy with a modern citizenry. However, these plans came to naught when Russia, abetted by Austria and Prussia, destroyed the Polish-Lithuanian state, although leaving the Lithuanian Statutes in effect in Lithuania until 1840.

External links

• 1588 Statue Original (Old Belarusian)
• 1588 Statute (translated into modern Belarusian, Lacinka version)