Criminal Law and Punishment in the Middle Ages in Slovakia

Objectives The paper describes the development of the system of punishment in our territory from the oldest times up to the modern times. It points out the fundamental difference from the current legal situation: while there is currently the most commonly imposed punishment, imprisonment, in the past there was a "diverse range" of punishment, with imprisonment (as we know it today) at the earliest time ever there. Even in later developmental stages, when it already existed, the motivation of its imposition was different from the present and its imposition was still a rare phenomenon. Material and methods historical method, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, comparison, description Results In the past, many methods of punishment were used in Slovakia. The method of punishment depended on the crime, as well as on the person of the perpetrator. Conclusions Imprisonment has been used minimally in the past, and has been used as a secondary punishment.