Legal pluralism in the cities of the early modern Kingdom of Poland: the jurisdictional conicts and uses of justice by Armenian merchants

In comparison with many absolutist monarchies, the early modern PolishLithuanian Commonwealth escaped processes of centralization and unication of the judicial system. Every social estate and ethno-confessional community in the country was allowed its own body of law and court system. The multi-confessional and multi-ethnic environment of Polish cities and, therefore, the great variety of jurisdictions have stimulated legal pluralism.