78 THE REPUBLIC OF RAGUSA
obtain justice from the foreign court. In proceedings by stanicum, the old Teutonic and Slavonic system of the conjuratio was applied, by which each party produced a number of relations and friends, who swore to the veracity of their kinsman ; if any one was convicted of perjury, the curse fell on the whole clan alike. The institution exists to this day in Montenegro, Albania, and in certain districts of South Dalmatia and the Herzegovina.1
   The fourth book deals with marriage, wills, and family affairs. The fifth deals with municipal regulations, building laws and contracts, land tenure, &c. The sixth is the criminal code, and also contains fiscal enactments and smuggling laws. The seventh regulates shipping, the relations between officers and crew, agreements for voyages, marine insurance, responsibilities and risks. The last book contains enactments on divers matters. It became law on May 9, 1272.
   This code, although it is imperfect and not altogether well constructed, marks a great improvement on previous legislation, and compares favourably with the statutes of many of the more famous Italian Republics. The shipping and commercial enactments are often excellent, and parts of the code, especially those relating to land tenure and certain forms of contract, are still valid at Ragusa.
   1 The chapters relating to the stanicum (stanak in Slavonic) are 19, 20, 49-57. The matter is ably dealt with in an article by Professor V. Bogiiid in the Archiv fiir Slawische Philologie, Berlin, vol. ii., 1877, pp. 570-593-