In this article the author attempted to show the importance of A. F. Koni as a scholar and practitioner for improving judicial activity in general and justice in particular. He focused on the particular relevance of Anatoly Fedorovich’s scientific works in the era of introducing digital technologies into criminal proceedings. As an argument, the author used A. F. Koni’s statements regarding the issues covered.

The article is devoted to the work of the outstanding Russian lawyer A. F. Koni in the context of his ideas on moral principles in criminal proceedings and general problems of judicial ethics. Two main forms of moral principles in judicial activity (internal and external) are distinguished, and A. F. Koni’s ideas regarding moral principles in the behavior of a judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney are considered.

The article analyzes the linguistic means and textual techniques by which A. F. Koni characterizes moral concepts in his journalistic works dedicated to great Russian people — contemporaries and predecessors. The tactics of refinement, juxtaposition, gradation, intensification and their varieties are considered. The material includes speeches and essays by A. F. Koni “The Moral image of Pushkin”, “In Memory of Turgenev”, “Memories of Chekhov”, “Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov”, “Pirogov and the School of Life”. The theoretical basis of the research is modern communicative and functional grammar, based on the concept of the author’s image and the idea of the interaction of unit and context. The analysis allows us to conclude that it is important for A. F. Koni to accurately characterize the moral qualities of the described subject and the author’s desire to involve the reader in thinking not only about these qualities, but also about the relationship between the individual and society and the problem of moral choice. The general approach of A. F. Koni to assessing the personality of the “great Russian man” is to affirm the continuity of the achievements of the hero of Koni’s speech or essay in his professional field of activity and his exceptional moral qualities, an important place among which is occupied by patriotism. The hero of Konya’s speech shows these qualities in their highest, true version, the difference of which from the possible “lower version” is explicated in the text.

On 16 November 1848 Nicholas I wrote a resolution: “the statement of the reasons for the inordinate slowness with which this, so famous case is conducted, clearly exposes all the inconveniences and shortcomings of our judicial procedure”. These words became the cradle of the judicial reform of 1864. On 20 November 1864, the Judicial Statutes were approved, followed by the highest decree to the Governing Senate on the introduction of judicial reform in two districts — Moscow and St. Petersburg Court Chambers during 1866, and within four years from 1866 — in all provinces. Wishing to revive the idea of the time of the introduction of judicial reform and its pioneers, A. F. Koni prepared memoirs — sketches of those who developed the Judicial Statutes and those who put them into effect. A. F. Koni called the former fathers and the latter children of the Judicial Statutes. Reflecting the living link between generations, A. F. Koni emphasised the commonality of legal and ethical values in the administration of justice. True (fair) justice is a combination of legal and moral requirements in the practical service of a judicial officer. According to the commandment of the fathers and children of the Judicial Statutes, in the high cause of justice, the judicial officer “should be guided, along with the prescriptions of the positive law, by the unconditional and eternal requirements of the moral law”. In the twenty-first century, this precept retains its relevance. These and other questions are considered through the A. F. Koni’s views in this article.

In the article, the author analyzes A. F. Koni’s contribution to the practice and theoretical understanding of the Judicial Reform of 1864. The article touches upon the reasons for the legislative changes related to the judicial system and process that followed the approval of the documents by the Judicial Reform of 1864. It is proposed to distinguish between changes that radically changed the principles laid down in Judicial reform and those that partially adapted it to the circumstances of the time, in particular, to an increase in revolutionary activity. Changes in the legal regulation of the investigation and consideration of state crimes lead to a division of views on the fight against political crime among Russian officials. Liberal circles, including A. F. Koni, advocate greater attention to educational work among young people, the conservative-minded part of society insists on strengthening the repressive principle. In the 1870s, the half-hearted policy of the government, caused by the unprecedented growth of terrorism in the country, failed to establish unity of views on ways to combat anti-government protests among law enforcement officers. The case of V. Zasulich is considered as an example of such half-heartedness in the government’s fight against state crime, when, in order to “mitigate” tension, an attempt was made to present a typical state crime as an attempted revenge murder.