The judicial reform of Alexander II is generally considered one of the most successful and the most consistent (along with the military reform) of all the reforms of Alexander II. During the reform a completely new court system and a completely new order of legal proceedings were established. The main results were the introduction of a unified court system instead of a cumbersome set of Estate-of-the-realm courts, and fundamental changes in criminal trials. The latter included establishment of the principle of equality of the parties involved, introduction of public hearings, jury trial and the institution of a professional advocate which had not existed before in Russia.