The Law of the Soviet Union was the law as it developed in the
Soviet Union (USSR) following the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
of 1917. Modified versions of the Soviet legal system operated in many
Communist state
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comin ...
s following the
Second World War—including
Mongolia, the
People's Republic of China, the
Warsaw Pact countries of
eastern Europe,
Cuba and
Vietnam.
Soviet concept of law
Soviet law was rooted in pre-revolutionary
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
n law and
Marxism-Leninism. Pre-revolutionary influences included
Byzantine law
Byzantine law was essentially a continuation of Roman law with increased Orthodox Christian and Hellenistic influence. Most sources define ''Byzantine law'' as the Roman legal traditions starting after the reign of Justinian I in the 6th century ...
,
Mongol law,
Russian Orthodox Canon law, and
Western law. Western law was mostly absent until the
judicial reform of Alexander II
The judicial reform of Alexander II is generally considered one of the most successful and consistent of all his reforms (along with the military reform). A completely new court system and order of legal proceedings were established. The main re ...
in 1864, five decades before the revolution. Despite this, the
supremacy of law
The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannic ...
and
equality before the law were not well-known concepts, the
tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
was still not bound by the law, and the "police had unlimited authority."
Marxism-Leninism viewed law as a superstructure in the
base and superstructure
In Marxist theory, society consists of two parts: the base (or substructure) and superstructure. The base refers to the mode of production which includes the forces and relations of production (e.g. employer–employee work conditions, the tec ...
model of society. "
Capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private p ...
" law was a tool of "
bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
domination and a reflection of bourgeois values." Since law was a tool "to maintain class domination", in a classless society,
law would inevitably disappear.
[
Like all other government institutions, the judiciary was officially subordinated to the ]Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...
.
In 1917, the Soviet authorities formally repealed all Tsarist legislation and established a socialist legal system. According to a critic, Richard Pipes
Richard Edgar Pipes ( yi, ריכארד פּיִפּעץ ''Rikhard Pipets'', the surname literally means 'beak'; pl, Ryszard Pipes; July 11, 1923 – May 17, 2018) was an American academic who specialized in Russian and Soviet history. He publi ...
, this system abolished Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
legal concepts including the rule of law, civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
, the protection of law and guarantees of property. For example, profiteering could be interpreted as a counter-revolutionary activity punishable by death. Soviet authors claimed that a new socialist rule of law was created, protecting personal properties and civil liberties, and developing the basis of an international rule of law.
The deportation of the 'Kulaks' in 1928–31 was carried out within the terms of Soviet Civil Code.Richard Pipes
Richard Edgar Pipes ( yi, ריכארד פּיִפּעץ ''Rikhard Pipets'', the surname literally means 'beak'; pl, Ryszard Pipes; July 11, 1923 – May 17, 2018) was an American academic who specialized in Russian and Soviet history. He publi ...
''Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime'', Vintage books, Random House Inc., New York, 1995, , pages 402–403 Some Soviet legal scholars even asserted that "criminal repression" may be applied in the absence of guilt.".[ Yevgenia Albats and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. ''The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia – Past, Present, and Future'', 1994. .]
The 1960s reforms tried to improve the judicial system and the activities of the courts, the restoration and development of several democratic principles dismantling special conferences attached to the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs and certain categories of state crimes.[Christopher Osakwe (1977) "Due Process of Law and Civil Right Cases in the Soviet Union", ''Soviet Law After Stalin..: The Citizen and the State in contemporary Soviet law. 1''. Brill. , pages 179-222.]
Constitutional law
* 1918 Soviet Russian Constitution
* 1924 Soviet Constitution
The 1924 Constitution of the Soviet Union was the constitution of the Soviet Union adopted on 31 January 1924. According to Archie Brown the constitution was never an accurate guide to political reality in the USSR. For example, the fact that th ...
* 1936 Soviet Constitution
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
* 1977 Soviet Constitution
The 1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union, officially the Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was the constitution of the Soviet Union adopted on 7 October 1977 until its dissolution on 21 December 1991 ...
Court structure
Soviet criminal and civil cases involve trials that were "primarily ..fficial investigation of the truth of the claims and defenses presented". Soviet law was very similar in this respect to civil law of European countries like France and Germany.[
]
Criminal cases
Criminal cases consisted of a preliminary examination before the indictment and the actual trial. In the preliminary examination, the ''sledovatel'' (or "investigator") "interrogate the accused and the witnesses and examine evidence". The accused was informed of his/her rights before the examination. Before 1958, counsel
A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''.
The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...
was only available during the trial. After 1958, counsel was available at the last stage of the preliminary examination after the accused was indicted. The examiner was prohibited from using force though the accused could be confined for long durations: up to 10 days before being charged, up to 9 months during the preliminary investigation (with the approval of the Procurator General). The testimony to be used in the trial was presented to the accused. The sledovatel was subordinate to the procurator (prokuratura) that was tasked with the prosecution
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...
, "'general supervision' of legality", and reporting illegal administrative actions. The indictment that included the preliminary examination was considered the "official record" at trial.
The trial court consisted of a professional judge with a 5-year term and two assessor
An assessor may be:
* ''Assessor'' (fish), a genus of fishes
* Assessor (law), the assistant to a judge or magistrate
* Assessor (Oxford), a senior officer of the University of Oxford
* Assessor (property)
Tax assessment, or assessment, is t ...
s (lay judges) from the population with a 2.5-year term. The proceedings were informal compared to United States standards. The judges first questioned accused and witnesses, then the procurator and defense counsel to corroborate the evidence in the indictment. The accused and the victim could question each other or the witnesses. The accused was presumed innocent, though not in the common law sense. The court decided by majority vote. The accused or the procurator could appeal decisions to a higher court consisting of three professional judges that reviewed the facts and the law. If the procurator appealed, the higher court could set aside the judgment and remand the case. Although the decision of the appeals court was "final", higher courts could review them as "supervision". Here, the accused or his/her counsel could submit briefs, but they could not appear in person.[
During the trial, the judges had the additional responsibility of educating the people, for example revealing and removing the causes and conditions that led to the crime. Judges kept legal technicalities to a minimum; the court's stated purpose was to find the truth, rather than to protect legal rights. Although most hearings were open to the public, hearings could also be held privately, if the Soviet Government deemed it necessary.]
Civil court
Soviet civil court process did not entail a high degree of physical interference. There was no sudden arrest or detention during a preliminary investigation phase. The trial was conducted entirely by a counsel and, if need be, a stay was obtained.
Human rights
In Soviet law, rights were granted by the state and thus were subordinate to the state. Rights were commitments by the state to enact laws that would secure benefits for the citizens. However, if the state failed to do so, citizens had no legal remedy
A legal remedy, also referred to as judicial relief or a judicial remedy, is the means with which a court of law, usually in the exercise of civil law jurisdiction, enforces a right, imposes a penalty, or makes another court order to impose it ...
. Soviet law emphasized economic and social rights over civil and political rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
. The 1977 Constitution enshrined the rights to work
Work may refer to:
* Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community
** Manual labour, physical work done by humans
** House work, housework, or homemaking
** Working animal, an animal tr ...
, health, and education, and extended freedoms of speech, the press
''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...
, assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
, and others.
See also
;Theory and decrees
* Soviet Decrees
Decrees (russian: декреты) were legislative acts of the highest Soviet institutions, primarily of the Council of People's Commissars (the highest executive body) and of VTsIK (the highest legislative body between sessions of the Congress of ...
* Show trial
A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the ...
* NKVD troika
* Burlaw court
;Organizations
* Ministry of Justice of the USSR
* Supreme Court of the Soviet Union
The Supreme Court of the Soviet Union (russian: Верховный Суд СССР) was the highest court of the Soviet Union during its existence. The Supreme Court of the USSR included a Military Collegium and other elements which were not typic ...
;Other
* List of Russian legal historians Russian legal historians, scholars who study Russian law in historical perspective, include:
* Harold J. Berman (1918–2007), Harvard law professor and expert on Russian law
* William E. Butler (1939–), distinguished professor of law at Dickin ...
* Law of the Russian Federation
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Law Of The Soviet Union
Legal codes