Law of the Soviet Union

The Law of the Soviet Union was the law as it developed in the Soviet Union (USSR)
following the October Revolution of 1917. Modified versions of the Soviet legal system
operated in many Communist states following the Second World Warincluding
Mongolia, the People's Republic of China, the Warsaw Pact countries of eastern Europe,
Cuba and Vietnam.
The Soviet legal system regarded law as an arm of politics and courts as agencies of the
government.[1] Extensive extra-judiciary powers were given to the Soviet secret police
agencies.

Soviet concept of law[edit]

Soviet law was rooted in pre-revolutionary Russian law and Marxism/Leninism. Prerevolutionary influences included Byzantine law, Mongol law, Russian Orthodox Canon
law, and Western law. Western law was mostly absent until the judicial reform of
Alexander II in 1864, five decades before the revolution. Despite this, the supremacy of
law and equality before the law were not well-known concepts, the tsar was still not
bound by the law, and the "police had unlimited authority."[2]
Marxism/Leninism viewed law as a superstructure in the base and superstructure model
of society. "Capitalist" law was a tool of "bourgeois domination and a reflection of
bourgeois values." Since law was a tool "to maintain class domination", in a classless
society, law would inevitably disappear.[2]
Like all other government institutions, the judiciary was officially subordinated to the
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.

Early Soviet law[edit]

In 1917, the Soviet authorities formally repealed all Tsarist legislation and established a
socialist legal system. This system abolished Western legal concepts including the rule
of law, the civil liberties, the protection of law and guarantees of property.[3][4] Crime was
determined not as the infraction of law, but as any action which could threaten the
Soviet state.
For example, profiteering could be interpreted as a counter-revolutionary activity
punishable by death. The deportation of the 'Kulaks' in 192831 was carried out within
the terms of Soviet Civil Code.[1] Some Soviet legal scholars even asserted that "criminal
repression" may be applied in the absence of guilt.".[1] Martin Latsis, chief of the
Ukrainian Cheka explained:
"Do not look in the file of incriminating evidence to see whether or not the accused rose
up against the Soviets with arms or words. Ask him instead to which class he belongs,
what is his background, his education, his profession. These are the questions that will
determine the fate of the accused. That is the meaning and essence of the Red Terror."[5]

The purpose of public trials was "not to demonstrate the existence or absence of a crime
that was predetermined by the appropriate party authoritiesbut to provide yet
another forum for political agitation and propaganda for the instruction of the citizenry.
Defense lawyers, who had to be party members, were required to take their client's guilt
for granted ..."[1]

Post-Stalin[edit]
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Constitutional law[edit]
Main article: Constitution of the Soviet Union

1918 Soviet Russian Constitution

1924 Soviet Constitution

1936 Soviet Constitution

1977 Soviet Constitution

Court structure[edit]
Soviet criminal and civil cases involve trials that were "primarily[...]official
investigation[s] of the truth of the claims and defenses presented".[6] Soviet law is very
similar in this respect to civil law of European countries like France and Germany.[7]

Criminal cases[edit]
Criminal cases consisted of a preliminary examination before the indictment and the
actual trial. In the preliminary examination, the sledovatel (or "investigator")
"interrogate[d] the accused and the witnesses and examine[d] evidence". The accused
was informed of his/her rights before the examination. Before 1958, counsel 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, "'general supervision' of legality", and reporting illegal
administrative actions. The indictment that included the preliminary examination was
considered the "official record" at trial.[7]
The trial court consisted of a professional judge with a 5-year term and two assessors
(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.[7]
During the trial, the judges had the additional responsibility of educating the people like
revealing and removing the causes and conditions that led to the crime.[7]
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.[citation
needed]

Civil court[edit]
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Human rights[edit]
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. Soviet law
emphasized economic and social rights over civil and political rights. The 1977
Constitution included the rights work, health, education and guaranteed freedoms of
speech, the press, assembly, and others.[8]