History of the Soviet court.

The act that laid the foundations of the Soviet judicial system is the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of November 22 (December 5), 1917 “On the Court” No. 1. Instead of magistrates, local people's courts were established consisting of one permanent judge and two assessors, who were to be elected directly by the population , but for 20 years the elections were carried out by the respective Councils. The competence of local courts was limited: in civil cases with a claim amount of up to three thousand rubles, in criminal cases - with a punishment of no more than two years in prison.

There was only a cassation procedure for appealing sentences and court decisions. The cassation instances were the district and capital congresses of local judges. Local courts, when making decisions and sentences, were temporarily allowed to be guided by the laws of the overthrown governments, if they were not abolished by the revolution and did not contradict the revolutionary conscience and revolutionary sense of justice. The preliminary investigation was entrusted to local judges. Any citizen enjoying political rights could act as a prosecutor or defense attorney in criminal cases (an attorney in civil cases).

This was followed by the Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of February 15, 1918 “On the Court” No. 2. To consider cases at first instance that exceeded the jurisdiction of local courts, district people's courts were established, which were elected by city and county Councils. Civil cases were considered by three permanent judges and four people's assessors; criminal cases were resolved by 12 people's assessors chaired by one of the permanent judges. Regional courts were established to consider cassation appeals against decisions of district courts. To carry out the preliminary investigation, special investigative commissions were established consisting of three people elected by the Soviets. The investigation was conducted jointly. The Soviets also created collegiums of legal defenders, whose members could act in court as prosecutors or defenders.

Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of July 13, 1918 “On the Court” No. 3 allowed local courts to consider civil cases for claims up to 10 thousand rubles and criminal cases for which a maximum penalty of imprisonment of five years was allowed.

The Regulations on the People's Court of the RSFSR were approved on November 30, 1918; Having eliminated the previous judicial system, it established a single district court. Its jurisdiction included all civil and criminal cases, with the exception of cases of counter-revolutionary and other crimes most dangerous for the Soviet regime. When considering cases, the district people's court had to apply only the decrees of the Soviet government, and in their absence, be guided by socialist legal consciousness.

The court, consisting of: a) one permanent judge, considered disputes on divorce and cases in the manner of uncontested proceedings; b) a permanent judge and six lay judges - cases of the most dangerous crimes; c) a permanent judge and two lay judges - all civil and other criminal cases.

The court had the right to determine the punishment based on its conviction and was free to evaluate the evidence. Sentences and decisions of district people's courts could be reviewed in cassation by the Council of People's Judges, convened in each province. The deadline for filing a cassation appeal was set at one month from the date of announcement of the verdict. Collegiums of defenders, prosecutors and representatives of parties in civil proceedings were established under the district and provincial councils. Members of the boards were elected by the relevant Councils and were in the position of civil servants. Preliminary investigations in criminal cases considered by the court with the participation of six people's assessors were entrusted to county and city investigative commissions, whose members were elected by the city council or the county executive committee. In other cases, the court could limit itself to an inquiry carried out by the police, or entrust the investigation to a permanent judge.

The new Regulations on the People's Court were approved by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on October 21, 1920. Judges elected by district and city councils were confirmed in office by higher executive committees. The collegial procedure for conducting investigations was abolished. People's investigators were established under the city and district Councils of People's Judges, and in the most important cases - under the provincial councils of justice and the People's Commissariat of Justice. The colleges of defense and prosecutors were liquidated. To carry out their functions, persons were recruited from among the relevant specialists, whose lists were available in local executive committees.

Decree “On the Court” No. 1 established revolutionary tribunals. Initially, the revolutionary tribunals operated with one chairman and six regular assessors, who were elected by provincial and city councils. To carry out the preliminary investigation, special investigative commissions were created under the same Soviets. The Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of May 4, 1918 reduced the number of local revolutionary tribunals, clarified their jurisdiction, established an investigative commission at each revolutionary tribunal, as well as a special board to support charges in court and initiate criminal prosecution on suspicion of counter-revolutionary crimes. The Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of May 29, 1918 established the Revolutionary Tribunal under the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, consisting of a chairman and six members who were elected by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. This tribunal consisted of an Investigative Commission and a Central Board of Prosecutors, which was entrusted with the leadership of similar boards at local tribunals.

According to the Regulations on Revolutionary Tribunals of April 12, 1919, revolutionary tribunals were established one per province and, in addition, in cities with a population of over 200 thousand people. They began to operate as part of a chairman and two members, elected for one month by the Council or the Executive Committee only from among the responsible political workers. To file cassation complaints and protests against sentences, 48 ​​hours were given from the moment a copy of the sentence was delivered to the convicted person. To consider cassation complaints and protests, a Cassation Tribunal was established under the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

The Regulations on Revolutionary Tribunals of March 18, 1920 clarified their jurisdiction (counter-revolutionary crimes, malfeasance, cases of large-scale speculation, desertion). Members of the revolutionary tribunals began to be elected for a period of three months, and one of them had to be a representative of the board of the provincial Cheka. The preliminary investigation began to be entrusted to the Cheka.

In addition to the general revolutionary tribunals, revolutionary military tribunals were established in the Red Army in the fall of 1918. In accordance with the Regulations approved by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on November 20, 1919, revolutionary military tribunals were created under the relevant Revolutionary Military Councils to consider cases of crimes committed by military personnel.

During the period of civil war and foreign intervention, the bodies of the Cheka, on the basis of the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars “The Socialist Fatherland is in Danger!” of February 21, 1918 and the Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars "On the Red Terror" of September 5, 1918, used extrajudicial repression. The Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of February 17, 1919 “On the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission” stated that in cases investigated by the Cheka, sentences were passed only by revolutionary tribunals, which were also vested with the right to verify investigative actions.

The beginning of the judicial reform of 1922 was the publication of the Regulations on the Bar on May 26, 1922 and the Regulations on the Prosecutor's Office on May 28, 1922.

The prosecutor's office was entrusted with the following tasks: 1) monitoring the legality of the actions of all government bodies, economic institutions, public and private organizations, as well as citizens by initiating criminal prosecution and challenging decisions that violate the law; 2) supervision over the conduct of the inquiry and preliminary investigation, as well as over the activities of the GPU bodies; 3) maintaining charges in court; 4) supervision over the correctness of the detention of prisoners.

The prosecutor's office was built strictly centrally, on a territorial basis, headed by the Prosecutor of the Republic, whose position was the People's Commissar of Justice. The Prosecutor of the Republic had his assistants in charge of individual branches of the prosecutor's office. Directly subordinate to the Prosecutor of the Republic were regional (provincial) prosecutors, who also had their own assistants.

According to the Regulations on the Bar, colleges of defenders were to be created at the regional (provincial) departments of justice on a voluntary basis. Payments for the defense lawyers were made by clients.

In October 1922, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee approved a regulation on the judicial system of the RSFSR, according to which, instead of the existing general courts and revolutionary tribunals, a single three-tier system was established, consisting of the district, regional (provincial) and Supreme Court of the RSFSR.

At the same time, the presence of special courts was “temporarily” allowed, where cases that required special knowledge and skills from the courts or concerned crimes of particular danger that threatened the defense power of the state were to be considered. The Regulations included military and military transport tribunals, land and arbitration commissions, and special labor sessions of people's courts as special courts.

The main link in the judicial system was the district people's court, which acted, as a rule, as part of a permanent judge and two people's assessors. The regional (provincial) court became the first instance for the most important criminal and civil cases and the second (cassation) instance for district people's courts. The Supreme Court of the RSFSR became the first instance for cases of special national importance; cassation instance - for regional (provincial) courts. In addition, the Supreme Court of the RSFSR exercised judicial control over all courts of the republics. For this purpose, he could, by way of supervision, consider cases decided by any court of the RSFSR, and give explanations to lower courts on issues of judicial practice.

The preliminary investigation of criminal cases was to be carried out by people's investigators attached to the regional (provincial) courts and the Supreme Court of the RSFSR. The completion of the transformations of the judicial bodies was the establishment of the Supreme Court of the USSR under the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, as well as the position of the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of the USSR. The existing system is enshrined in the Fundamentals of the Judicial System of the USSR and Union Republics, adopted by the Central Executive Committee of the USSR in October 1924. The Fundamentals introduced some clarifications to the previously existing system. In particular, the regional (provincial) court, as a cassation instance, had to act as a composition of three permanent judges. At this court, notary offices were established and bailiffs were appointed. The regional (provincial) court in relation to the district people's courts, as well as the notary and bailiffs, was a judicial administration body and in this capacity was subordinate to the People's Commissar of Justice of the republic, who was also the republican prosecutor. Since 1929, the investigative apparatus came under the jurisdiction of the prosecutor's office.

Soviet military justice was reorganized. The Regulations on the Judicial System of the USSR of 1922 established that all military judicial institutions operate under the general control and supervision of the People's Commissariat of Justice and the Supreme Court of the USSR. The organization of the activities of military courts and supervision of them were entrusted to the Military and Military Transport Collegiums of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR. With the approval of the Supreme Court of the USSR, management of the activities of military tribunals passed to its Military Collegium. From that time on, military tribunals became all-Union courts. The military collegiums of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR were abolished.

The regulations on military tribunals and the military prosecutor's office were adopted by the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on August 20, 1926. Military tribunals were established at military districts (fronts, individual armies, fleets), corps, and divisions. All tribunals had military investigators. Military tribunals had jurisdiction over cases of military crimes, as well as other crimes in cases provided for by law. The division's military tribunal considered cases of crimes committed by military personnel up to and including the battalion commander. Corps Tribunal - cases of crimes of military personnel who held positions up to and including the regimental commander. The district tribunal (front, separate army, navy) had jurisdiction over cases against all military personnel, with the exception of persons personally subject to the jurisdiction of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, and the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR had jurisdiction over criminal cases of exceptional importance, as well as cases against senior command personnel (from the corps commander and above). All military tribunals operated, as a rule, with three permanent judges. Military prosecutors were established at all types of tribunals. The military prosecutor's office was headed by the Assistant Prosecutor of the Republic. After the formation of the USSR, the military prosecutor's office was transferred to the subordination of the Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court of the USSR.

By decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of February 6, 1922, the Cheka was transformed into the State Political Administration (GPU) under the NKVD of the RSFSR. On October 16, 1922, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee gave the GPU the right to use extrajudicial repression, up to and including execution, against persons caught red-handed at the scene of bandit raids and armed robberies. This law gave the special commission of the NKVD the right to expel and imprison in forced labor camps for up to three years leaders of anti-Soviet political parties and persons twice convicted, including for ordinary crimes (theft, robbery, robbery, hooliganism, etc.). With the formation of the USSR, the bodies of the GPU were united on an all-Union scale; the Constitution of the USSR of 1924 enshrined the creation of the United State Political Administration under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. On March 29, 1924, the Central Executive Committee of the USSR approved the Regulations on the rights of the OGPU regarding administrative expulsions and imprisonment in a concentration camp for up to three years. The decision on deportation and imprisonment in a concentration camp in relation to persons recognized as socially dangerous was entrusted to a Special Meeting consisting of three members of the OGPU board.

The Constitution of the USSR of 1936 and the Law on the Judicial System of the USSR of 1938 determined the following foundations of the judicial system: the judicial system consists of the courts of the USSR (Supreme Court, military tribunals, linear courts of railway and water transport) and the courts of the union republics (supreme courts of the union republics, regional and equal them courts, people's and equal courts). Judges of the people's court began to be elected for three years. The judges of the remaining courts were still elected by the Soviets for five years.

The system of military tribunals, according to the Law on the Judiciary, consisted of: 1) military tribunals of armies, corps, other military units and paramilitary institutions, which considered cases only as courts of first instance; 2) military tribunals of districts, fronts and fleets, which acted as courts of first, cassation and supervisory instance. The competence of military tribunals included cases of military crimes, as well as other crimes assigned by law to their jurisdiction. Since 1940, military tribunals began to consider all criminal cases involving crimes by military personnel.

Linear courts of railway and water transport tried cases of crimes aimed at undermining discipline in transport, and other crimes disrupting the normal operation of transport. Permanent judges of the special courts of the USSR were elected by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for a period of five years.

The Supreme Court of the USSR was defined as the highest judicial body of the country and acted as part of: a) the Judicial Collegium for criminal cases; b) Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases; c) Military Collegium; d) Railway Board; d) Water Transport Board.

The Law on the Judicial System of 1938 freed the judiciary from the functions of judicial administration, transferring them to the People's Commissariat of Justice of the USSR, formed in July 1936.

In 1933, instead of the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of the USSR, the position of the Prosecutor of the USSR was established. The Regulations on the Prosecutor's Office of the USSR, approved on December 17, 1933, entrusted the prosecutor's office with: a) supervision of the compliance of decrees and orders of individual departments of the USSR and union republics and local authorities with the Constitution of the USSR, decrees and orders of the government; b) monitoring the correct and uniform application of laws by judicial institutions.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the organization and activities of the judiciary were restructured. The Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On martial law” dated June 22, 1941 established that in areas declared under martial law, all cases of crimes against defense, public order and state security should be referred to military tribunals. Military tribunals were given the right to consider cases 24 hours after delivery of a copy of the indictment to the accused, without the participation of lay judges and a lawyer. The sentences were carried out immediately, were not subject to cassation appeal and could be canceled or changed only by way of supervision. However, the military tribunal that passed it was obliged to immediately report by telegraph the chairman of the Military Collegium and the Chief Military Prosecutor about each sentence to capital punishment (execution). If there was no response within 72 hours to suspend the sentence, it was carried out. In July-September 1941, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR simplified this procedure and granted the right to commanders and commissars of corps and divisions in areas declared under martial law and in areas of military operations to approve sentences of military tribunals “to capital punishment, with immediate implementation of the sentences.” execution." According to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On responsibility for the spread of false rumors in wartime that raise alarm among the population” dated July 6, 1941, persons guilty of committing this crime were subject to trial by a military tribunal. On December 26, 1941, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR referred to the jurisdiction of military tribunals cases of unauthorized departure of workers and employees from military industry enterprises. In connection with the introduction of martial law in transport, cases of all crimes committed in transport also began to be considered by special military tribunals.

In November 1941, by a joint order of the People's Commissariat of Justice of the USSR and the Prosecutor of the USSR, it was established that in all cases where decrees of the USSR Government provide for liability for one or another crime “according to the laws of war,” it is necessary to transfer cases of these crimes to military tribunals using the procedure for consideration cases established by the “Regulations on military tribunals in areas declared under martial law and in areas of military operations” dated June 22, 1941.

The total number of military tribunals of the Red Army and Navy is increasing. Tribunals operated in military formations: individual brigades, divisions, corps, armies, flotillas, naval bases and garrisons. These were the courts of first instance. The highest level were the military tribunals of fronts, fleets, districts, and individual armies. Military tribunals of the NKVD were created, which fought against evasion of labor mobilizations, unauthorized departures of workers and employees from military industry enterprises, malicious violations of the rules and orders of the MPVO, as well as other crimes. All military tribunals of the Red Army, Navy and NKVD were closed to the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR. In accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 22, 1941, in areas declared under martial law, linear courts of railways and water basins were reorganized into transport military tribunals from the very first days of the war. In 1943, in connection with the introduction of martial law in transport, the entire transport justice of the USSR was transformed into military justice, and the Military Railway and Military Transport Collegiums were additionally formed as part of the Supreme Court of the USSR, which began to cover the military tribunals of railway, sea and river transport. The system of military tribunals that administered justice during the Great Patriotic War consisted of: 1) military tribunals of the Red Army and Navy; 2) military tribunals of the NKVD; 3) military tribunals of railway and water transport; 4) military tribunals created on the basis of local people's courts due to the wartime emergency; 5) military courts formed under the divisions of the active army according to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On punitive measures for Nazi villains guilty of murder and torture of the Soviet civilian population and captured Red Army soldiers, for spies, traitors to the Motherland from among Soviet citizens and for their accomplices" dated April 19, 1943. Military field courts were created, which acted as part of the chairman of the division military tribunal, the head of the divisional counterintelligence department SMERSH, the deputy division commander for political affairs and the division prosecutor. All sentences of military courts were approved by the division commander and immediately carried out.

The entire system of military tribunals was still headed by the Supreme Court of the USSR. The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR acted as: a) a court of first instance in the most important cases of special jurisdiction; b) cassation instance for military tribunals of districts, fleets and individual armies in areas not declared under martial law; c) the supervisory authority in cases of all military tribunals, except for the tribunals of railway and waterways, in relation to which similar functions were performed by the Military Railway and Military Transport Collegiums of the Supreme Court of the USSR.

The principle of electing judges of military tribunals was not implemented during the war. Personnel issues were resolved administratively.

In 1953, military tribunals and prosecutors' offices in the troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, and bodies of extrajudicial repression were abolished; the simplified procedure for considering cases of state crimes has been abolished; the rehabilitation of innocently convicted citizens accused of political crimes and declared enemies of the people began. On May 24, 1955, a regulation on prosecutorial supervision in the USSR was adopted. From now on, the preliminary investigation bodies, including the state security agencies, were placed under strict supervision. As part of the USSR Prosecutor's Office, there was a special department for supervising the conduct of investigations in state security agencies. On February 12, 1957, transport courts and transport prosecutor's offices were abolished. In February 1957, a new regulation on the Supreme Court of the USSR was adopted.

In May 1956, the USSR Ministry of Justice was liquidated. Its functions in managing the work of judicial institutions began to be carried out by the ministries of justice of the union republics, and some of the functions were transferred to the Legal Commission formed at the same time under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. In 1957–1960, the ministries of justice were abolished in all union republics (in the RSFSR and Ukrainian SSR - in 1963). The functions of the ministries of justice began to be performed by the supreme courts of the union republics and legal commissions under their governments. In 1957, legislation on the organization of courts and the adoption of civil, criminal and procedural codes were assigned to the jurisdiction of the union republics. In connection with the liquidation of the ministries of justice of the union republics, regional courts began to act in three capacities: as courts of first instance, as cassation bodies and as bodies directing lower (district, city) courts, financing and monitoring their activities.

According to the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On measures to improve the work of judicial and prosecutorial bodies”, on July 30, 1970, the Union-Republican Ministry of Justice of the USSR was restored. The USSR Ministry of Justice was entrusted with organizational management of the courts and assistance in improving their activities. The most important function of the ministry was the systematization and preparation of proposals for the codification of legislation, methodological guidance and coordination of the work of government agencies and public organizations to promote legal knowledge and explain legislation. In addition, the ministry was entrusted with the functions of managing the bar, notaries, civil registry offices, training personnel for judicial, investigative bodies and justice institutions. In accordance with this, the department of general courts, the department of military tribunals, the department of systematization of legislation and the preparation of bills, the department of legal work in the national economy, the department for legal propaganda and legal education of citizens, the department of notaries and registry offices, the department of advocacy, the department forensic institutions, etc.

The Supreme Court of the USSR remained the highest judicial body of the USSR, which was entrusted with supervision of the judicial activities of the courts of the USSR. The regulation on the Supreme Court of the USSR was adopted (February 12, 1957), which significantly expanded the rights of the judicial bodies of the union republics. Until 1957, the Supreme Court of the USSR was vested with the right to claim any case from any court, even when it had not yet been considered by the Supreme Court of the republic. The new provision provided that all cases should be finally decided in the Supreme Court of the Union Republic, and the Supreme Court of the USSR could review the decision of the court of the republic only if it contradicted all-Union legislation or the interests of another republic. The principles of activity of the lower courts were changed: the system of district courts that existed previously was abolished, and district and city courts were created. The number of courts, especially in cities, has decreased. The term of office of people's courts increased from three to five years, people's assessors were elected for a term of two years. The number of judges and assessors for each people's court was established by the executive committee of the relevant Council.

The new USSR Law “On the Supreme Court of the USSR” was adopted on November 30, 1979. The law established that the Supreme Court of the USSR acts as a court of first instance, considering cases in cassation, by way of supervision and on newly discovered circumstances. He resolved, within the limits of his powers, issues arising from international treaties of the USSR. The Supreme Court of the USSR was elected by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for a period of five years, consisting of a chairman, his deputies, members and people's assessors. In addition, it included the chairmen of the Supreme Courts of the Union republics. The Supreme Court of the USSR acted as part of the Plenum, three collegiums - for civil cases, for criminal cases and military. The Plenum considered, by way of supervision, cases on protests from the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the USSR and the Prosecutor General of the USSR, considered materials summarizing judicial practice and judicial statistics, approved the composition of the judicial panels, the secretary of the Plenum, the scientific advisory council, heard reports of the chairmen of the judicial panels, reports of the chairmen of the supreme courts of the Union republics

Judicial panels were approved by the Plenum from among the members of the Supreme Court of the USSR. As a first instance, they considered cases of exceptional importance, as a supervisory procedure - protests against decisions of the Supreme Courts of the Union Republics, and resolved disputes between the courts of the Union Republics about the place of consideration of cases. The Military Collegium was considered a court of first instance for cases of exceptional importance, within the jurisdiction of military tribunals, and also acted as a court of cassation on their verdicts and considered, by way of supervision, protests against their decisions in other cases. Military tribunals were created in districts, armies, military formations, garrisons, fleets, and groups of troops. They had jurisdiction over all cases of crimes committed by military personnel.

The People's Court was the lowest and main link in the Soviet judicial system. At the people's courts there were bailiffs appointed by the chairman of the people's court. They carried out court decisions and sentences.