Solution of Problems Arising in Court Practice in Application of the Code Of Civil Procedure

The Plenum of the RSFSR Supreme Court convened in December 1964 and discussed questions arising in court practice in application of the new Code of Civil Procedure of the RSFSR.     

Procedure for Putting the New Rsfsr Codes into Effect

The law adopting the new Civil Code and Code of Civil Procedure of the RSFSR, which go into effect October 1, 1964, specifies a procedure for effectuating them and for bringing the legislation of the republic into accord with these codes.     

The New Laws on the Judicial System,the Criminal Code,and the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation

New laws — the Law on the Judicial System of the RSFSR, the Criminal Code, and the Code of Criminal Procedure of the RSFSR — were passed on October 27, 1960, at the Third Session of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet (Fifth Convocation). These laws are in accord with the Principles of Criminal Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics, the Principles of Legislation on the Judicial System of the USSR, the Union and Autonomous Republics, and the Principles of Criminal Procedure of the USSR and the Union Republics. The enactment of these laws by the Russian Federation constitutes an important landmark in the development of Soviet legislation.     

Proposals Regarding the Laws on Housing-Construction Cooperatives

The fundamental legal document regulating the activity of the housing-construction cooperative in the RSFSR is the Model Charter approved by decree No. 1143 of the RSFSR Council of Ministers, October 2, 1965 (SP RSFSR, 1965, no. 23, item 144). As a consequence of the broad scope of cooperative housing construction, life has posed many new questions that are not regulated by the Model Charter or require changes in provisions of the law. Some of its provisions are actually in conflict with the prevailing legislation. For example, Point 3 states that the charter of a cooperative adopted by a meeting shall be recorded in the housing administration (or department) of municipal services of the executive committee of the local soviet, whereas, according to Article 19d of the RSFSR law "On the District Soviet of Working People's Deputies of the RSFSR" and Article 16 of the RSFSR law "On the City and Urban District Soviet of Working People's Deputies of the RSFSR," recording of a charter is by the executive committee. Point 7 of the charter forbids government enterprises from participating with their funds in the construction of housing by a cooperative, while in accordance with the joint decree of the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers (Pravda, September 18, 1977), the councils of ministers of the union republics have the right to permit the heads of state farms and other state enterprises in agriculture, water-control enterprises, and the Agricultural Equipment Association, located in rural places, to make good, under certain conditions, up to 50 percent of the state credit issued to equipment operators who are members of housing-construction cooperatives.     

Conference on Theoretical Problems Involved in the Future Model Charter of the Agricultural Artel

A conference was held in November 1965 in the USSR Academy of Sciences' Institutute of State and Law; the participants included scientific personnel of law, economics, and agricultural institutes, faculty members of law, economics, and agricultural higher educational institutions, personnel of the ministries of agriculture of the USSR and the RSFSR, the Moscow Regional Agricultural Administration, the USSR Procuracy and the RSFSR Procuracy, and representatives of certain publishing houses and newspaper and journal editorial boards.     

Results of the Discussion of the Draft Code of Civil Procedure of the RSFSR

In publishing the major provisions of the draft Code of Civil Procedure of the RSFSR, the editors of Sovetskaia iustitsiia wished to organize a broad exchange of opinions among readers on the most fundamental and controversial problems of Soviet civil procedure. Articles appearing in the press, the speeches at the All-Union Conference to Discuss the Drafts of the RSFSR Civil and Civil Procedure Codes, and the numerous letters received by the editors of this journal and by the Ministry of Justice of the RSFSR bear witness to the broad nature of the discussion. Along with the generally positive evaluation of the draft, the participants in the discussion voiced a number of critical observations and proposals aimed at improving it. Although we cannot deal with all the questions touched upon in the course of the discussion, we shall note the most fundamental of them in the sequence in which their content is dealt with in the draft code.     

Court Practice in Cases of Squatting and the Unauthorized Building of Private Homes

The RSFSR Criminal Code of 1960 classifies squatting, the purchase, sale and giving of such land, and the unauthorized construction of dwellings and additions thereto as illegal acts subject to criminal punishment.     

The Draft of the New Regulation on the State Notary Service of the RSFSR

The legislation on the notary service is closely associated with civil legislation. The notarial agencies apply the provisions of civil law in performing, on behalf of the state, the service of monitoring the legality of transactions made under civil law. It is therefore natural that the important changes that have been made in the civil legislation must result in changes in the legislation on the notary service. It is generally recognized that these changes should take the form of the adoption of a new regulation on the state notary service of the RSFSR — a basic act to regulate the organization and procedures of the notarial agencies of the Russian Federation. The need to adopt a new regulation on the government notary service derives particularly from the changes introduced into the legislation of the RSFSR as a consequence of the elimination of the Ministry of Justice.     

The Role of International Legal Norms in Ensuring the "Right to a Legal Defense"

On 22 November 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR adopted the "Declaration of the Rights and Freedoms of the Individual and Citizen."¹ Article 1 of the declaration states that universally recognized international norms on human rights have priority over the laws of the RSFSR where they directly give rise to rights and duties of citizens. But, in the words of A.M. Vasil'ev, this is "really only a defended, not a proclaimed right."² The systems of international and Soviet law set down the procedure and the order of realization of rights and freedoms and the ways and means for their legal defense. An important guarantee for the realization of rights and freedoms is ensuring the individual's right to a legal defense.     

Academic Emigration from Russia

More than two years have passed since the promulgation of the RSFSR Code on Marriage and the Family. This is sufficient time in which to draw certain conclusions about how the new provisions in the laws on marriage and the family are applied in practice.     

Court Order No. 3, USSR Supreme Court Plenum,March 18, 1963

Having heard and discussed the reports of the Chairman of the RSFSR Supreme Court, Comrade L. N. Smirnov, the Chairman of the Lithuanian Supreme Court, Comrade A. L. Likas, and the Chairman of the Criminal College of the USSR Supreme Court, Comrade G. Z. Anashkin, on the fulfillment by the judiciary of the USSR Supreme Court Plenum's Order No. 6 of September 12, 1961, and having examined materials summarizing the practice of the courts in cases involving antisocial parasitic elements, the Plenum of the USSR Supreme Court takes note that the judiciary of the RSFSR, Lithuania and other union republics have recently somewhat improved their consideration of such cases, and have begun to apply more correctly the legislation on intensifying the struggle against persons refraining from socially useful labor and engaging in an antisocial and parasitic way of life.     

Order of the RSFSR Council of Ministers (March 29, 1963, No. 386) Approving the Model Regulations for Legal (Contract Law) Divisions,Chief (Senior) Attorney,or Attorney of an Enterprise,Institution or Organization

The RSFSR Council of Ministers resolves:

1. To place in force the attached model regulations for legal (contract law) divisions, chief (senior) attorney, or attorney of an enterprise, institution or organization.     

A New Stage in the Functioning of the Comrades' Courts

On October 23, 1963, the Presidium of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet passed a decree "On Additions and Amendments to the Statute on the Comrades' Courts." This decree is of exceptional importance in further elevating the role of these courts in educating the working people for communism.     

Law of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic on the Adoption of the RSFSR Code on Marriage and the Family

The Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic decrees:

Article 1. The RSFSR Code on Marriage and the Family is hereby adopted and shall be put into effect on November 1, 1969.     

An Important form of Improvement of the Professional Skills of Justice Personnel

In accordance with the joint decree of the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers of July 30, 1970, "On Measures to Improve the Work of Judicial and Procuracy Organs," and Decree No. 640 of November 12, 1970, of the RSFSR Council of Ministers, permanent republic-wide courses for improving the qualifications of justice personnel in the RSFSR have been organized in that federation. Here members of supreme courts of autonomous republics, members of territorial, regional, city, and national area courts, presiding judges of district (or city) people's courts, people's judges, consultants of departments of justice and of courts, notaries, and defense attorneys will undergo retraining. Branches of the republic-wide courses for bailiffs, office heads, secretaries of courts and hearings, clerks, and inspectors are being established in affiliation with the ministries of justice of autonomous republics and the justice departments of the executive committees of territorial and regional Soviets of working people's deputies.     

Civil Law and Procedure

The discussion of drafts of major legislation in our country by a broad range of Soviet citizens and by the entire legal profession has become a firmly entrenched part of the legislative process. Additional proof of this was provided by the lengthy discussion in the press of the draft of the new RSFSR Civil Code.     

Soviet Law and Government

Broad preparations are now under way for the forthcoming elections to the supreme Soviets of the union and autonomous republics and the local Soviets of working people's deputies. As we know, elections will take place on March 3 in the RSFSR, the Ukrainian, Belorussian, Uzbek, Kazakh, Moldavian, Latvian, Tajik and Turkmenian union republics, and on March 17 in the Georgian, Azerbaijan, Lithuanian, Kirgiz, Armenian and Estonian union republics.     

The Rights of an Urban Soviet Subordinate to Another Urban Soviet

As a consequence of the reorganization of the soviets in accordance with the production principle, many small towns have been detached from rural districts, and the soviets of these towns have been subordinated to those of larger cities that are directly subordinate to territories and regions. In individual cases, the soviets of the small towns have been placed under district soviets of cities which have district subdivisions. At present some 300 towns have thus been subordinated to others, including 230 in the RSFSR.     

Federal Relationships

The Great October Socialist Revolution, having abolished the rule of the exploiting classes, brought freedom from the age-long oppression of all the peoples of the former tsarist empire, granting them the right to self-determination up to and including secession. As a result of the triumph of the October Revolution, sovereign Soviet socialist republics came into being on the territory of what had been tsarist Russia. These republics established their own supreme organs of power and administration and became, like the RSFSR, states of a new, socialist type.     

Procuratorial Supervision over the Legality of the Arrest of Accused Persons (or Suspects)

One of the important areas of procuratorial supervision over preliminary investigation is supervision of the legality of measures of restraint. The procurator must be particularly attentive with regard to the legality of application of a measure of restraint such as confinement under guard, as it touches the interests of the citizen most significantly. Confinement under guard (as well as other measures of restraint) is usually applied to an accused (Article 89, RSFSR Code of Criminal Procedure), and only as an exception to a suspect (Article 90, ibid.).