Regulatory support for the activities of the justice authorities of the USSR in the 20s

Abstract

This article analyzes the essence of the regulatory framework for the activities of the judiciary of the Ukrainian SSR in the 20s of the twentieth century. The author proves that the regulatory framework for the activities of the judiciary of the Ukrainian SSR in the 20s was characterized by the dominance of political and legal principles which embodied the establishment of the Soviet State and legal system. Soviet laws were usually authorized by the party leadership, which controlled all spheres of state life, including law enforcement. It is revealed that at the same time, the prosecutor's office performed the function of a special supervisory authority over virtually all law enforcement agencies, including judicial institutions. The author establishes that the criminal justice system was tasked with facilitating various political and political-economic campaigns in every possible way. It is proved that the Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR of 1919, as amended in 1925, and the Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR of 1929 had a certain influence on the process of legal regulation of the judiciary. However, the Ukrainian Soviet constitutions were political rather than legal documents and were developed primarily in the Communist Party departments. Given this, these constitutional acts can be classified as fundamental laws of the State with great reservation. It is substantiated that the Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR of 1929 led to further establishment of the principle of dictatorship of the proletariat and contributed to the dominance of all-Union legislative acts over the republican ones. During the 20s, there was a gradual increase in the role of the Union center, i.e., all-Union institutions, and restrictions on the rights of the republic, which, in turn, affected the functioning of the judiciary. The latter became more dependent on the Union agencies in their activities. It is found that the process of organizational and structural strengthening of the justice authorities of the Ukrainian SSR during the 20s took place in rather difficult conditions. First of all, this was due to the existing tendency to ignore law as a "bourgeois" relic. In addition, there were signs of the underdevelopment of the law enforcement system in the Ukrainian SSR and the tendency to turn law enforcement agencies into a means of establishing a totalitarian regime in the country. It is found that in general, the law enforcement system of the Ukrainian SSR in the 20s was quite complex, which posed the state with the task of reorganizing and reforming it. Accordingly, law enforcement agencies were in a state of transformation and organizational and legal strengthening. However, they faced a number of problems and challenges, especially with regard to combating general criminal activity. At the same time, the process of forming the judiciary continued, and the process of restoring the rights of the bar began.