Cecily Zamora
Communism is a political and economic system that aims to create a classless society where the means of production are owned and controlled by the public. While the term communism did not emerge until the 1840s, the idea of a communistic society can be traced back to Plato's Republic, and elements of communist thought have been present in various forms throughout history. In the context of modern communism, the Russian Revolution of 1917 serves as a pivotal event, leading to the development of Soviet law and the spread of communist legal systems worldwide. This raises the question: how are laws created and enforced in communist governments?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Basis of laws | In the Soviet Union, laws were rooted in pre-revolutionary Russian law, Marxism-Leninism, and Western European civil law. |
| Law-making process | The Communist Party holds supreme power and can create or change laws at will. |
| Rule of law | The rule of law was often curbed or non-existent, with the regime placing itself above the law. |
| Civil liberties | Civil liberties were typically restricted, including freedom of speech and association. |
| Property rights | Private property rights were abolished or severely limited, with the means of production owned and controlled by the public. |
| Equality before the law | The concept of equality before the law was not well-established, with the ruling party often exempt from its provisions. |
| Judicial independence | The judiciary was subordinated to the executive or legislative branch, compromising its independence. |
| Crime definition | Crimes were defined broadly to include any actions threatening the state or society, rather than specific legal infractions. |
| Punishment | Punishment was often harsh and disproportionate, including the use of forced labour camps and executions. |
| Human rights | Human rights were often violated, and international human rights documents were not widely known, accessible, or enforced. |
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What You'll Learn
- The judiciary is subordinated to the ruling communist party
- The rule of law, civil liberties, and property rights are curbed
- Crime is defined as any action threatening the communist state
- The economy is centrally controlled, with public ownership of production
- The legal system is structured to maintain order under state dominance
The judiciary is subordinated to the ruling communist party
In a communist government, laws are created by the ruling communist party, which is often the only political party in the country. The communist party typically controls the judiciary and the legislative process, and the country's laws are based on the party's ideology and goals.
In the case of the Soviet Union, the judiciary was subordinated to the ruling communist party, with the Soviet authorities formally repealing all Tsarist legislation and establishing a socialist legal system in 1917. The regime immediately placed itself above the law, giving the head of the Communist Party powers akin to those held by the tsars for centuries. The new government replaced elected officials with its leaders, decreed that suspected enemies of the revolution should be eliminated without trials, and suppressed opposing speech. The Soviet legal system changed significantly during its over 70 years of development, reviving certain aspects of earlier tsarist law while introducing public ownership of the means of production and subordination of the legal system to the Communist Party.
Similarly, in China, the judiciary is controlled by the executive and is not an independent branch of government. The Communist Party of China seized power in 1949 and dismantled the existing legal structure, creating a new communist legal framework. The Chinese judiciary has a unified court system with four levels: the supreme court and three levels of local courts (high, intermediate, and basic). At the top is the Communist Party Group (CPG), an institution with ten members, including the court president and other high-ranking court officials. The CPG has broad administrative authority over the courts, and court presidents are assessed and rewarded or punished based on their courts' performance.
The concept of an active judiciary has been emphasized in China, with the expectation that the judiciary actively assumes its responsibilities and provides judicial services aligned with the central government's decision-making. This includes implementing judicial concepts, transforming them, and ensuring their alignment with the rule of law.
In both the Soviet Union and China, the western legal tradition and the associated pluralism of non-state-dependent institutions and courts were weak or non-existent. These countries inherited a tradition of internal state dominance and external imperial ambition, and their legal systems reflected this.
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The rule of law, civil liberties, and property rights are curbed
The rule of law, civil liberties, and property rights are often curbed under communist governments. The Soviet Union, for example, significantly curbed these rights, considering them examples of "bourgeois morality". Vladimir Lenin, for instance, stated that the purpose of socialist courts was "not to eliminate terror ... but to substantiate it and legitimize it in principle". The USSR abstained from affirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), claiming it was "overly juridical" and potentially infringed on national sovereignty.
The Soviet Union's legal system was rooted in pre-revolutionary Russian law and Marxism-Leninism. Marxism-Leninism views law as a superstructure in the base and superstructure model of society. This led to the abolition of Western legal concepts, including the rule of law, civil liberties, and property rights. For instance, profiteering could be interpreted as a counter-revolutionary activity punishable by death.
In communist and post-communist countries, privately owned land is often subject to strict regulation by the government, limiting landowners' rights. In Russia, for instance, land can only be privately owned under specific circumstances, such as for individual housing or agricultural purposes. Non-Russians are barred from owning land, and all land transactions must be registered with a federal governmental body. In Romania, agricultural land is given special treatment, with restrictions on its acquisition; only families may purchase it, and the amount is limited to 500 acres.
The trial court system in the Soviet Union also differed from that of democratic countries. The court's stated purpose was to find the truth rather than to protect legal rights, and judges kept legal technicalities to a minimum. The accused was presumed innocent, but this differed from the common law sense. The court decided by majority vote, and appeals could be made to a higher court consisting of three professional judges.
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Crime is defined as any action threatening the communist state
In a communist government, laws are created by the ruling communist party, which holds exclusive leadership. The communist ideology is based on the objective of creating a classless society where all means of production and what is produced is owned in common by all members of society. In practice, communist regimes have been characterised by the destruction of the pre-revolutionary legal structure and the subordination of the legal system to the ruling communist party.
Communist regimes have been associated with mass killings, repression, and human rights abuses, with some of these acts being classified as crimes against humanity, genocides, or crimes against political and social groups. These crimes include killings, executions, famine, deaths through forced labour, deportation, starvation, imprisonment, and killings by "unofficial" private groups.
While some critics attribute these crimes directly to communist ideology, others argue that they were perpetrated by specific authoritarian regimes and individuals within those regimes, rather than communism itself.
In the context of this discussion, it can be said that crime, in a communist state, is defined as any action threatening the communist government and its ideology. This includes not only violent acts such as killings and executions but also acts that destabilise the communist state's dominance, such as opposing speech, dissent, and resistance to policies like farm collectivisation.
The communist regime in the Soviet Union, for example, immediately placed itself above the law after the 1917 revolution and gave the head of the Communist Party powers akin to those historically held by tsars. The regime eliminated suspected enemies of the revolution without trials, expropriated land and property, and suppressed any dissent. Similar patterns were observed in China, Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam, which adopted variations of Soviet law.
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The economy is centrally controlled, with public ownership of production
Central planning is a key feature of communist economic systems. In a centrally planned economy, also known as a command economy, a central authority such as the government makes economic decisions regarding the production and distribution of goods. This is in contrast to a market economy, where these decisions are made by thousands of individual producers and consumers. Central planning is typically associated with formerly communist countries in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, as well as the contemporary governments of Cuba, China, and parts of Asia.
In a centrally planned economy, prices, wages, and production schedules are typically set by a centralized bureaucracy. The production of goods and services is often carried out by state-owned enterprises, although independent companies may sometimes be involved in economic planning. Central planning is based on the belief that the government can direct economic investment more efficiently than private actors, especially towards social goals with lower profit potential. Additionally, government projects can benefit from economies of scale due to the greater resources available to the planning authority compared to individual companies.
However, central planning has been heavily criticized, particularly by scholars in the Austrian school of economics. One major critique is that central planners cannot efficiently respond to supply and demand dynamics. In a market economy, businesses adjust their production based on price signals, while in a planned economy, the absence of price signals can lead to unnecessary shortages or surpluses of certain goods. Another critique is that command economies may be less efficient due to the lack of competitive pressures to drive innovation and reduce expenses.
While communist economies are characterized by public ownership of production, there are different interpretations of what this means in practice. Some argue that it refers to government ownership, where the state acts as the principal manufacturer, distributor, and employer in most sectors of the economy. Others interpret it as common ownership, where assets are held indivisibly by an organization, enterprise, or community, rather than by individual members or groups. This form of ownership is seen as a necessary democratic mechanism for the creation and maintenance of a communist society.
The implementation of laws in a communist government is influenced by the centralized nature of economic decision-making. In a centrally controlled economy, laws are imposed by a central authority to regulate production, distribution, and prices. The specific laws and regulations are designed to align with the economic plans and goals set by the central planning mechanism.
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The legal system is structured to maintain order under state dominance
The legal system under a communist government is structured to maintain order under state dominance. While the specifics vary depending on the country and the form of communism, there are some commonalities.
Communism is a political and economic system that seeks to create a classless society, with public ownership and control of the means of production, such as mines and factories. In the fully realized version of communism envisioned by Karl Marx, there would be no government, private property, or currency, and wealth would be divided equally among citizens.
In the Soviet Union, the legal system underwent significant changes after the 1917 Revolution. The new communist regime placed itself above the law, concentrating power in the hands of the head of the Communist Party, similar to the power previously held by the tsars. They replaced elected officials with their leaders, eliminated suspected enemies of the revolution without trials, expropriated land and property, and suppressed opposing speech. The legal system was subordinated to the Communist Party, and the rule of law, civil liberties, and property rights were curbed or disregarded. Crime was determined not as an infraction of the law but as any action threatening the state, and "criminal repression" could be applied even without guilt. The Soviet Union abstained from affirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, considering it "overly juridical" and potentially infringing on national sovereignty.
Other communist countries, including China, Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam, adopted variations of Soviet law. China, for example, has traditionally prioritized social relationships and moral duties over abstract, impersonal laws or rights. The legal system in China has been structured primarily to maintain order under state dominance.
It is important to note that the creation of laws in a communist government can be complex and may involve multiple factors, including the specific interpretation of communist ideology, historical context, and the level of centralization of power.
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Frequently asked questions
Communism is a political and economic system that seeks to create a classless society in which the major means of production, such as mines and factories, are owned and controlled by the public. There is no government or private property or currency, and wealth is divided equally among citizens.
In a communist government, the process of law-making is often influenced by the specific country's cultural context and historical traditions. For example, Soviet Law, which was developed in Russia after the communist revolution in 1917, abolished Western legal concepts such as the rule of law, civil liberties, and guarantees of property. The communist regime placed itself above the law and gave the head of the Communist Party powers akin to those previously held by the tsars.
Communist laws often reflect the ideology of the ruling communist party and may prioritize social relationships and moral duties over abstract, impersonal laws or rights. Crime may be defined more broadly to include actions that threaten the communist state or society. For example, in the Soviet Union, profiteering was considered a counter-revolutionary activity punishable by death.
