Checklist of Soviet Normative Acts Available in English Translation

Abstract

One of the questions commonly posed to comparatists who teach Soviet law is whether there are sufficient basic source materials available for non-Russian-speaking students to support a meaningful and comprehensive course. My own unhesitating response, albeit without actual quantitative data, has been that no other foreign legal system enjoys so prompt and extensive coverage in English-language media as the Soviet legal system despite-or perhaps because of-the fact that area studies media provide most of the coverage. This checklist originally was prepared for my course Introduction to Socialist Legal Systems at University College London. It is a selective compilation; the principal codification acts are included, as are some noteworthy examples of subordinate legislation. All items listed are believed to be in force as of 1 July 1975. Most items contain a reference to a Russian language source, the official gazette whenever possible. Citations to amendments are not given, although acts known to have been amended are asterisked. With only one or two exceptions, the sources given for English language translations contain the complete text of the act (though not necessarily as amended). This has meant that most items in such useful casebooks as Hazard, Shapiro and Maggs, The Soviet Legal System and Zile, Ideas and Forces in Soviet Legal History have been excluded, as have excerpts and highly specialized materials from Soviet Statutes and Decisions. At least two translations of each text are cited whenever possible, but beyond this comprehensive listings have not been attempted. The Constitutions of the USSR and the RSFSR, for example, have been translated countless times and are readily accessible. A list of abbreviations follows the checklist.