Socialist Law

Abstract

Socialist law as an actual legal order is a major legal family with common characteristics. It prevailed in state socialist (communist) countries. In contrast, the socialist (socialistic) theory of law envisions a normative system which reflects equality and solidarity: it is a theory about law based on social justice. The concept of socialist law expresses the ideological legacy of Marxism–Leninism. According to Marx, law is the will of the ruling class provided with statutory validity. Socialist law changed over time not only because of changes in the style of domination but also because it was imposed on very different cultures and societies which were able to shape it to a certain extent. The common roots of socialist law are totalitarian (law was intended to serve total social control), and it had a purely instrumental legitimacy. Although the prevailing definition of socialist law emphasized that it is a hierarchically structured sum total of state-made norms, in reality a fundamental disregard of the promulgated law prevailed. Substantive and procedural institutions like the public prosecutor's office, political control over the courts, denial of access to court, and restrictions on fundamental rights, as well as institutionalized politically biased discretionary powers of the administration undermined the rule of law.