The Soviet, Chinese and Albanian constitutions: Ideological divergence and institutionalized confrontation?

Abstract

Western constitutional lawyers have often questioned the credib?ity of the constitutions of Communist-ruled states. Prior to 1975, the existing constitu tions of thirteen such states1 were modeled after the 1936 Stalin constitution of the USSR with essential variations. Such a constitutional fa?ade, often giving rise to a sense of political unreality, was not penetrated unt? the People's Republic of China (PRC) adopted its new constitution on January 17, 1975.2 This document injects into the Communist system a fuU measure of revolutionary dynamism. Similarly, the December 28, 1976, Constitution of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania3 embodies still more guidelines for continuing the revolution. However, the revolutionary dynamism of both documents and of the March 5,1978 PRC Constitution is completely missing from the Soviet Constitution, adopted on October 7, 1977,4 thereby divorc ing the Soviet Party-state from revolutionary Communism. According to Communist ideology, the creation of Communist Party-states, together with their prescribed political, economic, social and cultural pro grams, serves the Communist-led proletarian world revolution until its final victory. Since 1975, two distinct types of Communist Party-state constitu tions have emerged: revolutionary and revisionist. If a Communist Party-state reneges on its fundamental duty to serve the proletarian world revolution, it ceases to be revolutionary and deteriorates to revisionism. New constitutions were promulgated by Vietnam and Mongolia in 1960, East Germany in 1969 (amended in 1974), Bulgaria in 1971, and Hungary in 1972, and 'socialist' constitutions were proclaimed by Romania on August 20, 1965, by Yugoslavia on February 24,1974, and by Cuba on February 24, 1976. However, Uke the Soviet Constitution, these documents cannot be compared with the 1975 and 1978 PRC Constitutions or the 1976 Albanian Constitution in their revolutionary vigor. The 1975 and 1978 PRC Constitu tions are also fuUy compatible with the August 18,1977, Constitution of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which replaced its 1973 predecessor in pur suing the "continued revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat."5 In effect, the two Chinese and 1976 Albanian Constitutions represent the