Political Trials Research Articles

O profesiune liberală sub patru dictaturi. Avocatura din România între extrema dreaptă și cea stângă

A liberal profession, lawyering was probably the most important and visible aspect of Romania's social modernization since the 19th century. Following the Western model, especially the French one, lawyers played a central role in reforming Romanian legal institutions. Modern justice placed legal counsel at the heart of the system, although it was considered more of a vocation than a constitutive part. It also presented an excellent opportunity for enrichment and, therefore, for social ascent in a predominantly oligarchic society. Initially oriented toward the free circulation of ideas, the study of law became, after World War II, increasingly attractive to political groups that openly proposed the destruction of Romania's social order. The far-right also recruited many of its followers from the Medicine and Law faculties at all Romanian universities. After 1944, the trend of restricting freedom in this profession continued. Lawyers, with their political inclinations, automatically became suspects. Many were arrested and convicted, as they were involved in political trials where defense was irrelevant. Counselors with communist sympathies left the bar to join the judiciary—due to a lack of personnel loyal to the new regime—or were recruited by the government. The present study aims to trace the phases of this institutional history.

Діяльність Володимира Старосольського як адвоката та громадського діяча у сфері захисту мовних прав українців в Другій Речі Посполитій

The article examines Volodymyr Starosolskyi’s contributions as a lawyer, public figure, and scholar of constitutionalism, specifically focusing on his role in defending the language rights of Ukrainians in the Second Polish Republic. This is explored within the broader context of the Ukrainian national question in the early 20th century. The article highlights the political, legal, and social realities of the time, detailing Starosolskyi’s involvement in judicial political processes against Ukrainians in Poland, as well as his political and legal writings. The study is based on a significant range of sources, including Volodymyr Starosolskyi’s correspondence, scientific treatises on language policy, and courtroomspeeches. Thesematerials provide a comprehensive understanding of his worldview and beliefs. Particular attention is given to the formation of his ideas, which were shaped by prominent Ukrainian public figures and legal scholars, such as I. Voloshyn, R. Dombachevskyi, M. Glushkevych, S. Dnistryanskyi, K. Levytskyi, and I. Franko. The article also uncovers lesser-known aspects of Starosolskyi’s legal practice, including his active participation in the Union of Ukrainian Lawyers, a professional association dedicated to defending the national rights of Ukrainians. Additionally, it analyzes the judicial political trials of the 1930s, in which Starosolskyi defended the language rights of Ukrainians. The author concludes that Starosolskyi’s involvement in the human rights movement in Western Ukraine, particularly in response to the Polish government’s discriminatory policies, became the driving force of his legal and public work. His advocacy for Ukrainian language rights was a central aspect of his broader efforts to address Ukraine’s national and sociopolitical challenges and to realize the vision of an independent Ukrainian state.

Justice in uniform. Profiles of military law in Albania during the Italian occupation (1939-1943)

The essay aims to present the outline of military justice in Albania during the Italian occupation (1939-1943). It dwells in particular on the analysis of criminal legislation – shaped entirely on the Italian Codes – and addresses the problem of political trials before the Albanian War Courts, through the examination of a series of striking trials, preserved in the General Directorate of Archives. The historical problem of the establishment of Italian military courts in Albania and, especially, that of their practice has never been adequately studied. On the contrary, the archival fonds of Rome and Tirana can provide important indicators about the role and action of military justice. In this article, also on the basis of documents from the Tirana State Archives, are presented the essential institutional and normative coordinates, together with some surveys of the rulings of the Italian Military Courts in Albania.

Pathfinding and Connections in the Life of Small Reformed Communities in Budapest. The Contexts of the 1967 YMCA Trial

In July 1967, the communist political police arrested five members of Keresztyén Ifjúsági Egyesület (the Hungarian equivalent of the YMCA), which had been dissolved in 1950, on charges of conspiracy against the state. Among those arrested were pastors, elders, and a former deacon. The trial is considered to be the last politically motivated trial against the Reformed Church and the most significant of all state security actions against the Reformed in Hungary. In order to understand the background of the trial and the changing considerations of church policy and state security surrounding it, it is necessary to look at how the image and political approach of the decisive actors of church policy had evolved by the 1960s. On the other hand, the documents produced by the party-state can be examined not only from the perspective of power but also from that of communities in action: what were the individual and collective strategies for active Christianity in the first decades of the Kádár regime? What were the individual and collective aspirations, adaptation techniques, and patterns of value transmission that can be discerned among different groups, congregations, youth communities, and their leaders in Reformed Christianity? Which forms of church or religious behaviours were considered dangerous by the party-state, and how did it set forth for the church policy enforcement bodies the activities it considered to be within the category of church or religious resistance and opposition?

Ku ustawie z 17 maja 1989 r. Ewolucja postaw władzy wobec Kościoła i idei wolności sumienia i wyznania w Polsce

Freedom of conscience and belief belongs to basic human rights. Furthermore, they stay under the influence of individual generations of human rights, European and international law, judgments of courts and constitutional tribunals. Freedom of conscience is identical to liberty of thoughts and beliefs. These rights are guaranteed by countries and are determinant of their rule of law. On the 17th of May 1989, the Sejm of the Polish People’s Republic adopted a law on guaranteeing conscience and belief freedom. The purpose of this elaboration was to present the evolution of the attitude of the socialist country authority towards the Church and the idea of the freedom of conscience. There were also selected premises that contributed to the elaboration of this act: documents of international law and political trials that had an impact on the authority’s attitude. Attention was paid to the difficult relationship between the Church and the country in the 40s and 50s and the effect of human rights development, that was implemented by international organizations, particularly by ONZ, UNESCO, and CSCE on warranty policy for conscience and belief freedom in Poland. The country-Church relationship was shown in the declining period of PPR. The process of preparing the law from 17 May 1989 was examined.

La viabilidad de los juicios políticos contra funcionarios de elección popular desde la óptica del SIDH: Parámetros convencionales para su armonización

Currently, there is controversy within the specialized doctrine about the legitimacy of political trials in accordance with the postulates arising from the American Convention on Human Rights, due to legal uncertainty about a specific regulation and the absence of jurisprudential development within the Inter-American System that functions as a scale to determine the Conventionality of this means of political control, which exists in most countries belonging to the Inter-American System. In this sense, the main objective of this article is aimed at establishing objective parameters that allow the harmonization of political trials with the ACHR. For this purpose, a contextualization of the genesis of this means of political control was carried out through a qualitative methodology, as well as its transfer in the panorama of Latin American constitutional law and, finally, the requirements that allow impeachment to coexist harmoniously with conventional requirements were addressed in a diaphanous way, having as a catalyst the teleological criteria mutatis mutandis within the framework of international guarantees decanted in the Corpus Iuris of International Law of Human Rights.

Transitional Justice and the Holocaust in Poland

Abstract The Communist seizure of power is generally regarded as the key context of the transitional justice that characterized the prosecution of Nazi criminals and collaborators in postwar Poland, which naturally affected trials related to the Holocaust. Some of the guiding questions of this scholarship have asked the following: Should postwar trials be understood as “real” trials as opposed to staged political trials? To what extent did they allow for an expression of the distinctiveness of the Holocaust? Did the trials help or inhibit the creation of a space for Jewish voices and agency? The current state of research points to two emerging stories of Polish judicial reckoning with the Holocaust “behind the Iron Curtain.” On the one hand, scholars increasingly agree that the trials were not politically orchestrated but were generally conducted in the spirit of the rule of law, comparable to those held in Western European courts. Further, the Polish contribution to the prosecution of Nazi perpetrators is regarded as exceptional and successful in delivering some measure of justice. On the other hand, research into trials of Polish grassroots perpetrators of anti-Jewish crimes points to a failure in reaching a meaningful judicial and societal reckoning.

Spectacles and spectres: A performative theory of political trials. By Basak Ertür. New York: Fordham University Press, 2022. 228 pp. $30.00 paperback

Law & Society ReviewEarly View BOOK REVIEW Spectacles and spectres: A performative theory of political trials. By Basak Ertür. New York: Fordham University Press, 2022. 228 pp. $30.00 paperback Reviewed by Keally McBride, Corresponding Author Reviewed by Keally McBride [email protected] Department of Politics, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USASearch for more papers by this author Reviewed by Keally McBride, Corresponding Author Reviewed by Keally McBride [email protected] Department of Politics, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 13 May 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/lasr.12661Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Early ViewOnline Version of Record before inclusion in an issue RelatedInformation

UN SAGGIO BIOGRAFICO: IULIU MANIU (1873–1953)

Iuliu Maniu (1873–1953) was a prominent Romanian politician known for his unwavering integrity and honesty. Maniu’s legacy as a champion of Romanian patriotism and his close ties to the Greek-Catholic Church are celebrated. The narrative delves into his pivotal role in the union of Transylvania with Romania, alongside figures like Cardinal Iuliu Hossu and Patriarch Miron Cristea. sheds light on the challenges Maniu faced under the communist regime, culminating in his unjust imprisonment and tragic passing. The paper also examines Maniu’s early life, education, and political career, highlighting his instrumental role in the Great Union of 1918. His leadership in the National Peasants’ Party (Partidul Naţional Ţărănesc) and his efforts to create a thriving middle class in Romania are explored. The test emphasizes the stark contrast between the pre- and post-World War II political landscapes in Romania, marked by the rise of the Romanian Communist Party and the subsequent suppression of traditional parties. The grim reality of political trials and the harsh treatment of dissenting voices, including Maniu, are vividly depicted. The article concludes with reflections on Maniu’s enduring legacy, underscoring his continued admiration for his contributions to Romanian nationhood and democratic ideals. Despite the efforts to erase his memory during the communist era, Maniu’s impact remains an indelible part of Romania’s history.

The August Decree and Postwar Poland

In Poland, justice in the immediate aftermath of World War II is usually associated with the Soviet-style military tribunals that were deployed to neutralize members of the London-backed underground. These political trials support a popular narrative about Polish victimhood at the hands of a brutal Soviet occupier, one that overshadows a very different type of postwar justice. In August 1944, just weeks after Poland’s provisional socialist government had reinstated the prewar system of civilian courts, along with its procedural and criminal codes, it enacted special legislation to punish Nazi collaborators, known colloquially as the “August Decree.” Although cases prosecuted under its auspices initially fell under the jurisdiction of a newly created “Special Court” system with simplified legal procedures, these were far from politically motivated Soviet-style show trials, and the August Decree was “not a communist law in content” (91). Instead, these vengeance-seeking efforts were sophisticated processes that were fairly independent from the fledgling socialist dictatorship.

Foucault’s biopolitics as neoliberalism and the twenty-first century

In this article, the author articulates Foucault’s theory of biopolitics as neoliberalism and argues that it is simultaneously the most comprehensive theory of biopolitics and the most instructive theory for political philosophy in the twenty-first century. More precisely, the analysis of biopolitical governmentality in Foucault’s different works reveals the continuation between the archeology of knowledge and genealogy of power, bringing forth the issue of political subjectivity and politics per se. It is argued that Foucault’s project presents an unfinished project of Modernity and that, as such, it opens the possibility of a different rationality with the affirmation of the idea of legitimacy. The movement from sovereignty to biopolitics for Foucault is relevant as the destruction of the legal system and the distancing from philosophy. Furthermore, these are key characteristics of the new Western discourse which at the same time is structured on the system of binary oppositions and discloses itself as a counter-history. In Foucault’s project by contrast, the potentiality for a new political subjectivity arises from the interrelations between scientific knowledge and knowledge of the people (local memories). Political realism is the result of his elaboration of utilitarian vs revolutionary course. Finally, contemporary phenomena of biopolitics are presented, most notably Western ‘humanitarian interventions’, political trials, the control and regulation of population in the Coronavirus crisis, bioterror, and the artificial difference between democracy and authoritarianism.

Directions for formation of human capital in economic development strategy of Heydar Aliyev

Heydar Aliyev is the creator of modern democratic Azerbaijan. Heydar Aliyev is a powerful personality who successfully brought his people out of the complex historical and political trials of the time and brought them to independence through consistent struggle. The people of Azerbaijan entered the new century and the new millennium precisely in the light of Heydar Aliyev's intelligence. Modern Azerbaijan, confidently advancing on the path of continuous progress, is a celebration of Heydar Aliyev's life work.

The Ministry of Injustice and No Human Rights in Angola

Angola is one of the few countries in the world that boasts a dedicated Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. But does this translate into a wider implementation of these rights? This article provides a historical overview of the trajectory of Human Rights in Angola through the analysis of different moments and iterations of the performance of (in)justice since the country’s independence in November 1975 – from the political trials of the mercenaries in 1976-1977 and the events surrounding 27 May 1977 to the post-electoral massacres and persecutions in 1992 and 1993, the persecution of human rights activists in the post-Arab Spring period and, since 2019, the implementation of a public reconciliation commission (CIVICOP). Through this longitudinal approach, which highlights continuities in the trajectory of Human Rights in Angola in the transition from the 20th to the 21st centuries, I argue that the case of Angola illustrates the paradox of how a governance-based implementation of a Human Rights agenda can actually prevent its enactment and implementation. This is explained through the incorporation and subsumption of Human Rights into political agendas as a performative display.

Review: Performing Power in Zimbabwe: Politics, Law, and the Courts since 2000, by Susanne Verheul

Review: <i>Performing Power in Zimbabwe: Politics, Law, and the Courts since 2000</i>, by Susanne Verheul

Russell C. Williams, A Journey Well Traveled

Russell C. Williams, A Journey Well Traveled

Narratives of Social Conflict in the Merstallinger Trial, 1883

AbstractThe robbery of Viennese shoe manufacturer Josef Merstallinger on 4 July 1882 led to a political trial of social radicals the following year. When Merstallinger's assailants were arrested, they admitted to the crime and professed to have carried it out to raise funds for the radical socialist movement. In response, the police arrested dozens of radical activists and eventually charged twenty-nine people with crimes including high treason. The authorities, including the chief of the Vienna police and state's attorney, characterized the robbery as part of an international anarchist conspiracy that threatened violent revolution against the basis of Austrian and European civilization. The trial was thus intended to cripple the radical organization and demonstrate the dangers socialist politics posed to the public. A counternarrative for the defendants stressed the relative harmlessness of the radical movement, general harmony of Austrian social relations, and rights of the accused to free speech and to protection from arbitrary treatment by the police. A public jury trial suggested the greater persuasiveness of the latter narrative, as the jury acquitted the defendants of all charges except those directly related to the robbery.

СОВЕТСКАЯ АДВОКАТУРА В ГОДЫ ВЕЛИКОЙ ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННОЙ ВОЙНЫ: РОЛЬ АДВОКАТА И ГРАНИЦЫ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИ ДОПУСТИМОГО В ЗАЩИТЕ ПО УГОЛОВНЫМ ДЕЛАМ

Based on the sources from the federal and regional archives of Russia, particularly on the materials of revisions of local bar associations by Peoples’ Commissariat of Justice, the reports of bar associations and the materials of disciplinary proceedings against guilty defenders, the article is devoted to the practices of the Soviet bar during the Great Patriotic War. The author analyzes some recordings of criminal trials that show strategies of defense. Considering personnel and organizational aspects of the Soviet bar existence, the author pays attention to the professional and political qualities of Soviet lawyers, as the Soviet government tried to form them during the Great Patriotic war. That period was the beginning of the development of a new system of the Soviet bar, since its new legal and organizational grounds had been established in 1938–1939 after the adoption of the new Stalin’s Constitution. Despite the viewpoint of some historians that, under Stalin, the Soviet bar played an exclusively formal role in legal proceedings, the archival sources show that the Soviet authorities did not try to form defenders as passive observers on trial. On the contrary, Peoples’ Commissariat of Justice required them to participate in the proceedings actively and stubbornly. From the point of view of the Soviet power, a “prompt” Soviet advocate ought to have general and legal literacy and special moral, political and ideological consciousness into “socialist legality” line. However, in practice, the government faced serious personnel problems: the educational level of lawyers was low and the number of communists among them decreased dramatically because of the war. The active defense of a bar member in court often led to disciplinary proceedings against the advocate, in particular after defending those accused of counter-revolutionary crimes. At these trials, the defenders were faced with the need to challenge accusations of disloyalty to the Soviet government and could themselves be accused of anti-Soviet activities. Most advocates decided to be inactive during political trials (but such passiveness often caused disciplinary penalties toward a bar member). One of the most common defense strategies was to ask for mercy for the accused. Only a few advocates risked challenging the political accusations. The defenders were much more willing to present their arguments in their appeals to the Supreme Courts of the RSFSR and the USSR, which were probably considered by the defenders to be more objective and competent. In conclusion, the author assumes that the role of the Soviet bar in wartime was not exclusively formal, and the authorities sought to make it an additional institution for maintaining “socialist legality” and socio-political status quo during the war. However, the intension did not mean the desire of the Soviet power to make an advocate a real defender of citizens' rights.

Sąd Marynarki Wojennej w Gdyni – wybrane sylwetki sędziów, którzy dopuścili się zbrodni sądowych

The article titled “Navy Court in Gdynia – profiles of selected judges who committed court crimes” is about a history of this court and changes that were being made in the court’s characteristic and the reasons behind these adjustments. Next, the article presents the role of the Navy Court in repressions across the Eastern and West Pomerania. The study also shows the important issue of case law, especially of political trials and death sentences passed. The article discusses a problem of cooperation between the Navy Court, secret political police, the Navy Prosecutor’s Office and the Navy Bar. The range of these institutions’ activities is presented in the study as well as the mechanisms of putting pressure on the Navy Court by secret political police and the Navy’s information office. The article shows the meaning of the Navy Prosecutor’s Office in preliminary proceedings and presents the profiles of some of the most important prosecutors who worked in the Navy Prosecutor’s Office. The main part of the article is devoted to the profiles of judges and associated judges who worked in the Navy Court during the years 1945–1955. Profiles of people that were in charge of the Court have been described in detail. The article shows their influence on ruling and the way they controlled the Navy Court. Furthermore, the study presents the education of twenty judges and associated judges, their ruling activity and further professional life. The career of judges who played the most important role in creating the case law of the Navy Court is presented in a more detailed way. Moreover, an issue of appraising the judges’ activity during their work in the Navy Court is also mentioned in the article.

The Új Symposion Journal on Trial in Yugoslavia (1971/72)

Among the censored press and criminal prosecutions led against individuals after the 1968 student demonstrations in socialist Yugoslavia, a Hungarian neo-avantgarde journal published in Novi Sad found its own place. The Új Symposion journal’s two issues were banned at the end of 1971, and a few months later, its two authors and editor were criminally prosecuted. The aim of this article is to explore the occurrence of political trials in Yugoslavia on the example of the Új Symposion case, by looking into the trial documents, as well as the testimonies of three witnesses of this historical event.

Adam Naruszewiczs Oda do sprawiedliwości im Kontext des politischen Denkens und der Gelegenheitsdichtung der Aufklärung

Summary The article discusses Adam Naruszewicz‘s famous Ode to Justice (1773) and the engagement of occasional poetry in contemporary discussions about the handling of justice in political trials. Looking at the trial of 1773 the Ode addresses the question of finding a just sentence for the abortive attempt two years earlier to abduct king Stanisław August. The article presents the pertinent aspects for such an analysis in three parts: 1) an introduction to the conceptualization of royal justice in European thought of the Enlightenment, 2) the known facts about the abduction and its historical contexts, 3) an overview of the occasional poetry written by Naruszewicz about the incident from 1771 to 1773 leading to an analysis of the Ode to Justice in regard to the political reasoning of its author.