Basic Principles of Legislation of the Ussr and the Union Republics

(1) A body of principles and important norms which serve as the basis for legislation in a particular area. (2) Laws adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to assure uniformity in the legal regulation of questions that are under the joint jurisdiction of the USSR and the Union republics.

In view of the federal nature of the USSR, Soviet law must express the will and interests of both the people as a whole and the people of each Union republic within the USSR. It is important for the harmonious development of Soviet law that there be a correlation and interdependence between the legislation of the USSR and that of the Union republics and that republic legislation correspond to USSR legislation. This is achieved through the precise delineation, within the USSR Constitution, of the legislative jurisdiction of the USSR and the Union republics and through the promulgation of the basic principles of legislation. As a form of all-Union law for the Soviet federation the basic principles of legislation became part of the system of Soviet legislation after the formation of the USSR. In conformity with the USSR Constitution of 1924, the Central Executive Committee of the USSR adopted the Basic Principles of Court Organization, the Basic Principles of Criminal Legislation, the Basic Principles of Criminal Procedure, and the General Principles of Land Use and Management of the USSR and the Union Republics.

The codification of legislation during the 1960’s and 1970’s, carried out on the basis of the USSR Constitution of 1936, is expected to bring Soviet legislation into line with the requirements of the current phase of communist construction. The new basic principles of legislation systematically present the determining provisions of the corresponding areas of legislation and the most important norms for questions that must be resolved in the same way in all the republics. In its own code or law each Union republic reproduces the general provisions and norms of the basic principles of legislation and supplements them with more detailed rules reflecting the specific conditions of the republic’s economy and social life.

Between 1958 and 1976 the Supreme Soviet of the USSR enacted 13 basic principles of legislation. The adoption of these basic principles was preceded by thorough scientific preparation and nationwide discussion of the drafts. On Jan. 1, 1977, the following basic principles of legislation of the USSR and the Union republics were in effect: Basic Principles of Land Legislation (enacted Dec. 13, 1968, took effect July 1, 1969); Basic Principles of Water Legislation (enacted Dec. 10, 1970, took effect Sept. 1, 1971); Basic Principles of Legislation on Mineral Resources (enacted July 9, 1975, took effect Jan. 1, 1976); Basic Principles of Health Legislation (enacted Dec. 19, 1969, took effect July 1, 1970); Basic Principles of Legislation on Public Education (enacted July 19, 1973, took effect Jan. 1, 1974); Basic Principles of Labor Legislation (enacted July 15, 1970, took effect Jan. 1, 1971); Basic Principles of Court Organization, (enacted Dec. 25, 1958); Basic Principles of Civil Law (enacted Dec. 8, 1961, took effect May 1, 1962); Basic Principles of Legislation on Marriage and the Family (enacted June 27, 1968, took effect Oct. 1, 1968); Basic Principles of Civil Procedure (enacted Dec. 8, 1961, took effect May 1, 1962); Basic Principles of Criminal Law (enacted Dec. 25, 1958); Basic Principles of Criminal Procedure (enacted Dec. 25, 1958); and Basic Principles of Corrective Labor Legislation (enacted July 11, 1969, took effect Nov. 1, 1969).