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Soviet law

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Soviet law
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Law that developed in the Soviet Union after the Russian Revolution of 1917 and that, after World War II, was assimilated by other communist states. Legislative enactments, including the constitution of the U.S.S.R., were the principal sources of law in the Soviet legal system; these were then elaborated in codes of statutes by each union republic. No distinction between public and private law existed; all legal matters involved the state. Law was generally thought of as a force for restructuring society and advancing the nation toward communism. Also known as socialist law, it was based on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. In addition to criminal and civil offenses, "administrative offenses" constituted a large proportion of cases and were dealt with outside the court system.

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