Nominal Law in Soviet Russia: 1924 Constitution and 1922 Civil Code

Abstract

 The paper considers the problem of institutional arrangement in the RSFSR after the end of the civil war and during the initial period of economic recovery. A necessary condition for sustainable economic development at that time was the adoption of codified laws, including the Civil Code. But the legal system at that time was largely nominal, which was reflected in the contradiction of many of its norms to the Constitution of 1918 and in their selective application. The Civil Code of 1922 included a number of provisions that later served as limitations to the development of the national economy. It contained no guarantees of equality of forms of ownership, maintained the monopoly of foreign trade and the concentration of most of the national wealth in the hands of the state. At the same time certain elements of private property and freedom of transactions were permitted. It is concluded that the legal system created at that time did not imply almost any restrictions on the activities of the authorities and thus did not correspond to the idea of a state governed by the rule of law, which had serious socio-economic and political consequences.