Preparation of draft Civil Code of the USSR in the 1930^s – early 1950^s

   The subject of the study is the draft civil codes of the USSR, which were drawn up in the 1930^s – early 1950^s.

   The purpose of the article is to analyze the legislative activity aimed at creating a new law – the all-Union civil code.

   The research methodology includes the method of historicism, interpretation, comparative legal and formal legal methods.

   Results. The draft civil codes of the USSR are considered. The following reasons for the transition to all-Union codification in the 1930^s are established: the increase in the array of legislation of the USSR, which required its systematization; the effectiveness of the code as a type of normative legal act confirmed by practice; the expansion of the legislative powers of all-Union bodies in accordance with the Constitution of the USSR of 1936. The main drafts of the Civil Code of the USSR are identified and analyzed. In the pre-war period, the first projects were prepared by the People's Commissariat of Justice of the USSR. Since 1938, codification activities were concentrated in the All-Union Institute of Legal Sciences. In the post-war period, special commissions were created to prepare projects of all-Union codes. The Civil Code was initially drafted by a commission headed by I.T. Golyakov, and then by K.P. Gorshenin. Both were senior officials of the justice authorities. The role of the government – the Council of Ministers of the USSR – increased in organizing and regulating legislative work. An explanation is offered for the reasons for the frequent change of project developers. Continuity and novelty in the structure and consolidation of the main civil legal institutions in the draft codes are noted. A comparison of the projects with the current Civil Code of the RSFSR of 1922 is made. The most important provisions of the projects were the norms regulating relations within the socialist economic system between government agencies and enterprises. The expediency of the Civil Code of the USSR was not disputed. In the union republics, the Civil Code of the RSFSR of 1922 was initially applied, on the basis of which their own codes were compiled, and in some republics it continued to operate. The position was supported that the union republics would no longer have civil codes. The rejection of all-Union codification in the mid-1950^s was caused by the redistribution of legislative powers in favor of the union republics.

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