Council of People’s Commissaries, Establishment of the People’s Courts. December 5, 1917
The Council of People’s Commissaries resolves:
1. To abolish all existing general legal institutions, such as district courts, courts of appeal, and the governing Senate with all its departments, military and naval courts of all grades, as well as commercial courts, and to. replace all these institutions with courts established on the basis of democratic elections.
Regarding further procedure and the continuation of unfinished cases a special decree will be issued.
Beginning October 25 of this year, the passage of time limits is stopped until the issuance of a special decree.
2. To abolish the existing institution of justices of the peace, and to replace the justices of the peace heretofore elected by indirect vote, by local courts consisting of a permanent local judge and two jurors, the latter of whom are summoned in pairs to each session from special lists of jurors. Local judges are henceforth to be elected on the basis of direct democratic vote, and, until the time of such elections, are to be chosen by regional and township Soviets, or, where there are none such, by district, city, and provincial Soviets of Workmen’s, Soldiers’, and Peasants’ Deputies.
These same Soviets make up the lists of alternating jurors and determine the time of their presence at the session.
The former justices of the peace are not deprived of the right to be elected as local judges, either temporarily by the Soviets or finally by a democratic election, if they express their consent thereto.
Local judges adjudicate all civil cases to an amount not exceeding 3,000 roubles, and criminal cases if the accused is liable to a penalty of not more than two years’ deprivation of freedom. The verdicts and rulings of the local courts are final .and no appeal can be taken against them. In cases in which the recovery of over 100 roubles in money or deprivation of freedom for more than seven days is adjudged, a request for review is allowed.
The court of cassation is the district session, and in the capitals the metropolitan session, of local judges.
For the trial of criminal cases at the fronts, local judges are elected by regimental Soviets in the same order, and where there are none, by the regimental committees.
Regarding procedure in other legal cases, a special decree will be issued.
3. To abolish all existing institutions of investigating magistrates and the procurator’s office, as well as the grades of counsellors-at-law and private attorneys.
Until the reformation of the entire -system of legal procedure, the preliminary investigation in criminal cases is made by the local judges singly, but their orders of personal detention and indictment must be confirmed by the decision of the entire local court.
As to the functions of prosecutors and counsel for defense,
who are allowed even in the stage of preliminary investigation,
and in civil cases the functions of solicitors, all citizens of
moral integrity, of either sex, who enjoy civil rights, are
allowed to perform them.
4. For the transfer and further direction of cases and suits, proceedings of the legal bodies as well as of officials engaged in preliminary investigation and the procurator’s office, and also of the associations of counsellors-at-law, the respective local Soviets elect special commissaries, who take charge of the archives and the properties of those bodies.
All the lower and clerical personnel of the abolished institutions are ordered to continue in their positions and to perform, under the general direction of the commissaries, all duties
necessary in order to dispose of unfinished cases, and also to give information on appointed days to interested persons about the state of their cases.
5. Local judges try cases in the name of the Russian Republic, and are guided in their rulings and verdicts by the laws of the Governments which have been overthrown only in so far as those laws are not annulled by the revolution, and do not contradict the revolutionary conscience and revolutionary conception of right.
NOTE. All those laws are considered annulled which contradict the decrees of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workmen’s, Soldiers’, and Peasants’ Deputies and the Workmen’s and Peasants’ Government, also the minimum programs of the Russian Social- Democratic Labor Party and the party of Socialist- Revolutionaries.
6. In all civil as well as criminal cases the parties may resort to the arbitration court. The organization of the arbitration court will be determined by a special decree.
7. The right of pardon and restoration of rights of persons convicted in criminal cases belongs henceforth to the legal authorities.
8. For the struggle against the counter-revolutionary forces by means of measures for the defense of the revolution and its accomplishments, and also for the trial of proceedings against profiteering, speculation, sabotage, and other misdeeds of merchants, manufacturers, officials, and other persons, workmen’s and peasants’ revolutionary tribunals are established, consisting of a chairman and six jurors, serving in turn, elected by provincial or city Soviets of Workmen’s, Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Deputies.
For the conduct of the preliminary investigation in such cases, special investigating commissions are formed under the above Soviets.
All existing investigating commissions are abolished, and their cases and proceedings are transferred to the newly formed investigating commissions.
Source: International Conciliation (1919), pp. 24-26.