Revolutionary Tribunal and its Function

People's Commissariat of Justice, Instructions to the Revolutionary Tribunal. January 1, 1918

Original Source: Sobranie uzakonenii i rasporiazhenii raboche-krestian'skogo pravitel'stva, 1917, No. 12, p. 179-81.

The Revolutionary Tribunal is guided by the following instructions:

  1. The Revolutionary Tribunal has jurisdiction in cases of persons (a) who organize uprisings against the authority of the Workmen's and Peasants' Government, actively oppose the latter or do not obey it, or call upon other persons to oppose or disobey it; (b) who utilize their position in the state or public service to disturb or hamper the regular progress of work in the institution or enterprise in which they are or have been serving (sabotage, concealing or destroying documents or property, etc.); (c) who stop or reduce production of articles of general use without actual necessity for so doing; (d) who violate the decrees, orders, binding ordinances and other published acts of the organs of the Workmen's and Peasants' Government, if such acts stipulate a trial by the Revolutionary Tribunal for their violation; (e) who, taking advantage of their social or administrative position, misuse the authority given them by the revolutionary people. Crimes against the people committed by means of the press are under the jurisdiction of a specially instituted Revolutionary Tribunal.

  2. The Revolutionary Tribunal for offenses indicated in Article I imposes upon the guilty the following penalties: (1) fine, (2) deprivation of freedom, (3) exile from the capitals, from particular localities, or from the territory of the Russian Republic, (4) public censure, (5) declaring the offender a public enemy, (6) deprivation of all or some political rights, (7) sequestration or confiscation, partial or general, of property, (8) sentence of compulsory public work.

The Revolutionary Tribunal fixes the penalty, being guided by the circumstances of the case and dictates of the revolutionary conscience.

  1. (a) The Revolutionary Tribunal is elected by the Soviets of Workmen's, Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies and consists of one permanent chairman, two permanent substitutes, one permanent secretary and two substitutes, and forty jurors.

All persons, except the jurors, are elected for three months and may be recalled by the Soviets before the expiration of the term.

(b) The jurors are selected for one month from a general list of jurors by the Executive Committees of the Soviets of Workmen's, Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies by drawing lots, and lists of jurors numbering six, and one or two in addition, are made up for each session.

(c) The session of each successive jury of the Revolutionary Tribunal lasts not longer than one week.

(d) A stenographic record is kept of the entire proceedings of the Revolutionary Tribunal.

(e) The grounds for instituting proceedings are: reports of legal and administrative institutions and officials, public, trade, and party organizations, and private persons.

(f) For the conduct of the preliminary investigation in such cases an investigating commission is created under the Revolutionary Tribunal, consisting of six members elected by the Soviets of Workmen's, Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies.

(g) Upon receiving information or complaint, the investigating commission examines it and within forty-eight hours either orders the dismissal of the case, -if it does not find that a crime has been committed, or transfers it to the proper jurisdiction or brings it up for trial at the session of the Revolutionary Tribunal.

(h) The orders of the investigating commission about arrests, searches, abstracts of papers, and releases of detained persons are valid if issued jointly by three members. In cases which do not permit of delay such orders may be issued by any member of the investigating commission singly, on the condition that within twelve hours the measure shall be approved by the investigating commission.

(i) The order of the investigating commission is carried out by the Red Guard, the militia, the troops, and the executive organs of the Republic.

(j) Complaints against the decisions of the investigating commission are submitted to the Revolutionary Tribunal through its president, and are considered at executive sessions of the Revolutionary Tribunal.

(k) The investigating commission has the right: (a) to demand of all departments and officials, as well as of all local self-governing bodies, legal institutions and authorities, public notaries, social and trade organizations, commercial and industrial enterprises, and governmental, public, and private credit institutions, the delivery of necessary documents and information, and of unfinished cases; (b) to examine, through its members or special representatives, the transactions of all above enumerated institutions and officials in order to secure necessary information.

  1. The sessions of the Revolutionary Tribunal are public.

  2. The verdicts of the Revolutionary Tribunal are rendered by a majority of votes of the members of the Tribunal.

  3. The legal investigation is made with the participation of the prosecution and defense.

  4. (a) Citizens of either sex who enjoy political rights are admitted at the will of the parties as prosecutors and counsel for the defense, with the right to participate in the case.

(b) Under the Revolutionary Tribunals a collegium of persons is created who devote themselves to the service of the law, in the form of public prosecution as well as of public defense.

(c) The above-mentioned collegium is formed by the free registration of all persons who desire to render aid to revolutionary justice, and who present recommendations from the Soviets of Workmen's, Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies.

  1. The Revolutionary Tribunal may invite for each case a public prosecutor from the membership of the above-named collegium.

  2. If the accused does not for some reason use his right to invite counsel for defense, the Revolutionary Tribunal, at his request, appoints a member of the collegium for his defense.

  3. Besides the above-mentioned prosecutors and defense, one prosecutor and one counsel for defense drawn from the public present at the session, may take part in the court's proceedings.

  4. The verdicts of the Revolutionary Tribunal are final. In case of violation of the form of procedure established by these instructions, or the discovery of indications of obvious injustice in the verdict, the People's Commissary of Justice has the right to address to the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies a request to order a second and last trial of the case.

  5. The maintenance of the Revolutionary Tribunal is charged to the account of the state. The amount of compensation and the daily fees are fixed by the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies. The jurors receive the difference between the daily fees and their daily earnings, if the latter are less than the daily fees; at the same time the jurors may not be deprived of their positions during the session.

I. Z. STEINBERG
People's Commissar of Justice

Source: International Conciliation (1919), pp. 27-30.

1917

EVENTS February Revolution Formation of the Soviets April Crisis Revolution in the Army July Days Kornilov Affair Bolsheviks Seize Power First Bolshevik Decrees Constituent Assembly Treaty of Brest Litovsk
FOUR KINDS OF STATES Communist Party Building Economic Apparatus Building the Soviets Red Guard into Army State Security
DISINTEGRATION OF THE OLD SOCIETY Depopulation of the Cities Food Supply Conflict with the Church Death of the Old Culture Destruction of the Left The Empire Falls
CREATION OF A NEW SOCIETY New Letters and Dates Culture and Revolution The New Woman Workers Organization Peasant Revolution Organs of the Press Raising Socialist Youth