Niektóre problemy kodyfikacji i systematyzacji prawa pracy w ZSRR

Abstract

The comments in the article relate in particular to an outline of the history of the codes and the codification work carried out so far in the USSR, the problem of the subject matter of labour law and the question of systematisation of the sources of Soviet labour law.

The historical remarks concern the 1922 Labour Code of the Russian Federative Soviet Socialist Republic, its general assessment and the circumstances that led to the fact that, although the said code was formally in force, it was largely replaced by other provisions in the 1930s, often dictated by temporary needs.

After the 20th and 21st Congresses of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, certain legal institutions that were incompatible with the principles of socialist labour relations were revised. At the same time, preparatory work for a new codification of labour law began. The most important stage of this work was the publication in 1958 and 1959 of the draft labour codes of the RFSSR, as well as the Basic Principles of Labour Legislation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This work continues to this day and is closely linked to the preparations for the new USSR constitution.

Among the problems concerning the subject of labour law in the USSR, the relationship between labour law and civil law under the Soviet legal system is discussed, as well as the distinction between the law governing labour relations in agricultural cooperatives (kolkhozes).

Problems of systematisation of the sources of labour law in the USSR include, among others, problems related to the validity of the USSR Labour Code of 1922, the increasing tendency to reduce the number of lower-order legal acts, the establishment of a hierarchy of sources of law, especially with regard to normative material from trade unions and state administrative bodies.