Law Rights And Ideology In Russia

Law, Rights and Ideology in Russia: Landmarks in the destiny of a great power brings into sharp focus several key episodes in Russia’s vividly ideological engagement with law and rights. Drawing on 30 years of experience of consultancy and teaching in many regions of Russia and on library research in Russian-language texts, Bill Bowring provides unique insights into people, events and ideas. The book starts with the surprising role of the Scottish Enlightenment in the origins of law as an academic discipline in Russia in the eighteenth century. The Great Reforms of Tsar Aleksandr II, abolishing serfdom in 1861 and introducing jury trial in 1864, are then examined and debated as genuine reforms or the response to a revolutionary situation. A new interpretation of the life and work of the Soviet legal theorist Yevgeniy Pashukanis leads to an analysis of the conflicted attitude of the USSR to international law and human rights, especially the right of peoples to self-determination. The complex history of autonomy in Tsarist and Soviet Russia is considered, alongside the collapse of the USSR in 1991. An examination of Russia’s plunge into the European human rights system under Yeltsin is followed by the history of the death penalty in Russia. Finally, the secrets of the ideology of ‘sovereignty’ in the Putin era and their impact on law and rights are revealed. Throughout, the constant theme is the centuries long hegemonic struggle between Westernisers and Slavophiles, against the backdrop of the Messianism that proclaimed Russia to be the Third Rome, was revived in the mission of Soviet Russia to change the world and which has echoes in contemporary Eurasianism and the ideology of sovereignty.

Since the end of the Cold War the relationship between the internal constitution of a state and its international behaviour has been a subject of much scholarly interest. Assuming that this connection matters the author analyses the transformation from the USSR to the Russian Federation. Does a liberal Russia behave better than the non-liberal USSR? Are Russia's attitudes towards international law different than those of the former USSR? How much continuity is there and how much change has occurred in the scholarship of international law in Russia? How are Russia's treaties made and implemented? What is the role of international law in the Russian legal system? The author shows that international human rights played an important role in the Soviet "perestroika" and in the subsequent reforms in the Russian Federation. She argues that at the surface level the transformation in Russia has been remarkable, notably so with regard to the role of international law in the domestic legal system. Drawing from a wide range of materials - Soviet/Russian history, legislation, court cases and doctrinal writings - the book takes a cultural and historical perspective to analysis of legal change.

In Russia and European Human-Rights Law: The Rise of the Civilizational Argument, Lauri Mälksoo and his co-authors critically examine Russia's experiences as part of the European human-rights protection system since its admittance to the Council of Europe in 1998. The authors combine legal and constructivist international-relations theory perspectives in studying Russia's practice and rhetoric as a member of the Council of Europe and a subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights. Certain aspects of human-rights doctrine and practice in Russia are particularly highlighted: the increasing impact of Orthodox Christian teachings on the Russian government's ideology, the situation with media freedom, freedom of religion, etc. The authors draw widely on Russian sources and media. The questions whether modern-day Russia truly fits in the human-rights protection system of the Council of Europe, and whether a margin of appreciation will suffice when dealing with Moscow, are highly relevant in contemporary European politics.

This volume examines the elements of formalism and decisionism in Russian legal thinking and, also, the impact of conservatism on the interplay of these elements. This combination leads to internal contradictions in theorizing about law and rights in Russian legal culture.

Civil rights is a category of human rights that include individual personal freedom, privacy, personal security, a right to life, dignity, freedom from torture, freedom of movement and residence, and freedom of conscience. Such rights differ from the political, economic, social, and cultural rights guaranteed by the International Bill of Rights. The challenge of enforcing these rights has been acute throughout the world, but Russia in particular has experienced unique and significant difficulties. Until now, the theoretical literature dealing with the legal characteristics of civil rights, how to realize them, and how to protect people from their infringement, has been wanting. This timely and comprehensive volume rectifies this lapse, especially as civil rights enforcement relates to Russia. It draws on a wealth of materials, including reports and statistical data from the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Ombudsman of the Russian Federation, and several Russian offices of state. The contributors, comprised of researchers, judges, lawyers, and legal authorities, are all experts in human and civil rights and bring a fresh perspective to these issues. They analyze international law, Russian legislation, and decisions of the European Court and the Constitutional Court of Russia each from a humanistic stance. While the authors represent different age groups, occupations, and approaches, they are in agreement on the necessity of protecting civil rights; expanding and developing their guaranty both in Russia and all over the world. Civil Human Rights in Russia dispels many of the myths about Russia and its attitude toward civil rights, especially as regards to the stereotype that the Russian people do not know about such rights, nor care about human dignity. The authors of this volume make clear that Russia has been instrumental in the formation and recognition of universal human rights. The Russian contribution builds on those established by the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights, and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. This volume is a fundamental contribution to the literature, one that will help the reader to understand the essence of civil human rights and how they may be implemented and enforced in the twenty-first century.

The contributors to this volume - all specialists on Soviet law and politics - offer a comprehensive examination of the effort to create a "law-based" state in the Gorbachev-era U.S.S.R., thus effecting a fundamental change in the relationship between the state and private groups and individuals. Gianmaria Ajani, Donald Barry, Harold Berman, Frances Foster-Simons, George Ginsburgs, John Hazard, Kathryn Hendley, Eugene Huskey, Dietrich Loeber, Peter Maggs, Hiroshi Oda, Nicolai Petro, Robert Sharlet, Louise Shelley, Will Simons and Peter Solomon, with commentary by Soviet scholars, discuss conceptual, historical, social, cultural, and institutional aspects of Soviet legal development, and supply detailed analysis of recent developments in the areas of civil, criminal, and labour law and the rights of individuals, economic organizations, and political and social groups.

A number of recent events in the last decade have renewed interest in Russian discourses on international law. This book evaluates and presents a contemporary analysis of Russian discourses on international law from various perspectives, including sociological, theoretical, political, and philosophical. The aim is to identify how Russia interacts with international law, the reasons behind such interactions, and how such interactions compare with the general practice of international law. It also examines whether legal culture and other phenomena can justify Russia’s interaction in international law. Russian Discourses on International Law explains Russia's interpretation of international law through the lens of both leading western scholars and contemporary western-based Russian scholars. It will be of value to international law scholars looking for a better understanding of Russia’s behavior in international legal relations, law and society, foreign policy, and domestic application of international law. Further, those in fields such as sociology, politics, philosophy, or general graduate students, lawyers, think tanks, government departments, and specialized Russian studies programs will find the book helpful.

The book provides a detailed analysis of the freedom of expression, and of copyright legislation in Russia, always with an eye on historic comparisons and evolutions . At the same time it gives a synthetic overview of the main changes in constitutional, civil and economic law in the last 15 years.

Russia's international law persona is still in its infancy and it will take a while for the cycle to run its full course. However, significant changes have already occurred in some areas, thus offering an opportunity to analyze the trends here and track the process of emergence of successor doctrines and practices destined to replace the Soviet heritage. The quartet of topics selected for treatment in this volume - the relationship between international and domestic law; citizenship and state succession; the Sino-Russian boundary problem; and cooperation with China in policing crime - illustrates major shifts in Russia's international law policy in a bid to shed the corset of Communist ideology and the old regime's "modus operandi" and join the international community's mainstream culture. The test cases also attest to the difficulties encountered in the process of transition and show that progress on this front has by no means been uniform. The sample includes both instances where the break with the past looks quite pronounced and where greater distancing from precedent might logically have been expected, but, for reasons that are then explored, a sense of substantive continuity instead prevails, albeit made more palatable by an application of linguistic cosmetics. "From Soviet to Russian International Law: Studies in Continuity and" "Change" marks the occasion of the author's 65th birthday and the 40th anniversary of his publishing debut.