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* Richard W. and Marie L. Corman Professor of Law, University of Illinois. A.B. 1957, Harvard College; J.D. 1961, Harvard Law School.

1 The history (through February 21, 1990) of the legislative debates, the constitutional amendments that authorized the Committee, and the implementing legislation is given in an excellent article by Herbert Hausmaninger, The Committee of Constitutional Supervision of the USSR, 23 CORNELL INT'L L.J. 287 (1990). The history and purposes of the Committee are interpreted by the chairman of the commission that drafted the law on the Committee in D.A. Kerimov & A.I. Ekimov, Konstitutsionnyi nadzor v SSSR, SOV. GOS. I PRAVO, No. 9, 1990, at 3. The Chairman of the Committee presented his views in Interv'iu Predsedatelia Komiteta konstitutsionnogo nadzora SSSR S. S. Alekseev, PRAVOVEDENIE, NO. 3, 1991, at 3. The present article deals with the period from February 1990 through December 1991.

2 ANDREAS AUER, LA JURIDICTION CONSTITUTIONNELLE EN SUISSE (1983); VICENT BERGER, CASE LAW OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS (1989); PHILIP M. BLAIR, FEDERALISM AND JUDICIAL REVIEW IN WEST GERMANY (1981); ALLAN R. BREWER-CARIAS, JUDICIAL REVIEW IN COMPARATIVE LAW (1989); MAURO CAPPELLETTI, JUDICIAL REVIEW IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD (1971); INGWER EBSEN, DAS BUNDESVERFASSUNGSGERICHT ALS ELEMENT GESELLSCHAFTLICHER SELBSTREGULIERUNG: EINE PLURALISTISCHE THEORIE DER VERFASSUNGSGERICHTSBARKEIT IM DEMOKRATISCHEN VERFASSUNGSSTAAT (1985); RICHARD E. JOHNSTON, THE EFFECT OF JUDICIAL REVIEW ON FEDERAL STATE RELATIONS IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, AND THE UNITED STATES (1969); BLAZO JOVANOVIC, NARODNA VLAST I USTAVNO SUDSTVO (1983); DONALD P. KOMMERS, THE CONSTITUTIONAL JURISPRUDENCE OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (1989); EDWARD MCWHINNEY, SUPREME COURTS AND JUDICIAL LAW-MAKING: CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNALS AND CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW (1986); ROBERT F. NAGEL, CONSTITUTIONAL CULTURES: THE MENTALITY AND CONSEQUENCES OF JUDICIAL REVIEW (1989); MIKHAIL A. NUDEL', KONSTITUTSIONNYI KONTROL' V KAPITALISTICHESKIKH GOSUDARSTVAKH (1968); BARRY L. STRAYER, THE CANADIAN CONSTITUTION AND THE COURTS: THE FUNCTION AND SCOPE OF JUDICIAL REVIEW (2d ed. 1983); Leszek Garlicki, Constitutional and Administrative Courts as Custodians of the State Constitutions -- The Experience of East European Countries, 61 TUL. L. REV. 1285 (1987).

3 Payne v. Tennessee, 111 S. Ct. 2597 (1991).

4 John Henry Merryman, THE CIVIL LAW TRADITION: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LEGAL SYSTEMS OF WESTERN EUROPE AND LATIN AMERICA (2d ed. 1985).

5 Zakon SSSR ob izmeneniiakh i dopolneniiakh Konstitutsii (Osnovnogo Zakona) SSSR, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 49, Item No. 727 (1988).

6 Zakon SSSR ob izmeneniiakh i dopolneniiakh stat'i 125 Konstitutsii (Osnovnogo Zakona) SSSR, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 29, Item No. 574 (1989); Zakon SSSR ob uchrezhdenii posta Prezidenta SSSR i vnesenii izmenenii i dopolnenii v Konstitutsiiu (Osnovnoi Zakon) SSSR, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 12, Item No. 189 (1990).

7 Zakon SSSR o konstitutsionnom nadzore v SSSR, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 29, Item No. 572 (1989).

8 Postanovlenie S"ezda narodnykh deputatov SSSR o poriadke vvedeniia v deistvie Zakona SSSR "O konstitutsionnom nadzore v SSSR," Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 29, Item No. 573 (1989).

9 Reshenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o priniatii k rassmotreniiu voprosa o konstitutsionnosti propiski grazhdan, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 23, Item No. 418 (1990).

10 Reshenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o priniatii k rassmotreniiu voprosa o vnesudebnom poriadke razresheniia trudovykh sporov, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 23, Item No. 419 (1990).

11 Reshenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o priniatii k rassmotreniiu voprosa o garantiiakh prav potrebitelei, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 23, Item No. 420 (1990).

12 Reshenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o priniatii k rassmotreniiu voprosa o konstitutsionnosti Ukaza Prezidenta SSSR ot 20 aprelia 1990 goda, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 23, Item No. 421 (1990).

13 Zakliuchenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o nesootvetstvii norm zakonodatel'stva, iskliuchaiuschikh dlia riada kategorii rabotnikov sudebnyi poriadok rassmotreniia individual'nykh trudovykh sporov, polozheniiam Konstitutsii SSSR, Zakonov SSSR, mezhdunarodnykh aktov o pravakh cheloveka, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 27, Item No. 524 (1990).

14 Reshenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o priniatii k rassmotreniiu voprosa o pravovom obespechenii v soiuznykh respublikakh zhilishchnykh prav voennosluzhashchikh, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 27, Item No. 525 (1990).

15 Reshenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o priniatii k rassmotreniiu voprosa o zakonodate'nykh garantiiakh prezumptsii nevinovnosti, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 27, Item No. 526 (1990).

16 Reshenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o rassmotrenii voprosa o konstitutsionnosti propiski, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 39, Item No. 773 (1990).

17 Zakliuchenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR ob Ukaze Prezidenta SSSR ot 20 aprelia 1990 g. "O reglamentatsii provedeniia massovykh meropriatii na territorii Moskvy v predelakh Sadovogo kol'tsa," Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 39, Item No. 774 (1990).

18 Zakliuchenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o nesootvetstvii norm ugolovnogo i uglovono-protsessual'novo zakonodatel'stva, opredeliaiushchikh osnovaniia i poriadok osvobozhdeniia ot ugolovnoi otvetstvennosti s primeneniem mer administratibnovo vzyskaniia ili obshchestvennogo vozdeistviia, Konstitutsii SSSR i mezhdunarodnym aktam o pravakh cheloveka, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 39, Item No. 775 (1990).

19 Zakliuchenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o nesootvetstvii otdel'nykh polozhenii Osnov grazhdanskogo zakonodatel'stva Soiuza SSR i soiuznykh respublik i inykh normativnykh aktov, predusmatrivaiuschchikh posledstviia prodazhi tovarov nenadlezhashchego kachestva, polozheniiam Konstitutsii SSSR i zakonov SSSR, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 39, Item No. 776 (1990).

20 Reshenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o priniatii k rassmotreniiu voprosa o konstitutsionnosti zapreta na sovmeshchenie dolzhnostei, ustanovlennogo zakonodatel'stvom RSFSR, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 40, Item No. 797 (1990).

21 Reshenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o priniatii k rassmotreniiu voprosa o konstitutsionnosti zakonodatel'stva o prinuditel'nom lechenii bol'nykh alkogolismom, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 40, Item No. 798 (1990).

22 Reshenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o priniatii k rassmotreniiu voprosa o lishenii i utrate grazhdanstva, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 40, Item No. 799 (1990).

23 Reshenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o priniatii k rassmotreniiu voprosa o dopustimosti primeneniia neopublikovannykh aktov, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 40, Item No. 800 (1990).

24 Zakliuchenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o zakonodatel'stve po voprosu o prinuditel'nom lechenii i trudovom perevospitanii lits, stradaiushchikh alkogolizmom i narkomaniei, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 47, Item No. 1001 (1990).

25 Zakliuchenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o zakonodatel'stve po voprosam propiski grazhdan, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 47, Item No. 1004 (1990). A follow-up decision in October 1991, called for the elimination of many residence permit requirements by January 1, 1992. [Conclusion of the USSR Constitutional Supervision Committee Concerning the Residence Permit Procedures Applied to Individuals] (Federal News Source, Oct. 15, 1991), translated in Federal News Service, Oct. 15, 1991 (LEXIS, Nexis library, wires file).

26 Zakliuchenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o zaprete sovmeshcheniia dolzhnostei rukovoditeliami gosudarstvennykh organov vlasti i upravleniia, ustanovlennom v zakonodatel'stve RSFSR, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 47, Item No. 1002 (1990).

27 G.A. Res. 2200 (XXI), U.N. GAOR, 21st Sess., Supp. No. 16, at 53-56, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1967).

28 G.A. Res. 2200 (XXI), U.N. GAOR, 21st Sess., Supp. No. 16, at 49-50, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1967).

29 Zakliuchenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o normativnykh aktakh soiuznykh respublik, predusmatrivaiushchikh priostanovlenie ili ogranichenie deistviia na territorii etikh respublik pravovykh polozhenii ob obespechenii zhil'em voennosluzhashchikh, uvolennykh v zapas ili v otstavku, i ikh semei, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 47, Item No. 1003 (1990).

30 Zakliuchenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o pravilakh, dopuskaiushchikh premenenie neopublikovannykh normativnykh aktov o pravakh, svobodakh i obiazannostiakh grazhdan, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 50, Item No. 1080 (1990).

31 Postanovlenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o poriadke realizatsii Zakliucheniia Komiteta ot 29 noiabria 1990 goda "O pravilakh, dopuskaiushchikh premenenie neopublikovannykh normativnykh aktov o pravakh, svobodakh i obiazannostiakh grazhdan," Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 9, Item No. 207 (1991).

32 Ukaz prezidiuma Verkhovnogo Soveta SSSR o rasprostranenii deistviia voinskikh ustavov na lits, prokhodiashchikh sluzhbu v spetsial'nykh motorizovannykh chastiakh militsii MVD SSSR i voenizirovannoi pozharnoi okhrane GUVD Mosgorispolkoma, i ob ustanovlenii otvetstvennosti etikh lits na osnovanii Zakona SSSR ot 25 dekabria 1958 goda "Ob ugolovnoi otvetstvennosti za voinskie prestupleniia," Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 12, at 421 (1991); Ob otnesenii k podsudnosti voennykh tribunalov vsekh ugolovnykh i grazhdanskikh del, voznikaiushchikh v nekotorykh osobo rezhimnykh voiskovykh chastiakh Ministerstva oborony SSSR, i o prokurorskom nadzore v etikh chastiakh, Edict of March 5, 1981, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 12, at 422 (1991); Ob otvetstvennosti voennykh stroitelei voenno-stroitel'nykh otriadov (chastei) za prestupleniia i administrativnye pravonarusheniia, Edict of Feb. 12, 1985, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 12, at 423 (1991); O sudakh, prokurature, advokature, notariate i organakh vnutrennikh del, deistvuiushchikh na osobo rezhimnykh ob'ektakh, Edict of June 1, 1979, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 10, at 340 (1991); O vykhode iz grazhdanstva SSSR lits, pereseliaiushchikhsia iz SSSR v Izrail', Edict of Feb. 17, 1967, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 8, at 270 (1991).

33 Zakliuchenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o postanovlenii Verkhovnogo Soveta Latviiskoi Respubliki ot 4 avgusta 1990 goda, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 4, Item No. 89 (1991).

34 Zakluchenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o polozheniiakh zakonodatel'stva po voprosam lisheniia i utraty grazhdanstva, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 9, Item No. 205 (1991).

35 Zakluchenie Kom. Konst. Nad. SSSR o zakonodatel'stve Litovskoi Respubliki, predusmatrivaiushcehm ugovlonyiu otvetstvennost' za deistviia, sviazannye s sozdaniem i uchastiem v deiatel'nosti obshchestvenno-politicheskikh organizatsii. Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 9, Item No. 206 (1991).

36 Bill Keller, Soviet Tanks Roll in Lithuania; 11 Dead, N.Y. TIMES, Jan. 13, 1991, § 1, at 1.

37 Months later, Sergei Alekseev, did offer his personal opinion in a television interview, that the activity of Soviet "OMON" special police forces in Lithuania was "far outside the law." [Legal expert considers OMON activity "far outside the law"], (Russian Television on Soviet television June 27, 1991), translated in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, July 1, 1991 (LEXIS, Europe library, Bbcswb file).

38 [Constitutional Committee's Statement on Joint Patrols], (IZVESTIIA, Feb. 16, 1991), translated in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Feb. 18, 1991 (LEXIS, Europe library, Bbcswb file). The regulations, issued in December 1990, had been retroactively given legal support by a January 29, 1991, edict of President Gorbachev. Ukaz prezidenta SSSR o vzaimodeistvii militsii i podrazdelenii Vooruzhennykh Sil SSSR pri obespechenii pravoporiadka i bor'be s presupnost'iu. Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 6, Item No. 173 (1991).

39 The Committee formally suspended these provisions in April 1991. [USSR Committee Suspends Provisions of Military Regulations], (TASS, Apr. 4, 1991), translated in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Apr. 4, 1991 (LEXIS, Nexis library, Tass file).

40 Ob uchrezhdenii posta Prezidenta SSSR i vnesenii izmenenii i dopolnenii v. Konstitutsiiu (Osnovnoi Zakon) SSSR, Vedomosti SSSR, Issue No. 12, Item No. 189 (1990).

41 [Constitutional Compliance Committee on Lithuanian Law], (TASS, June 7, 1991), translated in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, June 7, 1991 (LEXIS, Nexis library, Tass file).

42 [RSFSR Presidential Decree Curtails Party Activity], (Moscow home service, July 20, 1991), translated in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, July 22, 1991, corrected July 25, 1991 (LEXIS, Europe library, Bbcswb file).

43 Reshenie Kom. Konst. Nad. ob ukaze Prezidenta RSFSR "O prekrashchenii deiatel'nosti organizatsionnykh struktur politicheskikh partii i massovykh obshchestvennykh dvizhenii v gosudarstvennykh organakh, uchrezhdeniiakh i organizatsiiakh RSFSR, IZVESTIIA, July 29, 1991, at 2.

44 [Constitutional Supervision Committee on Yeltsin Departization Decree], (Moscow home service, July 27, 1991), translated in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, July 29, 1991 (LEXIS, Europe library, Bbcswb file).

45 Otdel informatsii Soveta ministrov RSFSR, Ofitsial'noe raz" iasnenie, IZVESTIIA, July 29, 1991, at 2.

46 [Yeltsin rejects Anti-Constitutional Charge Against his Decree], (Moscow home service, July 29, 1991), translated in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, July 31, 1991 (LEXIS, Europe library, Bbcswb file).

47 The repressive measures became available to the Committee on August 19. The measures were published as Postanovlenie No. 1 Gosudarstvennogo komiteta po chrezvychainomu polozheniiu v SSSR, IZVESTIIA, Aug. 20, 1991, at 1 and Postanovlenie No. 2, Gosudarstvennogo komiteta po chrezvychainomu polozheniiu v SSSR, IZVESTIIA, Aug. 20, 1991, at 2; Ukaz ispolnaiiushchego obiazannosti Prezidenta SSSR o vvedenii chrezvychainnogo polozheniia v gorode Moskve, IZVESTIIA, Aug. 20, 1991, at 2.

48 [Reports on Coup Aftermath from 24th-26th August], (TASS World Service in Russian, Aug. 26, 1991), translated in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Aug. 28, 1991 (LEXIS, Europe library, Bbcswb file).

49 [Constitutional Supervision Committee on State of Emergency], (TASS in Russian for Abroad, Aug. 19, 1991), translated in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Aug. 21, 1991 (LEXIS, Europe library, Bbcswb file); Russian text: V Komitete Konstitutsionnogo nadzora SSSR, IZVESTIIA, Aug. 20, 1991, at 2.

50 [Constitutional Supervision Committee to examine SCSE documents], (TASS World Service in Russian, Aug. 21, 1991), translated in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Aug. 23, 1991 (LEXIS, Europe library, Bbcswb file).

51 Zaiavlenie Komiteta konstitutsionnogo nadzora SSSR (Proekt), Aug. 21, 1991.

52 Zasedanie Prezidiuma Verkhovnogo Soveta SSSR, IZVESTIIA, Aug. 23, 1991, at 3.

53 Zakliuchenie Komiteta Verkhvnogo Soveta SSSR po zakonodatel'stvu i pravoporiadku no dokumenty Gosudarstvennogo komiteta po chrezvychainomu polozheniiu, IZVESTIIA, Aug. 23, 1991, at 3.

54 [Speech by Sergei Alekseev], (Central Television, First AllUnion Program, Aug. 26, 1991), translated in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Aug. 29, 1991 (LEXIS, Europe library, Bbcswb file).

55 Deklaratsiia prav i svobod Cheloveka, IZVESTIIA, Sept. 7, 1991, at 1.

56 Proekt: Deklaratsiia prav i Svobod Cheloveka, SOV. GOS. I PRAVO, No. 6, 1990, at 3.

57 Soviet Constitutional Compliance Committee to Disband, Xinhua General Overseas News Service Dispatch, Dec. 23, 1991 (LEXIS, Nexis Library, Wires File).

58 Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America 102-03 (Phillips Bradley ed., 1945).