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Butler, William E. --- "Russian Law" [2006] ELECD 207; in Smits, M. Jan (ed), "Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006)

Book Title: Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law

Editor(s): Smits, M. Jan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845420130

Section: Chapter 56

Section Title: Russian Law

Author(s): Butler, William E.

Number of pages: 12

Extract:

56 Russian law
William E. Butler


The term `Russian' in the field of comparative law has referred at various
times narrowly to the law of Kievan Rus (9th­11th centuries), the whole of
the territory that came to be known as Muscovy (11th­16th centuries), the
Russian Empire in its greatest territorial expanse (16th century to 1917), the
former Soviet Union (1917­91) and, officially, the Russian Federation from
1991 to the present. Insofar as `Russian law' refers generally to the law in
force on these territories, it encompasses a vast number of subsystems,
including the customary law of hundreds of ethnic minorities, the influence
of neighbouring peoples and kingdoms (Byzantium, Central Europe,
Tatar-Mongol, Islamic, Scandinavia and Eastern, Central and western
Europe), the legislation (broadly understood) of principalities, khanates
and other entities on Russian territory, and the full range of sources of law
from top to bottom of the Russian Federation.

1 The role of law in Russia
Under its 1993 Constitution, Russia is a `democratic federated rule-of-law
State with a republic form of government' (Art. 1). Russia also is a `social
State whose policy is directed towards the creation of conditions ensuring a
life of dignity and the free development of man' (Art. 7). These formula-
tions, and others like them, are unique in more than a millennium of Russian
legal history. Although legal documents are among the most important sur-
viving written sources for understanding the history of ancient Russia, we
have the most imperfect ...