Desertion control commissions as one of the types of quasi-judicial bodies in the early Soviet period (on the example of the Tambov district commission to combat desertion)

Abstract

We analyze the regulatory framework for the formation of Desertion Commissions of various levels – emergency agencies that existed in the early Soviet post-revolutionary period. The relevance of the study is determined by the widespread use of quasi-judicial forms, both in retrospect and in the modern legal field: the introduction of mediation procedures, administrative proceedings. Quasi-judicial institutions in the Soviet model of statehood occupied a significant place and accompanied a parallel system of people’s courts. A study of quasi-judicial bodies and their powers in retrospect allows us to clarify both the theoretical value and the practical implementation of the justice forms. The aim of the study is to reconstruct the history of the Desertion Commissions in their hierarchy on archival materials of the Tambov Governorate and regulations. The research methods were the formal legal analysis of historical and legal acts of the Soviet era: a comparative analysis of the powers and activities of quasi-judicial bodies and people’s courts. We establish the emergency powers of the Desertion Commissions, based on the principles of mutual responsibility, hostage, at the same time, we substantiate the existence of elements of judicial mediation in the framework of their activities.