Economic-administrative law in Pyotr Ivanovich Stuchka’s “two sectors” theory

Abstract

P.I. Stuchka’s “two sectors” theory, formulated at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, is widely recognized in contemporary literature as the first theoretical concept of distinguishing economic law in Soviet jurisprudence. In numerous studies referring to the concept of “two sectors”, economic law (or rather — economic-administrative law) is presented as a branch opposed to civil law — it is indicated that economic-administrative law included the regulation of the socialist sector of the economy, while civil law regulated the functioning of the private sector. As a result of the rivalry between the two sectors, the socialist sector was to oust the private sector, and as a consequence eco-nomic-administrative law was to take the place of civil law. However, the superficial characteristics of the “two sectors” concept presented in the above shape do not give a full and proper picture of economic (economic-administrative) law in terms of P.I. Stuchka.
It was proved in the article that P.I. Stuchka perceived economic-administrative law in a dy-namic aspect — as a desirable direction for the future development of norms regulating the func-tioning of the socialist sector of the economy, therefore economic-administrative law was not con-sidered by him as an equivalent branch to civil law. Economic-administrative law was seen by P.I. Stuchka as the theoretical concept of a model image of a certain set of regulations, whose future reflection in the sphere of positive law he considered desirable. This reflection should take the form of an economic-administrative code which would contain norms that comprehensively regulate the functioning of the socialist sector of the Soviet economy. The concept of economic-administrative law was not a description of the legal regulations in force at that time — although P.I. Stuchka pointed out the emergence of “economic-administrative norms” in the system of law, these norms did not form an independent branch of law. The concept of economic and administrative law should therefore be assigned a postulative rather than descriptive character.
The article also indicates that the distinction of economic-administrative law was based on P.I. Stuchka’s critical perception of the wide scope of regulation and application of the Civil Code of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic adopted in 1922.The idea of the Civil Code as a legal act regulating comprehensively all property and economic relations was, according to P.I. Stuchka, unacceptable in a socialist state and did not correspond to the realities of the functioning of the Soviet society and economy. The sphere of legal regulation, whose coverage by the Civil Code seemed particularly doubtful to P.I. Stuchka, was the functioning of the socialist sector of the economy, i.e. relations between the state enterprises forming this sector. Bearing in mind the fundamental differences in the matter of relations formed in the socialist sector (based on planning) and the private sector (based on anarchy), P.I. Stuchka pointed out that these differences should also be reflected in the legal form of regulation of the functioning of both sectors. For the regulation of the functioning of the organized (structured) socialist sector, civil law regulations based on the paradigm of relations between independent and autonomous entities assuming a horizontal character were inadequate. The law regulating the socialist sector should have the character of economic-administrative law, the administrative mark of which would refer to the active role of state organs in the field of management of the socialist sector of the economy.