Ukrainian Law during the World War II

The World War II caused great losses Ukraine and destruction. One in six people died in Ukraine. Has been destroyed 714 cities and towns, 28,000 villages.

Occupation regime established by Nazi Germany and its satellites in the territory of Ukraine, was aimed  on the destruction of the Ukrainian state, mass genocide and economic plunder of the Ukrainian people.

An important component of the Soviet victory in World War II was the Ukrainian resistance movement against the Nazi invaders.

Major changes in the legal system of Ukraine during the Second World War (then called Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) were carried out in accordance with the laws of the Soviet Union. Martial law regime demanded maximum centralization of all state mechanism with the aim of turning the entire country into a single fighting camp.

The restructuring of the legal system of the Ukrainian SSR was carried out on the basis of legal doctrine, the principles established in the pre-war period and corresponds to the singularity of the legal regime of Stalinism and totalitarianism.

The most significant changes have occurred in the field of administrative, civil, family, labor, land and collective-farm legislation; criminal law and procedure.

Administrative law.

In extreme conditions of martial law, and especially the state of siege has been a proliferation of administrative power emergency (military) officials, the expansion of the subject of legal regulation of administrative law, increased penalties for failure to comply with regulations, and others. The rules of administrative law began to wear repressive confiscatory.

A state of siege, as close to it position the front line, introduced as additional measures for martial law to be applied in the territory of Ukraine. When a state of siege, some functions of state power belonged to the military authorities in the face of the military commander. At the siege allowed to apply to violators of the order of extreme measures, up to the execution of the crime scene.

Some measures of the administrative order were openly repressive and even had color genocide. Thus, the provisions of the State Defense Committee of the USSR on May 12 and June 2, 1944 p. from the Crimea were deported to Central Asia more than 200,000 Crimean Tatars. In 1944-1945 pp. from Western Ukraine were deported to Siberia, tens of thousands of Ukrainian citizens.

Civil law.

Legal regulation of ownership issues before the war was characterized by the establishment of absolute dominance of state ownership of the means and instruments of production.

The war has put on the agenda the question of protection of private property rights, economic and moral rights. In the process of fighting property of many people temporarily left the possession of the owner. Return to the owners of the liberated territory gave them the opportunity to seek and recover their property. Disputes about the return of the property have become one of the main categories of civil cases in courts. To solve these problems were sent letter of instruction USSR Council of Ministers August 20, 1943 "On his return to owners of livestock and other property in the areas liberated from Nazi occupation" and the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court on October 7, 1943 p.

 In addition, in the absence of heirs at law, citizens had the right to bequeath their property in favor of unauthorized persons.

In general, property rights institutions in the Soviet Ukraine, as well as all civil law, was quite adapted to the extreme conditions of war, allowing to quickly rebuild the entire household mechanism of the state on a war footing.

Family Law.

The war claimed the lives of tens of millions of Ukrainian citizens. Orphanhood, widowhood, broken families - all this required taking serious measures to protect maternity care for children and strengthen families.

According to the changes in the Ukrainian legislation the rights and responsibilities of spouses spawned only registered marriage, divorce is possible only in public, through the courts. Was canceled right treatment mother to court to establish paternity and alimony for maintenance of the child. All of these measures, according to the legislator, had to strengthen the family, to bring a more serious attitude toward marriage and divorce.

In the towns and villages of Ukraine left many orphans. 

To solve this problem were directed several legal acts: Regulation Council of People's Commissars of 15 February 1942 "On the Structure of children left without parents," the decision of People's Commissars of the USSR on June 15, 1943 "On strengthening of measures to combat child homelessness, neglect and bullying "Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on 27 March 1943" on the organization of assistance to orphans whose parents were killed in the battles against the Nazi invaders, tortured or shot invaders during the occupation of areas of the USSR."

According to these legal acts of the organs of state power and administration assigned work on the device orphans, the creation of a reference system of the NKVD, orphanages, educational labor colonies, the establishment of emergency committees with the Board and the

institute of public inspectors. Was to improve the procedure of adoption by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on September 24, 1943 "On the change of Art. 44 of the Family Code, guardianship, marriage and acts of civil Telegram and acts of civil status of the Ukrainian SSR."

Labor and Employment Law.

Emergency wartime conditions made it necessary to resort to labor mobilization and labor service. Labor mobilization were to provide permanent staff of the enterprise and the structure of the military industry and other sectors of the economy,

catered to the needs of defense. Labor conscription was declared to perform important tasks of the state, had military significance, as well as construction, fuel preparation, protection of Railways, communications, power plants and other facilities. All these works do not require special skills and have a temporary nature - to attract people to the labor service allowed for up to two months.

Labor of men were to be from 16 to 55 years, women 16 to 50 years. Management of the enterprises were allowed to establish mandatory overtime lasting until 3:00 daily. Canceled the regular and additional holidays. All employees of military industry enterprises have been recognized during the war mobilized and secured a permanent job for the enterprises in which they worked. Considered mobilized workers and employees working in public enterprises and institutions in the war zone.

By the restoration of the destroyed German invaders Donbas coal industry was engaged workforce with Ukrainian farms.

One important issue was the war in the employment of disabled people

address this issue was sent to the decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on April 20, 1943 "On Labor device and consumer services disabled World War II."

 Since 1943 in the liberated regions of Ukraine began implementing additional charge you labor collective farmers for highly productive work.

Wartime legislation established new bases compulsory labor on the farm. This obligation has been extended to persons mobilized for agricultural work of the working population of cities.

Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on October 23, 1945 "On the reconstruction of the state acts on the perpetual (eternal) use of land in the collective areas of the Ukrainian SSR liberated from Nazi occupation" was proposed no later than June 1, 1945 p. restore the outer limits of the collective farms, as well as the border between the public lands of the collective farms and gardens land farmers, to recover in 1946, p. state acts on the perpetual usufruct of land farms.

Criminal law.

In the context of the martial law regime increased public danger criminals that caused the need to strengthen the criminal repression. Repressive Soviet criminal law during the war was of particular importance.

Significantly increased public danger state criminals, particularly war: evasion of military registration, conscription or military service, desertion. In the same category fell and willful refusal to work duties.

During the war for the workers and employees of railway transport was set the same responsibility for the crimes committed in the service, as in the military.

In the first heavy months of the war was Decree on July 6, 1941 p. "On the responsibility for the distribution in time of war false rumors that cause alarm among the population", which establishes strict liability to imprisonment for up to 5 years.

Of particular importance acquired strict adherence to military secrets. Decree of November 15, 1943 p. established that the disclosure of information by officials who are a state secret, as well as loss of documents containing such information shall be punished by imprisonment for up to 5 years; Act of August 7, 1932 p. in order to strengthen the protection of certain kinds of protection of certain types of property, which must defensive value, adopted special legal acts providing for increased responsibility for his theft. Thus, the Decree of 23 August 1942 "On the liability for theft of fuel in the MTS and state farms" sets a punishment of up to 5 years in prison.

In time of war the judiciary is widely used probation, suspended sentencing until the end of hostilities with the direction of the convicted person in the army (the so-called penal battalions).

The Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet decree of April 19, 1943 p. found that for the crimes in the Ukrainian land set punishment - death by hanging or imprisonment for 15 to 20 years. On the basis of this Decree things about the atrocities of the Nazi invaders on the territory of Ukraine by the courts of the Ukrainian SSR with the application of the legislation of the USSR.

Procedural Law. 

Preliminary investigation and legal proceedings in the territories of the USSR, declared martial law, and in war zones had a number of features, the most important of which were reduced pre-trial actions, the speed of judicial proceedings. Approved by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR June 22, 1941 p. 

The position of military tribunals in areas declared under martial law, and in war zones, change the order of the preliminary investigation and the procedures for dealing with military tribunals. According to this position corresponds to military tribunals have considered the case at the expiration of 24 hours after receiving the copies indictment. Judicial proceedings in the Tribunal considered without the participation of lay judges, for the most part, in the absence of the prosecutor, lawyer. The personal involvement of a witness in a court session was considered optional. 

Sentences of military courts of cassation not subject and can be canceled only in the order of supervision. For each sentence, which condemned to death, a military tribunal had to be reported immediately to the Chairman of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court and the chief prosecutor of the Red Army or Navy. In the case of non-receipt within 72 hours of termination message execution of the sentence, the sentence is to be executed.