The Soviet Legal Profession

Over a hundred thousand jurists - advocates, advisers to state institutions, procurators, judges, legal scholars, and others - form a cohesive profession which plays an important part in Soviet society. Although the jurists are in no sense opponents of the Soviet political system, by virtue of their profession they are committed to legal values of freedom and justice, which are sometimes in opposition to the political values of the Soviet government and the Communist Party leadership. Approaching their subject through the concepts of sociology and political science, Professors Barry and Berman draw on little-known materials and first-hand information to present an account of the Soviet legal profession - its composition, its professional role, its self-awareness, and its influence on Soviet social and political development.