A. I. Rupasov. Activities of the Leningrad City and Regional State Arbitration Courts in 1943–1944 // Petersburg historical journal, no. 3, 2022, pp. 80–89
Abstract:
In 1943–1945, the Leningrad City and Leningrad Regional State Arbitration Courts significantly intensified their activities. As a result, the obligation for enterprises and organizations to conclude service agreements and the right of arbitration tribunals to monitor the execution of their decisions were virtually no longer challenged. State arbitration has become more active in bringing cases and “reporting various deficiencies in the work of public bodies” to public authorities. These communications could relate to breaches of financial discipline by enterprises and organizations, breaches of inventory records, incompleteness and vagueness of existing contracts, evasion of contracts, poor-quality products, defects in planning and distribution of consumer products. In fact, the state arbitration was becoming more and more like a public administration body, although, according to the lawyers, it was not such a body and did not have administrative power. However, by obtaining the right to control and using the right to inform (“signal”) the authorities about defects in the economic activities of enterprises and organizations, the state arbitration gained de facto status as a management body. At the same time, there were contradictions between the city and regional state arbitration, as the city arbitration often encroached on the sphere of jurisdiction of the regional arbitration. During the war, the desire of the Leningrad City Court of Arbitration to extend the scope of its competence, in spite of the reluctant and negative attitude of the local executive authorities, was partly fulfilled in the practice of its activities. As a result, the Leningrad State Arbitration acquired the features of an administrative body, a managerial body.
Keywords:
city arbitration, regional arbitration, departmental arbitration, blockade, Leningrad, contractual discipline, competence, executive power.
Author:
Rupasov, Aleksandr Ivanovich — Dr. of Sciences (History), St. Petersburg institute of History, Russian academy of Sciences; corresponding member of the Finnish historical society.
E-mail: rupasov_ai@mail.ru