ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the struggles to date over the admission of defense counsel to the pretrial phase and curtailment of pretrial detention, and the liberalization of punishment and limiting of the scope of criminal responsibility. It analyzes two obstacles to the realization of criminal law reform—the crime scare of 1989–1990 and the unravelling of the Soviet federation. The promotion of major changes in criminal justice became possible only because of the commitment by the Gorbachev regime to exposing wrongs of the past and supporting legality and human rights, in short, to building a “law-based state.” As a rule, guilt was established before trial, and the hearing revolved around qualification of the offense and choice of punishment. The absence of counsel during the pretrial phase represented a serious deprivation for the accused. The reform of the criminal law from 1987 focused upon reducing the use of the death penalty and imprisonment and lessening the reach of the criminal sanction.