Highest organ of state power

The highest organ of state power is the representative organ in communist states that functions as the sole branch of government according to the principle of unified power.^[1] For example, the government of the Soviet Union was designated as the highest executive and administrative body of the highest organ of state power, the All-Union Supreme Soviet.^[2]

The powers of the highest organ of state power are constrained only by the limits it has itself set by adopting constitutional and legal documents. In China, according to Chinese legal scholar Zhou Fang, "[t]he powers of the National People's Congress as the highest organ of state power are boundless, its authority extends to the entire territory of the country, and, if necessary, it can intervene in any matter which it finds it requisite to do so."^[3] More specifically, according to Chinese legal scholars Xu Chongde and Niu Wenzhan, "[t]he other central State organs are created by the NPC and execute the laws and resolutions made by the NPC."^[4] These bodies are not permanent and generally convene at least once a year.

In between sessions, most or all of its duties and responsibilities are transferred to its working body, usually named either presidium, state council or standing committee. For instance, Article 19 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution states that the Presidium of the All-Union Supreme Soviet exercised "the functions of the highest body of state authority of the USSR between sessions of the Supreme Soviet".^[5] These bodies have the power to issue decrees or regulations in lieu of law. In most cases, if such measures are not ratified by the highest organ at its next session, they are considered revoked. However, in some countries, even this formality was not observed.

Examples

Highest organs of state power have been commonly called legislatures by outside observers, but the constitutional documents and laws of these states rarely call them as such. Instead, they tend to be described as having national legislative power. For example, the Constitution of Vietnam has described the nation's highest organ of state power as:

State system - The National Assembly

The National Assembly is the highest representative organ of the people; the highest organ of state power of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, the sole organ that has the constitutional and legislative rights.

Politics of Vietnam, Viet Nam Government Portal

The following is a list of highest organs of state power in contemporary and historical communist states:

Contemporary

National People's Congress in the People's Republic of China
National Assembly of People's Power in the Republic of Cuba
Supreme People's Assembly in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
National Assembly in the Democratic People's Republic of Laos
National Assembly in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Historical

Congress of Soviets and Supreme Soviet in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
People's Chamber and Chamber of States in the German Democratic Republic
Great National Assembly in the People's Republic of Romania and the Socialist Republic of Romania
Federal Assembly in the Federative People's Republic of Yugoslavia and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
People's Great Khural in the People's Republic of Mongolia
Kampuchean People's Representative Assembly in Democratic Kampuchea
National Assembly in the People's Republic of Kampuchea
People's Assembly of Albania in the People's Republic of Albania and Socialist People's Republic of Albania
Sejm in the People's Republic of Poland
National Assembly in the People's Republic of Bulgaria
Parliament in the People's Republic of Hungary
National Assembly and Federal Assembly in the Republic of Czechoslovakia and the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia
Supreme People's Council in the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
People's National Assembly in the People's Republic of the Congo
People's Assembly in the People's Republic of Mozambique
National Assembly in the People's Republic of Angola
Revolutionary National Assembly in the People's Republic of Benin
Supreme Revolutionary Council and People's Assembly in the Democratic Republic of Somalia
National Shengo in the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Other usage

This term "highest organ of state power" also exists in certain non-communist states, but has a different meaning. For example, Japan's National Diet is referred to as "the highest organ of state power..." in Article 41 of the Constitution, possibly in reference to the influence of parliamentary sovereignty from the Constitution of the United Kingdom.^[6]

References

^ Vanneman 1977, p. 111; Jiang 2003, pp. 34–35.
^ Vanneman 1977, p. 1977.
^ Gasper 1982, p. 171.
^ Xu & Niu 2019, p. 60.
^ White 1982, p. 146.
^ https://japan.kantei.go.jp/constitution_and_government_of_japan/constitution_e.html

Bibliography

Gasper, Donald (1982). "Chapter 7: The Chinese National People's Congress". In Nelson, Daniel; White, Stephen (eds.). Communist Legislatures in Comparative Perspective. State University of New York Press. pp. 160–190. ISBN 0-87395-566-8.
Jiang, Jinsong (2003). The National People's Congress of China. Foreign Languages Press. ISBN 7-119-03133-3.
Vanneman, Peter (1977). The Supreme Soviet: Politics and Legislative Process in the Soviet Political System. State University of New York Press. pp. 125–159. ISBN 0-8223-0357-4.
White, Stephen (1982). "Chapter 6: The USSR Supreme Soviet: a Developmental Perspective". In Nelson, Daniel; White, Stephen (eds.). Communist Legislatures in Comparative Perspective. State University of New York Press. pp. 125–159. ISBN 0-87395-566-8.
Xu, Chongde; Niu, Wenzhan (2019). Constitutional Law in China. Wolters Kluwer. ISBN 978-94-035-0732-3.