Perestroika and the Rule of Law: Soviet and Anglo-American Perspectives

by William E. Butler

The key to Gorbachev's reforms is the creation of a state in which the rule of law is sovereign. In this book Soviet and British and American jurists discuss the nature and role of the law in society, and assess the possibilities and difficulties of establishing a legal system based on the values and principles of Western democracies in the USSR.

Among the topics covered are the role of a constitution, the status of political parties, the importance of glasnost, the question of individual rights and the meaning of pluralism.

206 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 1991

About the author

William Elliott Butler, LL.D. (University of London, 1979; Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, 1970; LL.M., School of Law of the Academy University of Law, Institute of State and Law, Russian Academy of Sciences, 1997; J.D., Harvard Law School, 1966) is the John Edward Fowler Distinguished Professor of Law, Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University (2005–); Professorial Research Associate, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (2006–); and Emeritus Professor of Comparative Law in the University of London (2005–). He is an authority on the legal systems of Russia, other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Mongolia.

Professor Butler previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Laws, University College London (1977–79) and of the University of London (1988–90). He is a member of The Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, The Union of Russian Jurists, The Academy of Commercial and Consumer Law, and The American Law Institute, among others. He also was the Founding Editor of The Bookplate Journal, being an avid collector and beekeeper.