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The Constitutional Foundations of the Czechoslovak Federation. This article is devoted to the study of the Czechoslovak Constitutional law on Federation of October 27, 1968, After a presentation of the economic, demographic and historical background of the relations between Czechs and Slovaks and of the problems of establishing a Federation for only two nations, the authors analyse the changes brought about by the Law. They study the structure of the State' s organs, the problems of division of jurisdictions and concerning the jurisdictions of the most important federal organs and the major economic principles that the Federation has to apply. They conclude that some flexibility in the Law enables its adaptation to further political developments and they stress that, while during the drafting stages of the Law the trend was in the direction of considerable decentralization, now there begins to appear a trend toward consolidation and widening of federal powers.

Participation and Conflicts in Labor relations of the Socialist World. The article consists of three parts. The first describes the Soviet trade-unions : their organization and working principles on the local, regional and federal levels. The functional duality of the trade-unions — transmittal of governmental decisions on the one hand and defense of professional interests on the other — is also studied. The second part describes the participation of workers. It treats the trade-union organs (workers assemblies and production committees) and the collective agreements. One form which participation takes is cooperation in the production process at the time when production and investment plans are being elaborated. Cooperation is achieved by means of « activists » who are nominated by the trade-union. Participation in labour legislation is primarily concerned with resolving wage problems and with defining labour conditions and social benefits. Trade-unions contribute likewise to the education of their workers. This is done by means of publications, cultural establishments and the organization of civil services (committees for juvenile delinquents, civil « militia » and peoples courts). In the third part, a distinction is made between external and internal conflits. External conflicts are caused by political involvment of top trade-union management, by internal competition within the trade-union management and by trade-union intervention in the field of social work. Labour legislation and employment problems likewise contribute to tension. Internal conflicts stem from problems related to remuneration, from lack of respect by the management for the prerogatives of trade-unions and from the general social climate within the enterprise. The author concludes that tensions in labour relations cannot be avoided in the Soviet Union, but that the propensity for strikes is reduced for a variety of reasons. Amongst these he cites two. Namely, possibility to change place of employment and significant wage increases. Soviet trade-unions must be regarded from the perspective of the socialist enterprise and from the kinds of « participatory struggles » revealed by sociological studies which have been made on industrial relations.

Planning and management on the Branch Level in the East European Industry. The article consists of three parts. The first discusses different models of industrial association which exist in Eastern Europe. Here three types are distinguished : a) the industrial association as a government office — a universal form in East Europe until the late' 50-s, b) the industrial association as a quasi — business corporation — characteristic presently in contries such as the U.R.S.S., Poland and the G.D.R., and c) the industrial association as an association of independent enterprises — existing presently only in Hungary. A discussion concerning the diversity and relative merits and disadvantages of the different types of industrial association follows the general description. In Part 2, long and short term planning at the branch level is discussed. Both the actual planning practice of administrative iteration and efforts to use mathematical programming at the branch level are analysed. The final section is devoted to an analysis of the management mechanism at the branch level. The respective role of direct administrative orders and economic instruments is discussed (the latter is treated in some details). Throughout the article, the intimate relationship between the type of economic reform aimed at and the type of industrial organization chosen (industrial association versus enterprises as main plan executants) is stressed. The changing role of branch planning and management models of industrial associations is analysed and illustrated by examples drawn from Polish, G.D.R., Bulgarian, Czechoslovak and Hungarian practice.

The Producers' Unions and the Problem of Concentration of Enterprises in the U.S.S.R. The problem of economic efficiency, as it pertains to the policy concentration of Soviet enterprises, is studied in the first part. It seems that the practice of setting up agglomerations tended to compromise specialization of production and to hinder an increase of productivity. The system of administrative planning is not conducive to maintaining small, autonomous enterprises, even though it keeps them going in the form of workshops and subsidiary productive activities. Small enterprises, in the form of autonomous units, can be economically profitable only if differences in size are realistically taken into account. The new economic system also favours concentration of enterprises. However, it does take into account both size (optimal size for serial production) and economic advantages (satisfaction of consumers demand and social advantages). Territorial «Producers Unions», created in 1961 by the Regional Economic Councils, have not always paralled economic motivations. Their rapid expansion was halted in 1965, following the reestablishment of the system of branch management and of the industrial ministries. This move was in any event facilitated by the opposition of small enterprise managers to the Unions, because these had suffered from a reduction of their bonuses and social status thanks to the Union system. It should be noted that the territorial Producers Unions had been able, because of their larger size, to obtain more autonomy in management and economic accounting. The new experiment started in 1966, responds more closely to the present system of management by branches and seems to enjoy the government's support. It seems that under this system both the traditional instruments of administrative planning and the financial resources accumulated in different funds (made available through the recently established system of autonomous economic accounting) are concentrated in the Central Administrations of industrial Ministries. The new experiment is just starting, but the following trend seems to be developing : increased authority on the part of the new Unions and diminishing autonomy, especially financial autonomy, of enterprises. The continuation of this experiment hinges on introducing autonomous economic accounting into the management of industrial ministries. This in turn suggests that important changes in the « style » of their work must take place. Neither is certain. The new experiment implies that economic tools of management will be introduced into the whole Soviet system. One can well ask whether the creation of powerful industrial corporations endowed with far reaching administrative powers but relatively modest financial means, is the most efficient way of achieving this target.

The juridical system concerning agricultural lands in the law of the Socialist Republic of Romania. The role of land as a mean of production depends on the different objectives it is given. A particular juridical system of protection must correspond to each of its purposes in order to avoid too serious wastes. This problem arose in Romania especially as regarding agricultural lands and new regulations have been introduced with the enactment of the law n° 12 (May 14, 1968) on protection, conservation and utilization of agricultural lands. The author begins with analyzing the various provisions of the law : 1) provisions aiming to prevent the decrease of agricultural surface ; 2) measures aiming to increase agricultural surface ; 3) provisions aiming to insure a rational utilization of agricultural lands ; 4) provisions aiming to subordinate any change in utilization or possession of agricultural lands to the control of the appropriate state organizations ; 5) the juridical nature of the sanctions falling within the scope of the law in case of violation of the legal provisions mentioned above. Then the author analyses some normative acts which regulate the right to use agricultural lands according to whom they belong (State, cooperative organizations or any other social organization, private persons) and concludes by showing why the law n° 12 is doubly interesting : first several legal provisions previously dispersed in many normative acts are now combined in a single text and better adapted to the present state of development of Romania ; second this law allows the future elaboration of a land code.

« Houliganism » in the Soviet Union. « Houliganism » as defined in article 206 of the penal code of the R.S.F.S.R. is a violation of public order. It constitutes a major problem for the Soviet authorities and is considered to be a dangerous social phenomenon. Statistics compiled to measure the extent of criminal offense, indicate that for the last 10 years, incidences of « houliganism » have increased. A Decree passed by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. on July 26, 1966 reinforces the responsability for certain forms of « houliganism » and provides for more severe punishment. A number of publications which commented on the decree all stake in favour of it : all condemned the different aspects of « houliganism » and denounced its adverse effects on a society which is advancing towards communism. The notion of «houliganism )> includes any activity which can be considered as attempt to trouble public order and, as defined in article 206 of the penal code, includes any act which « shows an open disdain for the society ». The present study attemps to analyse the problem of « houliganism » in the U.S.S.R. from two points of view : — its juridical aspect, as shown from the law, from theory and from jurisprudence ; repression of « houliganism » is either of an administrative or penal nature according to the severity of the offense. — its sociological aspect : illustrated by concrete examples of «houliganism» including its causes and preventive measures, (those not prohibited by penal law) intending to fight against the activities of the « houligan ». The third chapter tries to present a balance sheet of the problem of « houliganism » and shows the attitudes towards this problem as described in the Soviet press.