Publication

This paper argues that the post-communist transformation of the political, social, economic, and legal systems in Central and Eastern Europe was an unprecedented political event, rivaled only by the revolution that had brought the socialist system to power in Russia more than 70 years earlier. The author details how the creation of democracy in those countries went hand in hand with the adoption of new constitutions that created the legal foundation for the new political order. The author also examines how the privatization process required the creation of new legal protections for private property rights and the building of institutions to protect and enforce these rights. Finally, the paper also describes how in some countries, the law remains an instrument for leaders to assert their rule, and how those leaders have rejected legal constraints on their power.