War of Laws
법률 전쟁
The constitutional conflict between the Soviet central government and the republic governments in the final years of the USSR (1989–1991). As republics adopted sovereignty declarations asserting the supremacy of their own constitutions and laws over union legislation, Moscow struck them down as unconstitutional, and the republics in turn rejected Moscow's rulings: a cyclical standoff. This legislative gridlock broke down the union's legal order and left the New Union Treaty as the only remaining way out.
Related historical events
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) definitive English-language article on the War of Laws: definition, chronology, republics involved, and its role in the dissolution of the USSR
- Wikipedia (RU) Russian article on the Parade of Sovereignties, which describes война законов as the direct consequence of sovereignty declarations, leading to 'paralysis of power' of union organs
- cyberleninka.ru Tarasova (2016), peer-reviewed article in Научный диалог analyzing the RSFSR-USSR war of laws, its milestones and legislative acts