Ondrej Podolec: The First Judges from the People (the Beginnings of the so-called Popularization of the Judiciary after February 1948)

After February 1948, the judiciary became an important apparatus of the newly established communist regime in the persecutions unleashed against its real or potential opponents. One of the forms of its control was the so-called popularization of the judiciary. Lay "judges from the people" were supposed to "ensure" sentences following the demands of the ruling regime through the majority in the senates. The edition of documents deals with the beginnings of the new law practical application, launched in the first days of 1949, and its evaluation from the point of view of the Communist Party.