State Inspectorates

State Inspectorates 

special control bodies in the USSR, usually forming part of the central branches of administrative bodies, such as ministries and state committees, and operating on the basis of special statutes confirmed by the Council of Ministers. The purpose of the state inspectorates is to control and supervise the implementation of the laws and to ensure observance of special regulations governing activities of general importance to the state (for example, sanitary labor and living conditions, the promotion of safety techniques, and the observance of commercial regulations). The power of state inspectorates to control and supervise extends to all organizations, enterprises, and institutions, regardless of the administrative sector they come under, and in certain cases also to citizens. In this respect state inspectorates differ from departmental inspectorates, which operate only within the framework of a given ministry.

State inspectorates in the USSR in 1971 supervised safe working conditions in mining and other industries (Gosgortekhnadzor); controlled the rational use of electrical and thermal energy, particularly in industry; exercised sanitary supervision, including control of the execution of measures for the elimination of pollution of reservoirs, soil, and the air by harmful industrial waste and domestic refuse, as well as improvement of sanitary labor conditions and the prevention of disease (these activities come under the administration of the health ministries of the USSR and the Union republics): and checked the quality of commodities and commerce (under the ministries for trade of the Union republics). They ensured observation of fishing regulations and preservation of fish supplies in the USSR (Glavgosrybvod); supervised the proper conduct of the hunting industry and observance of hunting regulations: controlled veterinary services on kolkhozes, sovkhozes, and other enterprises and organizations, regardless of their administrative subordination (under the Ministry for Agriculture of the USSR): ensured motor-vehicle and pedestrian safety on streets and highways and recorded the numbers and condition of motor-transport vehicles (the State Automobile Inspectorate, which comes under the administration of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of the USSR); and supervised adherence to fire regulations (also under the Ministry for Internal Affairs).

State inspectorate officials have the unrestricted right to inspect activities subject to control, demand the production of any necessary documents and records, carry out checks and inspections, examine complaints and declarations, and so on. The functions of a number of state inspectorates include the issue of permits to put new projects into operation, fishing permits, and so forth. State inspectorates have the right to subject persons guilty of violating established rules to the appropriate administrative measures, such as the imposition of fines, withholding of pay. prohibition of the operation of all or part of any project, suspension of construction, removal from work, and temporary deprivation of occupational rights.

P. I. ROMANOV