134 PLANS OF REFORM
responsibility "assumes a law ratified by the stamp of general recogni-
tion [acceptance] and that this law is guaranteed either by government
regulations affecting property or by strong and universal popular
opinion. Without such a guarantee the responsibility will be purely a
verbal one." 1 Speransky has correctly put the finger on the central
problem: the state's accountability for its acts can be obtained and
strengthened either when the government voluntarily abides by the
law or when it can be forced by public opinion to do so. And he
reverts again to the theme he has touched upon in his first paper. It
is not written constitutions or laws that matter, but the existence of a
spirit in the people which will compel the government to stay within
the limits set by fundamental laws. As Speransky sees it, in Russia the
main task is to bring about this spirit. 2
In a "true monarchy," that is in a state based on the rule of law,
the law is protected and guaranteed in two ways: by public opinion or
by an institution that may be established especially for the purpose.
For an effective existence of the first kind of guarantee, the state must
give full publicity to its actions (except, of course, for military and
diplomatic secrets). To this effect, the country ought to have freedom
of the press and a complete knowledge of the government's doings. In
turn, this will help educate a public whose spirit and opinion will,
in due course, function as the guarantors of law and order, even in the
absence of a written constitution or code.^3 The safeguard of a Rechts-
staat type involves the creation of an institution - independent of the
executive - to which the executive may render account of its actions
periodically. In this connection Speransky makes his most important
concrete proposal in the Report of 1803. The functions of government,
he writes, are to be distributed among two bodies: an Executive and a
Legislative Senate. He prefers to use the term senate, rather than min-
istry for the executive body, because the executive functions of the
state transcend the eight ministries. The Executive Senate will be
subdivided into five sections, one each for the major functions ofadministration, as listed earlier.4 It is to the Legislative Senate, how-
ever, that Speransky devotes most of his attention, as it would be a
new institution in Russia.It should be well understood, writes Speransky, that the functions
1 ibid., p. 169 (note).
2 ibid., p. 176.
3 ibid., pp. 167-168.
4 ibid., pp. 199-200, 201-202. In suggesting the name of Senate for this executive
institution, Speransky hoped perhaps to instill greater confidence by using a
familiar term, carrying with it the prestige of Peter the Great.