AMENDMENTS TO THE DRAFT DECREE OF THE SOVNARKOM
ON THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF THE PEOPLE'S COMMISSARIAT OF JUSTICE
AND INVESTIGATIVE COMMISSIONS
[January 3, 1918 (December 21, 1917)]
1. A "All-Russian Commission" under the Council of People's Commissars is established for the purposes of a ruthless struggle against counter-revolution, sabotage, and speculation.
2. [Results] It transfers the results of its work to the Investigative Commission under the Revolutionary Tribunal or terminates the case.
3. The work of this Commission proceeds under the closest supervision of the People's Commissariats of Justice and Internal Affairs, as well as the Presidium of the Petrograd Soviet. The Investigative Commissions under the Revolutionary Tribunal [proceed] under the close[st] supervision of the People's Commissariat of Justice and the Presidium of the Petro[grad] Soviet.
4. The composition of both commissions is published for general information.
5.
For the work of the "All-Russian Commission," an instruction is introduced, developed by it and the People's Commissariats of Justice and Internal Affairs.
[6. Arrests and the initiation of cases against members of the Constituent Assembly and other persons, the detention of whom is of outstanding political significance, take place only with the knowledge of the People's Commissariat of Justice and Internal Affairs.]
6. The Commissi[ons] inform the People's Commissariats of Justice and Internal Affairs about arrests that are of outstanding political significance.
7. Any detentions must entail mandatory trial or be terminated.
8. Conflicts not resolved by agreement between the People's Commissariats of Justice, Internal Affairs, and the Presidium of the Petrograd Soviet with the commissions are submitted for final resolution to the Council of People's Commissars, without halting the usual activities [and fundamental measures of the corresponding] Commissi[on]s.

1 The decree was adopted at a meeting of the Sovnarkom on January 3, 1918 (December 21, 1917). Lenin edited the draft based on the text written by Steinberg. Amendments to item 3 and the entire text of item 6 were sketched by Lenin in pencil on a separate sheet.