Unified state power is a Marxist–Leninist principle on communist state power that was developed in opposition to the fusion and separation of powers, and creates the institutional framework to practice democratic centralism in the state. It holds that popular sovereignty is expressed through a single representative organ, the supreme state organ of power (SSOP), at the apex of a pyramid- like state structure and which exercises legislative, executive, judicial, and all other forms of state power. Lower-level state organs of power are not autonomous polities but administrative extensions of the SSOP within a single hierarchy. Central decisions bind subordinate levels, while local organs are accountable both to their electors and to superior organs, a system known as dual subordination. This produces a uniform flow of power from the SSOP to subordinate organs, with local discretion allowed only within jurisdiction delegated by higher law enacted by the SSOP.
The SSOP's relationship to the communist state constitution and laws is fundamental. The constitution, adopted by the SSOP, is the fundamental law binding all state organs. It does not permanently restrict the SSOP's sovereign rights, since such limits are self-imposed and may be altered through constitutional amendment. Communist state constitutions set out broad principles on sovereignty and the structure of the state—while leaving specific details to statutes and secondary norms. Socialist legality, the Marxist–Leninist concept of lawful governance, requires conformity to the constitution. However, it rejects independent or autonomous institutions, such as constitutional courts exercising judicial review, that would stand above the SSOP. Instead, legality is safeguarded through political oversight by representative organs, supervision by the supreme procuratorial organ, and electoral accountability through controlled elections.
