ABSTRACT
According to the statutes of all East European communist parties, the party congress is the supreme organ of the party. In reality, of course, nobody expects this huge, pompous, and mostly demonstrative meeting, which usually takes place every four or five years, to direct daily party life. Nevertheless, the congress has one important function, namely, to elect the party’s top organs—the Central Committee (which in turn elects the Politburo and the Secretariat) and the Central Control Commission. In addition, the congress delegates to the Central Committee the authority to act as the supreme party organ during the period between congresses. The Central Control Commission (which appears under slightly different names in the various East European communist parties and will be discussed later in this chapter) also has an important role, albeit in a circumscribed field, mostly watching over the unity of the party and the political and moral conduct of the party members.
