Constitutional Assembly of the Russian Federation: constitutional-legal status, composition, powers, decisions

The Constitution of the Russian Federation is the main law of the Russian state. The provisions of this document provide for the introduction of adjustments to certain of its articles. The corresponding procedure should be carried out with the participation of the Constitutional Assembly. What are the functions of this body? What is the procedure for convening, organizing the work of the Constitutional Assembly, and also making decisions by this state structure?

What is the role of the Constitutional Assembly in the system of state power?

First of all, let us consider what role the COP plays in the political system of Russia.

The Constitutional Assembly belongs to the category of representative structures of the power of the Russian Federation and, at the same time, has the powers of a constituent character. This body, which is part of the political system of Russia, has analogues abroad, which can be represented, for example, by constituent assemblies or assemblies.

The main source of law, according to which in Russia functions such body as the Constitutional Assembly, the Constitution of the state itself. It is noteworthy that the Basic Law of Russia provides for the establishment of the structure in question in accordance with a separate federal constitutional law, which has not yet been adopted in the Russian Federation.

The Constitutional Assembly is a body which, in accordance with the law that is yet to be approved, is convened if the proposal to amend the provisions set forth in Chapters 1, 2 and 9 of the main source of law in Russia will be supported by 3/5 of the votes of the representatives of the Federation Council, As well as the State Duma of the Russian Federation.

Let's consider the key powers that, in accordance with the law, the structure of power under consideration can have.

Powers of the Constitutional Assembly

These include:

• Confirmation of the constancy of the basic law of Russia;
• Development and adoption of the new Constitution of the state;
• The drafting of the basic law of Russia for a popular vote;
• Determining the order of the Constitution of the state to enter into force.

These authorities, however, are only entitled to implement the considered structure of power if, as we noted above, a special legal act establishing the procedure for the establishment of the COP will be adopted.

Undoubtedly, attempts to approve the law on the constitutional meeting in the history of Russia were. The projects of this source of law were initiated by various politicians in the 1990s and 2000s. In 2012, the President of the Russian Federation instructed his subordinate structures to submit proposals regarding the preparation of an appropriate legal act.

If we talk about the most famous draft laws on the constitutional assembly, then we can single out the concepts proposed by Gennady Zyuganov, Vyacheslav Zvolinsky, Viktor Alksnis and Sergei Baburin, Vyacheslav Volodin, Sergei Kovalev. Also known is the project of Yevgeny Fedorov and Anton Romanov. Let's study the features of these concepts in more detail.

Draft law on the Constitutional Assembly of Zyuganov

The project under consideration was submitted to the State Duma for discussion in March 1997. In accordance with it, it was proposed:

• To include in the CC the head of state, members of the Federation Council, State Duma deputies, representatives of the government presidium, judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, and the RF Supreme Arbitration Court;
• Representatives of trade unions.

It was assumed that the government body in question would carry out its activities in Moscow. In accordance with the concept under consideration, trade unions were given the right to nominate one person from each organization to the membership of the Constitutional Assembly.

The heads of the Federation Council, as well as the State Duma, were to become co-chairs of the COP. It was assumed that the financing of the activities of the Constitutional Assembly was to be carried out at the expense of the federal budget of the state. In accordance with the project under consideration, the text of the draft COP was to be published promptly, and citizens and various public associations could be connected to its discussion through interaction with a special editorial committee of the COP.

Draft Law on the Constitutional Assembly of Zvolinsky

The concept under consideration was submitted to the State Duma for discussion in June 1998. In accordance with it, the head of state, representatives of the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Prime Minister, the head of the Constitutional Court, the RF Armed Forces, the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, and representatives of the Russian regions were to become delegates to the Constitutional Assembly. At the same time, subjects of the Russian Federation could send representatives to the Constitutional Assembly of the Russian Federation in the following quantities:

• 5 people from each region with a population of up to 1 million inhabitants;
• 10 people, if the region has more than 1 million inhabitants;
• 15 delegates from St. Petersburg and 20 from Moscow.

The concept assumed that the venue of the COP meetings was determined in accordance with the presidential decree.

As some experts note, the draft COP considered did not include the norms on which the Constitution of the Russian Federation was to be drafted. Basically, this concept regulated organizational issues within the framework of the Constitutional Assembly.

Volodin's project under the law on the Constitutional Court

This concept was introduced for discussion in the State Duma in June 2000. She assumed the following: the Constitutional Assembly includes the head of state, representatives of the Federation Council, judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, chairmen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation. It was also suggested that 100 delegates from the State Duma will be appointed to the composition of the Constitutional Court. At the same time, they should reflect the composition of the lower house of parliament, from the point of view of deputy associations, as well as the number of deputies elected in two types of districts - federal and single-mandate. The head of the State Duma, in turn, had to be a member of the Constitutional Court.

The President of the Russian Federation was also to appoint 100 participants of the Constitutional Assembly - citizens of the Russian Federation with higher legal education, as well as the necessary qualifications. Proposals on the delegation of citizens to the President of the RF by the Constitutional Court were to be submitted to the head of state by separate state bodies, public organizations, scientific and educational structures.

It was assumed that the text of the draft basic law of the state, drafted by the Constitutional Assembly, was subject to prompt publication, and subsequently - discussion with the participation of citizens and public organizations. Those who were interested in this were to forward their proposals to the Constitutional Assembly, the state body responsible for the adoption of the updated basic law of the country, within one month of the adoption of the draft Constitution.

The concept under consideration presupposed the procedure for the drafting of the basic law of the state for a nationwide referendum.

The Kovalev project under the law on the COP

This project was proposed to the State Duma in September 2000. He assumed the following:

• The Constitutional Assembly includes 450 people who are elected by the citizens of the Russian Federation through direct voting;
• The COP must meet in Moscow;
• Members of the COP are elected to two-mandate constituencies in accordance with the norms of representation of citizens;
• The Constitution should be adopted within the framework of 4 readings;
• The adoption of the basic law could be carried out through a referendum.

The Alksnis and Baburin project under the law on the Constitutional Court

The project under consideration was submitted for discussion to the State Duma in November 2007. Its authors suggested accepting persons in the status of the Constitutional Assembly:

• President of the Russian Federation;
• Representatives of the executive bodies of the RF regions in the Federation Council;
• Deputies of the State Duma;
• Participants of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, people who could participate in the work of the Constitutional Court without the right to vote were proposed. Namely:

• Members of the Russian government;
• Heads of regions;
• Judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the RF Armed Forces, the Supreme Arbitration Court of the
• The Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation;
• Representatives of political parties.

It was assumed that the COP should meet in any of the cities of federal significance - in accordance with a separate resolution of the State Duma. The proposed project assumed that the adoption of the basic law of the state is in the exclusive competence of such body as the Constitutional Assembly of the Russian Federation. That is, the drafting of the Constitution for a referendum should not have been implemented.

The drafts of the law on the Constitution that we considered for various reasons were rejected by parliamentarians. We will study what they could have been.

Reasons for rejection of projects on COP

According to experts, the main problematic issue of the adoption of the law on the Constitutional Court is the definition of the principles for the formation of the relevant authority. Two very different points of view were formed.

In accordance with the first, it was necessary to ensure the most active participation of citizens in the activities of the Constitutional Assembly. According to the second point of view, the primary role in the work of the COP was played, first of all, by people with the necessary level of professionalism and competencies.

So, the most democratic project in this sense could be considered the concept of Kovalev, according to which the COP was to be formed by the participation of 450 delegates elected by citizens. In turn, the draft law on the COP, proposed by Volodin, suggested that the key decisions of the Constitutional Assembly will be made by people with extensive experience in leading state positions.

It can be noted that Zvolinsky proposed a rather compromising version of the formation of the Constitutional Court, according to which acting politicians took the main role in the activity of the relevant government body, but representatives of the regions that were appointed with the participation of the population of the relevant constituent entities of the Russian Federation could participate in the work of the COP.

Thus, during the internal parliamentary debates in the years 90 and 2000, it was not possible to resolve questions about who enters the Constitutional Assembly, how its composition is formed in terms of finding a balance between the democratic procedure of the establishment of the COP, and the professionalism of its delegates.

Another discussion point in the discussion of the prospects for the adoption of the law on the Constitutional Court is the role of the Constitutional Court. The fact is that this body, in accordance with the basic legal act of Russia, has a fairly wide range of powers in terms of interpreting the Constitution in the framework of law enforcement practice. In this sense, the establishment of an alternative to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation at the level of a representative branch of government can introduce a significant imbalance in the distribution of power over different branches.

Thus, the Constitutional Assembly can become a state structure that competes with the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in terms of interpretation of the provisions of the basic law, despite the fact that it is intended to provide the Constitutional Court with completely different functions, those that presuppose making practical amendments to the Constitution of the state. That is, adjustments to the text of the main law of the country, initiated by the COP, it is desirable in any way to coordinate with the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, taking into account the position of the court as regards the interpretation of the current provisions. But in practice this mechanism should be provided for in the law on the Constitutional Assembly. This is not easy to do, since the legislatively representative and judicial branches of power, in fact, due to the provisions present with the main legal act of the state, should act independently.

According to experts, the establishment of the Constitutional Court under a separate law should rule out the likelihood of the lobby appearing on the part of certain interested structures. Therefore, the procedure for the formation of the Constitutional Assembly must be established in such a way that it is transparent for public and parliamentary control. But here, again, the question arises of distinguishing between the two priorities - the strengthening of the role of participation in the activities of the Constitutional Court of citizens or the granting of a large amount of authority to those who directly take decisions during the activities of the Constitutional Assembly. If the emphasis is placed on the first mechanism, then the likelihood of the lobby decreases, but the quality of drafting legal acts adopted by the COP may also decrease. In the second case, the opposite situation is possible.

Thus, in the development of the law on the COP, there are several important debating issues at once. The prospects for their resolution depend on many factors, primarily on the position of the leading political forces, which acquire their powers in elections, the outcome of which, in turn, is determined by the citizens themselves on the ballot.

Despite the fact that the State Duma has repeatedly rejected bills on the Constitutional Court, various politicians continued to deal with the issue of developing an appropriate source of law. Among the most famous projects of the law on the COP - a document that was proposed by Yevgeny Fedorov and Anton Romanov. This initiative has become fairly well known. Let's study it in more detail.

The draft law on the Constitutional Court of the Fedorov and Romanov

This project was proposed for discussion in September 2015. The corresponding concept determined the status of the Constitutional Assembly of the Russian Federation, the procedure for its convening and carrying out activities.

The bill was developed taking into account the provisions of Art. 134 and 135 of the Russian Constitution. In these articles of the basic law of the state it is said that if the competent authorities receive proposals to amend the provisions of 1, 2 or 9 chapters of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and if this initiative is supported by 3/5 of the representatives of the Federal Assembly and the State Duma, Then, as we noted above, the Constitutional Assembly is convened. The constitutional and legal status of the relevant body is therefore defined in the current legislation, but in practice the establishment of the Constitutional Court required the adoption of a separate law.

The project in question suggested that the president of the Russian Federation should head the CC. The explanatory note to the relevant document contained the theses on the adoption of the procedure for drafting the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as voting for it within the framework of the state structure in question.

The project of Fedorov and Romanov to draft a law on the Constitutional Court: the reaction of the authorities

How did the authorities react to the initiative of prominent political figures?

The bill from Fedorov and Romanov was supplemented by a response received from the Government. At the same time, representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers did not support this concept. In particular, officials felt that in the version of the law proposed by Fedorov and Romanov, the Constitutional Assembly has the right to carry out its activities only as a temporary acting body. In addition, according to the members of the government, it was not a very optimal decision to appoint the president of the Russian Federation to the post of chairman of the Constitutional Court because the current Constitution of the Russian Federation does not grant such powers to the head of state.

The draft law on the Constitutional Court also received feedback from representatives of the State Duma. As some deputies found, the source of the law that determines how the Constitutional Assembly should be convened, the constitutional and legal status of this state structure, should be adopted not earlier than the elections to the State Duma in 2016. According to the authorities, this is due to the probability of a significant adjustment of political forces in the lower house of the Russian parliament after the elections.

In any case, according to political figures, the lack of a law on the Constitutional Court is a very significant gap in the legislation of the Russian Federation. The corresponding source of law, according to parliamentarians, should be adopted.

It should be noted that in the process of discussing the initiative under consideration, there were opinions that the development of the law on the Constitutional Assembly is not an urgent matter at all. As some government officials have found, its adoption actually means an attempt to revise the provisions of the current Constitution of the country, which is not required at the current stage of Russia's political development.

The concept under consideration, according to which the status, powers of the Constitutional Assembly was determined, was rejected by parliamentarians. So far, the Russian Federation, therefore, has not adopted the current law, according to which the relevant authority should carry out its activities.

Summary

So, we examined the features and powers of such a state structure as the Constitutional Assembly, the status of this body. The Constitutional Court, in spite of the fact that its functioning is provided for by the basic law of the country, can not yet be established for the reason that Russia has not adopted a federal legal act determining the procedure for convening and organizing the work of the relevant state structure. In turn, its development is also provided for by the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Several politicians initiated several projects of the federal constitutional law on the Constitutional Court. They were submitted for discussion to the State Duma, but for various reasons they were rejected by parliamentarians.

The need to approve a law that determines the procedure for the functioning of such body as the Constitutional Assembly, the composition, the mechanism for convening this state structure, as well as making responsible decisions by its members, is underscored by many politicians. At the same time, some representatives of the authorities are supported by a different point of view. So, there is a position according to which it is not necessary to approve the federal constitutional law on the Constitutional Court, since its adoption, in fact, can mean the fact that the government wants to initiate a change in the current Russian Constitution.

It should be noted that the order on the need to develop an appropriate source of law was initiated in 2012 by the Russian president. Therefore, it is possible that the competent authorities in the foreseeable future will still adopt this law.