Local self-government of Russia was formed both due to domestic experience, and under the influence of international standards. A far from last role in this process was played by the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The document was adopted in the form of a convention in 1985 and a few months later it was opened for signature. In subsequent years, its provisions were supported by the majority of states that are members of the Council of Europe. Russia European Charter was signed in 1996. Thus, at the moment, local government in our country is built on the legal basis of the document.
This Charter obliges each of the participants to observe legal norms that guarantee the administrative, financial and political independence of local authorities. The European Charter of Local Self-Government, like most similar documents, starts with a preamble and consists of 3 parts.
The preamble defines the goals of the Council of Europe and states that local self-government is an inalienable foundation of a democratic system. Like the European Social Charter, this document emphasizes the importance of civil rights. The first part explains the essence of the democratic concept of local self-government, determines the scope of its competence, the methods of legal protection, sources of financing and mechanisms for monitoring its activities. In particular, according to her, the essence of local government is the ability and right of the population to manage public affairs within the framework of the law. The first part of the Charter also notes that real self-government is impossible without free elections.
The second part indicates the amount of obligations that the participants take on themselves. In the third part of the European Charter of Local Self-Government contains provisions explaining the specifics of ratification, signing and entry into force of the said document.
The European Charter of Local Self-Government was the first multilateral legal act that defines and protects the principles of local autonomy. It is based on the principle of subsidiarity. According to him, the issues that are solved at the grassroots levels of government should not be transferred to the top. Intervention by the central government is necessary only in exceptional cases. In this regard, most of the state powers should be placed on the authorities that are in close proximity to citizens. Despite the fact that the legal norms of the Charter are primarily of a recommendatory nature, their observance is necessary to accede to this agreement of any country. At the same time, the described document also establishes certain obligations of the participants. Thus, the domestic legislation of a country must recognize the principle of local self-government. It is also worth mentioning that the states that are the current members of the Council of Europe must send information to the Secretary-General of the said body on the legislative provisions adopted to comply with their Charter.