Functions of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on the Constitution: characteristics, comments

In accordance with the constitutional way of life in our country, the parliament recognized the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The functions of this important state body deserve detailed analysis, which will help to understand the peculiarities and shortcomings of the domestic law-making process.

The highest level of legislative power

The internal structure of the Federal Assembly implies the division of the body into two chambers - the State Duma and the Federation Council. There are several main advantages to explain the phenomenon of a bicameral parliament. For example, the guarantee of democracy as one of the fundamental constitutional principles in Russia is that one of the chambers directly reflects the interests of administrative-territorial entities. In addition, the adoption and publication of legislative acts takes place on a more qualitative level through thorough discussions by the two working chambers. At the same time, political scientists note that the functions and structure of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation have a number of shortcomings, which include the inhibition of the legislative process, the prevailing conservatism and restraint in it. One should also not forget about inconsistency and disunity among members of parliament caused by frequent confrontations and conflicts.

Interaction of two chambers

Despite the difficulties in the search for a state-legal consensus, it would be wrong to speak about the predominance of one chamber over another, a pronounced subordination to each other. In addition, in the system of separation of branches of power, the Russian parliament is viewed as a single whole. The Federation Council and the State Duma have balanced mutually compensating functions and powers. The Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation is the basic state structure that is an integral element in the mechanism of state governance.

Moreover, the State Duma and the Council of Federation in most cases interact with each other. Together, the Chambers defend their points of view in disputes concerning the division of powers. Being in close cooperation, they actively participate in the formation of higher state bodies (for example, the Central Election Commission, the Accounting Chamber, etc.). At the same time, the daily activities of the members of both chambers are separate from each other. In the relevant section of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, only a few cases are envisaged under which the State Duma and the Federation Council can come together to hear the President's recommendation letter, the decision of the Constitutional Court, and official speeches of foreign heads of state.

Representative body of state power

Nevertheless, it is possible to identify several areas in the work of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and its functions. The activity plan can be briefly described as three main tasks, the implementation of which is entrusted to the chambers of the Russian parliament:

• Representative;
• Legislative;
• Control.

Any direction of their activities is designed to express the national will, without which the existence of democratic systems in the state is impossible. Representative functions of the chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation are realized through carrying out nationwide events, the purpose of which is to express free choice and aspiration of citizens. In the end, this allows us to timely identify the needs of social circles, given the relationship of federal relations. Thanks to such powers, the State Duma and the Federation Council ensure a peaceful, non-violent transfer of power from some representatives chosen by society to others, based on the free expression of the will of Russian voters.

The power given by the people: legal representatives with mandates

By the way, in any state it is the parliament that is called to represent the national interests. In Russia, this body is the only one among the powerful institutions, the right to form it has capable and able citizens, that is, the population of our country. In this aspect, the notion of the mandate, which is, in fact, a privilege that empowers newly elected representatives of the people with a wide range of powers is of no small importance. Thus, the representativeness of parliament is a property that predetermines other important areas of activity.

Feedback and communication with voters

If we consider the functions of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, then it is easy to conclude that the representation of this body is more often expressed by the duty of deputies to maintain direct contact with the electorate. Potential voters are also interested in informing the people's representatives of the essence of public problems. Due to the right of legislative initiative, the parliament is able to reflect in its activities important issues of the population, approving regulations. An example is the position of deputies on topical issues, as well as official comments and assessments of parliamentarians on specific phenomena of public life in the state.

Legislative activity

From the powers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and its functions in terms of ensuring the people's interests, the right of legislative initiative flows smoothly. The opportunity that this collegial body has is the most significant and most important. Within the legislative function, the entire state-legal system has been formed, which guarantees full-fledged regulation of public relations in all spheres. The regulatory and legal consolidation of needs is the preparation and adoption of documents expressly provided for by the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In other cases, legislative acts are issued, the need for adoption of which is determined by the pace of development of social relations in the relevant industry.

Regulatory framework

To characterize the legislative function of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (according to the Constitution it really belongs to the parliament), it would be more correct:

• Implies the establishment and guarantee of law and order;
• The predominance of published normative and legal documents over custom, precedent is allowed;
• It is planned to focus on partnerships, a coordination union and cooperation with other branches of government;
• Ensures the stability of the state and social order;
• Legal foundations are set for the development and improvement of the administrative apparatus.

It is impossible to conduct a full analysis of the legislative function of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation without taking into account the achievements in this sector. An important point is that the main part of the regulatory framework operating in the territory of the state was adopted by the legislators for a short period of existence of the Russian Federation as an independent power. Parliamentarians issued hundreds of laws regulating legal relations of federal and civil importance.

Documents of importance for the whole state

From the very beginning of the activities of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the functions of the legislative initiative were fully implemented. First of all, the parliament changed and supplemented the provisions concerning the work of the judicial system, the Constitutional Court, the Government of the Russian Federation. The amendments also touched upon the status of the ombudsman in Russia, the rules of referendums and popular elections, the procedure for amending the Constitution of the Russian Federation. One can not help recalling the correction of a number of codified legislative acts affecting the most important aspects of the life of the state and society. Among the codes the most significant are Civil, Criminal, Family, Arbitration Procedural.

Disadvantages of implementing the legislative function

At the same time, the mechanisms for implementing the legislative powers of the State Duma and the legislative functions of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation are imperfect and have a number of negative aspects. The difficulties and disagreements between the two representative chambers have been repeatedly observed in the approaches to the creation of the regulatory and legal framework in general and the development of new bills. To eliminate problems, it is important to formulate the primary tasks, the solution of which would strengthen the interaction of all state power structures in the process of lawmaking. Overcoming the negative experience of the execution of the legislative function by the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation will contribute to clarifying the list of powers of the parliament in the course of improving the quality of adoption of legal acts and adjusting existing documents.

What is meant by parliamentary control?

Control powers of the Senate and the State Duma can be designated as the right of the population to monitor the work of state bodies to which it delegated power. In a democratic system of building a society, this principle is fundamental, and therefore, without any control, there should not be any state education. Consequently, the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation as a representative body, elected by the people, has a number of control powers, but has some limitations. Examples of this function are:

• Hearing reports on the implementation of the budget;
• Deputy information request to any state structures requiring immediate response;
• Coordination of candidatures for the posts of diplomatic missions and representatives of the Russian Federation in foreign states.

Control of the Federal Assembly over the activities of the President

Special attention should be paid to the possibility of dismissing the President from office by the Federation Council on condition of accusation put forward by the State Duma, in treason against the state, and committing a grave crime by the head of the country. In this case, the decision of the chambers shall be deemed to be taken by preferential voting (at least two-thirds of the total number of participants of each collegial body). The procedure for removal should be implemented in a three-month period from the moment the State Duma charges the President.

The scope of the functions of Parliament

It is interesting that the institution of control of the Federal Assembly in the Constitution has not found its direct consolidation. At the same time, numerous norms confirm the legitimacy of the powers given in the example. Moreover, over the past few years, the control functions of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation have undergone significant changes, the purpose of which is to covertly expand the power potential of the parliament. This is evidenced by separate normative legal acts that directly establish the need for parliamentary control over the activities of federal bodies within limits in accordance with the powers determined on a constitutional basis. For example, the control functions of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation extend to the bodies of external intelligence, the system of state protection. The tendency to consolidate and increase the scope of parliamentary powers is obvious.

It should be noted that the desire to allocate additional opportunities for the State Duma and the Senate, creating a legal background for their control over the activities of government structures, dates back to Soviet times. Even then in the RSFSR, the parliament was authorized to monitor both the activities of central departments, and the work of individual representatives of executive branch organs, to petition for imposition of penalties on officials and so on. And today the implementation of the main functions by the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (representative, legislative and control) contributes to the realization of global state and political tasks.