Law, State and Law

Rights and duties of the President of the Russian Federation under the Constitution

What are the duties of the President of the Russian Federation? In this article we will cover this topic in more detail. In brackets there will be edicts of the article from the Constitution of the Russian Federation, if there is no explanation for other normative legal acts.

Institute of Presidency

Many people think that the post of president appeared in our country after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In fact, this is not the case: the first time this post was introduced in 1990 in the USSR.

This happened as a result of the new law "On Democratization" of 1988. M.S. Gorbachev held democratic reforms, after which the highest body in the country was the Congress of People's Deputies. The President of the USSR, the head of the executive branch, was elected at this Congress and legally obeyed him. Those. In the USSR, at the end of their existence, created a kind of democratic parliamentary republic that remotely resembled the modern FRG system - with the Chancellor and Italy - with the Prime Minister. But the significant differences were that the Soviet parliament consisted of 2,250 deputies, which met approximately once a year, and also that there was one party - the CPSU.

Of course, at the end of the existence of the USSR, the last feature was eliminated: a multi-party system and glasnost were introduced, but the Union was still far from the Western democracies. Nevertheless, the modern Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) was organized back in the USSR (1989) and was known as the LDPO. Today it is not accepted to remember, as it is believed that we destroyed the old totalitarian system and created a new, democratic one. But for the sake of justice, we should note that in the USSR - at the dawn of its existence - political and economic reforms are still emerging.

The political crisis in Russia: the adoption of the Constitution and the declaration of the rights and duties of the president of the country

The history of our state could turn so that the post of president could not be. The duties of the President of the Russian Federation were declared only in December 1993, when they adopted a new Constitution, but up to that time in the political leadership of our country there was a split into two camps:

The first wanted to see the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation at the head of the state, to which the president would be subordinate. They directed the vector of political development of the new state along the old Soviet path. It is possible that this vector would have transformed with time into a parliamentary republic, but people wanted radical changes in all spheres of society.
The latter were supporters of the presidential-parliamentary republic. They believed that the president of the country chosen by the people should be given broader powers.

And President BN. Yeltsin, and members of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation, headed by RI. Khasbulatov defended his point of view. As a result, a political crisis broke out in the country, which lasted from the beginning of 1992 to the fall of 1993, and could lead to a civil war in our country.

In autumn 1993, barricades appeared in the capital, and in some places clashes between the two opposing sides turned into street fighting. The Supreme Council of the Russian Federation dismissed the president of the Russian Federation, and the latter dissolved his elected body with his decree. It is worth saying that the legitimacy was still on the side of the Council, since until December 1993 the country lived under the USSR Constitution of 1977, therefore the presidential decree had no legal force.

However, B.N. Yeltsin referred to the referendum held in April 1993, where about 58% of voters supported him. But still 42% of the supporters of the Council - a significant percentage, and further escalation of the conflict could lead to disastrous consequences. There were people with machine guns everywhere, armed clashes took place for the Ostankino TV tower.

On October 4, 1993, the tanks of the Taman Division, formally subordinated to the Defense Minister, who was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation, were introduced into the capital. They fired volleys on the White House, in which supporters of the Supreme Council took refuge. The latter surrendered, and they were accused of attempting a coup d'état. And in December 1993 the new Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted. Finally, the power of the president was legitimized in the 1996 elections.

President status

The President under the Constitution of the Russian Federation is the head of the state (Part 1, Article 80). He does not lead the executive branch, but he has the right to attend government meetings, preside over it, decide on his resignation and, with the consent of the State Duma of the country, appoint his head (Article 83).

Sources of law do not indicate the existence of a fourth type of power - "presidential power". However, this term is used in jurisprudence to emphasize the special status of the head of state in the legal system: the existence of his own powers and various rights and responsibilities when interacting with other types of government, especially the executive.

What is the responsibility of the President of the Russian Federation? More details will be discussed later in the article.

Guarantee of rights and freedoms

The main duties of the President of the Russian Federation are to ensure the rights and freedoms of man and citizen (Part 2, Article 80). It should be clarified that this article points to the concept of "the rights and freedoms of a citizen," and to "human rights and freedoms". Let us analyze this in more detail.

The first ones are stable relations between citizens' relations with the state (state power). Here we mean that the head of our state must ensure the rights resulting from the status of the citizen, for example, political rights (the exercise of the right to elect and be elected, to participate in peaceful political rallies and meetings, to participate in the activities of political parties, trade union committees and etc.).

"Human rights" means those that are enshrined in many international conventions and treaties. They are understood as such rules of conduct that provide for the freedoms and dignity of an individual. The head of state can exercise his duties to protect the Constitutional rights of citizens, for example, by imposing a veto on certain laws and decisions of the State Duma before the final settlement of disputes by a competent court.

"Freedom" should be understood as the absence of any obstacles and restrictions in anything that can be imposed by the state for various reasons and in different volumes. For example, freedom of choice of religion, the right to choose a profession, etc., can be cited.

Issuance of by-laws

The head of state has the right to issue his own by-laws - decrees and orders, which are mandatory for all citizens. If they do not contradict federal legislation.

The decree is a normative legal act of a long-term plan, referring to an indefinite circle of persons.

An order is an individual act relating to a specific person - legal or physical - or to a public authority.

The basic law of the country does not use the concept of "by-laws" as applied to decrees and orders of the head of state. However, they are those according to the current legal classification of sources of law, since they must not contradict either federal laws or the norms of the Constitution.

Normative decrees are beginning to operate throughout the country after 7 days after signing. Other orders - immediately.

Guarantor of the Constitution

The President of the Russian Federation is the guarantor of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and is obliged to observe the preservation of its norms, not to allow revisions of guaranteed rights and freedoms. He is assisted by the Presidential Administration and the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of the Russian Federation and human rights.

Guarantor of independence

We continue to examine the Constitutional duties of the President of the Russian Federation. The first person of the state is also the guarantor of sovereignty. This duty he performs due to the possession of special powers, for example, the right to introduce martial law. Also, the head of state is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed and Naval Forces.

Representation functions

The President represents the state in both foreign and domestic policy. For example, he is authorized to sign international treaties on behalf of the entire state, to defend the interests of Russian companies in the international arena,

As for the internal representation function, it is necessary to clarify the peculiarity of the territorial administrative system. Russia is a federal state, consisting of subjects and cities of Federal significance. Subjects are separate mini-states within the Federation. They have the right to have their own internal constitutions, statutes, establish their own legislative bodies that publish internal regulations, and the national republics have the right to a second state language, etc. The main thing in such a system is that the laws of subjects should not contradict the norms of the Constitution and federal laws. The head of state represents the federal center in relations with the subjects of the country.

Obligations connected with interaction with authorities (Article 83-85)

The President of the Russian Federation fulfills the duties connected with the interaction with the authorities:

Appoints the Prime Minister with the consent of the State Duma.
It takes a decision on the resignation of the Government, suspends the actions of its acts.
Appoints and dismisses the high command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Approves the military doctrine of the state.
Appoints judges and the head of the Central Bank of Russia.
Initiate bills for voting in the State Duma.
Signs and promulgates the signing of federal laws passed by the Parliament of the country.
Assigns referendums.
Handles annual messages to the Federal Assembly.

The term of office of the President of the Russian Federation (Article 81)

Initially, under the 1993 Constitution, the head of state was elected in general democratic elections for 4 years. In 2008 there was a constitutional reform. Now, in 2012, the term of office of the Russian president is six years. And the next presidential election will be held in our country in March 2018.

Requirements for a candidate for the presidency of the Russian Federation

What do you need to become the main state? There is an obligatory legislative minimum, which is prescribed in the Constitution of the country:

Age not younger than 35 years;
Residence on the territory of our country for at least ten years;
Absence of outstanding conviction.