The state exists for man. It is designed to protect and ensure its rights, interests and freedoms. A broad base of legal acts contributes to the balance between power and freedom. This is a complex and important industry, the basis for which are sources of constitutional law of the Russian Federation. About them will be described in detail in our material.
Constitutional law: general description
The constitutional legal industry is considered a priority in the entire legal system of Russia. It enshrines the norms of the relationship between man and the state, the constitutional features of the country and the forms of organization of state power. The core of the legal branch under consideration is the Constitution - the main law of the country. This normative act is a source of constitutional law of Russia. The main state law has the greatest legal force and is not only a political, but also a moral and ideological doctrine.
As a political tool, the Constitution is a source of constitutional law of the Russian Federation. It reflects a certain correlation of state power in society at the time of its formation and adoption. As an ideological tool, the basic law of the country is a certain worldview that declares the most important values and rules.
The implementation of constitutional rules occurs through public relations. Rights and obligations arise between citizens of the state, a system of power, judicial system, electoral structure, etc. is being formed. The considered branch of law is specified not only in the Constitution, but also in other laws formed on its basis.
The subjects of constitutional law are citizens and legal entities, the state itself, the subjects of the Federation, social and ethnic communities and various social groups. The legal industry under consideration is also a scientific discipline. It is regulated by imperative (compulsory) and dispositive (permissible) methods.
The concept of legal sources
The totality of constitutional norms is complex and diverse. This is due to a large number of different legal sources. A legal source should be understood as an external form of existence of general behavioral rules that governs relations of a constitutional nature.
The constitutional branch of law can only be considered as an ordered system of norms and principles aimed at protecting human rights, interests and freedoms. People establish a system of state power, the device of which is also enshrined in the basic law of the country. It follows that the sources of constitutional law are various laws and corresponding by-laws, which differ in name, form, origin and legal force. Each normative act contains certain legal requirements. Recognition of a normative act as a source entails important legal consequences.
The system of documents underlying constitutional law has the following features:
- plurality of forms of expression;
- priority nature of the law;
- a change in the ratio of domestic and international law;
- hierarchical structure and subordination;
- stability in relation to other legal sources.
The main array of sources of constitutional law of the Russian Federation are directly laws. These are normative acts formed in a special order by legislative bodies or in the process of a referendum. Laws express the will of the people and have the highest legal force. Their main goal is to regulate the most important social relations.
Lawyers classify laws by:
- legal importance (laws and regulations);
- host bodies (legislative, executive);
- the form of a legal act (decree, resolution, order, etc.);
- the principle and direction of action (federal, republican, regional, departmental, etc.).
So, the most important sources of constitutional law are the laws and regulations of the Russian Federation. This includes the Constitution, federal constitutional and federal laws, as well as various decrees, decrees, and other documents. Next, we will talk about the main source of constitutional law of the Russian Federation. The Constitution is the main law of the country.
Constitution as a legal source
It represents the main state law, which establishes the foundations of the social, economic and state system, regulates the rights and freedoms of citizens. The main regulatory act of the country establishes a system of state power and secures the foundations of local self-government. The Russian Constitution as the main source of constitutional law of Russia is a specific law with some peculiarities.
The first feature of the basic law of the country is associated with the subject, forming and adopting the Constitution. It is the people. The fundamental law of the country embodies the will of the whole nation. Such a principle was enshrined by the French enlightener Rousseau: the Constitution is a “popular agreement” that is signed by the people and requires the consent of all citizens. The same principle works in Russia. The preamble to the law states that a multinational people accepts the Constitution.
The second feature of the basic law of the country as a source of constitutional law of Russia is the constituent nature of all institutions. The constituent power is the people, forming a democratic society - the only source of power and the bearer of sovereignty.
The third feature of the Constitution is the comprehensive nature of its regulation. The main law of the country, which is the main source of constitutional law of the Russian Federation, has a certain monopoly on an all-encompassing legal nature. No other normative act immediately affects all spheres of public life.
Next, four most important features of the Constitution should be highlighted at once:
- The specific procedure for adoption as well as amendments and revisions.
- The role of a certain “core” of the entire legal system of the state and law - constitutional provisions play a priority role for all legislation.
- The supremacy of the constitution with all its principles, norms, concepts, connections and social structures. The basic law of the country acts as if dominant social evolution.
- The greatest legal force, direct action and application on Russian territory. Not a single normative act on the territory of Russia should contradict the provisions of the Constitution.
Thus, the basic law of the country is a source of constitutional law of the Russian Federation. It is strikingly different from all other legal acts. The content of the domestic Constitution will be described below.
The content of the fundamental law
Considering the sources of constitutional law, it is impossible not to mention the content of the most important law of the country. Today's Constitution consists of two sections and a preamble. In the first section - 9 chapters of 137 articles, in the second section are the final and transitional provisions.
The preamble is an introduction. It says what constitutes the Constitution as the main source of constitutional law. Is the preamble a legal norm? Lawyers respond negatively. This is the original installation, which nevertheless does not fix any rules.
The first chapter of the main state law speaks about the foundations of the constitutional system. The basic information is concentrated in article 1: Russia is a democratic, federal, and social state, which is a federation with a republican form of government. The country operates national sovereignty and consolidated the separation of powers.
The second chapter outlines the basic rights, interests and freedoms of man and citizen. They are divided into economic, political, social and cultural.
The third chapter establishes the foundations of the territorial state structure. Russia, according to the law, is a federation. The country has a double system of budget and taxation. This indicates a certain degree of independence of the Russian regions.
The fourth chapter tells about the president, the head of state. The fifth chapter contains information about the legislative body, which is called the bicameral Federal Assembly. It is divided into two houses: the lower - the State Duma and the upper - the Federation Council.
The sixth chapter tells about the executive body of the Russian Federation, the government, and the seventh secures the rules on the judiciary and the prosecutor's office. The eighth part of the Constitution contains a number of provisions on local self-government, and the ninth chapter refers to the possibility of changing the provisions of the country's main law, which is the source of Russian constitutional law.
International legal acts
Article 15 of the Russian Constitution says that domestic law should not contradict international principles and norms. This indicates the supremacy of interstate law in relation to national lawmaking.
Sources of constitutional law as an industry are all international treaties and agreements ratified by our country. Generally recognized international norms and principles are part of the domestic legal system. Thus, they represent complete sources.
The norms of international law should be recognized by a sufficiently large number of states for their full legitimization. The principles are universal in nature, since they form the basis of the world law and order. They cover traditional and new areas of interstate relations, determining the nature and direction of international legal regulation.
Based on the foregoing, it is necessary to draw the following conclusions:
- The recognition, that is, ratification, of international treaties by Russia represents the adoption by law of a global norm as a federal source of constitutional law. This source is an inseparable element of the domestic legal system.
- Ratification, implementation, termination and suspension of international acts are legal facts. They are fixed in the form of legal acts.
Further it is necessary to consider regulatory acts of the federal level.
Federal laws that are sources of constitutional law
The base of domestic sources of constitutional law consists of three groups. The first includes the most important regulatory acts of the country: the Constitution, federal constitutional and federal laws. The second group consists of by-laws - presidential decrees and orders, as well as government decrees. Finally, the third group consists of decisions and clarifications of the courts. Above all three groups stand out international acts - treaties and agreements.
Thus, the sources of constitutional law are normative legal acts of a federal nature. Regional and municipal laws are not included in the system.
Having dealt with the Constitution, it is worth analyzing a group of federal acts. They should not be confused with federal constitutional laws (FKZ) - 22 acts, on the basis of which nine chapters of the Constitution were formed. FKZ have the following specific features:
- training in a particularly complex manner;
- the impossibility of rejection by the Russian president;
- greater legal force than simple law;
- development and addition of the Russian Constitution;
- adoption on issues and issues expressly provided for by the Constitution.
The sources of constitutional law of the Russian Federation are also federal laws - but only those that establish relations regarding state and municipal government, as well as provide mechanisms for the realization of the rights, interests and freedoms of people.
Among federal laws, codes and the basis of legislation stand out. These are codified acts in one or another legal field (criminal, civil, administrative and other law).
Regulations
The second group of sources consists of by-laws - government decrees and presidential decrees. Such documents should not contradict the domestic Constitution and federal legislation. This determines their legality - such acts can be easily repealed by ordinary law.
Presidential decrees can be normative or non-normative. The first types of acts are issued on the basis of the constitutional powers of the Russian president or to close gaps in the Russian legal system. Non-normative acts are formed in order to directly apply some law by the head of state. For example, the Federal Assembly has prepared an extensive regulatory act, and the president adopts a decree to legalize and enforce this act.
The President issues decrees within his competence. Sometimes he issues temporary acts that will work until the parliament passes the relevant federal law.
Orders and decisions of the executive authority, that is, the government, constitute another group of constitutional sources. However, only those acts that contain generally binding norms in the legal field under consideration relate to the source database. All government regulations must comply with constitutional, federal, and presidential decrees. All government acts are officially published.
Court decisions
Is the decision of the Constitutional Court a legal source? The issue for the domestic legal structure is very controversial. On the one hand, the Romano-German legal system operates in Russia. It involves considering as sources only laws and by-laws. Judicial decisions are legal sources only in the Anglo-Saxon system, where the principle of consideration of judicial precedents applies.
In Russia, court orders are not sources of law. However, the Constitutional Court often makes amendments to laws or interprets them. Its purpose is to "treat" legal gaps. The court issues special rulings and decisions that optimize the Russian legal system. So, are the decisions of the Constitutional Court sources of law? Opinions differ on this score.
Acts of justice can influence the system of norms in two ways. The first option is the recognition of a particular norm as illegal or unconstitutional. Courts act directly or indirectly, repealing specific rules and principles. The second option is the obligatory execution of court decisions by lower authorities.
According to popular belief, Russian justice acts are not judicial precedents. Existing courts implement rulemaking by recognizing existing norms as inconsistent with those rules that have greater legal force.
Acts of justice are divided into two types. The first type is the decision of the courts of general competence, including arbitration and military. They have the right to be recognized as illegal by-laws. The second type is acts of justice recognized as sources of constitutional law. These are the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the statutory regional authorities.
So, the decisions of the Constitutional Court are sources of law. The same applies to decisions of the statutory courts.
Sources of constitutional law of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation
The last group of sources of the legal industry under consideration includes regulatory acts of the Russian regions and municipal acts. These are the constitutions and charters of the regions, as well as various laws of the subjects.
The system of regional sources of law includes by-laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. These are decrees of heads of local administration or government, mayors, governors, presidents of republics, etc. This also includes government orders and instructions, as well as orders and decisions of local regional bodies. , .
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