Each state represents a complex political and social structure that has a certain number of features. One of them is the population. A state exists only if a certain number of people live on its territory who consider the country their home. Of course, other signs of statehood can also be distinguished, but it is the population that is the main one. In this case, between the population or an individual individual and the state in which he lives, there is a certain relationship of a legal nature. This legal institution has been developing for many centuries in a row. Today it has the name "citizenship".
It should be noted that the institute, or its makings, already existed in Ancient Greece and Rome. Of course, from that moment he underwent some changes, but his characteristic features remained unchanged. The citizenship of the Russian Federation has a peculiar form. It is worth noting that this institution of domestic law has a number of principles that affect its direct implementation. Therefore, citizenship should be considered comprehensively, taking into account all its legal aspects.
The concept of citizenship
The concept of citizen and citizenship in the theory of jurisprudence plays a large role, since it shows the relationship of a person and the country in which he lives directly. However, the long history of the formation of this concept has led to the fact that today it characterizes several phenomena at once. Thus, the term is applicable in the following meanings:
- power sovereign right;
- the state of a person of a public law nature;
- institute of constitutional law.
In the first case, citizenship implies the ability of a particular state to regulate the activities of its population, because it is an integral part of the mechanism. On the other hand, the term characterizes the relationship of a particular person with the territory in which he directly resides. Moreover, this relationship has a public law nature, which determines its regulation through the norms enshrined in official acts.
However, in jurisprudence, the dominant place is the value of “citizenship” as a constitutional institution. In this case, the term characterizes a stable legal relationship between the state and the individual. She, in turn, is expressed in the fact of the existence of mutual rights and obligations. Given the constitutional nature of the institute, it is necessary to note its special design. As a rule, the institution of citizenship is fixed in the main law or other acts of this sphere of regulation. This fact also determines the presence of some features of the phenomenon presented in the article, namely:
- citizens of the state recognize a circle of individuals;
- the law establishes methods for obtaining and terminating an institute;
- in some cases, multiple legal relationships with different states are allowed;
- There is a certain procedure applied to resolve issues directly related to citizenship.
Of course, depending on the state, the provisions of the institute can be completely different. The Russian Federation is no exception in this matter. It should also be noted that the concept of citizenship, the principles of citizenship of the Russian Federation, which will be presented later, are mutually complementary concepts.
The concept of Russian citizenship
The Russian Federation is today a powerful legal power. This makes it necessary to have high-quality and functional institutions of a constitutional nature. Citizenship in this case plays a key role. Firstly, the institute allows you to more accurately and correctly regulate the legal relationship between a person and a country, that is, its authorities. Secondly, citizenship makes it possible to establish a unique relationship with a specific individual for the purpose of subsequent control over him. Thus, the institution is a legal relationship between a person and the state. As in the case of the classic view, Russian citizenship is manifested in the presence of mutual obligations and rights. However, the institute is governed by a number of fundamental principles. These today are the principles of Russian citizenship, which will be described later.
Types of Institute
To date, legal relations in the field of legal relations between a country and a person can be combined into certain groups. Subsequently, types of citizenship are distinguished from them. As we know, any classification is based on a specific factor. In our case, the species division will be based on the subject and its legal relationship. Thus, the following types of citizenship can be distinguished:
- A single legal relationship between an individual and the Russian Federation.
- Other legal tie or citizenship, that is, the person has the citizenship of another country.
- Dual (second) citizenship is characterized by the presence of an individual, who is already a citizen of the Russian Federation, of legal attachment to a foreign state.
- The absence of citizenship is a special regime characterized by the fact that a person does not have citizenship of either Russia or another country.
As we can see, the current legislation allows for the presence of a large number of species of the institution presented in the article. Moreover, the features of each of them allow a more detailed study of the entire institute as a whole.
Normative base
Like all existing legal institutions, citizenship of the Russian Federation is regulated by the norms of individual legislative acts. Since Russia gained independence, a whole regulatory system has been developed that regulates the activity of this phenomenon. The following legal acts are included in this structure, namely:
- Constitution of the Russian Federation;
- international instruments ratified in Russia;
- Federal Law “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation”;
- by-laws and regulations.
It is in the provisions of the presented acts that the basic regulatory mechanisms of the entire institute are fixed.
Fundamental ideas
The concept of citizenship, the principles of citizenship of the Russian Federation are closely related terms that characterize the institution described in the article. But they are completely different phenomena. The principles are the fundamental ideas of the institute, that is, the “three pillars” on which it is based and thanks to which it functions. They largely determine state activity in this area. It is worth noting that the principles of Russian citizenship can differ greatly, for example, from key provisions of the institution of legal communications in other countries. In other words, for any state, citizenship is an individually expressed sphere. Thanks to the principles, these features can be clearly identified and analyzed. Today, the citizenship of the Russian Federation exists on the basis of a whole system of principles, which will be discussed later.
Types of Fundamental Ideas
As mentioned earlier, the concept of citizenship, the principles of citizenship of the Russian Federation are interrelated categories. At the same time, the institution that they characterize functions due to the presence of certain principles. Thus, we can distinguish the following fundamental ideas that are highlighted by scientists today, namely:
- regardless of the form of receipt, citizenship of the Russian Federation is equal and uniform;
- if a person lives outside of Russia, this fact does not entail the termination of his legal relationship with the Russian Federation;
- citizenship cannot be taken away;
- a citizen of Russia cannot be extradited or expelled from the territory of the Russian Federation to another state;
- The Russian Federation encourages the fact that stateless persons establish legal ties with Russia;
- dual citizenship is allowed.
As we see, according to the regulatory framework of the institute presented in the article, its principles are governed by the principles of Russian citizenship. Most of them are enshrined in the Federal Law "On Citizenship". Some basic ideas are presented in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In order to more thoroughly understand the process of implementation of the institute, it is necessary to analyze each fundamental idea separately.
Unity and equality of citizenship
This principle is characterized by several factors.
First, citizen and citizenship are interrelated concepts. That is, a person residing in the territory of the Russian Federation has a legal relationship with this state. It should be remembered that the Russian Federation is a federation consisting of entities. In some cases, such are entire republics. According to the principle of unity, subjects of this kind cannot establish their own type of legal connection between a person and a territory. In other words, regardless of the place of residence of the individual and belonging to a particular republic, citizenship will be one - the Russian Federation.
Secondly, the legal connection for all is equal. This means that citizens due to racial, national, ethnic or other differences cannot be infringed on their rights. In addition, this principle contains one more feature. As we know, citizenship can be obtained through filiation (by birth), naturalization (acquisition at will), and options. In this case, people will not in any way differ in their rights, depending on the form of acquiring a legal relationship with the Russian Federation. Thus, a citizen born on the territory of the state will be equal to the one who received citizenship on other grounds.
Preserving legal ties abroad
The essence of citizenship, as previously indicated, is the unbreakable legal connection between a person and a specific country. This fact largely determined the existence of one interesting principle. According to him, Russian citizenship does not change and does not disappear in any way if a person who has it leaves the country for an indefinite period of time or for permanent residence. This principle is new in the legislation of the Russian Federation.
In the USSR there was a special regulatory act, namely: Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 17, 1967. According to him, a person could be deprived of citizenship if he expressed a desire to leave for permanent residence in Israel.
Of course, today the trends are more liberal, so many of the rights of citizens are significantly expanded.
Impossibility of disbarment
The current Federal Law “On Citizenship” enshrines the principle of the impossibility of depriving a person of a legal relationship with his state. But such a phenomenon took place in the legislation of the USSR. It was a unilateral action, which was carried out at the discretion of the authorities, regardless of the desire of a particular individual, and was aimed at depriving him of his legal connection with the Soviet Union.
In modern Russia, such a possibility of the state is not provided. But if a person managed to enter or take citizenship using obviously false documents or the provision of false statements, the relevant authorities can withdraw the decision to provide him with a legal connection with the Russian Federation.
The principle of patronage and protection of citizens
This fundamental provision establishes the legal "custody" of the state over its population. According to this principle, citizens cannot be extradited to foreign powers or expelled from the Russian Federation. The provision applies both directly to the population of the country and to persons who live abroad. This means that the Russian Federation patronizes its citizens through consular or diplomatic missions. From the moment of registration with these bodies, their representatives are obligated to protect the rights and freedoms of their contingent abroad.
Statelessness reduction
Today, the Russian Federation is pursuing an active policy aimed at every possible reduction in the number of persons who do not have citizenship. Indeed, the legal relationship with the state is a whole package of legal freedoms of an economic, social, cultural and other nature that significantly facilitate the process of interaction between a person and the country in whose territory he lives. In addition, a reduction in statelessness will affect the increase in the number of people who are directly related to the Russian Federation.
The principle of dual citizenship
The current legislation of the Russian Federation allows that a person, in addition to Russian, may have a second citizenship. The essence of the principle is that the state allows its citizens to have legal affiliation to another country. However, this fact does not exclude legal ties with the Russian Federation.
The program "Compatriots"
Many modern problems of a global scale have led to the fact that most people with Russian roots want to obtain citizenship of our state. To stimulate this trend, the program "Compatriots" was invented. With its help, many people have been given the opportunity to find a legal connection with Russia. But the right to citizenship is given to those who meet certain conditions, for example, come from the countries of the USSR, previously lived in the Russian Federation, etc.
So, in the article we examined the concept of citizenship, the principles of citizenship of the Russian Federation and other features of this constitutional institution. It is worth noting that to date, the mechanism for the functioning of the legal relationship between a person and the state operates in Russia quite effectively. However, a theoretical study of its individual aspects is necessary for the further modernization of the institution of citizenship as a whole.