The Constitution does not contain a characteristic of the Federal Assembly as a controlling body, which looks rather unusual. Extensive and complete regulation of the powers of the Council of the Federation is one of the main directions for improving the main law, which is aimed at streamlining relations and strengthening the functions of the authorities as a counterweight to the system of separation of powers.
Nevertheless, the absence of the formal status of the supervisory authority in the upper house does not mean that it has completely no authority.
Federation Council: credentials
The Council of Federations has the following types.
This body exercises budget and financial control. He has the right to control the activities of the executive branch, the sphere of public administration. The powers of the Federation Council include control over personnel appointments, decisions in the field of security and defense, and in foreign policy.
This government body is able to influence the financial and budgetary policies of the country by adopting federal laws on the budget, fees and taxes, currency, financial, customs, credit regulations. The Federation Council indirectly exercises its powers through the Accounts Chamber, which includes representatives of both the State Duma and the Federation Council.
This body exercises control over the execution of expenditure and revenue items of the state budget. The Accounts Chamber checks and reports to the Parliament on the progress of budget execution every quarter. It produces expert and analytical, control and audit, information and other activities. This body provides a unified common system of control over how the federal budget is implemented, conducts thematic inspections and comprehensive audits of individual budget items and sections, investigates and analyzes violations of the budget process, prepares and makes proposals to the parliament for their elimination.
The powers of the Federation Council as part of the Accounts Chamber include control over federal finances. This type of control is an important aspect of the work of the chamber as a representative body.
Control in the field of public administration is manifested in the removal from office of the President, in the appointment of the Prosecutor General, judges of the highest court, deputy chairman, and auditors of the Accounts Chamber. The Federation Council is coordinated by the candidatures of diplomats and state representatives in international organizations and foreign states. The Council makes recommendations to the President on the recall and appointment of diplomatic representatives.
The powers of the Federation Council in the field of security and defense are manifested in the consideration of federal laws that relate to the protection and status of the state border of Russia, peace and war. The Upper House may decide on the possible use of the army outside the state, on involving military units in the performance of tasks that are not related to their main purpose. She approves the decree of the Head of State on the introduction of martial law and a state of emergency in the country. The powers of the Council of the Federation include consideration of defense spending, approval of the federal laws regarding the defense complex adopted by the lower house.
Despite the fact that in the field of foreign policy, powers belong to the President, but the Federation Council has significant powers in this area.
Without fail, the upper house reviews federal laws adopted by the lower house of parliament , which address the issues of ratification and denunciation of Russian international treaties.