Parliamentary investigations strengthen Russian statehood. Thanks to this function, they intensify control activities and establish an objective order for all areas of the power structure. The representative body is obliged to represent popular interests, work openly, and closely contact the population. Parliamentary investigations introduce a significant factor, in practice showing that there is a supervisory authority over the executive branch. The parliament is engaged not only in lawmaking, but also oversees the implementation of regulations.
The purpose of the investigative procedure
The activities of the Government are related to various public relations. As in any vital area, the parliament also has negative consequences, confirmed by facts and circumstances that threaten the public and statehood. They serve as the reasons that provoke parliamentary investigations. The process is governed by federal law, in particular Federal Law No. 196, published on December 29, 2005.
It indicates what rights and obligations process participants have. Parliamentary investigations are appointed to achieve the goals of:
- Protect civil rights and freedoms - the guarantor of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
- To ensure control by the bicameral system of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation over the activities of the Government and bodies not belonging to the authorities in order to eliminate the negative elements that served as the basis for the investigative measures.
- To identify signs, conditions that contributed to the formation of unseemly factors, inform the population about this, and help to eliminate the situation.
How is a federal parliamentary investigation carried out? The procedure is based on the principles of:
- absolute compliance with legal acts;
- veneration of civic honor and human dignity;
- legislative equality;
- community, publicity.
It should be noted that this legislative process is not a substitute:
- inquiry;
- preliminary investigation;
- legal proceedings.
Subjects of proceedings
A federal level parliamentary investigation identifies factors by definition:
- gross or massive violations of constitutional civil rights and freedoms;
- circumstances related to man-made emergencies;
- grounds for the negative consequences of natural disasters.
The process cannot affect:
- issues related to the activities of the President of the Russian Federation;
- administration of justice;
- preliminary investigation of criminal inquiry procedures.
The Parliamentary Investigation Act indicates that its mechanism does not identify perpetrators of specific crimes.
Absolute recognition
The parliament does not have the authority to carry out certain investigative activities, which are carried out by competent structures. A parliamentary investigation of the Federal Assembly cannot be a priori carried out with the collection of evidence and evidence, which are determined:
- accusations, conclusions, acts indicating the elements of crime;
- allegations of criminal acts under criminal articles, private charges, to find out their location and time;
- elements on claims indicating details that make it possible to determine, procedurally, identify the causes of litigation;
- protocols, prosecutorial decisions on administrative offenses by which a decision was made.
The parliamentary commission must recognize any court order that has entered into legal force without additional checks and doubts. The Federal Law on the Parliamentary Investigation has set a deadline for conducting such a procedure equal to one year. They must complete their actions before the powers to convene it end in the State Duma.
Who is the initiator?
Parliamentary oversight and parliamentary inquiry are instituted if justified. For this, circumstances that became known to the deputies of the State Duma and members of the Government can serve. Parliamentarians are given the right to initiate proceedings. If their group corresponds to the number of participants, there must be at least 1/5 of the total number of deputies; they turn to the Federal Assembly to initiate the procedure. The statement sets out reasonable grounds for the need for such actions.
Sales order
In the parliamentary investigation of the Federal Assembly, Russian lawmakers established the procedure by which decisions are made to recognize the appeal from members of the Government.
The process occurs in stages:
- They gather the Federation Council, at the meeting raise the question of creating a commission, send the proposal for approval to the State Duma, which should respond to the appeal within 15 days. One chamber accepts the petition, the other considers the grounds for initiating proceedings. In order for it to be implemented, both structures must support the initiative.
- We have to solve the problem with the timing. The Commission is appointed and expresses in writing support for the 2 chambers between their working sessions or during the time allocated to work with voters. They are given 7 days after the next session begins or when officials finish their work with the electoral contingent in order to support the initiative for a parliamentary investigation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
Members of the Government draw up their decision on the start of proceedings in the deputy corps on behalf of both chambers in a resolution, provided that a majority of the votes vote for it.
As soon as this decision becomes valid or comes into force, they begin to equip the commission with deputies. A prerequisite for the investigation is the absolute consistency of the chambers. If the State Duma or the Federation Council is against it, the procedure cannot be formalized at the legal level. After the parliamentary investigation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation ends, the commission is dissolved.
Formation Rules
No initiatives are accepted, initiated or put forward to carry out the procedure if the term of office of the President and the Government comes to an end, during the election or election campaign.
Federal Law on Parliamentary Investigation No. 196 as amended by Federal Law No. 277 says that a deputy cannot participate as a member of a commission if he:
- participant in the investigated events;
- devoid of immunity;
- considers the issue of his disqualification;
- is in a relationship with the participant in the incident.
The employee of the commission ceases to act if he is deprived of authority in the Government. He can also independently withdraw from the composition, or one of the chambers will decide on his early release. To do this, draw up an appropriate resolution, and such a person is replaced by another deputy.
Co-Chair Functions
The co-chairs have equal rights with other members of the commission for the implementation of:
- Organization of work, convening members and conducting meetings.
- Speeches at meetings of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, messaging.
- Distribution of duties.
- Providing informative protection of data under the law belonging to limited access.
- Signing protocols.
- Solutions to all current issues.
The secretary is elected during the first meeting.
Apparatus formation
During the period of work, the secretary performs duties and is responsible for the procedure:
- organizational support;
- guidance in the operation of the apparatus;
- maintaining documents on minutes and transcripts during meetings;
- securing office work.
The commission is composed of deputies holding office in parliament. The distribution of duties, the determination of the rules of the completed apparatus is engaged in independently. The officials themselves decide in what format to act, how to collect facts and investigate circumstances. Their main principle in the proceedings is compliance with legislative provisions. When developing the regulations, deputies determine in what order:
- hold meetings;
- draw up documents, keep records;
- prepare final reports;
- to perform duties;
- solve organizational issues.
The volume of work, all actions are meticulously developed by the apparatus created from the staff of both chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. Employees hone every step before moving on to key events.
How does the commission work?
When a group is formed to conduct an investigation on controversial parliamentary situations, its actions will be competent if 2/3 of the deputies enrolled in the commission are present at the meeting. Meetings are held in an open way.
Members are given the right to decide who is allowed to attend these meetings and whether the presence of journalists is necessary. When considering issues affecting state secrets, the meeting becomes a closed event. Participation in the work of the Commissioner for Human Rights is not ruled out. Certain facts are studied by visiting nature with the formation of special groups.
Plan approval
The members of the commission are developing the main and intermediate amount of work. The action plan is planned and pre-approved by definition:
- main areas of proceedings;
- priority issues;
- restrictions on the timing of the main stages, including data collection, systematization and evaluation of information received;
- the choice of invited persons to testify, the circumstances under investigation;
- list of assigned responsibilities.
Decision making is carried out:
- vote counting in open voting;
- Half of the members present must vote.
The final report will be adopted if 2/3 of the total apparatus vote.
The powers of the members of the investigation
For productive activities, parliament is allowed at the legislative level to carry out a number of activities.
Members of parliament have the right:
- make requests for documentation on the case to various bodies and departments;
- to receive explanations on the investigated facts from invited persons;
- conduct a survey of officials with fixing answers in the minutes;
- Offer written information about known information for investigation.
Each received answer to the questions posed is considered, studied, investigated. The commission does not have the right to interrogate suspected or accused citizens in criminal cases.
Regulations on working groups
If necessary, the commission forms groups that will fulfill its instructions.
These workers perform:
- departure to the places of investigated events according to the established regulations;
- inquiries and receive written responses from departments of various statuses and bodies;
- a survey of witnesses in the field, with the recording of information in the minutes.
There is a procedure for taking explanations from officials, the survey takes place in the presence of 3 members of the commission. The result is drawn up in a report, it is submitted for consideration with the application of documentary copies.
Rights and obligations
Each member of parliament appointed to the commission to carry out the investigation is endowed with specific duties and rights. First of all, they themselves must not violate the law during actions:
- personal participation in meetings;
- fulfillment of instructions;
- compliance with the necessary restrictions.
The obligations of participants in parliamentary proceedings smoothly pass into the rights of:
- discuss issues related to events;
- to interview individuals in accordance with the regulations.
Citizens who were involved in the investigation are required not to miss meetings, if called, to provide the necessary information. Administrative and criminal liability is imposed on persons who refuse to provide the working group with information:
- evade meetings;
- do not give access to documents and materials;
- transmit false data.
The person involved in the parliamentary proceedings is vested with the rights:
- refuse certificates relating to close relatives and themselves;
- hire a lawyer;
- record the necessary information;
- file motions;
- express a desire to change records in the protocol;
- ask for a witness call.
When the final report is drawn up and approved by the representatives of the chambers, the document is sent to the head of state, the investigation is considered completed. The costs of such events will be written off from the state budget.