The transport sector is considered a connecting element in the economy of any country. It is a large complex covering existing types of production, exchange and distribution. Of course, the relations emerging in this industry cannot remain without regulatory regulation. Today, transport legislation in the Russian Federation is developing in a somewhat specific way. Let us further consider its features.
General information
As you know, the legal relations of participants in civil turnover are regulated by the Civil Code. Chapter 40 of the Code defines and regulates only the most important provisions relating to the carriage of passengers and goods, and the fulfillment of other obligations. The relevant standards should be taken into account in the transport legislation in force in the Russian Federation. It does not matter if they are present in sectoral legal acts or not.
Fundamentals of transport legislation
General norms enshrined in Ch. 40 Civil Code, are reflected in such relatively new regulations as:
- Air Code.
- Charter of railway transport.
- Merchant Shipping Code.
- Code of Inland Water Transport.
Together with the transport legislation in force today in Russia, codified acts issued even during the existence of the USSR are used to regulate legal relations. It is, in particular, about the Charter of automobile transport. It applies only to the extent that does not contradict the provisions of the 40th chapter of the Civil Code and other modern legal acts. It appears that its rules will remain in force until the adoption of the new Charter.
It is also worth mentioning that today the structure of the transport legislation of the Russian Federation includes legal acts issued in development of the provisions that were in force in Soviet times. So, in practice, the Rules for the transportation of passengers and goods are applied with the instructions of the State Arbitration of the USSR on issues related to the transport industry.
Features of the regulatory system
For objective reasons, in the course of formation and improvement, transport legislation gradually evolved into a more or less clear set of legal acts, differentiated depending on the specific field of activity. So, the rules governing the carriage of goods by sea, rail, river, air and other modes of transport are clearly indicated.
The system of transport legislation consists of horizontal and vertical links. The first is based on horizontal connections between system components. The vertical structure is dominated by hierarchical relationships arising in the framework of subordination relations.
Classification of Standards
Depending on their content, acts relating to the horizontal and vertical structures of transport legislation are divided into simple and codification-complex. The latter include provisions, the subject of regulation of which are heterogeneous public relations. Their regulation is carried out using several legal methods. Examples of acts of this type include transport codes and charters.
Acts that do not contradict the provisions of the codification norms are recognized as simple. They are intended to supplement, clarify, specify. Such acts, for example, include the Rules for the transport of passengers and goods, valid for each type of transport. They will clarify the norms enshrined in the charters and codes.
Horizontal link system
This part of the transport legislation consists of acts that are diverse in form and content. They regulate issues related to the use of vehicles of all kinds (rail, road, sea, etc.).
The horizontal link of transport legislation is formed by federal regulations, presidential decrees, and government decrees. Certain types of relations are regulated by special legal documents. These include railway, inland water and other laws.
The key regulatory act, however, is the Civil Code. Chapter 40 of the Code is dedicated to the transport of passengers and goods. Articles 784-800 set out the provisions common to all vehicles. The legislation of the Russian Federation regulates issues related to the conclusion of contracts for the provision of transport services, liability for damage, loss, damage, shortage of goods, claims, lawsuits, etc.
Types of general regulatory acts
The horizontal link of the legislation on transport safety is stated in all general norms. Among them:
- Decree of the Armed Forces of the RSFSR of 1990. It enshrines urgent measures to improve the provision of public transport.
- Presidential Decree of 1992. It establishes the basis for compulsory passenger insurance.
- Presidential Decree of 1996. It enshrines the provisions regarding the improvement of the public administration system of the transport complex.
- Government Decree of 1992. It establishes provisions related to the provision of state support for the functioning of the transport industry.
- Decree No. 184 of 1993. It enshrines measures aimed at ensuring the safety of goods and strengthening the fight against theft.
- Decree No. 876 of 1993. It provides measures to ensure the stable operation of maritime, aviation, road and river transport. Today this normative act is valid in the new edition of 1996.
- Government Decree of 1998. According to this document, the functions of oversight of the safety of hydraulic structures are assigned to the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation.
This is not a complete list of general regulations included in transport legislation. There are a lot of new legal documents in the structure. This is understandable. In modern conditions, the transport industry cannot function on the basis of old rules.
Standards for certain types of vehicles
They stand apart from other legal acts. These norms include acts issued by transport departments and ministries within their competence. Among them, codification and complex provisions occupy a special place. They contain the norms not only of civil law, but also of other legal sectors. An example would be tax legislation. Transport tax, sanctions for violation of obligations by payers and a number of other financial issues are regulated exclusively by the Tax Code. Provisions governing dispute resolution in the field of transport are enshrined in procedural rules.
Industry Legal Acts
Of particular importance are the charters and codes enshrining the special requirements of transport legislation:
- Charter of railway transport from 2003.
- 2001 Code of Inland Water Transport
- Charter of automobile vehicles from 1969
- 1997 Air Code
- Merchant Shipping Code (KTM) of 1999
Specificity of application of standards
As established in Article 2 of the Civil Code, civil law governs contractual and other obligations, and other property relations. Simply put, the Civil Code is a normative act that has a certain degree of general significance for the legal provisions of the codification-complex type.
It should be borne in mind that the Civil Code is an industry codification act, in contrast to the Charter of railway transport, the Merchant Shipping Code and other special legal documents, which are also codification, but have a complex character. They contain not only civil law, but also other provisions relating to other legal sectors.
For the Merchant Shipping Code, the Civil Code will be of general importance in the relevant part. This follows from the provisions of Article 1 of the KTM. At the same time, there is no indication similar to this in other codification legal acts, although in fact they occupy the same position in view of the systemic and logical connection between them and the Civil Code.
Vertical link
As mentioned above, it is based on a hierarchical system of norms.
Federal legislation in the field of transport is a subsystem of civil law. Its key elements are acts regulating legal relations arising from the use of all types of transport. As a rule, they are published by the Federal Assembly, the president and the government.
Separate systemic links of the transport legislation are based on large codification legal acts. They are transport codes and charters. Other acts included in the system serve to regulate more specific issues. They hierarchically depend on larger legal documents, despite the fact that they are accepted and approved by the same authority. This is especially evident when analyzing the construction of a system of acts regulating legal relations in air, rail and sea transport.
Legal regulation of relations in railway transport
The Charter (ALT) is recognized as a key act in this area. It regulates relations relating to the carriage of passengers and cargo, the responsibility of customers and carriers for violation of applicable rules. However, it should be borne in mind that far from all issues are regulated in the UVT, therefore, in addition to it, the following were published:
- Government Decree of 1992. It regulates issues related to ensuring the discipline of railway workers.
- Decree No. 716 of 1993. It establishes issues related to the smooth functioning of railway transport.
- Government Decree of 1992. It provides for measures to improve safety in railway transport.
- Government Decree of 1998. This act establishes the procedure for implementing measures aimed at improving the structure of railway transport.
- Presidential Decree of 1996 establishing the procedure for the further development of railway transport.
- Government Decree of 1998 No. 448. He approved the concept of structural reform of the federal railway transport system.
- Government Decree of 1998 No. 507. It sets forth key areas for improving state policy in railway transport.
- Government Decree of 1998 No. 1029. This regulatory document approved the rules for calculating payment rates for the use of wagons, containers, tariffs for calculating fees.
- Government Decree of 1999 No. 224. It enshrines measures to improve the regulation of tariffs for energy consumed by railway transport.
Currently, a lot of regulatory documents are in force in this industry. They regulate and develop relations that are not regulated by the ULC.
Water transport
Relations emerging in this area are also regulated by various legal acts. The Code of Water Inland Transport is recognized as the key one. It regulates the whole range of relations with consumers of services. In addition to the Code, issues relating to the transport of goods by river are also enshrined in other legal acts. In particular, we are talking about government decrees of 1994 No. 780 and of 1996 No. 464.
A special role in the system belongs to the Rules for the carriage of goods, baggage and passengers. They regulated issues related to safety in inland water transport.
Government Decree of 2003 No. 72 approved the Rules for the provision of services for the transportation of passengers, cargo and baggage for domestic (personal) needs in water transport.
Conclusion
The system of modern transport legislation is a set of regulations issued by bodies authorized to implement the oversight functions in the provision of services for the transport of baggage, goods and passengers by all types of vehicles. The more perfect the structure of this system, the clearer the content of the provisions and the easier their application in practice. This, in turn, improves the functioning of the entire transport industry in the country.
Transport legislation is considered the most stable set of regulations. Its main provisions governing legal relations relating to the conclusion of contracts, the provision of transport, liability for their operation, damage, loss, damage to goods, claims and claims are applied without significant changes for quite a long time.