This article will discuss the theme of the principles of local self-government (LSG) as the main feature of a democratic state. The rights of citizens to regulate territorial organization are enshrined, first of all, in the Constitution, as well as in the European Charter. The basic principles are indicated in Law No. 131-FZ, which regulates the subject of the organization of self-government of municipalities. These regulatory documents are the legal basis of local government.
Concept designation
What is Russian local government? This is a certain activity of citizens of settlements or cities of the Russian Federation in solving problems of local importance, which is implemented under their responsibility. These rights are constitutionally established. Local self-government is carried out directly by citizens or through local governments, in accordance with historical, cultural and other local traditions and norms.
Issues that are resolved through local government
What issues are resolved on the scale of territorial administration? These include the problems of the vital activity of the settlement, or, as it can still be described, the municipality. Simply put, this is the solution to issues that improve or contribute to improving the standard of living of the population, eliminate its problems.
What could be the reason for citizens to apply to local authorities? This may be, for example: shutdown of hot or cold water supply; there is no playground in the yard; on the wall of a residential apartment building there was a huge crack; the street is full of garbage; open hatches before the entrance - all these and many other issues are resolved by local government. The list of such issues is indicated in the Charter of the municipality, which is the main legal act of local self-government.
What is a municipality?
The Russian Federation, based on the name, is a federal state. The Russian Federation includes many entities - territories, republics, autonomous regions, there are also three federal cities that are separate entities - in addition to Moscow and St. Petersburg, since 2014 Sevastopol has also been included in their composition. In total, 85 entities operate in Russia in 2018.
The vertical control according to the dogma of the Constitution is carried out in three stages - federal, subject (state) and local (municipal). If state power is exercised at the level of a federation or a subject, then at the municipalities a separate branch is local government. This is their main difference.
Municipal formation can be called a territorial unit, in which there is some kind of autonomy, where residents independently decide their questions or contact the local administrative authorities. The integral attributes of municipalities are elected bodies, the budget of the municipality and municipal property.
Types of municipalities in Russia
As mentioned above, the vertical management is divided into federal, in the competence of an individual entity and local. Law 131-FZ "On the General Principles of Local Self-Government ..." adopted on October 6, 2003, at the municipal level there are several types of entities (MO). There are five of them:
- Rural settlements include one or more grouped villages, villages and other small territorial units. These settlements are usually part of municipal areas. However, they implement all the basic forms of local self-government - directly by residents or indirectly, through elected bodies. During the Soviet Union, village councils were equivalent to such local authorities.
- Urban settlements - this type of formation includes a small-sized city or intermediate units between a village and a city (urban settlement). Settlements of cities that are not urban districts are part of the districts of the municipality.
- The areas of the municipality (municipal areas) include several settlements - urban and rural, plus the territory between them, that is, the spaces that are not included in the composition of any settlement. The municipal district unites several settlements to solve issues of a general, inter-settlement direction. Discussions are held by the residents themselves or through the activities of local governments - by the administration, for example. They can carry out some powers at the state level, which are vested through federal laws or legislative acts of the subject. As of January 1, 2016, in Russia there are 1788 municipal districts.
- Urban districts - unite several territories that are not municipalities. They can, like municipal districts, be vested with separate powers at the state level on the basis of relevant regulations. What urban districts are there in Russia? For example, in the constituent entity of the Republic of Karelia there are two urban districts - Kostomuksha and Petrozavodsk. The structure of the Kostomuksha city district includes 7 settlements - five villages, a village and the administrative center - the city of Kostomuksha.
- The territory inside a federal city is a certain territory of a large city - a metropolis, within which local issues are resolved through elected bodies or through residents.
Certain amendments were introduced by federal law No. 136-FZ in 2014, or rather, new types of municipalities were established:
- Intracity district - small administrative-territorial units that are formed when separate districts are formed within urban districts, which are separate municipalities.
- An urban district with the so-called intracity division is respectively a district in which intracity regions are formed. Such cities include, for example, Chelyabinsk - in the city there are seven intra-urban areas - Leninsky, Metallurgical, Soviet and others. Also, such city districts include Nizhny Tagil and Yekaterinburg.
Provisions of LSG, enshrined in the Constitution
The principles of local government are determined constitutionally, as well as by the law of the Federation No. 131-FZ. In the Basic Law of the Russian State - the Constitution - separate chapter No. 8 is allocated for the organization of local self-government. This means that the rights and principles of local self-government in the Russian Federation are recognized as generally binding and normative.
Article 12 of the Constitution stipulates that power is guaranteed and recognized at the municipal level in Russia. Also, municipalities were given the initiative to resolve some issues within their competence. Authorities at the municipal level are not included in the general vertical of state power.
Let us consider in more detail Chapter 8, which includes 4 articles on the rules for organizing Russian municipalities - from 130 to 133. So, article 130 states that local government decides how to use, own and dispose of municipal property. Citizens of municipalities can resolve these issues through referenda, elections and other forms of voting, by contacting elected and other bodies.
Article 131 of the Constitution takes into account that management at the local level is implemented taking into account the historical structure and traditions. The population decides what the structure of the administrative institutions of their municipality will be. In addition, the change of boundaries of municipal settlements should be carried out taking into account the opinions of residents of these territories.
Based on the information specified in Article 132, the LSG administrative authorities are authorized to formulate and execute the municipal budget, establish tax payments, maintain public order and solve other problems. Administrative bodies may exercise some state powers, which, however, are exercised under state control.
And finally, article 133 regulates the right of local self-government to judicial protection arising from restrictions on the rights of municipalities established constitutionally and through federal laws.
Regulation on the organization of local government under federal law No. 131-
The basic law of the federation that regulates the activities of municipal authorities is 131-FZ. This normative act is formed in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and defines all the principles for the organization of local self-government in Russia. These are the norms of territorial provisions, organizational and economic aspects. They are fixed by the state, which means they have guarantees of their implementation. The law does not list any specific provisions, but a chapter is highlighted - "The principles of the territorial organization of local self-government." This chapter regulates the issues of changing borders, the abolition of settlements or their creation.
In the general concept, the principles of local self-government include a certain combination of basic characteristics established by law. According to them, the population decides on various issues of the municipality in which they live. For example, it solves issues of local importance, holds referenda, and citizens rallies. By systematizing the regulatory provisions enshrined in the Constitution and federal law, several fundamental rules can be identified. Let's consider them further.
The principle of initiative in solving local issues by citizens
As was said, within the boundaries of municipalities, the population is directly involved in resolving issues. How do residents decide the issues of interest to them, do they vote? The population exercises its rights through referenda, elections and other forms of local self-government, which are direct ways of expressing their will.
Within the limits of its authority, local management is independent. Municipal authorities are not public authorities. Residents of municipalities themselves decide what the structure of their authorities will be, how they will be called and what kind of organizational form they will have. It is also legally established that municipalities are financially and economically independent.
The principle of isolation and / or interaction of LSG bodies with public authorities
Local government bodies interact with bodies of state apparatuses in solving common tasks and functions. Since the municipal authority belongs to a public branch, their administrative bodies cooperate with state bodies, as well as with other municipalities; in civil circulation, they act in their own interests and on their own behalf.
There should not be a vertical hierarchy between municipalities. The officials who exercise their powers in a municipal settlement are not in the public service.
The principle of diversity of forms of local government
What is the reason for this principle? First of all, various forms of local self-government are determined by the federal structure of the state, because there are a lot of subjects in the country. Each administrative-territorial unit has its own cultural, everyday, historically determined features.
As mentioned above, the law establishes that there are several different forms of municipalities and types of settlements - these are both urban districts and rural settlements. In certain territories, municipalities have different population densities, their specifics and colors.
The principle of the guarantee of local law on judicial protection
Residents who live on the territory of municipalities, as well as officials and local authorities can submit to the court, for example, the arbitration court certain claims. This principle implies several aspects. Firstly, judicial protection of residents on the implementation of local self-government (disagreements between citizens and LSG bodies). Secondly, the protection of LSG bodies to exercise their powers (disputes between government bodies at various levels and LSG bodies).
The principle of material and technical and legal support of local self-government
The local authorities are constitutionally fixed that they independently and under their own responsibility manage the property of the municipality, as well as form and approve the local budget. Municipal property is recognized equivalent in relation to other forms of property. Also, this principle guarantees a budget level not lower than the minimum budgetary provision parameter.
The rights of local authorities, in accordance with Article 15 of Law 131-FZ, also include the provision of transportation services to the public, the elimination and prevention of emergencies, the organization for the introduction of electricity, gas supply, etc.
The principle of responsibility of officials to residents
Responsibility is taken not only for decisions made, but also for various actions of officials. Municipal employees and local institutions bear some responsibility to the population, the state, and also to individuals and legal entities. These standards are established by law.
Responsibility occurs when the population loses confidence in relation to the above governing bodies. The basic procedures and conditions of liability are formed in the Charter of the municipality. For example, one of the types of such responsibility is the recall of a selected deputy or official from elected bodies.
Responsibility to the state arises if local authorities or employees violate the norms of the Constitution of Russia, federal laws, charters, laws of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as in the exercise of state powers (in accordance with the extent to which the municipality was provided with financial and material resources for their implementation )
For individual individuals or organizations, the area of responsibility is determined by the laws of the federation, the constituent entity of the Russian Federation and the charters of municipalities.
The principle of respect for rights and freedoms
This principle is used in almost all areas of regulatory regulation. It is not surprising, since this is the main constitutional provision and the main sign of democracy. Local government carries out its activities, primarily in the interests of residents, that is, the population.
Guarantees of observance of rights and freedoms are reflected in the opportunity for citizens to apply to local authorities on their own behalf or collectively. Residents have the right to be informed on the documentation of rights and freedoms, medical care, etc.
The principle of legality of the organization of local self-government
The legality of LSGs is controlled by supervisory authorities. They carry out some kind of monitoring whether the officials and municipal institutions are observing laws - federal and local, whether the rights and freedoms of citizens are limited. The legal basis of local self-government is very broad - from decisions taken at citizens rallies to generally accepted international legal principles.
Also, the principle of legality is expressed in: a wide variety of public control over the activities of local self-government; various reporting of deputies from representative / elected bodies; reports of heads of municipalities, and other officials; citizens' appeals to LSG bodies and the degree of promptness in considering their issues.
LSG publicity principle
Publicity is expressed in the mandatory publication of normative acts of local self-government. What are these documents? At the regional level, many regulatory documents are published - laws, regulations, charters, decrees, and so on. All of them are universally binding.
Appeals of citizens to local authorities should be considered within a month. Bodies after this period provide citizens with an answer on the merits of their request. According to the principle of publicity (as well as the rule of law), society should have access to materials and documents on the observance of their rights and freedoms, as well as be able to get acquainted with the activities of the local authority, for example, in the field of combating corruption.
The principle of research, taking into account customs and traditions in the organization of local self-government
In Russia, there are various principles of the territorial organization of local self-government. This is because our state is a multinational and federal country. The structure includes both national republics and autonomous districts.
Therefore, when choosing a model of self-government, local historical and other features operating within the boundaries of the municipality should be taken into account. For example, the main contingent living in a given area, territorial isolation and other criteria.
The organization of local self-government must take into account the parameters of the population, the general level of social and economic development, the basic interests and needs of the population, as well as cultural customs - for example, symbols, coats of arms and so on.