The lower and upper chambers of the parliament together form the federal legislative body of the Russian Federation, called the Federal Assembly. Its activities are regulated by Art. 94 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The upper house of the Russian parliament is called the Federation Council, which you will learn more about later.
General Provisions
The upper house of parliament of Great Britain, Russia, America, as well as a number of other countries is responsible for the legislative framework in the state. The dominant body in the Russian Federation is the Federal Assembly. No regulatory legal document can be adopted without the participation of this federal body. The upper and lower houses of parliament form the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The State Duma is a collection of deputies elected directly by the people. The Federation Council, in turn, is formed thanks to the election of representatives from various subjects of the Russian state. The formation of the top link is due to the need to maintain the interests of the region as a whole.
The upper house of the Russian parliament is a permanent body. The procedure for the change of deputies is determined by applicable law. The State Duma of the Russian Federation holds elections every 4 years.
Federation Council: General Provisions
The activities of this body are regulated by Art. 95 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The Federation Council is the upper house of parliament. This includes two representatives from each state entity. Recently, 2 more people have been added to the number of deputies in connection with the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol. One deputy from the region is elected from the representative body of the subject, and the other from the executive. In the first case, the role of the administration can be played by the legislative body of the subject. Thus, the upper house of parliament is formed spontaneously.
16 years ago, a law was passed, which to this day regulates the activities of the federal body. According to this regulatory document, the upper house of the Russian parliament is a continuously operating legislative body.
Separately, attention should be paid to the deputies of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. A member of the Council is an official who is elected in the manner determined in the region. Moreover, the term of his authority is determined by the term of office directly in the administration of the subject. Thus, when the time period specified by local law passes, the deputy is either re-elected to the post or subject to removal.
Competence of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation
Any upper houses of parliament in each state have their own competence. As for the Federation Council, the statutory terms of reference are as follows:
- Definition and approval of borders within Russia. A striking example of such work is the regulatory legal acts on the accession of new territories, for example, the Republic of Crimea, which wished to voluntarily become part of the state.
- Approval of the Decrees of the head of state on the introduction of state of emergency in the territory of both one region and the whole country.
- The upper house of the parliament of the Russian Federation is authorized to control the military forces of the state, namely, to direct its actions outside the territory.
- Appoints and organizes the holding of presidential elections.
- In the established manner, she is able to dismiss the head of state.
- Has powers in the judiciary: appoints federal judges.
The above terms of reference are not exhaustive, since the competence of this body is dissolved in other state authorities, including departmental ones. Despite such wide competence, the activities of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation are strictly regulated by law: Federal Law, by-laws, international agreements and so on.
The procedure for the exercise of authority
As in any other industry, the legislative sphere has its own principles. So, the following norms are recognized as fundamental:
- The principle of free discussion.
- The principle of independent resolution of issues.
As a rule, the upper chambers of parliament exercise their powers by holding various kinds of meetings. The chairman of the body is appointed not by decision of the head of state, but by secret ballot. Deputies are appointed through the same procedure. The only exception applies: the chairman and his deputies cannot be appointed from the same region.
The internal structure of the organ
Despite the fact that the upper house of the Russian parliament is called the Council, an internal organizational structure is also being created here. Leaders are appointed from among deputies of persons to the following positions:
- the head of the legal support unit (financial, analytical, informational and so on - the number of appointed persons is determined by the number of directions);
- manadgement Department;
- economic service and so on.
All decisions are determined by the issuance of the relevant resolution, and are also mandatory for signature communicated to the appointed persons.
General characteristics of the State Duma (State Duma of the Russian Federation)
The upper and lower houses of parliament are closely interconnected. The total number of deputies is determined not by the presence of regions, but by a strictly defined number - 450. Any official is elected for a term of 4 years.
In order to start political activity as a member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to reach the established age: 21 years. Only in this case, a citizen has the right to participate in elections and exercise his right. At the moment, there is a separate regulatory document that regulates the procedure for elections to the lower house of the federal legislative body. In accordance with the proclaimed norms, a mixed system operates. So, half of the deputies are elected by the majority system, that is, one candidate is nominated from one constituency. The second half, in turn, according to the proportional system. This means that the voter is presented with a list of leaders and candidates for whom he makes a choice.
The range of issues and competencies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation
Like any upper house of parliament, the State Duma has a number of its own powers. For example, the dominant among them are:
- The head of state appoints the chairman of the government only with the consent of the lower house of the legislature. This is due to the fact that deputies "from the people" controlled the activities of the head and deputy head of state, not allowing usurping power.
- If there are any doubts about the activities of one of the ministries or the entire Government as a whole, the State Duma raises the question of trust in these federal bodies.
- Appoints and dismisses the heads of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the chairman of the Accounts Chamber.
- The lower and upper houses of the Russian parliament are able to monitor the activities of the Commissioner for Human Rights, the child and so on. If necessary, the State Duma raises the question of its removal.
- The Duma has the right to bring charges against the president, removing him for a while from office and the performance of his duties.
This is an incomplete list of powers of the State Duma
The order and forms of the lower house meeting
The State Duma of the Russian Federation is authorized to adopt various kinds of laws: constitutional, federal level. The activities of this body are regulated by the Constitution. All legislation is based on the principles of:
- political diversity;
- free discussions;
- multi-party system;
- collective decision making and so on.
Decision-making is carried out by holding meetings, which can be both open and closed. The order of activity is regulated not only by a law of higher legal force, but also by the internal regulations of the Duma. Each deputy who is a member of the body belongs to a certain fraction. In this area, the upper house of the Russian parliament has certain differences. In addition, there are deputy groups in the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Any of the internal associations has equal rights regardless of the number of participants.
A chairman is also elected from among the participants and an appropriate management apparatus is formed. The upper house of the Russian parliament is closely connected with the lower. Thus, the Parliamentary Library, Publishing House, the Parliamentary Center and other support services are jointly organized. All decisions are made by voting, conducted both in open and in closed form.
Chamber Interaction
Article 101 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation regulates the interaction of legislative bodies. The lower and upper houses of the Russian parliament are formed by special committees and commissions that are permanent.
These bodies are called upon to carry out technical work, namely: to prepare bills to be considered; preliminary review of regulatory documents; organize parliamentary hearings; and also consider a number of other issues within the competence of the federal legislative body.
Legislative process
The process of adopting laws consists of several successive stages. At each specific stage, a series of actions are carried out, established by regulatory legal acts. First of all, one of the deputies or another official needs to put forward an initiative. Next, a bill is prepared and considered, and a law is passed. Mandatory procedure: consideration and approval of the law by the Federation Council, as well as its mandatory signing and promulgation by the head of state.
For individual bills there are certain conditions for consideration. So, in a special order secret documents are accepted in relation to information constituting a state secret. Earlier, bills on economic issues were considered only in 4 readings. Such procedures are necessary for a comprehensive and complete review of each norm in order to determine the effectiveness of its action.
Law promulgation procedure
Each legal act undergoes an official publication procedure. There are several nuances here. The moment of publication should not be confused with the moment of entry into force. So, in the text of the document a specific date can be determined, after which the norms begin to take effect. If such a condition is not provided, then the law shall enter into force upon its official publication or after 10 days. The President is obliged to consider the document within 7 days and make an appropriate decision on it: either publish a normative act or reject it. In the second case, the draft law is sent again to the State Duma for consideration.
Sources for the publication of documents are government publications, such as Rossiyskaya Gazeta.