What does the State Duma of the Russian Federation do? What are its functions and responsibilities? Answers to these questions will be given in the article.
State Duma of the Russian Federation: general characteristic
The State Duma is the Lower House of the Parliament of the Russian Federation, or the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The State Duma, like the Federation Council, is the legislative body. The creation of the body in question took place in 1993. According to the decree of B. N. Yeltsin "On Constitutional Reform of the Russian Federation", a body of 450 deputies appeared. Half of this number is elected during one round and directly. Voting takes place in single-member districts. The other half should be formed with the help of political parties of the Russian Federation, overcoming the 5 percent border.
The fifth chapter of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is dedicated to the Russian State Duma. It is it that briefly describes the structure of the body, as well as what the State Duma of the Russian Federation does. What is this chapter of the basic law of the country?
Chapter 5 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation
The fifth chapter of the main law of the country tells about the Russian parliament - the Federal Assembly. The chapter summarizes all the main points regarding the two houses of parliament: the Federation Council and the State Duma. Article 103 most fully discloses what the deputies of the State Duma are doing and what powers they have. It is this, as well as some other articles of the Russian Constitution that will need to be examined in order to have the most complete picture of the duties and professional functions of the lower house of Parliament - the State Duma.
However, it is worth starting with the most general points. Thus, article 94 enshrines the status of the Federal Assembly; this body is representative of the legislative branch. Part 5 of Article 95 reinforces the fact that the State Duma consists of 450 persons who are deputies. Art. 96 tells about the term of the election of the body, which is exactly 5 years today. What the State Duma is doing will be described later.
State Duma and Government
Despite the fact that all three branches of power in Russia are equal in relation to each other, it is worth noting some points that indicate a significant influence of one branch of government on another. In particular, attention must be paid to Part 1 of Article 114 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. According to this article, the Government is obliged to submit reports to the State Duma in a timely manner. Such a system always indicates the degree of democratic development of the state. In particular, the commentary on article 114 refers to the need to increase the role of representative bodies in public and political life. Unfortunately, only political scientists can decide whether such a scheme violates the system of checks and balances. One also has to wonder whether the Federal Assembly will give assessments to the Government in the near future.
However, it is worth returning to what the State Duma is doing, and what are its functions in relation to the Government. So, paragraph B of article 103 provides the State Duma with the opportunity to decide on trust in the executive authority. In fact, this is another proof of the significant influence of the representative branch of government on the executive.
State Duma and Central Bank of the Russian Federation
What does the State Duma of the Russian Federation do with respect to higher financial bodies? Clause D of Article 83 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation provides the State Duma with the opportunity to appoint and remove the head of the Central Bank of Russia. The term of office of a representative of the Central Bank is determined in accordance with the Federal Law "On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation". It is also worth noting that both the appointment and removal from office are considered final if most of the State Duma deputies voted for it.
The same applies to the Accounts Chamber. The State Duma is able to appoint both the chairman of this body and the composition of its auditors. In this case, the issue of removal or appointment is decided in accordance with the available budget, taxation, etc.
Amnesty appointment
Finally, it is worth turning to article 103 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. This article fixes all the basic duties and functions that are the responsibility of the lower house of the legislature. What can be highlighted here? What does the State Duma do? (Grade 4, as well as some higher levels in the school curriculum, often involve an analysis of these issues; an adult should know all the most important things about the structure of government bodies).
The lower house of the legislature is capable of appointing a person authorized by human rights, as well as dismissing him. It is also worth noting that the deputies are able to put forward the necessary candidates.
A separate topic that should be mentioned is the ability of the State Duma to resolve amnesty issues. What position does the Lower House take in this case, what is the State Duma doing? Briefly and clearly gives a characterization of paragraph G of article 103 of the Constitution. According to him, the decision on the adoption of an amnesty occurs through the collection of a majority of parliamentary votes. The decree on amnesty is signed by the chairman of the State Duma. The official publication of the order should occur within three days.
State Duma and President
The relationship between the head of state and the State Duma is built in Russia in a very special way. Thus, according to article 103 of the Constitution (paragraph 3), the lower house of the legislature is able to bring charges and claims against the president. An accusation may be brought only if 2/3 of the deputy votes have been collected for this. It is also worth noting that the prosecution should have specific references to crimes or offenses committed by the head of state.
The State Duma is sending the charge to the Supreme Court for consideration. If the court finds a corpus delicti, the question is raised about the removal of the head of state from office.
The order of adoption of laws
Since the branch of power in question is called the legislative branch, questions about what the State Duma and the Federation Council do immediately become closed. These bodies issue and edit laws, and this is their main purpose. How is the legislative process going? This will be described later.
The procedure for the adoption and execution of bills is carried out in three readings. The first reading involves a discussion of the main provisions of the projects. The initiator of the law reads the report, the students have the opportunity to express their comments and debate. If the law is approved, the second stage begins. It involves amendments to the law and minor changes. After this, the third stage passes, at which the deputies cast their vote for or against the adoption of the law. The draft project can be adopted only if the majority voted for it.
The procedure for reviewing federal laws
What does the State Duma do? Fulfills the laws, passes laws, is engaged in their editing and execution. The lower house performs all these functions at three special readings. In order to have a broader understanding of the legislative process, it is also necessary to talk about the procedure for considering projects by the Federation Council.
For five days, laws developed by the State Duma should be considered by the highest chamber of parliament. Part 4 of Article 105 of the Russian Constitution enshrines the provision that the Federation Council is obliged to arrange a vote for or against the adoption of the bill. So, if approved by half of the members of the chamber, the law enters into force. There is another way to make the law work. To do this, SovFed must ignore the submitted draft within 14 days (we are talking about a failed vote for or against the bill). If the project is rejected, the State Duma creates a conciliation commission, on which it tries to overcome the veto of the Supreme Chamber.
Article 106 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation
What laws should be subject to mandatory review by the higher house of the legislature? Article 106 of the Russian Constitution enshrines the following projects:
- federal budget;
- fees and taxes at the federal level;
- questions about war and peace;
- money issue;
- issues of financial, credit, currency and customs regulation;
- denunciation (termination) or ratification (approval) of international treaties;
- questions about the status and protection of the state border of Russia.
Thus, the question of what the State Duma is doing is becoming relatively closed. Approves or rejects laws, appoints or removes certain persons, deals with amnesty issues - all these and many other functions are performed by the Lower House of Parliament in Russia. Next, it is worth considering the issues of when and in which cases the State Duma can be dissolved.
On the dissolution of the State Duma
The State Duma may be dissolved in some cases, which are referred to in articles of the Constitution 109, 111 and 117. The first thing worth noting is that only the president has the right to dissolve the Lower House of Parliament. However, according to subsection 92 (3), such a right cannot be enjoyed by a person replacing the president or temporarily performing his duties.
It is also worth talking about why the procedure for the dissolution of the State Duma is necessary in the Russian Federation. In fact, such a scheme is an extreme way to overcome the differences between the executive and legislative branches of government. So, so that there are no conflicts that can significantly interfere with the development of the political and social life of the country, it is necessary to make some kind of “reset” of relations. The President promptly, in accordance with all constitutional norms, dissolves either the Government or the State Duma, thereby resolving the conflict situation and paving the way for further development by finding compromises.
Duma dissolution criteria
As already mentioned above, the criteria and conditions for the dissolution of the lower house of parliament are enshrined in Articles 111 and 117 of the Russian Constitution. So, part 4 of article 111 tells that the State Duma of the Russian Federation can be dissolved if it has three times in a row expressed distrust of candidates for the post of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. It is in this case that the head of state is able to dissolve the current composition of the State Duma, independently appoint a prime minister and announce new elections to the Lower House of Parliament.
The second case is enshrined in constitutional article 117. According to paragraph 3, the State Duma is dissolved by the president in case of repeated expressions of no confidence in the Government. A clear deadline of three months has been set here. The State Duma has exactly so much time to think about accepting the current government.
When the State Duma can not be dissolved?
There are several circumstances that deny the possibility of the dissolution of the State Duma. All of them are given in article 109 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. What exactly is it about? The State Duma cannot be dissolved if:
- at least one year has not passed since the beginning of her work;
- if the State Duma has charged the incumbent head of state (however, this circumstance ends with the adoption of an appropriate decision by the Federation Council);
- a state of emergency or martial law has been introduced in the Russian Federation;
- there are six or less months left until the end of the presidential term.
The composition of the State Duma
What does the State Duma do? The answer to this question was given. However, another important problem remained unresolved: the composition and structure of the Lower House of Parliament.
On September 18, 2016, the elections of deputies to the State Duma were held in Russia. On October 5, the final composition of the seventh convocation was formed. Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin, a member of the "United Russia" (EP) faction and first-class state adviser to the Russian Federation, became its chairman. 343 seats were taken by deputies of EP, 42 - by persons from the Communist Party, 39 deputies from the Liberal Democratic Party and 23 from Just Russia.
Thus, the article gave answers to questions about what is the structure of the lower house of Parliament, what is its composition, and what is the State Duma doing. Grade 4 (answers and questions from the Olympiads, social studies textbooks) and higher school classes suggest questions about the political structure of the Russian Federation. If adults do not know anything about this, the level of political culture in society will begin to plummet. This will entail all sorts of problems. In order to have the most general idea of the state system, reading the Constitution alone will suffice.