The separation of powers between the Russian Federation and its subjects is an important aspect of the normal development of the rule of law. This principle is enshrined in the Constitution of Russia. It reflects the ability of regions to obtain authority in some areas of activity.
Legal methods of securing powers between the Federation and the subjects
According to the norms of the Constitution, the Russian Federation consists of territories, republics, regions, districts and regions of an autonomous type, cities with federal significance. Each subject is equal.
The Russian Federation and the regions have developed three legal ways of securing powers:
The Constitution in Articles 71, 72 determines that the list of subjects of federal and joint jurisdiction may be changed only subject to the procedure for making adjustments by analogy with amendments to the Constitution. The entire list of powers enshrined in these articles is closed. It is not subject to expanded interpretation.
Article 73 of the Act in question stipulates that all areas of activity of the regions that are not under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federation or together with the constituent entities are considered the prerogative of these areas.
Normative legal regulation in the field of definition of objects of jurisdiction in the country is carried out through the publication and adjustment of federal constitutional laws and federal acts operating throughout the territory of our state.
State subjects
The basis for the separation of powers between the Russian Federation and its subjects is the competent distribution of the areas of legal regulation. The exclusive jurisdiction of the Russian Federation is six groups of powers:
- Constituent and state (structure of the country).
- Law enforcement and legislative.
- Military.
- Socio-economic.
- Foreign economic and foreign policy.
- Specification of the status of a civilian person.
Each of these groups contains a number of specific powers of the state, which cannot be transferred from the federal to the regional level.
Objects of exclusive jurisdiction of the state
The subjects of reference that are not related to the powers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are as follows: adoption of the Constitution and amendments to it, determination of the borders of the country and distribution of federal entities, establishment of branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial), determination of the organization of work of bodies, formation metric system and time calculation, cartography and geodesy, designation of territories and objects, accounting and statistical official accounting.
The law-enforcement and legislative powers of the Federation are as follows: adoption of laws at the federal level and amendments to them, protection and regulation of freedoms and rights of citizens and people, as well as minorities on a national basis, prosecutor's office, judicial system, legislation of all spheres (criminal procedure, criminal law, criminal executive, civil, arbitration), regulation from a legal position of intellectual property, conflict of laws federal law.
Russia's military powers are as follows: security, defense, production of defense machinery and equipment, establishment of the procedure for the purchase and sale of weapons (equipment, ammunition), production of toxic and narcotic substances, determination of the use of these substances, fixing the status of the state’s border from the sea and air and their protection.
The socio-economic powers of the Federation are as follows: management of state federal property, determination of the fundamentals of federal level policy, development of programs in the field of national development of the country (in the economic, state, environmental, cultural, social, national areas), establishment of a legal framework for market relations, regulation financial sphere (credit, currency, customs, issue, price); management of economic federal services, banks, the country's budget (including fees and taxes), federal regional development funds, state energy systems, nuclear energy, transport, communications and information, communications, space activities.
The foreign economic and foreign political powers of the country are as follows: managing politics, relations of an international nature, issues of peace and war, relations of a foreign economic type.
With regard to specifying the status of a civilian person, the powers of the Federation are as follows: conferring honorary titles, issuing state awards, citizenship, pardon and amnesty.
Subjects of joint jurisdiction of the subjects and the Federation
According to the norms of the first part of the article of the 72nd Russian Constitution, the following groups of powers belong to the subjects of general jurisdiction of the country and its regions:
- The publication of federal laws defining the general foundations of regulatory regulation of the regions.
- The publication of federal laws defining the rules for delimiting the competence of the Russian Federation and its subjects and the procedure for exercising the powers vested in the Federation.
The provisions of federal law No. 184 of October 6, 1999 established that state authorities in the subjects are entitled to participate in the consideration by the State Duma of draft laws on issues related to joint jurisdiction.
The procedure for the participation of authorities in entities in the consideration of bills
One of the ways of delimiting powers between the Russian Federation and its subjects is to consider draft regulatory legal acts adopted by the State Duma, regional entities and the Federation.
The process of studying bills consists of four stages:
- Coordination of the preliminary document with representative (legislative) and supreme executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation.
- Creation of a conciliation commission in case more than a third of the subjects make a negative decision regarding the adoption of the act.
- If the opinions of the federal authority and the subject of power in the region are divided, it is believed that the latter did not express his opinion.
- Forwarding the bill on general subjects adopted in first reading to representative (legislative) state authorities for amendments and suggestions.
Bills consideration stages
All bills relating to the division of powers between the Russian Federation and its subjects or general issues of the Federation and the region, undergo several procedures at each stage.
When they are considered, the State Duma provides subjects with thirty days to study the document and draw up reviews. At the next stage, it is allowed to convene a conciliation type commission to resolve the differences if the authorities of the subject speak out against the adoption of the document.
After studying the number of votes for and against the project within thirty days from the date of receipt, the authorities of the subject must amend the document for transmission to the second reading.
Items of exclusive jurisdiction of Russian entities
Article 72 of the Constitution establishes that the delimitation of powers between the Russian Federation and its subjects implies the transfer of their part relating to the legal nature.
The scope of activity of regional authorities includes five groups of powers:
- Constituent.
- Law enforcement and human rights.
- Legislative.
- Socio-economic.
- International
Each of these groups contains a number of specific powers of Russia, which cannot be transferred from the federal to the regional level.
Exclusive Rights of the Subjects of the Federation
The constituent powers are to establish principles of a general type in relation to the organization of the construction of state bodies of power and self-government at the local level, ensuring compliance with the charters (laws) of the Russian Constitution and the federal level.
The powers of law enforcement and human rights type are as follows: protection and regulation of freedoms and rights of a citizen and a person, as well as minorities on a national basis, the prosecutor's office, the judiciary, the legislation of all spheres (criminal procedure, criminal, penal, civil, arbitration), regulation from the legal position of intellectual property, combating natural and man-made disasters and disasters, protecting monuments and specially protected territories.
The subjective powers of the Russian Federation in the legislative sphere include legal regulation in the administrative, labor, administrative-procedural, family, land, housing, forestry areas, in the field of protection of the subsoil and the surrounding world.
The powers of the socio-economic type are to establish basic principles for the collection of fees and taxation; issues of ownership and use of subsoil and other resources of the region, the development of cultural and other spheres, social protection of the population.
The powers of an international nature consist in coordinating the foreign economic and international relations of Russian entities and in fulfilling the terms of international agreements.
The method of distribution of objects of jurisdiction between the Federation and the regions under the agreement
According to the provisions of the third part of the 11th article of the Constitution, state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation can receive part of the powers of the contract. This is enshrined in article 26.7 of the law governing the general principles of activity of representative (legislative) and executive authorities in the regions.
According to the norms of the specified normative legal act of the federal level, the conclusion of written agreements on the separation of powers can take place only if it is necessary by geographical, economic or other parameters.
Content of the contract
The written agreement concluded between the state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the Federation should contain the following clauses:
- The list of powers of state authorities at the level of entities in respect of which the distinction is made.
- The procedure and conditions for the exercise of authority.
- Obligations and rights of the parties.
- The validity period of the agreement (not more than ten years).
- The procedure and grounds for termination of the agreement ahead of schedule.
Document Preparation Procedure
The principles of Russian federalism are the basis for the drafting of agreements on the delimitation of powers. According to the provisions of the law, the contract goes through several stages:
- Submission of the project by the initiator to the authority for approval (rejection).
- The signing of the approved agreement by the President.
- Transmission by the President of a document to the State Duma within ten days from the date of its signing.
- The entry into force of the contract and the federal law acting on its basis.
Terms for Early Termination
According to the principles of Russian federalism, the subjects of the country are entitled to receive part of the authority under the agreement. According to the norms of civil law, such an agreement can be terminated on the basis of the consent of the parties or by a court decision.
If one of the parties grossly violated the terms of the contract, the second has the right to demand its termination through the court. In this case, the contract by the decision of the court shall be deemed null and void.
Procedure for concluding an agreement on the division of powers
The constitutional principles of Russian federalism, enshrined in regulatory legal acts, determine the key differences between agreements on the delimitation of powers between the Federation and the subjects.
The contract must be signed by the head of the executive authority at the federal level. It comes into force after approval by the Russian Government and official publication.
The content of the document should reflect all key conditions, validity and termination.
It should be remembered that the executive bodies of the federal government, which concluded written agreements on the transfer of part of their powers during the period of Article 5 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation to the relevant executive authorities of the country's regions, monitor compliance with the terms of these agreements. They are also responsible for the improper implementation of part of the transferred powers.