Decision of the Small Council of the Public Constitutional Council, 1.06.2021

Photo by Pavel Lisitsyn / RIA Novosti

When preparing amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation in July 2020, as well as in order to implement its amendments, as of May 25, 2021, four federal constitutional laws were adopted, 52 federal laws and 41 draft laws are under consideration in the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, in total amendments are introduced into more than 170 legislative acts of the federal level.

A significant part of adopted package of legislative acts does not comply with the principles of a democratic state structure (Article 1), the rule of law (Articles 1, 4, and 15), democracy (Article 2), ideological diversity (Article 13 Part 1), the priority of international law (Article 15 Part 4), separation of powers (Articles 10 – 11) and independence of local self-government bodies (Article 12), stipulated by the First Chapter of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and which are the foundations of the constitutional order.

Also, these acts violate the constitutional rights and freedoms of an individual and a citizen, proclaimed by the Second Chapter of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and which are the basis of the legal status of an individual in the Russian Federation, and primarily political rights:

– the right to freedom of thought and speech, the right to express one’s opinions and beliefs, the right to freely seek, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information (Article 29);

– the right to assembly for protection of one’s interests (Article 30);

– the right to assemble peacefully without weapons, hold meetings, rallies and demonstrations, processions and pickets (Article 31);

– the right to elect and be elected to state and local government bodies (Article 32 Part 2) in free and non-falsified elections;

– the right to freedom of literary, artistic and other types of creativity and teaching (Article 44 Part 1).

The Public Constitutional Council believes that with the historically inevitable return of the Russian Federation to the constitutional framework, during the preparation and adoption of a new Constitution, these laws should, taking into account the opinion of constitutional experts and wide public discussion, be subjected to a thorough revision (cancellation).

Based on the aforementioned, the Small Council of the Public Constitutional Council

DECIDED:

1. To approve the work on compiling the List of Adopted Federal Constitutional Laws, Federal Laws and Draft Federal Laws considered by the State Duma of the Russian Federation in connection with the preparation and adoption of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation 2020, prepared by Yelena Dubrovina, Executive Secretary of the Public Constitutional Council and Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation (pdf document).

2. Instruct Yelena Dubrovina to:

2.1 organise the maintenance of the List up to date;

2.2 organise an analysis of the practices of applying the adopted normative legal acts contained in the List.

3. Return to the discussion of the List in six months.

Co-Chairmen of the Public Constitutional Council

Yevegy Gontmakher

Leonid Nikitinsky

Vladimir Ryzhkov

Grigory Yavlinsky