Press Release, 18.07.2018

On 19 July, Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow will consider at a preliminary hearing the claim of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to the Council of Municipal Deputies of Yakimanka District, Moscow. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is trying to deprive the municipal deputies of the right to have assistants on a voluntary basis.

In April of this year, the Council of Municipal Deputies of the municipal district of Yakimanka, Moscow,  made changes in its regulations, giving the municipal deputies of the Council the right to have assistants on a voluntary basis without pay. Such assistants in the Council should contribute to a more effective solution of local issues and protect the interests of the residents of the district.

However, in May 2018, Zamoskvoretskiy Interdistrict Public Prosecutor’s Office brought a protest against this decision. Also in May the Council of Deputies examined the public prosecutor’s protest and dismissed it.

In early July, the Public Prosecutor’s Office appealed to the Zamoskvoretsky District Court with an administrative law suit asking to declare the decision of the Council of Deputies invalid.

Andrei Morev, head of the municipal district Yakimanka and municipal deputy of the Council from the Yabloko party, believes that the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office are connected with the fact that the authorities do not want municipal deputies to have any weight in the district.

“Voluntary assistants with official status will become an important element of strengthening local self-government in the district,” Morev noted.