THE DUMA IN THE SYSTEM OF STATE POWER

In the run-up to the State Duma elections, the UCP system conducts a lesson on the role of the Chamber of the country's highest legislative body in the exercise of State power. The editorial Board of the magazine of the Ministry of Defense "Orientir" offered to act as the leader of this lesson and address a lecture to the soldiers of the army and Navy Gennady Nikolaevich Seleznev.

Constitutional and legal status

The State Duma is a chamber of the united bicameral parliament - the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, which, in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 11, part I), is one of the state authorities in Russia. Both chambers are united by a common legislative process and have equal rights. At the same time, there is a different procedure for their formation, and each, along with the general powers in the legislative process, has its own and inherent only to it.

The main exclusive power of the State Duma is that all federal laws are introduced only in it (Article 104, Part 2). None of them can enter into force if it has not been considered and adopted by the Duma.

Other exclusive rights of the Duma (Article 103, Part 1) include: giving consent to the President of the Russian Federation to appoint the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, resolving the issue of no confidence in the Government, appointing and dismissing the Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and half of its auditors, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, declaring an amnesty, bringing charges against

The President of the Russian Federation to remove him from office. Particularly important budgetary powers of the Chamber. The draft Federal Budget for the next year is developed by the Government of the Russian Federation and submitted to the Duma (Article 114 part 1, item "a") in the form of a draft law. After the Duma passes a law on the federal budget, it is sent to the Federation Council for approval, and then to the President for signature. The Constitution requires the Government to submit to the Duma a report on the implementation of the federal budget (Article 114 part 1, paragraph "a") The Duma often instructs the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation to check the expenditure of budget funds.

In addition to the above-mentioned exclusive powers of the State Duma, both chambers of the Federal Assembly have a number of joint powers, primarily in the legislative process. This also applies to powers in the field of defense and security The key issues of declaring war and concluding peace fall within the competence of both chambers: the Duma must adopt the relevant federal law on declaring war or ratifying a peace treaty, and the Federation Council must consider, approve or reject it (Article 106, paragraph "e").

Similarly, powers are distributed between the Chambers in determining government spending on defense and security. The corresponding expenditure items are included by the Government in the draft budget, which is considered by the Duma. Deputies can increase or decrease military expenditures and, after adopting the budget, send it to the Federation Council, which determines its position by a majority vote, and then the President finally approves or rejects it.

When, in cases stipulated by the Constitution, the President makes a decision to impose a state of emergency or martial law on the territory of the entire country or in some of its localities, he is obliged to immediately notify the Federation Council and the State Duma (Article 87, Part 2, Article 88). The Constitution stipulates that the procedure for introducing martial law and the state of emergency regimes themselves are regulated by the relevant federal constitutional laws (Article 87, Part 2, Article 88). However, these laws themselves are still under development.

The joint powers of the Chambers of the Federal Assembly include the ratification of international treaties and agreements and the procedure for consultations between the President of the Russian Federation and the relevant committees of the Federation Council and the Duma when the Head of State appoints or recalls Russian ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives to foreign states and international organizations (Article 83, paragraph "m").

The Chairman of the State Duma and the Chairman of the Federation Council often take part in the work of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, which operates under the President. It should be noted that the participation of the heads of the chambers of Parliament in the activities of this body (as well as the status of the Security Council itself) is still not regulated by law, but depends entirely on the will of the President.

Deputies of the State Duma are elected by Russian citizens on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. Participation of a citizen of the Russian Federation in elections is free and voluntary. The Duma is elected for a four-year term (Article 96, Part 1). Its deputies may be Russian citizens who have reached the age of 21 on the voting day. All citizens of the Russian Federation who have reached the age of 18 have the right to elect them, with the exception of citizens recognized by the court as incapacitated or held in places of deprivation of liberty by a court verdict.

Elections are held on the basis of the Federal Law "On Elections of Deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation". They are held under the so-called mixed majority-proportional electoral system3. Half of the 450-member parliamentary corps is elected in 225 single-member electoral districts covering the entire territory of Russia. In them, elections are held on the majority principle of majority. The candidate who receives the largest number of votes becomes a deputy. At the same time, the other half of the deputy corps is elected in a single federal electoral district, which also covers the entire territory of the country. In this constituency, those electoral associations and electoral blocs that are officially registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and have the right to nominate their candidates for parliamentary elections submit their federal lists of candidates for deputies. Deputies are candidates from those lists for which five percent or more of the votes of voters across the country were cast. Deputy mandates are distributed in proportion to the number of votes cast for the list of each of the parties, associations and electoral blocs in excess of the minimum of five percent.

Elections of deputies of the State Duma in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the relevant federal law are mandatory. This means that not only after the end of the term of work of the Chamber of the next convocation, but also when the Duma is prematurely dissolved by the President, the head of State is obliged to set the dates for holding new elections. If the President does not appoint them, then, according to part 3 of Article 5 of the Federal Law "On Elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation", elections are held by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

The main elements of the chamber's structure are its deputy associations and committees. The dominant role belongs to deputy associations - factions and deputy groups. According to the Regulations of the State Duma, they are equal in all rights and powers. The Chamber has 440 deputies (10 seats are vacant). Of these, 30 people are not members of any deputy associations. The remaining 410 are members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (129 deputies), Our Home - Russia (60), LDPR (49), YABLOKO (46) and deputy groups - Russian Regions (44), Narodovlastie (47), Agrarian Deputy Group (35).

In accordance with the initial size of a particular deputy association, its representatives received a different number of posts of chairmen of Duma committees. 9 committees are headed by representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, 4 by the PDR, LDPR and YABLOKO, 3 by Narodovlastia, 2 by the Russian Regions and the Agrarian Deputy Group.

An important element of the chamber's structure is the State Duma Council, where all current affairs are discussed in advance.

The Duma of the second convocation has 28 committees: on legislation and judicial and legal reform; on labor and social policy; on veterans ' affairs; on health protection; on education and science; on women, family and youth affairs; on budget, taxes, banks and finance; on economic policy; on property, privatization and other issues. economic activity; on agricultural issues; on industry, construction, transport and energy; on natural resources and nature management; on ecology;

Department of Defense; Department of Security; Department of International Affairs; Department of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Relations with Compatriots; Department of National Affairs;

on Federal affairs and regional policy; on local self-government; on public associations and religious organizations; on Regulations and organization of work of the State Duma; on information policy and communications; on geopolitics; on conversion and high-tech technologies, on culture, on tourism and sports; on problems of the North and Far East.

The Constitution (Article 99, part 1) stipulates that the Federal Assembly is a permanent body. State Duma meetings are held in the framework of the annual spring (from mid - January to the end of June) and autumn (September-December)sessions. sessions of the chamber.

The legislative process begins with the development of a draft law by the subject of the right of legislative initiative. According to the Constitution, they are not only deputies of the Duma, but also members of the Federation Council and the Chamber as a whole, legislative representative bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation, the President and the Government of the Russian Federation. The right of legislative initiative also belongs to the Constitutional, Supreme and Supreme Arbitration Courts of the Russian Federation in matters of their jurisdiction (Article 104, Part 1).

Draft federal laws are considered by the Duma, as a rule, in three (sometimes four) readings. They are usually most actively discussed during the first reading, when deputies put forward a lot of comments and specific amendments. If the authors of the bill agree with them and if the majority of the house votes for the draft in the first reading, it is returned to the committee responsible for it, where it is prepared for the second reading, in which the house votes for the list of amendments recommended by the drafters of the bill for adoption or rejection. If the majority of deputies support the speakers on the draft law, it is adopted in the second reading. However, it also happens that disagreements on certain provisions of the bill are so great that the majority of deputies vote for returning the bill to the first reading procedure in order to further study it.

In case of a favorable outcome of the second reading vote, the responsible committee and the co-authors of the draft seek to take into account the comments, eliminate existing legal flaws and linguistic errors. When the bill is submitted to the chamber in the third reading, in most cases, discussions no longer arise, and deputies vote for its adoption in the third reading, that is, in general. It becomes the law.

According to the current constitution, the Federation Council is not obliged to consider all laws adopted by the Duma. Some of them can be sent to the President of the Russian Federation without consideration. However, the Constitution (Article 106) prescribes that the laws adopted by the Duma on the federal budget, federal taxes and fees, financial, credit, customs regulation and monetary issues, ratification and denunciation of international treaties of Russia, the status and protection of the state border, as well as laws on war and peace are subject to mandatory consideration in the Federation Council.

If the Federation Council rejects a law passed by the Duma, then in most cases a conciliatory commission is formed from representatives of both chambers and seeks to work out a mutually acceptable version of the law. Then both Chambers consider it, and if it receives majority support, it is sent to the President. If the commission fails to reach an agreement, the Duma attempts to override the Federation Council's veto in order to pass the law in its previous version. This requires not the usual majority of 226 votes, but a qualified majority of 300 votes. If it exists, the federal law re-adopted by the Duma is sent to the President.

When a law is adopted by the Duma, approved by the Federation Council, and signed by the President of the Russian Federation, it comes into effect. If the President rejects the law, he returns it to the Duma with an official cover letter explaining the reasons for his refusal. After that, in most cases, a special commission is created from representatives of the Duma and the presidential side. It is trying to work out an agreed version of the law. Depending on the results of its work, the Duma makes one" of two decisions: to re-adopt this law, but already in the version agreed with the presidential party, or to re-adopt it in the previous version by overcoming the President's veto by a qualified majority of 300 votes. If the Duma fails to overcome the veto of the Federation Council or the President, then work on the rejected law begins anew in the Duma. However, if, in a second vote, both Chambers override the President's veto, this law is sent to the President, who is obliged to pass it.

The Duma of the previous convocation terminates its powers on the day when the elected deputies of the new convocation hold their first meeting after the elections (Article 99, Part 4). At this meeting, the leadership of the new convocation chamber is elected and the procedure for its further work is determined.

In accordance with the Constitution, the State Duma can be dissolved by the President of the Russian Federation in the following cases: after three times rejecting candidates proposed by the President for the post of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation (Article 111, Part 4); after the Duma repeatedly expresses no confidence in the Government on its initiative, if the President decides not to dismiss this Government (Article 117 3); after the Government issues a question of confidence in itself to the Duma and the Duma refuses this confidence, and the President decides not to dismiss the Government (Article 117, Part 4). In all these cases, the President, dissolving the Duma by decree, is obliged to call new early parliamentary elections (Article 109, part 2).

According to the Constitution, the State Duma cannot be dissolved: during the first year after its election, even if the Duma expresses no confidence in the Government in accordance with Article 117 (Article 109, Part 3); from the moment the Duma brings charges against the President of the Russian Federation with the aim of removing him from office and until the relevant decision is taken by the Federation Council (Article 109 4); during the period when a state of emergency or martial law is in effect on the entire territory of Russia (Article 109, Part 5).;

within six months prior to the end of the term of office of the President of the Russian Federation (ibid.); during the period when the duties of the President are temporarily performed by the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation (Article 92, Part H).

The Constitution does not grant the State Duma and the Federal Assembly as a whole the power to form State authorities. These powers belong to the President and the Government of the Russian Federation. The only public authorities in which the Duma is directly involved are the aforementioned Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. Without constitutional or other legal powers to directly influence the structure of federal executive bodies, the Duma seeks to make the most of its prerogatives. Thus, in a number of its resolutions, the Chamber addressed the Government and the President with recommendations on the expediency of certain public administration bodies. Some of these recommendations were taken into account. In particular, the State Committee for Northern Affairs of the Russian Federation and the State Committee for Youth Affairs of the Russian Federation (now Youth Policy) were restored to the structure of federal executive authorities.

As for the Duma's control over the activities of the Government of the Russian Federation and other federal executive bodies, the Constitution initially laid down the principle of limited control powers of the Federal Assembly and its chambers. The Duma has the following powers: consent or disagreement with candidates proposed by the President for a number of top positions; the right to express a vote of no confidence in the Government or to bring charges against the President in order to remove him from office. In addition, both houses of Parliament influence the policy of the executive branch by passing laws, primarily on the federal budget.

The interaction of the Duma with other branches of state power is broad and diverse. The closest partners of the Duma in the legislative process are the Government and the President of the Russian Federation, who submit their own draft laws to the Duma. Some of them are developed and introduced jointly by the Government and Duma deputies. As already mentioned, many drafts and laws are finalized in conciliatory and special commissions, which include representatives of the Houses of Parliament, the Government and the President.

Other forms of interaction between the Duma and the Government include holding "government hours" during the Chamber's sessions, to which members of the Government are invited at the initiative of deputies. They provide the requested information on their activity profile and answer questions from deputies.

The Prime Minister, together with leading members of his cabinet, meets with the leadership of the Duma and leaders of deputy associations to discuss current issues of interaction. Meetings of the "four" - the President, the Prime Ministers, the Federation Council and the State Duma-in the Kremlin, as well as "round tables" with the head of state in an expanded format have become common practice. They discuss key public policy issues. Authorized representatives of the President and the Government regularly attend meetings of the Duma Council and plenary sessions of the Chamber and take part in the discussion of issues. State secretaries of federal ministries and departments interact with deputies, their associations and Duma committees.

An important form of interaction between the Duma and other branches of state power is the right of deputies to request a deputy, as stipulated in Article 13 of the Federal Law "On the Status of a Deputy of the Federation Council and the Status of a Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation". Each deputy of the Chamber or their group has the right to make inquiries to the Government, the Prosecutor General, the Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the heads of executive authorities, both federal and constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and local self-government bodies on a range of issues falling within the competence of these bodies. By law, the body or official to whom the request is addressed must respond to it no later than 15 days from the date of receipt or any other time limit set by the Chamber.

With regard to the interaction of the Duma with the judicial branch of government, mention should be made of the right of deputies to submit requests to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. According to the Constitution (Article 125, Part 2), the State Duma as a whole or a group of its deputies, which is a constituent body of the Russian Federation, has the right to apply to it with a request to verify the constitutionality of laws, decrees, and other normative acts of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation, and other state authorities, as well as to interpret the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation itself. at least one-fifth of the members of the deputy corps. In addition, deputies often act as representatives of the Chamber when considering requests for verification of the constitutionality of certain federal laws adopted by the Duma in the Constitutional Court.

Legislative support for defense

Legislative support for the country's military security is a cornerstone in the foundation of military and state construction in general. The leading role in the adoption of federal laws in the field of legal regulation of the country's defense and the life of the Armed Forces is played by the State Duma. During the period 1994 - the first half of 1999, its deputies and relevant committees created a certain legal reserve. The most important legislative acts regulating the activities of the Armed Forces have been adopted, including "On Defense", "On the Status of Military Personnel"," On Military Duty and Military Service " and others. More than 80 resolutions, statements and appeals of the Duma were issued on topical issues of military construction, social protection of military personnel and other issues of vital activity of the Armed Forces. Nevertheless, it should be recognized that today the package of "military" laws regulating this most important area of state activity is far from perfect. Legislative support for the military security of the state has not yet been built into a complete system.

The solution to this problem depends entirely on the coordinated actions of presidential and government structures, law enforcement ministries and departments, and relevant committees of the Chambers of the Federal Assembly. The development of legal frameworks governing the activities of ministries and departments involved in the military construction process, including law enforcement agencies, is largely departmental in nature. As a result, the number of regulatory documents of a private nature is constantly increasing, but general problems of military construction do not receive the necessary regulatory and legal resolution.

Such problems include, in particular, the balanced development of the country's power structures and defense-industrial potential, the preparation of the population and territory for defense, the rational distribution of tasks and resources in the interests of defense, and the use of armed formations of various departmental affiliations. The functions, rights, duties and responsibilities of State administration bodies, each ministry and department involved in military construction and the use of the forces and means at their disposal are not yet fully defined by law. The legislative framework for targeted financing of the main activities of military construction, the construction of the Armed Forces, other troops, military formations and bodies is vague. The Federal Law "On Military Reform in the Russian Federation", adopted by the State Duma, aimed at solving this problem, has not yet entered into force.

Legislative activity in this area should be more systematic and focused. You need to work proactively. There is an urgent need to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of the accumulated array of legislative acts in the military sphere in order to more clearly determine the priorities of further activities and the timing of the implementation of defense tasks. And here the high legislative potential of the Federal Assembly is irreplaceable. Improving the legislative framework for ensuring Russia's military security should be coupled with solving such strategically important key issues as determining the ways of further development of the state's economic and political systems, the essence and content of political and economic transformations of society.

Events in the Balkans and related trends in the global situation have shown that the pace of legislative activity in the field of Russian military security is lagging behind the requirements of the time. The nature of defense tasks requires that we immediately begin to form a systematic legal framework in the field of military security, which would allow us to stabilize the situation in the military sphere and outline coordinated actions of law enforcement agencies in matters of military construction. Now we need fundamentally new approaches and mechanisms for promising military construction only in a single package of interrelated military laws. The studies available in the relevant committees of the State Duma, the Security Council of the Russian Federation, law enforcement ministries and departments in this area will make it possible to put into practice the creation of a system of legislative support for military security, military construction, and financial and economic activities of the Russian military organization.

There is an urgent need to adopt a law regulating the entire process of military construction as a single whole, linking various aspects of relations between military construction entities, including legal, administrative, and economic ones. From the point of view of the country's security, this problem is becoming of national importance. It is advisable to raise the issue of developing a draft federal law on military construction in the Russian Federation, combining the provisions of the Law "On Defense", the draft law "On Military Reform" and the Concept of State Policy on military construction for the period up to 2005. This draft law could define the main priorities of military construction, the infrastructure of the Russian military organization, and rational levels of funding for military security tasks. This approach is consistent with the experience of other countries. So, in the United States, the tasks of legislative support for military construction are considered in detail in the special Nichols-Goldwater law, adopted in 1986.

It is obvious that the law regulating the unified process of military construction, defining the general foundations, principles and directions of military construction in the Russian Federation, forms and methods of its implementation, should have the status of a codification act, which would emphasize its priority over other laws and regulations of the "military" package.

Improving the regulatory framework for financial and economic support for military construction is of particular importance today. Given that, in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the state budget has the status of a federal law, in a market economy it should be considered as one of the main means of public administration. The current procedure for developing, reviewing, approving, executing and monitoring the implementation of the defense budget is far from fully consistent with the problems of the development of the Armed Forces and the current legislation in the field of defense and security. The issue of improving the structure of the defense budget deserves special attention.

In the system of legal support for military construction in Russia, an important role is played by the legal regulation of a set of measures to ensure the social protection of military personnel, increase the prestige of military service, which is especially important in the transition to the recruitment of the Armed Forces, other troops and military formations on a contract basis. The main tasks in this area are the legal regulation of the mechanism for implementing the rights and benefits of military personnel established by current legislation, in particular the Federal Law "On the Status of Military Personnel", and their actual implementation.

Quite a lot (more than 50) legislative acts have been adopted, which introduced benefits for military personnel, citizens dismissed from military service, and their family members. However, in the process of developing the budget, the adopted legislative acts are often not taken into account, and the corresponding funding is not provided. The inability to implement the declared rights and benefits increases social tension among military personnel. In this regard, a serious problem that requires legislative solutions is the social protection of military personnel who are subject to dismissal due to a reduction in the size of the Armed Forces and other troops.

All this requires large financial resources. It would be necessary to consider the possibility of obtaining them not only from the defense budget, but also from extra-budgetary sources of financing, for example, through the sale of military property, equipment, weapons, as well as products of their disposal; funds from the economic activities of military authorities - contract works, leases, and other contracts related to real estate;

repayment by other countries of debts for weapons, military equipment and equipment supplied to the USSR;

international humanitarian cooperation programs; securities issued to replace the funds that military personnel rely on when they leave for the reserve as one-time benefits.

In our opinion, it is fundamentally important that the entire package of "military" laws be formed on the basis of such fundamental state documents as the National Security Concept and the Military Doctrine. Foreign experience confirms this position. In the United States, the National Security Act has been in effect since 1947.

The draft law on the national Security Doctrine of the Russian Federation can be formed on the basis of the National Security Concept approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 17, 1997. Within the framework of this law, priority federal and regional programs that determine Russia's budget policy in the field of national security can be approved. They could become the main criteria for budget formation.

The draft federal law on the military doctrine of the Russian Federation may develop the main provisions of the military doctrine approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of November 2, 1993. This draft law could clarify the provisions of the adopted federal laws providing for the creation of other troops, military formations and military bodies, and bring them into full compliance with article 87 of the Constitution. At the same time, it is necessary to supplement the package of military laws with the Federal Law on the Armed Forces, the development of which is provided for in paragraph 5 of Article 10 of the Federal Law "On Defense".

The development of military legislation, including financial legislation, should be carried out from the standpoint of balanced national security. The focus on socio-economic and financial issues should not lose consistency and coordination in the development of military legislation.

In the interests of developing the defense sector, it is also necessary to provide for more focused legislative support for the state armament program. It should be approved by federal law, as is done in all developed countries. The law "On the State Armament Program" should provide for a system of priorities, identify responsible priority programs, and provide for a system of their subordination to the Federal Assembly.

Within the framework of legislative support for the international aspects of military security, a qualitatively new international legal framework could include the creation of comprehensive European security structures, the transfer of the partnership between Russia and NATO to a contractual basis, and slowing down the process of NATO expansion by providing bilateral security guarantees to the countries of Eastern Europe and the Baltic States. At the same time, from the standpoint of solving the primary tasks of Russia's military security, it is advisable to work out and ratify a large-scale agreement (treaty) with NATO in a short time by the State Duma, which provides for the adaptation of NATO to new geopolitical conditions, the transformation of this bloc into an organization focused on crisis prevention and resolution, collective peacekeeping strictly under the mandate of the UN Security Council and the OSCE, and the development of cooperation with Russia in the military-technical sphere, including the use of Russian weapons standards. Within the framework of this agreement, if necessary, a number of clarifications could be made to existing treaty and regulatory acts, including the treaties on strategic offensive Arms reduction (START-2) and on conventional weapons in Europe, as well as the Declaration on the Withdrawal of Tactical Nuclear Weapons.

The priority direction of legislative support for military security in the current geopolitical situation is the mandatory development of coordinated legislative and regulatory mechanisms for the functioning of the collective security system and military integration processes between Russia and the CIS countries on the basis of the Collective Security Treaty of May 15, 1992 and bilateral agreements.

A special place in the legislative provision of military security should be occupied by legislation in the field of nuclear safety. The first steps in this direction have been made, but this work is still far from complete. A new law on social protection of citizens engaged in activities in the field of nuclear weapons and military nuclear power plants, living in the areas of their location and caught in the area of nuclear accidents should be developed as soon as possible. It is also necessary to develop laws "On compensation for nuclear damage and nuclear insurance" and "On declaring Nuclear power facilities". These legislative acts will make it possible to form a state system of measures to ensure Russia's nuclear safety.

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