scholarly journals Constitutional law restrictions on the activities of a deputy due to changes in the constitution of the Russian Federation

2021 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 01002
Author(s):  
Alla Nikolaevna Gutorova ◽  
Aleksander Nikolaevich Grokhotov ◽  
Vladimir Viktorovich Korovin ◽  
Elena Aleksandrovna Masufranova ◽  
Vladimir Vladimirovich Yatsenko

As a result of constitutional amendments, several ideological provisions which are legally binding by constitutional requirements as a normative legal act of supreme legal force appeared in the Russian Constitution. It is necessary to determine the limits of freedom of parliamentary activity in the current conditions. The objective of the study. To analyze the deputy’s activity through the prism of constitutional amendments, in the correlation of the deputy’s activity as a free expression of his opinion and the established constitutional right restrictions. In this study, the formal-legal method was used to interpret the content of the constitutional amendments and the analysis method to identify the impact of the adopted amendments on the deputy activities. The analyzed constitutional provisions, having an “ideological” character, for the most part, cannot be qualified as a constitutional-legal norm. At best, it is a constitutional and legal principle, but most likely, it should be interpreted as a constitutional principle of a non-legal nature. However, at the same time, they are a legally binding rule of law. Concerning parliamentary activity, the “ideological” norms of the Russian Federation’s Constitution after its amendments from 2020 play a special role. Deputies are forced to take one political position in the presence of several alternatives, which are also devoid of signs of illegality and, therefore, are legitimate and permissible in a democratic society. Therefore, in relation to deputies’ activities, these amendments can be interpreted as a very significant deviation from the freedom of expression in a democratic society. These constitutional innovations significantly change some traditional ideas about the people’s representation, the role of deputies in society, their obligations, and constitutional legal restrictions on their activities.

Author(s):  
Abdulmalik Sugow ◽  
Zalo Margret ◽  
Isaac Rutenbeg

Kenya’s Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act makes it an offence, in Section 27, for a person to communicate with another a message that they know or ought to know would cause the recipient fear; is indecent or offensive in nature; or would detrimentally affect the recipient. This offence carries a penalty of either a 20 million shilling fine or a 10-year term of imprisonment or—discretionarily—both. While the offence is termed ‘cyber-harassment’, its wording appears to exclude a number of offences that would count as cyber-harassment such as cyber-stalking, doxing or impersonation. In fact, its wording is vague and overbroad, using undefined terms such as ‘detrimentally affect’ which require subjective interpretation. Cyber-harassment laws constitute a limitation on the freedom of expression and as such, ought to conform to the limitations of human rights test as provided in Article 24 of the Constitution. Where the aim sought is legitimate in a democratic society and other conditions such as legality are met, this limitation is valid. This paper reviews Kenya’s law that was recently upheld by the High Court in Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) v Attorney General & Three others; Article 19 East Africa & another and finds that it fails to meet the limitations test prescribed under Article 24 of the Constitution. It argues that Section 27 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act is therefore overbroad and has the potential to be used as a tool for the unconstitutional suppression of legitimate criticism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 233-237
Author(s):  
Vladislav V. Gruzdev ◽  
Mariya L. Gruzdeva ◽  
Vladimir N. Yershov ◽  
Vladimir A. Smirnov

The article deals with the problem that arose in the collision of globalisation processes in economics, finance, politics and traditional social institutions, primarily the family. The authors come to the conclusion that the issue of preserving traditional family values, which are the basis and condition for existence and successful development for all peoples living in Russia, acquires a special role. The greatest public resonance is the issue of traditional and “non-traditional” concepts of the family, which actualises the problem of legal protection of traditional family values in Russia. The 2020 constitutional amendments are analysed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Vaidas Jurkevičius ◽  
Jūratė Šidlauskienė

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate a criterion of potential consequences of liability of an Internet portal for unlawful comments of its visitors and set certain general waymarks, which would apply to cases of this kind. Research methodology – The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in four cases (Delfi AS v. Estonia, MTE & Index v. Hungary, Pihl v. Sweden and Tamiz v. the United Kingdom) on whether civil liability can be justified to the website operators for anonymous comments made on their portals that violate the right to privacy. One of the criteria of such evaluation was the possible negative consequences of the civil liability of these entities, but its content and meaning have not been thoroughly studied in the doctrine. Therefore the authors analyse the content of this criterion on the basis of a comparative method. Taking into account the legal context of this study, specific methods of legal interpretation are used in this article (such as, systemic, teleologic, histrorical). Findings – Authors conclude that addressing the civil liability of website operators for damages caused by anonymous comments violating the right to privacy must consider not only the financial, and not only ad hoc, short- and long-term adverse effects of the website operators in general, but the impact of the ruling on the concept of free media and other property and non-material consequences for a democratic society as a whole. Research limitations – This article deals with one criteria for the application of civil liability of website operators for the infringement of an individual’s right to privacy by anonymous comments, that is – the possible negative consequences of the civil liability of these entities. That is the continuation of the authors’ research on the topic of website operator’s liability for unlawful anonymous comments. Practical implications – The research reveals that the consequences of applying the civil liability to the website operator are conditions for assessment of extent of the already existing civil liability; therefore, the criteria of the consequences that arose and / or could arise to website operator are not to be considered as factors justifying the application of civil liability, but rather as factors determining, i.e. extending or limiting, the extent of civil liability. Originality/Value – The vacuum of a consistent concept of assessing the behavior of website operators in response to unlawful comments poses a threat not only to the sustainability of website operators as business or public interest entities, but also to the stability of the legal system as a whole. It is therefore important to disclose the content of elements of assessment of the necessity of restricting the freedom of expression of website operators in a democratic society, which are unregulated and formulated only in the case law of the ECtHR, and which have been applied in national courts for horizontal civil liability claims for anonymous comments. There are no previous research that would focus on these issues.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 112-116
Author(s):  
Vladimir Tabolin

The subject is constitutional legal issues of urbanization in Russia.The purpose of the article is to identify main constitutional legal problems of urbanization in Russia and suggest the ways of their settlement.The methodology. The author uses a dialectical method, a method of analysis and synthesis, a formal legal method, a comparative legal method.Results and scope of application. Number of problems of constitutional and legal regulation and law enforcement in the context of urbanization were analyzed. The role of cities and villages in the formation of Russian society and the state, legal and socio-economic features of law enforcement in urban and rural life, the impact of scientific and technological progress on cities were studied.The author believes that the Russian Constitution is "the Constitution of cities" because almost any legal peculiarities of the constitutional legal regulation of the forms of urban and rural life are not incorporated. It is one of the causes of the degradation of the modern village. "City state" formation anticipated a number of negative factors. The author identifies the factors that determine prospects of the development of modern law enforcement in a situation of global urbanization.Conclusions. The urbanization process cannot be artificially stimulated in favor of doubtful socio-economic achievements. We can’t ignore the quality of law-creation from the point of view of realization of interests of the population and ensure effective law enforcement at all levels of government and management.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuks Okpaluba

‘Accountability’ is one of the democratic values entrenched in the Constitution of South Africa, 1996. It is a value recognised throughout the Constitution and imposed upon the law-making organs of state, the Executive, the Judiciary and all public functionaries. This constitutional imperative is given pride of place among the other founding values: equality before the law, the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution. This study therefore sets out to investigate how the courts have grappled with the interpretation and application of the principle of accountability, the starting point being the relationship between accountability and judicial review. Therefore, in the exercise of its judicial review power, a court may enquire whether the failure of a public functionary to comply with a constitutional duty of accountability renders the decision made illegal, irrational or unreasonable. One of the many facets of the principle of accountability upon which this article dwells is to ascertain how the courts have deployed that expression in making the state and its agencies liable for the delictual wrongs committed against an individual in vindication of a breach of the individual’s constitutional right in the course of performing a public duty. Here, accountability and breach of public duty; the liability of the state for detaining illegal immigrants contrary to the prescripts of the law; the vicarious liability of the state for the criminal acts of the police and other law-enforcement officers (as in police rape cases and misuse of official firearms by police officers), and the liability of the state for delictual conduct in the context of public procurement are discussed. Having carefully analysed the available case law, this article concludes that no public functionary can brush aside the duty of accountability wherever it is imposed without being in breach of a vital constitutional mandate. Further, it is the constitutional duty of the courts, when called upon, to declare such act or conduct an infringement of the Constitution.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 103-118
Author(s):  
O.A. SIDENKO ◽  
◽  
D.V. SOSUNOV ◽  

The purpose of the article is to reveal the contradictions of the Russian transitional constitutionalism of the 2020 model as perceived by experts. It is achieved by presenting a palette of experts' views on the phenomenon of constitutionalism, expert assessments of the impact of the 2020 constitutional reform on constitutional principles, the distance between citizens and authorities, as well as expert opinions on the existence of value consolidation between the state and civil society in modern Russia. It is extremely important that the constitutional amendments, contributing to adaptation to changing realities, remain within the framework of the system of constitutionalism. There is no relevant developed methodology for political and legal assessment in the Russian-language scientific literature. The research group, having resorted to an expert survey, proposed their own version. The results obtained indicate not only the importance of value connotations in the perception of constitutionalism by experts, the weakening of all groups of constitutional principles (negative assessments prevail over positive ones), the manipulative nature of the process, but also a potential increase in the distance between the governors and the governed. Nevertheless, the threshold values that could indicate the interpretation of constitutional novels by experts as leading to going beyond the framework of constitutionalism are not identified. Since the project is pilot and generalizations are based on expert estimates, the conclusions are debatable.


Author(s):  
Dirk Voorhoof

The normative perspective of this chapter is how to guarantee respect for the fundamental values of freedom of expression and journalistic reporting on matters of public interest in cases where a (public) person claims protection of his or her right to reputation. First it explains why there is an increasing number and expanding potential of conflicts between the right to freedom of expression and media freedom (Article 10 ECHR), on the one hand, and the right of privacy and the right to protection of reputation (Article 8 ECHR), on the other. In addressing and analysing the European Court’s balancing approach in this domain, the characteristics and the impact of the seminal 2012 Grand Chamber judgment in Axel Springer AG v. Germany (no. 1) are identified and explained. On the basis of the analysis of the Court’s subsequent jurisprudence in defamation cases it evaluates whether this case law preserves the public watchdog-function of media, investigative journalism and NGOs reporting on matters of public interest, but tarnishing the reputation of public figures.


Author(s):  
Zoya Ostropolska ◽  

It is noted that in modern socio-economic conditions the problem of social responsibility of business, which is based on the responsibility of the organization for the impact of its decisions on society, its welfare, the environment; the interrelation of such concepts as social corporate responsibility, corporate ethics, corporate culture, business ethics, social and ethical marketing, image, reputation is analyzed. Emphasis is placed on the fact that compliance with the principles of socially responsible marketing directly affects the formation of a positive image and reputation of the company, which in turn are the same assets of the company as others, but do not have a material component. The essence of the concepts "image" and "reputation" is revealed, the interrelation between these concepts is investigated and their fundamental differences are determined. The special role of trust in the process of managing the reputation of the organization is determined; the definition of trust as the basis for the formation of reputation is given; emphasis is placed on the crisis of confidence in modern society and approaches to overcoming this crisis. It is noted that the formation of trust is possible due to the openness of the company and public dialogue, which is based on the organization's communication policy, not only with the use of advertising in all its manifestations or PR technologies, but also certain social actions, active participation in public life. solving social problems, ie all those issues that are outside the scope of business, but indirectly affect it. It is concluded that socio-ethical, environmental, cultural problems have long acquired a global character, solving these problems brings additional benefits to business in the long run, strengthens its reputation and forms a positive image in society, to implement all these intentions designed socially responsible marketing , which becomes a tool in managing the reputation of the organization. It is noted that the problem of reputation management as an asset of the organization, which is becoming increasingly important and requires a strategic approach, needs special attention.


2011 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacobus C.W. Van Rooyen

The issue that this article dealt with is whether, in South African law, speech that infringes upon the religious feelings of an individual is protected by the dignity clause in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The Constitution, as well as the Broadcasting Code, prohibits language that advocates hatred, inter alia, based on religion and that constitutes incitement to cause harm. Dignity, which is a central Constitutional right, relates to the sense of self worth which a person has. A Court has held that religious feelings, national pride and language do not form part of dignity, for purposes of protection in law. The Broadcasting Complaints Commission has, similarly, decided that a point of view seriously derogatory of ‘Calvinistic people’ blaming (some of) them as being hypocritical and even acting criminally is not protected by dignity. It would have to be accompanied by the advocacy of hatred as defined previously. The author, however, pointed out that on occasion different facts might found a finding in law that religion is so closely connected to dignity, that it will indeed be regarded as part thereof.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Miró-Llinares

Nowadays it is easy to find public statements about the situation of freedom of expression in different democracies questioning the exercise of this right, perhaps as a result of the political tensions to which democratic states have been subjected in recent years. In this sense, Spain does not escape from these diagnoses. Both international indicators that try to measure the situation and evolution of freedom of expression in different States and academic scholars highlight the excessive criminalization of certain speeches that end up in criminal proceedings that sentence people who make offensive expressions, mainly through social networks. However, in order to reach this diagnosis it is necessary to put together all the symptoms that would lead us to that conclusion. Therefore, in this paper I analyze two main indicators that could shed more light on the state of freedom of expression in Spain and the impact that social networks have had on it. Firstly, I analyze the legislative evolution of expression offences since 1995, to evaluate the limits of certain expressions in order to reach the conclusion that, effectively, over the years the punitive scope of what cannot be expressed has been extended, thus limiting, at least in abstract, freedom of expression. Secondly, I analyze the jurisprudential evolution of all these crimes since 1995 to show that, indeed, the proliferation of sentences from 2015 to the present shows the increase in the criminalization of expressions that are made eminently through social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. To conclude, I reflect on the possibility that the latest absolutory sentence by the Constitutional Court of the singer of the band Def con Dos César Strawberry will increase the feeling that, from now on, all expression is admissible and, therefore, will increase free expression in general and, in particular, in social networks, since, it does not seem that our legislator is willing to rectify in its steps the excessive criminalization of certain offenses. I also reflect on the need to approach freedom of expression in a more empirical way and the need to evaluate not only the limitations that the law and judicial processes impose on freedom of expression, but also the extent to which citizens in general and, in particular, users of social networks, without the need to have gone through any criminal proceedings, have stopped expressing their opinions because only in this way will it be possible to determine the state of health of our right to freedom of expression.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document