The Problem of Defining Local Self-Government as a Key Actor of a Unified System of Public Power and Admininstration (Analysis of the Problem Field)

The analysis of the problem field is a serious problem from the methodological and methodical point of view. The solution of this problem becomes particularly difficult in cases when the object under study is characterized by a high level of structural and process diversity, has a dynamic character, i. e. it is constantly evolving, and exists in many variants with the presence of the invariant enshrined in international acts and legislation of most states. The end of the last century was a period of rethinking of many concepts that define the complex processes of political and social interaction of various levels and elements of the system of power and public administration in Russia. The adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993 put forward fundamental problems that needed to be solved to move the country along the path of democratization, build a market economy and form an effective governing system. Article 12 of the first chapter establishes the autonomy of local self-government as an institution, guarantees its protection from excessive state influence. This provision reflects the global trend of consolidating the right to local self-government in democratic states. However, the European Charter of Local Self-Government includes a provision on the independence of local self-government in resolving issues of local significance only within the framework of state legislation, i. e. it establishes its subordinate nature. The latter provision automatically makes local self-government part of the unified system of public power and public administration, which is reflected in the corresponding amendment to Ch. 8 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation “Local self-government” in 2020. This makes t relevant he problem of the local authorities ‘ own powers, the division of functions between them and state authorities to achieve the fundamental goal of the modern state — to ensure an optimal uniform quality of life throughout the territory. The purpose of the article is to characterize the problem field in which the concepts of “public power” and “public administration” are defined and analysed in the context of considering local self-government as a key actor of both systems. The objectives of the research are to determine the boundaries of this problem field, its structure, as well as the difference in approaches to this problem in the works of Russian and foreign authors, including scientists from Central Asian countries.

The role of legal responsibility in the implementation of the principle of the unity of public authority in Russia

The subject. The article presents a comprehensive general theoretical analysis of the institution of legal responsibility and its role, taking into account the consolidation of the new constitutional and legal principle of the unity of the system of public power.The purpose of the research is to confirm or disprove hypothesis that it is necessary to legislate a full-fledged mechanism of legal responsibility of state bodies and local self-government bodies in order to implement the constitutional principle of the unity of public power.Methodology. The formal legal method, the method of comparative legal analysis, dialectical method and systemic approach were used.The main results, scope of application. The authors found the manifestation of dualism in the work of the institution of legal responsibility. It consists in the ability to bear responsibility both to the state, in connection with various offenses, and to the population itself. A brief description of the loss of trust as a basis for the responsibility of officials is given, taking into account contemporary legislation. Directions for the further development of this legal institution are highlighted. The article examines the opinion of the Russian Constitutional Court on the legitimacy of using the loss of trust as a basis for the responsibility of public authorities. The article examines the normative legal acts, which fix the mechanism for the implementation of the principle of maintaining trust in the activities of the authorities on the part of society. For example, in relation to state civil and municipal employees, a prohibition has been established on statements about the activities of authorities and their assessment, if such actions are not included in the list of their official duties. Such a mechanism for maintaining public confidence in the work of government bodies should contribute to strengthening the unity of the public power system. At the same time we can talk about the existing trend towards a decrease in the level of public confidence in the work of authorized bodies exercising public authority. The corruption and bureaucratization of the activities of officials, the expansion of the powers of law enforcement agencies, a decrease in the independence of the political opposition are pointed to among the possible reasons most often. In this regard, the paper proposes expanding the grounds for responsibility when implementing the procedure for recalling an official.Conclusions. It is necessary to consolidate a full-fledged legislative mechanism of legal responsibility of state bodies and local self-government bodies, which will contribute to the implementation and strengthening of the new principle of the unity of public authority.

Medicalization and Securitization of the Administrative-Public Sphere in the Conditions of the Pandemic in Russia and Germany

Against the background of the widespread introduction of a wide range of social and medical measures to protect the health of citizens in order to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19, attention is drawn to the growing socio-political trend of medicalization of the entire administrative and public sphere. It is reflected in the increasingly clear "securitization" of many parts of public power, which is reflected in the ongoing redistribution and transformation of police powers. A number of world governments are taking actions to combat the pandemic, from imposing responsibility for poor compliance with the introduced antiepidemiological restrictions to developing a vaccine and conducting mass vaccinations, as a result of which lawmaking is actively pursued. In the extraordinary conditions in Russia, as in other countries of the world, the most effective measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection and overcome its consequences were in demand - measures of administrative coercion. The state actively uses the entire arsenal of legal means, including measures of administrative prevention, administrative procedural support and administrative punishment. In the article, the authors analyzed the administrative and legal norms of the Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Germany, aimed at preventing the import and spread of a new corona virus infection (COVID-19). The trends in the expansion of the scale of administrative and police control, the influence of the state on changing the standards of behavior of citizens and the lifestyle of the population, and the movement of significant segments of crime into cyberspace are illustrated. Comprehension of the latest domestic and foreign experience, forms and methods of police-legal influence in order to reflect the danger, confirms the high relevance and important theoretical significance of the study. The authors conclude that at present both for Russia and for Germany the issues of redistribution and transformation of police powers in the administrative-public sphere of any state, reflecting the processes of medicalization and securitization of various links and sectors of public power in response to existential threats, are relevant and promising. directions of scientific research.

A critical look at improving the system of executive bodies in the context of the 2020 Constitutional Reform

On the basis of the Law of the Russian Federation on the amending the Constitution of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2020 no. 1-FKZ "On improving regulation of certain issues of the organization of public power", the article attempts to critically assess certain issues of improving the system of executive authorities.

Features of municipal-level election campaigns in the capitals of the Tver, Belgorod and Kostroma regions

The article deals with the peculiarities of the course of election campaigns in the municipal representative bodies of the cities of Tver and Kostroma. The article is part of a larger study on the peculiarities of the course of election campaigns in the capitals or administrative centers of the subjects of the Russian Federation in the Central Federal District, which focuses on the problems of three subjects and compares the research material from these subjects with general district trends and features. Tver, Belgorod and Kostroma represent a wide geographical range and three peculiar examples of the course of election campaigns in large municipalities. The study revealed such common features as low turnout, rather weak competitiveness, the use of black PR and other shadow technologies, the traditional representation of lobbying structures in municipal parliaments, as well as the mobilization of "parliamentary opposition parties" and small parties at the last election campaigns in the elections of the type we study. The article acquires particular importance within the framework of the work of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (and subsequent legislative instances) on Draft Law No. 1256381-7 «On general principles of the organization of public power in the subjects of the Russian Federation», where special attention is supposed to be attributed to the order of election and aspects of regulation of the work of municipal parliaments of the capitals of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

Local self-government as a constitutional value: from the origins to the current state

July 6, 2021 dates 30 years since the appearance of the first law on local self-government in the modern history of Russia. Over the past period, the Russian state and the Russian legal system have undergone a difficult path to modernization of the legislation on local self-government and its approbation to actual reality. During this historical period, Russian Federation adopted the Constitution, the text of which was significantly transformed in 2020; local self-government, in addition to the mentioned law of 1991, incorporated all the «joys and hardships» from the federal laws «On General Principles of the organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation» of 1995 and 2003. This article presents a comparative legal analysis of certain provisions of federal laws on local selfgovernment, which have been regulating for 30 years at the level of the federal legislator the issues of local self-government in the Russian Federation as one of the fundamental constitutional values of modern democratic states. The author makes a disappointing conclusion that the named constitutional value has been significantly changed both in form and content over the past historical period of the development of the Russian statehood. This predetermined the situation of «crisis» of the current state of local self-government in the Russian Federation and the possibility of its «dissolution» with the emergence of a constitutional category «a unified system of public power».

Constitutional principles of the creation of federal territories in Russia

Introduction. During the constitutional reform of 2020, part 1 of Article 67 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation was supplemented with a provision on the possibility of creating federal territories. In this regard, questions need to be resolved about how the constitutional novel should relate to the principles of federalism established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and what the principles for the creation of federal territories in Russia are. Theoretical analysis. The creation of federal territories in the Russian Federation should take place subject to strict compliance with the principle of state integrity, the principle of equality and self-determination of the peoples of Russia; the principle of unity of the public power system; the principle of priority of individual rights and freedoms, their recognition, observance and protection by the state; the principle of compliance with the goals of the formation of federal territories with the strategic interests of the Russian Federation. Empirical analysis. It is revealed that the current version of Part 1 of Article 67 of the Constitution, firstly, establishes the possibility of creating federal territories as a new type of public legal territory, secondly, provides for a special organization of public power in these territories, different from the generally accepted organization operating on the territory of the subjects of the Russian Federation, and, thirdly, defines the constitutional and legal mechanism for their creation: the adoption of a federal law. This norm does not specify the types of federal territories and the possible goals of their creation. These issues are fully attributed to the discretionary powers of the Russian Parliament. Results. Based on the analysis of the scientific literature devoted to the problems of federal territories in Russia and abroad, and the legislation of the Russian Federation, the definition can be formulated: federal territory is a public legal entity that has a special constitutional and legal status determined by national strategic significance, created in accordance with a regulatory act providing for direct or indirect management of it by the federal government, defining the specifics of the exercise of public power in accordance with the goals of creation, additional guarantees and restrictions on the rights and freedoms of citizens.

The slippery slope to State capture: cadre deployment as an enabler of corruption and a contributor to blurred party-State lines

Drawing on both legal and political sources, this article scrutinises the policy of cadre deployment that the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party in South Africa, has implemented, and continues to apply. The analysis begins by recalling and commenting on the only reported judgment in South African jurisprudence that dealt with the political influencing of municipalities' exercise of their public power to make appointments, namely, Mlokoti v Amathole District Municipality & another 2009 (6) SA 354 (ECD). What the Mlokoti case has confirmed is that the legal foundation for the exercise of public power is found in the Constitution and its enabling legislation, and not in party political policy, such as the ongoing practice of cadre deployment. In an investigation of cadre deployment, the article then demonstrates that this ANC policy, particularly judging by its stated purpose, is incompatible with the constitutional State and, instead, enables the rise of the shadow State. Unsurprisingly, therefore, political commentators increasingly observe that, apart from the revelations at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry, State capture in South Africa in fact commenced when the ANC assumed political power in pursuit of the National Democratic Revolution. It is argued that the pursuit of a National Democratic Revolution in South Africa is directly at odds with the vision and goals of the 1994 constitutional pact. Convening a bipartisan national convention on philosophical and other approaches to the fight against corruption may offer a solution. Here, a starting point would be to reconsider the country's anti-corruption strategies to pay proper attention to the ethical causes of this scourge.

The legal principle of the newest system of Ukrainian law in the activity of the judiciary is legalized

The purpose: to study the rule of law as a principle in the judiciary in such aspects as to clarify the origins of the idea of the rule of law, the relationship between the concepts of the rule of law and the judiciary, analysis of relevant doctrine in Ukraine. Methods: dialectical, hermeneutic, prognostic, comparative-legal, formal-logical, method of modeling, decomposition, complex analysis, intersectoral method of legal research, logical methods that were used as tools to achieve this goal. Results: Applying the principle of the rule of law, the judge must remember it as a global goal of justice - the rule of law in society. The resolution of every dispute and any legal conflict must be aimed at adhering to this principle. Scientific novelty: From a practical point of view, the rule of law determines the place of the judiciary in the system of public power, which should attest not only to the real separation of powers but also to the judiciary's ability to limit the discretion of the legislature and the executive. This is possible only if the court (and justice procedures) are independent of other branches of government. This approach to the relationship between the separation of powers (traditionally - an element of the concept of the rule of law) brings together the concept of the rule of law and the idea of the rule of law in modern conditions. The principle of the rule of law in the modern state is studied. Emphasis is placed on the scope of the rule of law, which includes: legality, which provides for a transparent, accountable and democratic process for the implementation of legal provisions; legal certainty; prohibition of arbitrariness; access to justice; respect for human rights; prohibition of discrimination; equality before the law. Conceptually, the rule of law is to limit the arbitrariness of public authority over society and the individual. Different ways of establishing the system of the rule of law (the court through the application of human rights directly forms the system of the constitution - the English tradition; it is created by the people through the exercise of constituent power - the European continental tradition) are not fundamental. From a practical point of view, the rule of law determines the place of the courts in the system of public power, which must attest not only to the real separation of powers but also to the judiciary's ability to limit the discretion of the legislature and executive. This is possible only if the court (and justice procedures) are independent of other branches of government. This approach to the relationship between the separation of powers (traditionally an element of the rule of law) brings together the concepts of the rule of law and the rule of law. The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the theoretical foundations of judicial law enforcement in Ukraine as a special process of practical achievement of the rule of law in the daily activities of courts, carried out after the constitutional reform of justice in 2016-2017. The acute theoretical and applied need to find ways and means to ensure the unity of law enforcement after this reform, which allowed to form a new scientific approach to solving problems of judicial law enforcement. The problem is solved with the help of intersectoral methodology and integration in law, given the expansion of the functions of the judiciary, in particular, in terms of increasing the law-making role of courts (the theory of "soft" separation of state power). The article proves that the current state of transit legislation in Ukraine leads to the fact that the courts of first instance (sometimes - the appellate court as courts of first instance) take on challenges - to consider the case, guided by the rule of law, taking into account not only the balance of public and private interests, but often the existence of gaps in laws or applying poor quality legislation. The result of judicial enforcement in such cases is the completion of a rule of law, which in fact can be considered a judicial rule and become the basis for the emergence of a new law, the maintenance of which during the review of the court decision gives it a precedent, and thus lower courts promote judicial supremacy.