The Constitutional Court decides disputes about competence between. Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation: formation procedure, composition, structure and status of judges

Keywords: composition, structure, powers, constitutional, court, RF

Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation- a judicial body of constitutional control, independently and independently exercising judicial power through constitutional proceedings.

The powers, procedure for the formation and activities of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are determined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation ( Art. 125) And FKZ "On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation" July 21, 1994 (rev. February 5, 2007).

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation consists of 19 judges , appointed by the Federation Council on the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation . The Constitutional Court has the right to carry out its activities in the presence of at least three quarters of the total number of judges in its composition. Powers of the Constitutional Court, Judge of the Constitutional Court Russian Federation not limited in time. age limit tenure as a judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation - seventy years .

A judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is considered to have taken office from the moment he takes the oath. His mandate ends on the last day of the month in which he turns seventy. A judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, who has reached the age limit for holding the position of a judge, continues to act as a judge until a final decision is made on a case initiated with his participation, or until a new judge is appointed to the position.

The Constitutional Court has broad powers. In order to protection of the foundations of the constitutional order, fundamental rights and freedoms of man and citizen, ensuring the rule and direct action Constitution of the Russian Federation throughout its territory Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation:

1) resolves cases on compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation :

a) Federal Law, regulations of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State. Duma, Government of the Russian Federation;

b) the constitutions of the republics, charters, as well as laws and other normative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, issued on issues related to the jurisdiction of state bodies. authorities of the Russian Federation and the joint jurisdiction of state bodies. authorities of the Russian Federation and state bodies. the power of its subjects;

c) agreements between state bodies. authorities of the Russian Federation and state bodies. the authorities of its subjects, agreements between state bodies. the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;

d) international treaties of the Russian Federation that have not entered into force;

2) resolve disputes over competence :

a) between federal authorities state authorities;

b) between state bodies. authorities of the Russian Federation and state bodies. the power of its subjects;

c) between the highest state. bodies of subjects of the Russian Federation;

3) on complaints of violation of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens and at the request of the courts, checks the constitutionality of the law applied or to be applied in a particular case;

4) gives an interpretation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation ;

5) gives an opinion on compliance with the established procedure for bringing charges against the President of the Russian Federation in the state treason or commission of another serious crime;

6) performs with legislative initiative on matters of their jurisdiction ;

7) carries out other powers provided to him by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Federal Treaty and the FKZ; may also enjoy the rights granted to him by prisoners in accordance with Art. 11 of the Constitution by agreements on the delimitation of subjects of jurisdiction and powers between state bodies. authorities of the Russian Federation and state bodies. the power of its subjects, if these rights do not contradict its legal. nature and purpose as a judicial body of constitutional control.

It should be emphasized that The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation decides exclusively questions of law. In the course of constitutional proceedings, he refrains from establishing and investigating factual circumstances in all cases where this falls within the competence of other courts or other bodies . For questions about your internal activities The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation adopts the Rules of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation .

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation considers and resolves cases in plenary sessions and sessions of chambers .

The Constitutional Court consists of two chambers, including 10 and 9 judges respectively. The personal composition of the chambers is determined by drawing lots, the procedure for which is established by the Rules of the Constitutional Court.

In plenary sessions all judges of the Constitutional Court participate, in the meetings of the chambers - judges who are members of the relevant chamber.

The personal composition of the chambers should not remain unchanged for more than three years in a row. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court cannot be members of the same chamber.

The order in which the judges who are members of the chamber exercise the powers of the presiding officer in its sessions is determined at a session of the chamber.

The Constitutional Court has the right to consider in plenary session any issue within its competence. Exclusively in plenary sessions the Constitutional Court : 1) resolves cases on the conformity of the Constitution of the Russian Federation with the constitutions of the republics and the statutes of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation ; 2) gives an interpretation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation ; 3) gives an opinion on compliance with the established procedure for bringing charges against the President of the Russian Federation in the state treason or commission of another serious crime; 4) receive messages from the Constitutional Court ; 5) resolves the issue of speaking with legislative initiative on matters of their management.

Constitutional Court in plenary sessions Also: 1) elects Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Judge Secretary Constitutional Court; 2) shapes personal compositions of chambers Constitutional Court; 3) adopts the Regulation the Constitutional Court and makes changes and additions to it; 4) establishes the order of consideration of cases in plenary sessions , and also distributes cases between chambers; 5) decides on the suspension or termination of the powers of a judge of the Constitutional Court , and on early dismissal of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and secretary judge Constitutional Court.

In the sessions of the chambers, the Constitutional Court resolves cases that are within its jurisdiction and are not subject to consideration exclusively in plenary sessions. These cases include: 1. Cases on compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation: A) Federal Law, regulations of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State. Dumas, Governments of the Russian Federation ; b) laws and other normative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation published on issues related to the jurisdiction of state bodies. authorities of the Russian Federation and the joint jurisdiction of state bodies. authorities of the Russian Federation and state bodies. the power of its subjects; V) contracts between government agencies. authorities of the Russian Federation and state bodies. the authorities of its subjects, agreements between state bodies. authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation ; G) international treaties of the Russian Federation that have not entered into force .

2. The Constitutional Court in the sessions of the chambers also resolves disputes on the competence of: A) between fed. state bodies. authorities ; b) between government agencies authorities of the Russian Federation and state bodies. the power of its subjects ; V) m / y higher state. bodies of subjects of the Russian Federation .

1. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation consists of 19 judges.

2. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, at the request of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State Duma, one-fifth of the members of the Federation Council or deputies of the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, legislative and executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, resolves cases on compliance with the Constitution Russian Federation:

a) federal laws, regulations of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation;

b) the constitutions of the republics, charters, as well as laws and other normative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, issued on issues related to the jurisdiction of the state authorities of the Russian Federation and the joint jurisdiction of the state authorities of the Russian Federation and the state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;

c) agreements between state authorities of the Russian Federation and state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, agreements between state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;

d) international treaties of the Russian Federation that have not entered into force * (26).

3. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation resolves disputes about the competence of:

a) between federal government bodies;

b) between state authorities of the Russian Federation and state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;

c) between the highest state bodies of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

4. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, on complaints of violation of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens and at the request of the courts, verifies the constitutionality of the law applied or to be applied in a specific case, in the manner prescribed by federal law.

5. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, at the request of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation, the legislative authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, gives an interpretation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

6. Acts or their separate provisions, recognized as unconstitutional, lose their force; international treaties of the Russian Federation that do not comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation are not subject to entry into force and application.

7. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, at the request of the Federation Council, issues an opinion on compliance with the established procedure for accusing the President of the Russian Federation of high treason or committing another grave crime.

Commentary on Article 125 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation

1. Judicial constitutional control, carried out in Russia by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, constitutional, statutory courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, has a relatively short, 17-year history. Other states of the world (and bodies of constitutional jurisdiction have been established in most of them) have more significant experience in such control: for example, over 200 years in the USA, about 90 years in Austria, almost 60 years in Germany, 50 years in France.

Modern Russia could not but be influenced by world experience and the doctrine of constitutional justice. In principle, Russia accepted the European model, characterized by the creation of a special body of constitutional control (constitutional court, council) to resolve constitutional legal issues and disputes in a special procedure, although there were still supporters of the American model, which differs in that constitutional control is a function of general courts. jurisdiction (all in the country or only the Supreme Court), exercised in the exercise of their ordinary legal proceedings in specific criminal, civil and other cases. The European model of judicial constitutional control was also chosen by the majority of post-socialist states.

By the time the Constitutional Court was established in Russia in 1991, there was no developed conceptual model of constitutional justice. The main scientific baggage in this area was critical studies of foreign models of constitutional control, supervision, and justice. Only in the 1970s and 1980s did a more balanced, positive approach to these problems emerge. In the previous historical period, the ideas of a constitutional justice had no chance not only for recognition, but even for public dissemination under the dominance of the official doctrine of the sovereignty of the Soviets, the real monopoly on power of the party-state elite, and the rejection of the principle of separation of powers in ideology.

True, certain constitutional and control functions were assigned by Soviet constitutions to the highest authorities, but they did not receive and could not receive in practice due to the above reasons. necessary development. There was also no judicial constitutional control, apart from a kind of judicial advisory function in this area, carried out by the Supreme Court of the USSR in the 20-30s of the 20th century.

The creation of the USSR Constitutional Supervision Committee during the perestroika period on the basis of the USSR Law of December 23, 1989 "On Constitutional Supervision in the USSR" had a positive significance, but did not lead to a fundamental change in the sphere of constitutional control in the country. In addition, the Committee did not last long - from April 1990 to December 1991. In fact, and by the nature of most of the powers granted to it, the Committee was an auxiliary tool of the highest legislative body, mainly with advisory functions * (1164).

Even during the existence of the USSR, Russia, carrying out democratic transformations, became the first to adopt a fundamentally new, compared to the Union, decision - to establish a special institution of judicial constitutional control - the Constitutional Court, a body previously unknown to our political and legal system. This was provided for by the Law of the RSFSR of December 15, 1990, which replaced the provision of Art. 119 of the Constitution of the RSFSR on the Committee for Constitutional Supervision of the RSFSR, copied from the Union Constitution, but never implemented. On July 12, 1991, the Law "On the Constitutional Court of the RSFSR" was adopted. On October 29-30, 1991 constitutional judges were elected. On January 14, 1992, the first session of the Constitutional Court took place. In October, 1993 in the conditions of the aggravated political struggle, sharp confrontation between legislative and executive authorities during which the Constitutional Court unsuccessfully tried to become the constitutional arbiter, its activity was suspended before adoption of the new Constitution * (1165).

The Constitution of 1993, despite other organizational and legal forms of constitutional justice proposed during the preparation of its draft, retained the Court as an independent institution of power. True, its competence, numerical composition, formation procedure, and organizational structure have changed.

The former Constitution defined the purpose of the Constitutional Court in an unusually broad way - "the highest body judiciary for the protection of the constitutional order" (Article 165). The Constitution of 1993 does not contain a description of the status of the Court. It is given in the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation adopted on the basis of the Constitution: The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is a judicial body of constitutional control, independently and independently exercising judicial power through constitutional proceedings (Article 1).

In the Constitution, the norms on the Court are included in ch. 7 "Judicial power" (Article 125, Part 2 of Article 118, Parts 1 and 3 of Article 128), which emphasizes his belonging to the judicial branch of power. At the same time, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation differs significantly from other judicial bodies in terms of its competence, organization, procedure of activity, the nature of the cases under consideration and the decisions made, their legal force and the mechanism of execution. He carries out a special type of justice - constitutional, while applying a special procedure - constitutional proceedings. The Constitutional Court does not consider specific criminal, civil, arbitration, administrative cases. It is endowed with the function of constitutional control in order to protect the foundations of the constitutional order, the fundamental rights and freedoms of man and citizen, to ensure the supremacy and direct effect of the Constitution throughout the country (Article 3 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation). Constitutional control is expressed in the verification and assessment of the constitutionality of laws, other normative acts, treaties that become invalid if they are declared unconstitutional, in resolving disputes about competence, interpreting the Constitution, which is designed to ensure legal protection of the Constitution, balance, balancing powers within the boundaries established by the Constitution.

Due to the special status of the Constitutional Court as the main link in the mechanism of constitutional control, the highest constitutional body of the same level with the federal institutions of the presidential, legislative and executive powers, of all the highest judicial bodies, only its competence, along with the competence of the President, the State Duma, the Federation Council, the Government, defined directly and specifically in the Constitution. On the basis of the Constitution, the powers, procedure for the formation and operation of the Court are established by the Law on it.

2. Part 1 of Art. 125 of the Constitution determines the number of members of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation - 19 judges. The previous legislative regulation provided for 15 judges (in fact, 13 were elected and worked). The procedure for appointing constitutional judges is established in the Basic Law (clause "f" article 83, clause "g" part 1 article 102, part 1 article 128), specified in the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (article 4, 9 and 10) and the Rules of the Federation Council (ch. 24).

Judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are appointed by the Federation Council on the proposal of the President. Proposals on candidates may be submitted to the President by members of the Federation Council, deputies of the State Duma, legislative (representative) bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, supreme judicial bodies and federal legal departments, all-Russian legal communities, legal scientific and educational institutions. Legislation places high demands on candidates for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court. Only a citizen of the Russian Federation who has reached the age of at least 40 years by the date of appointment, with an impeccable reputation, has a higher legal education and at least 15 years of experience in the legal profession, and has a recognized high qualification in the field of law, can be appointed as such.

The issue of appointment to the position of a judge of the Constitutional Court is considered by the Federation Council no later than 14 days from the date of receipt of the President's proposal. Each judge is appointed to office individually by secret ballot. A person appointed to the position of a judge is considered to be a person who receives a majority of the total number of members of the Federation Council during the voting. The appointment is made by a resolution of the chamber. The judge at the meeting of the chamber is sworn in, the text of which is defined in Art. 10 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation: "I swear to honestly and conscientiously fulfill the duties of a judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, while obeying only the Constitution of the Russian Federation, nothing and no one else." In the event of the departure of a judge from the composition of the Court, a proposal to appoint another person to vacancy submitted by the President to the Federation Council no later than one month from the day the vacancy opens. Thus, in September 2008, a vacancy opened after the early retirement of Judge B.S. Ebzeev in connection with his election as President of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic.

The powers of the Constitutional Court as a body, unlike other higher state institutions, are not limited to a certain period, which ensures its autonomy and independence. This is also served by the principle of irremovability of judges during the term for which they are appointed. The legislator, however, has repeatedly changed the term of office of judges. Amendments to the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in 2005 established that the powers of a judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are not limited to a certain period, but the maximum age for holding this position is 70 years (Article 12). His powers may be terminated or suspended only in the manner and on the grounds established by the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (Articles 12, 14, 17 and 18).

Ensuring the independence, objectivity, impartiality and depoliticization of the Court and its judges is served by the statutory principle of incompatibility, i.e. a ban on activities and activities that are incompatible with the position of a constitutional judge, especially those related to activities of a political nature (belong to political parties and movements, participate in their congresses, conferences, other political actions, in election campaigns, etc.). A judge cannot engage in any other paid activity, except for creative (teaching, scientific, etc.), as well as provide patronage to anyone in the legal field; publicly express their opinion on the subject of consideration in the Court before a decision is made on it, etc. (Article 11 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation).

One of the important guarantees of the independence of the Court, equality of rights of judges was the provisions of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on the election by the judges themselves from among their members by secret ballot of the Chairman, his deputy and the judge-secretary of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. In 2009, the legislator changed this procedure by introducing a number of amendments to the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. The position of secretary judge was abolished, another position of deputy chairman was introduced instead, and it was established that the Chairman of the Constitutional Court and his deputies are appointed to positions by the Federation Council on the proposal of the President from among the judges of the Constitutional Court. The term of office of these persons has also been increased to 6 years instead of the previous 3. In justification for such changes, the need to unify the procedure for forming the leadership of all higher federal courts, greater transparency of this procedure, better security for the independence of the leadership of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation was pointed out, they also referred to world experience. Is it true, new procedure does not provide for any form of taking into account the opinion of judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on candidates for the positions of the Chairman and his deputies, unlike other higher federal courts, the heads of which can be appointed by the Federation Council to positions on the proposal of the President if there is a positive opinion of the High Qualifications Board of Judges of the Russian Federation - body of the judiciary and, in addition, the candidates for the deputy chairmen of these courts are presented to the President by the chairmen of these courts.

The formation of two chambers provided for by the Law serves to increase the efficiency and efficiency of the activities of the Constitutional Court. If at the first stage the Constitutional Court worked in a single composition of judges, then since 1994 it has been carrying out constitutional proceedings in three collegiums - through plenary sessions and sessions of chambers. In this case, each chamber acts as a Court. Decisions adopted both at the plenary meetings and at the meetings of the chambers are decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, they are legally equivalent. Such an organizational and legal structure of the Court demanded that its competence be distinguished between the plenum and the chambers. Any issue within the competence of the Court can be considered at the plenary session, but some of them - exclusively at such sessions (Art. 21, as well as Art. 15, 17, 18, 23, 24, 26, 42, 47 and 111 of the Law ). In the sessions of the chambers, cases are resolved that are within the jurisdiction of the Court and are not subject to consideration, according to the Law on it, exclusively in plenary sessions (Article 22). In practice, most of the cases are considered at the meetings of the chambers.

The main principles of the activities of the Constitutional Court are independence, collegiality, publicity, competitiveness and equality of the parties.

3. In hours 2-7 of Art. 125 of the Constitution establishes the competence of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. It has been significantly changed in comparison with its regulation at the first stage during the creation of the Constitutional Court. On the one hand, the 1993 Constitution assigned to the Court such important new powers as, for example, interpretation of the Constitution, verification of the constitutionality of intra-federal treaties, consideration of constitutional complaints, court requests, etc. On the other hand, some of the previous powers were excluded, for example, resolving cases on the constitutionality of political parties and other public associations, checking the constitutionality of law enforcement practice, non-normative acts, etc.

The powers of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are established both by the Constitution (Article 125, Part 3 of Article 100, Part 1 of Article 104), and in accordance with its Part 3 of Art. 128 federal constitutional law, which is the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. His Art. 3 (clause 7) provides that the Court may exercise the powers (rights) granted to it by other federal laws, as well as by Federal and other intra-federal treaties, if these rights do not contradict its legal nature and purpose as a judicial body of constitutional control. So far, the only example of establishing additional powers of the Constitutional Court is the Law on Referendum (checking the constitutionality of the initiative to hold a referendum on the proposed issue).

Thus, the list of powers of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation given in the Constitution is not closed, it can be supplemented by the above types of laws and treaties, but not changed or reduced by them. In this regard, one should critically evaluate the content of the norm included by the Federal Constitutional Law of December 15, 2001 N 4-FKZ in Art. 3 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, according to which the competence of the Court, established by this article, can be changed only by amending the Law. However, the competence of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, established in paragraphs 1-6 of Part 1 of Art. 3, - these are his powers reproduced verbatim, enshrined in parts 2-5, 7 of Art. 125 and part 1 of Art. 104 of the Constitution. Consequently, a change in this competence, not counting its addition, can be carried out only through the introduction of amendments to the Constitution, which alone can entail a subsequent change in the norms of the Law on the Competence of the Court.

The competence of the Constitutional Court is determined by fixing, firstly, the types of legal acts subject to verification and official interpretation, as well as the list of state authorities, disputes about the competence between which it is authorized to resolve; secondly, the circle of eligible subjects of appeal to the Court. At the same time, the Constitutional Court itself is not entitled to consider cases on its own initiative.

One of the main and most often implemented in practice is the power of the Court, established by Part 2 of Art. 125 of the Constitution, resolve cases on the constitutionality of normative acts and treaties. This is the so-called abstract normative control, i.e. out of connection with the application of the act in a particular judicial or other case. Four types of such acts fall under the jurisdiction of the Court: normative acts of the federal and regional levels, intra-federal treaties and international treaties of the Russian Federation that have not entered into force.

To the acts of the federal level subject to verification, clause "a" part 2 of Art. 125 of the Constitution relates primarily federal laws. In a number of its decisions, the Constitutional Court substantiated that in this case The Constitution means not only federal laws in the narrow sense, but also federal constitutional laws, which are also subject to verification in the order of constitutional proceedings (see Resolutions of 06.29.2004 N 13-P, of 03.21.2007 N 3-P * (1166 )). The Constitutional Court, in the manner of abstract normative control, is also authorized to resolve cases on the constitutionality of any normative acts of the President, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government, regardless of their form and name. Other acts of these bodies, which do not establish the rules of law, the Court is not authorized to check. Both normative and non-normative acts of federal executive bodies - ministries, federal services, agencies, etc. All these acts can be appealed to other courts.

The acts of the regional level, subject to verification by the Constitutional Court, primarily include the constituent acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation - their constitutions, charters. As for the laws and other normative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, there are certain restrictions. Under the jurisdiction of the Court, according to paragraph "b" part 2 of Art. 125 of the Constitution, those of them that are published on issues related to the jurisdiction of federal state authorities and the joint jurisdiction of federal and regional state authorities are subject. Acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, issued on issues of their exclusive jurisdiction, cannot be challenged in the Constitutional Court on the basis of the specified paragraph. Another limitation is due to the very concept of "normative act of the subject of the Federation." In this case, it implies the normative acts of the highest bodies of state power of the subjects. Other regulations issued in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, such as ministries, local governments, do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court. They may be challenged in other courts, including the constitutional (charter) courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court extends to such a peculiar category of normative acts as contracts (clause "c" part 2 of article 125 of the Constitution). It's about on contracts concluded on the basis of Part 3 of Art. 11 of the Constitution between state authorities of the Russian Federation and its subjects, as well as on agreements between state authorities of two or more subjects of the Russian Federation, i.e. about intra-federal agreements. Under the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation fall treaties in the public law sphere, for example, on the delimitation of jurisdiction and powers.

Applied to legal acts, listed in paragraph "a" - "c" h. 2 Article. 125 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court exercises subsequent (repressive) control, i.e. control of effective normative acts and agreements that have come into force. Clause "g" part 2 of Art. 125 provides for preliminary (preventive) control of international treaties of the Russian Federation that have not entered into force, i.e. prior to their ratification, approval or entry into force, by any other means of expressing the consent of the Russian Federation to be bound by them. Such control avoids conflict between the laws of the country and its international obligations. This is especially important due to the fact that the Constitution of 1993 in Part 4 of Art. 15 for the first time recognized the universally recognized principles and norms of international law and international treaties of the Russian Federation integral part the Russian legal system, as well as the primacy of these treaties (ratified and entered into force for Russia) over the laws of the country in their application * (1167).

As for the eligible subjects of applying to the Constitutional Court with a request to verify the constitutionality of those listed in Part 2 of Art. 125 of the Constitution of normative acts and treaties, then the Constitution refers to them the President, the Federation Council, the State Duma, 1/5 members of the Federation Council (33 members) or deputies of the State Duma (90 deputies), the Government, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration court the Russian Federation, bodies of legislative and executive power of subjects of the Russian Federation * (1168).

In Resolution No. 13-P*(1169) of July 18, 2003, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, relying on the interpretation of the constitutional and legal meaning of the provisions of the Law on the Prosecutor's Office in their relationship with the norms of a number of other laws, concluded that federal legislation does not exclude the Prosecutor General from the opportunity to apply to the Court with a request to verify the compliance with the Constitution of the constitutions and charters of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. It seems that federal legislation does not exclude the Prosecutor General, given the status and functions of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation headed by him, from the possibility to apply for a review of the constitutionality of laws and other normative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation specified in paragraph "b" of Part 2 of Art. 125 of the Constitution. However, this should be clearly regulated by law.

4. According to Part 3 of Art. 125 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is competent to resolve disputes about competence. First of all, these are disputes between federal government bodies (clause "a" part 3 of article 125). Based on Art. 11 of the Constitution, these include the President, the Federal Assembly, the Government, federal courts. As for other federal institutions - federal executive authorities (ministries, services, agencies), the Accounts Chamber, etc., a dispute on competence with their participation can be considered by the Court only if their competence can be derived from constitutional norms, since according to paragraph 1 of part 1 of Art. 93 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the disputed competence must be determined by the Constitution, and the competence of the named other bodies is not directly established in it. The Court is not authorized to consider disputes about the jurisdiction of the case to the courts and about jurisdiction, i.e. disputes between the judiciary; disputes of a property nature, for example, about the ownership of an object by a specific owner.

The jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court also includes the resolution of disputes about competence between state authorities of the Russian Federation and its subjects, between the highest state authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation (paragraphs "b" and "c" part 3 of article 125 of the Constitution). Based on part 3 of Art. 11 of the Constitution, the competence of public authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation is revealed on the basis of an analysis of the provisions of the Constitution on matters of jurisdiction of the Russian Federation, joint jurisdiction of the Federation and its subjects, exclusive jurisdiction of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (Articles 71-73, 76, etc.), as well as agreements on the delimitation of subjects of jurisdiction and powers.

Any of the bodies participating in the dispute specified in Part 3 of Art. 125 of the Constitution, and the President of the Russian Federation also in the case provided for in Part 1 of Art. 85. Prior to filing a petition, the applicant should try to use other means of resolving the dispute, in particular conciliation procedures.

Among the few examples of the resolution of disputes about competence by the Constitutional Court is the dispute between the Federation Council and the President regarding the ownership of the authority to issue an act on the temporary removal of the Prosecutor General from office in connection with the initiation of a criminal case against him (see Decree of 01.12.1999 N 17-P *(1170)). At the same time, a dispute about competence in a certain aspect may also arise when the Court considers cases in other procedures, for example, when checking the constitutionality of normative acts on the basis of Part 2 of Art. 125 of the Constitution, since such verification according to Art. 86 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is carried out, among other things, from the point of view of the separation of powers established by the Constitution, the delineation of competence, jurisdiction and powers.

5. With the adoption of the 1993 Constitution, citizens for the first time acquired the right to enter into a dispute with the state represented by the legislator. The courts also received new opportunities in ensuring constitutional legality. This is due to the established in Part 4 of Art. 125 of the Constitution, the power of the Court, on complaints of violation of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens and at the request of the courts, to check the constitutionality of the law applied or to be applied in a particular case, i.e. to carry out specific normative control * (1171).

Article 96 of this Law, specifying this constitutional norm, establishes that citizens and their associations, as well as other bodies and persons specified in the federal law, have the right to file an individual or collective constitutional complaint. The Court broadly interprets the concept of "association of citizens" as a subject of the right to file a constitutional complaint. Religious associations are recognized as such (see Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of November 23, 1999 N 16-P * (1172)); joint-stock companies, partnerships and limited liability companies as associations - legal entities, created by citizens for the joint implementation of constitutional rights guaranteed by Part 1 of Art. 34 and part 2 of Art. 35 of the Constitution (see Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of October 24, 1996 N 17-P * (1173); state enterprises - legal entities (see Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of October 12, 1998 N 24-P * (1174); municipalities as territorial associations citizens collectively exercising the constitutional right to exercise local self-government (see Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of April 2, 2002 N 7-P * (1175).

Under citizens in Part 4 of Art. 125 of the Constitution and Art. 96 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in their relationship with Art. 46 and part 3 of Art. 62 of the Constitution is understood not only by citizens of the Russian Federation, but also by foreign citizens and stateless persons, who are also entitled to file a constitutional complaint in case of violation of the law of their rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, which is confirmed by a number of decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (see, for example: Resolution of 17.02 .1998 N 6-P; Definitions dated March 2, 2006 N 55-O, dated March 1, 2007 N 333-O * (1176)). To "other bodies and persons" referred to in Art. 96 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, vested with the right to apply to the Court with a complaint about the violation of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens by law in connection with a specific case, the legislator has so far attributed the Prosecutor General (part 6 of article 35 of the Law on the Prosecutor's Office) and the Commissioner for Human Rights ( paragraph 5, part 1, article 29 of the Law on the Commissioner for Human Rights).

According to constitutional complaints in accordance with Part 4 of Art. 125 of the Constitution, in contrast to the consideration of requests on the basis of paragraph "b" of part 2 of this article, the Court is authorized to check, from the point of view of the subject of regulation, the constitutionality of all laws, including those issued on issues within the exclusive jurisdiction of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. At the same time, according to a constitutional complaint, he has the right to check the constitutionality of not any law, but only affecting constitutional rights and freedoms. There is no such restriction for a court request, any law can be its subject (cf. clause 1, article 98 and articles 101, 102 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation). The law in both cases means federal constitutional laws, federal laws, laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as, if they are applied in a particular case, constitutions, charters of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The Constitutional Court quite broadly interprets the concept of "law" in relation to the exercise of the right to a constitutional complaint and to a court request. So, in the Decree of 05.07.2001 N 11-P * (1177), on the basis of the interpretation of Art. 18, 46, 118, 120 and 125 of the Constitution, the Court recognized as admissible the verification of the constitutionality of acts of amnesty (decrees of the State Duma), considering, moreover, that in judicial practice amnesty acts are recognized as having the same legal force for the courts as the norms of the law. In the Decision of 27.01.2004 N 1-P * (1178) the Constitutional Court substantiated the conclusion that, by virtue of Part 4 of Art. 125 of the Constitution and Art. 96, 97, 101 and 103 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, a court request and a citizen’s complaint about violation of constitutional rights and freedoms, which challenge the constitutionality of both a federal law and a regulatory act of the Government, can be recognized as admissible, if there is a direct normative connection between a government decree with this federal law and if these acts are applied or are subject to application in a particular case in an inseparable unity. If the question of the constitutionality of the challenged normative act of the Government does not arise, it is subject to review by the Supreme Court. This legal position of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation was also reflected in the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of November 29, 2007 N 48 "On the practice of considering by courts cases of contesting normative legal acts in whole or in part" (paragraph 1).

In a number of its decisions, the Constitutional Court substantiated the constitutional criteria for delineating competence between the Constitutional and other courts in the field of judicial normative control, taking into account the imperfection of its legislative framework (see Resolutions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of 16.06.1998 N 19-P, of 11.04.2000 N 6-P, dated 04.04.2002 N 8-P, dated 12/15/2003 N 19-P * (1179)). It follows from the Constitution that only the competence of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation includes the verification of the constitutionality of those listed in paragraphs "a" and "b" of Part 2, Part 4 of Art. 125 of the Constitution of normative acts, which is carried out in a special procedure of constitutional proceedings and may result in the loss of their legal force. Other courts do not have such power. The final determination of the compliance of acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation with the Constitution and federal laws is also carried out by the Court; it may be required to resolve a dispute between the Russian Federation and its constituent entity after a court of general jurisdiction decides to recognize the normative act of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation as invalid. This is due to the fact that the assessment of the compliance of an act of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation with federal law is always constitutionally justified by the delimitation of subjects of jurisdiction between the Russian Federation and its constituent entities enshrined in the Constitution. Verification of the constitutions, charters of the subjects of the Russian Federation can be carried out only in the order of constitutional, and not administrative or civil proceedings.

The foregoing does not negate the right of the courts to assess the compliance with the Constitution of any acts to be applied by them, including laws, to identify their constitutional meaning and to refuse to apply in a specific case an unconstitutional, in the opinion of the court, law, being guided in resolving the case directly by the Constitution, and in the event of a contradiction between federal law and the law of the subject of the Russian Federation to decide, taking into account the delimitation of competence between the Russian Federation and its subjects, which of them should be applied in the case under consideration. The right of the courts is not limited either, guided in their decision by the relevant resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and Art. 87 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, to confirm the invalidity of the provisions of the constitutions, charters, laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, if they contain the same norms that were previously recognized by the Court as unconstitutional. At the same time, the right and at the same time the duty of the court, as follows from Art. 101 of the said Law is an appeal to the Constitutional Court with a request, if the court comes to the conclusion that the law applied or subject, in the opinion of the court, to be applied in the particular case considered by it is inconsistent with the Constitution.

6. Of great importance is the power of the Constitutional Court, enshrined in part 5 of the commented article, to interpret the Constitution. In practice, sometimes there is an unequal understanding of a particular constitutional norm due to its lack of certainty and completeness, internal inconsistency, inaccuracy of the terminology used in it, etc., which can lead and sometimes leads to its inadequate implementation in the process of lawmaking, judicial and other enforcement. The interpretation of the Constitution by the Court consists in eliminating the uncertainty in understanding its norms, in identifying and explaining their true meaning, content and goals.

The President, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government, the legislative authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation are vested with the right to apply to the Constitutional Court with a request for the interpretation of the Constitution. As you can see, the list of bodies and persons with such a right is narrower than those with, according to Part 2 of Art. 125, the right to request a review of the constitutionality of normative acts. This is due to the special significance of the official normative interpretation of the Constitution for all subjects of law. Unlike other decisions of the Constitutional Court, taken by a majority of the judges participating in the vote, the decision on interpretation is made by a majority of at least 2/3 of the total number of judges (Article 72) and only at plenary sessions (Article 21 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation).

The interpretation of the Constitution given by the Court is official and binding on all representative, executive and judicial bodies of state power, local governments, enterprises, institutions, organizations, officials, citizens and their associations (Article 106 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation). The interpretation of the Constitution by the Court becomes, in fact, an integral part of the interpreted constitutional norm. To date (2009), the Constitutional Court, in the form of an official normative interpretation, has formulated in 13 decisions its legal positions on 23 articles of the Constitution.

These are constitutional norms concerning: the procedure for the adoption of federal laws (part 4 of article 105, articles 106, 107); the concept of "adopted federal law", which is associated with the clarification of the powers of each of the subjects of the legislative process (Article 107); forms of a legal act on constitutional amendments (Article 136); concepts of "the total number of deputies of the State Duma" and "the total number of members of the Federation Council", having importance to determine the voting results when adopting laws and other decisions (part 3 of article 103, parts 2 and 5 of article 105, part 2 of article 135, etc.); legal consequences of the dissolution of the State Duma (clause "b" of article 84, parts 1, 2 and 4 of article 99, article 109); its dissolution after the three-fold rejection of the candidacies of the Prime Minister presented by the President (part 4 of article 111); temporary performance of the duties of the President by the Prime Minister in cases where the President is unable to fulfill them (parts 2 and 3 of article 92); early termination of the exercise of powers by the President (Article 91, part 2 of Article 92); the concepts of "system" and "structure" of federal executive bodies, which is connected with the definition of the powers of the State Duma and the President in the field of formation of the federal executive power (clause "d" of article 71, part 1 of article 76, part 1 of article 112); the status of an autonomous district, which is part of the territory, region (part 4 of article 66); legal procedure for the inclusion of a new name of the subject of the Russian Federation in Art. 65 of the Constitution (part 2 of article 137); delineation of competence between the Constitutional Court and other courts (Art. 125-127).

At the same time, the Court interprets the Constitution when making decisions in other procedures, checking the constitutionality of contested normative acts, identifying their constitutional legal meaning, resolving disputes about competence, considering constitutional complaints and court requests. And although at the same time, the interpretation, called the official causal, is subordinate to the task of substantiating the decision in its motivational part, it, based on the legal nature of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, is mandatory not only for the parties in a particular case, as a causal interpretation carried out by other courts, but for all law enforcers . Thus, it has normative-interpretative properties.

7. Part 7 of the commented article defines the authority of the Constitutional Court in connection with its participation in the procedure for the removal of the President from office, or, in the terminology of foreign constitutions, the impeachment of the President. This procedure determined by the provisions of Art. 93 of the Constitution, specified by the Regulations of the State Duma (Chapter 22) and the Regulations of the Federation Council (Chapter 23). The Constitutional Court is authorized, at the request of the Federation Council, to issue an opinion on compliance with the established procedure for accusing the President of high treason or committing another serious crime. Consideration by the Court of a case on giving an opinion is regulated by Ch. XV of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. According to Art. 110 of this Law, if the Constitutional Court decides not to comply with the specified procedure, the consideration of the charge is terminated.

8. The Court exercises its powers by taking different kind decisions under Art. 71 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. This is the final decision taken on the merits of any of the issues listed in parts 2-5 of Art. 125 of the Constitution, referred to as a resolution, or adopted on the merits of a request for compliance with the established procedure for bringing charges against the President (part 7 of article 125), referred to as a conclusion. Other, non-final decisions of the Constitutional Court, adopted in the course of constitutional proceedings, include definitions. Among them, such a variety, which has developed in practice, as definitions with positive content, stands out. With these rulings, the Court confirms its final decisions, extends the substantive and procedural legal positions and conclusions contained in them to legal provisions similar to those considered in these decisions, universalizes legal positions, which at the same time is an important tool ensuring execution of decisions of the Constitutional Court * (1180).

Based on the results of consideration of the case, the Constitutional Court recognizes the normative act or agreement or some of their provisions as constitutional or unconstitutional, and in the dispute on competence confirms or denies the authority of the relevant body to issue an act or perform a legal action that caused the dispute on competence (Articles 87, 91, 95, 100, 104 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation). Part 6 Art. 125 of the Constitution determines the legal consequences of the adoption of decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Acts or their separate provisions, recognized as unconstitutional, lose their force; international treaties of the Russian Federation that do not comply with the Constitution are not subject to entry into force and application.

Specifying the legal consequences of the adoption of decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation determines that decisions of courts and other bodies based on acts recognized as unconstitutional are not subject to execution and must be reviewed in cases established by federal law, i.e. using substantive legal grounds and procedural institutions enshrined in legislation. The provisions of other normative acts or agreements based on a normative act or agreement recognized as unconstitutional in whole or in part or reproducing them or containing the same provisions that were recognized as unconstitutional are also subject to cancellation in the established manner. If the recognition of a normative act as unconstitutional has created a gap in legal regulation, then until the adoption of a new normative act, the Constitution is directly applied (Articles 79, 87).

True, when considering one or another disputed legal provision, the Court often does not recognize it as unconstitutional, but points in the decision to the proper constitutional content of this provision by identifying its constitutional and legal meaning and only in this sense recognizing this provision as constitutional, which also has normative significance.

An equally important problem is the implementation of decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. A considerable part of them, as practice shows, is executed in a timely manner, sometimes immediately. But there are also examples of obvious disregard or unjustified delay in the implementation of decisions that require legislative or sub-legislative regulation, repeal of the provisions of acts similar to those recognized as unconstitutional; continued adoption of decisions by law enforcement agencies on the basis of acts recognized as unconstitutional; refusal to a citizen to review a judicial or other law enforcement decision based on an act recognized as unconstitutional, etc. In order to increase the effectiveness of the execution of decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, in December 2001, at the initiative of the President, a number of amendments and additions were made to the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the essence of which is to specify the obligations of federal and regional state bodies and officials to bring laws and other regulations into compliance with the Constitution in connection with the decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, and as a result of non-compliance with this obligation - the application of measures of constitutional legal responsibility (Articles 79, 80 and 87). At the same time, as the President of the Russian Federation D.A. Medvedev in his Address to the Federal Assembly dated November 5, 2008, "enforcement of court decisions is still a huge problem. Moreover, the problem of all courts, including the Constitutional one. The reasons are different everywhere, of course. However, I will note one common thing: this is the lack of real responsibility of officials, yes and the citizens themselves who do not comply with the court decision. Such liability should be introduced."

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The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is a body of judicial power intended for the legal protection of the Constitution of Russia. In terms of its significance, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation belongs to the highest bodies of the judiciary. But unlike the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation does not head the system of constitutional courts. He does not have any powers in relation to the constitutional (criminal) courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation exercises judicial power through constitutional proceedings.

The powers, procedure for the formation and operation of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are determined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Articles 125, 128) and the Federal Constitutional Law of the Russian Federation “On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation”.

The tasks facing the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are to protect the foundations of the constitutional order, fundamental human rights and freedoms, to ensure the supremacy and direct effect of the Constitution of the Russian Federation throughout the Russian Federation.

Powers of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation:

1) resolution of cases on compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation of federal laws, regulations of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation; constitutions of the republics, charters, laws and other normative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation; agreements between public authorities of the Russian Federation and public authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, agreements between public authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation; international treaties of the Russian Federation that have not entered into force;

2) resolution of disputes about competence between federal government bodies; between the highest state bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation; between state authorities of the Russian Federation and state authorities of subjects of the Russian Federation;

3) verification of the constitutionality of the law applied or to be applied in a specific case, carried out on complaints of violation of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens and at the request of the courts;

4) interpretation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation;

5) giving opinions on compliance with the established procedure for charging the President of the Russian Federation with high treason or committing another serious crime.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on matters within its jurisdiction has the right of legislative initiative.

In order to prevent the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation from becoming an instrument of "political games", the law clearly states that it decides only questions of law. The Constitutional Court, when exercising constitutional proceedings, refrains from establishing and investigating factual circumstances in all cases when this falls within the competence of other courts and other bodies.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation consists of 19 judges appointed by the Federation Council on the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation for a period of 12 years, and the appointment of a judge for a second term is not allowed. Judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are independent, irremovable and have equal rights in the exercise of constitutional proceedings. The powers of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation itself are not limited by a certain period.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation consists of two chambers, including 9 and 10 judges. The personal composition of the chamber should not remain unchanged for more than 3 years in a row. The personal composition of the chambers is determined by drawing lots. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation cannot be members of the same chamber.

Most of the cases are considered at the meetings of the chambers. In addition, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation considers cases at plenary sessions, in which all judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation take part. Any issue within the competence of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation may be considered at the plenary session. Only at a plenary session, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation resolves cases on the conformity of the Constitution of the Russian Federation with the constitutions of the republics and the statutes of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, gives an interpretation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, accepts messages from the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, gives an opinion on compliance with the established procedure for accusing the President of the Russian Federation of high treason or committing another grave crime, resolves the issue of coming up with a legislative initiative. Organizational issues are also resolved at the plenary sessions: the election of the Chairman, his deputy, the formation of the composition of the chambers, the order of consideration of cases in the plenary session and the distribution of cases between the chambers are established. At the plenary session, a decision is made to suspend or terminate the powers of a judge.

The organization of work in the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is entrusted to the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, his deputy and secretary judge.

The Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation directs the preparation of plenary sessions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, convenes them and presides over them, introduces for discussion by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation issues to be considered in the plenary session and the session of the chambers, exercises general management of the apparatus of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in relations with state, public organizations , acts on behalf of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on his behalf.

The Deputy Chairman exercises, on his authority, certain functions granted to the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation by law, and in cases where the Chairman is unable to fulfill his duties, temporarily performs his duties.

The Judge-Secretary of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation directly manages the apparatus of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, organizes the preparation and holding of sessions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, brings to the attention of the relevant bodies, organizations and persons the decisions taken by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, and informs the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation about their implementation, organizes information provision of judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

Constitutional legal proceedings are carried out in accordance with the principles of independence, collegiality, publicity, orality and continuity, equality and competitiveness of the parties, the national language of legal proceedings.

Judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are independent and are guided in making decisions only by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Law "On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation". Judges act in their personal capacity and do not represent any state or public bodies, political parties and movements, social groups. Decisions are made in conditions that exclude outside influence on their freedom of expression. They have no right to request or receive instructions from anyone on issues accepted for study or considered by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Interference in the activities of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation entails liability provided for by law.

Consideration of cases and issues, adoption of decisions on them is carried out only collectively. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is authorized to make decisions in plenary sessions if there are at least two-thirds of the total number of judges, and at a chamber session - if there are at least three-quarters of its composition.

Sessions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are held openly. A closed court session is held when it is necessary to preserve a secret protected by law, ensure the safety of citizens, and protect public morality. Decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are always proclaimed publicly.

Proceedings in the sessions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation take place orally. During the consideration of cases, explanations of the parties, testimony of experts and witnesses are heard, and available documents are announced. Meetings are held continuously, with the exception of the time allotted for rest or preparation of the participants in the process for further proceedings.

The parties enjoy equal rights and opportunities to defend their position on the basis of competitiveness.

Proceedings in the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are conducted in Russian. All persons who do not speak Russian are given the right to give explanations in another language and use the services of an interpreter.

Based on the results of consideration of cases, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation adopts resolutions, conclusions and rulings. All decisions are made in closed session.

Resolution is a decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, adopted on the merits of the issues of compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation of federal laws, regulations of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation, on complaints of violation of constitutional rights and freedoms and others listed in paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4 hours I st. 3 of the Law "On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation". Resolutions are issued in the name of the Russian Federation.

Conclusion - the final decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on the merits of the issue of compliance with the established procedure for accusing the President of the Russian Federation of high treason or committing another serious crime.

All other decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are referred to as rulings.

Decisions and conclusions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation no later than two weeks are sent to the judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation, the Commissioner for Human Rights, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, the Minister of Justice RF. They must be immediately published in the official publications of the state authorities of the Russian Federation, the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, which are affected by this decision, as well as in the Bulletin of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

Decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are final and not subject to appeal, enter into legal effect immediately after the announcement. Acts or their separate provisions, recognized as unconstitutional, lose their force; International treaties that have not come into force and are recognized as inconsistent with the Constitution of the Russian Federation are not subject to entry into force. Court decisions based on acts declared unconstitutional are not enforceable and must be reviewed in the cases established by federal law.

Decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are subject to execution immediately after the publication or delivery of their official text, unless otherwise specifically stipulated, throughout the territory of the Russian Federation; their failure to perform, improper performance or obstruction of performance entails liability established by federal law.

It was the Constitutional Court that recommended postponing the introduction of amendments that significantly limited the powers of the president of the country until a nationwide referendum in April 1993. And the participants in the conflict, which threatened Russia with a new Civil War, then agreed with him. True, the peace did not last long. By the way, the anti-presidential decisions of the court, taken on the eve of the tragic events that happened in October 1993 in Moscow, Boris Yeltsin assessed, naturally, negatively. And having dissolved the court, he soon created another. Under the new law, judges were deprived of the right to consider cases on their own initiative and evaluate the constitutionality of political and legislative actions of the first persons of the country and parties.

Legitimate powers

In addition, the court can consider disputes about competence between state authorities, between state bodies of the subjects of the federation, between the latter and similar federal ones. The powers of the Constitutional Court also include the interpretation of the Constitution and the verification of the constitutionality of the law, the application of which in court caused a justified complaint of a citizen. For example, in June 2014, the Constitutional Court examined the compliance with the Constitution of part 11 of article 3 of the law “On the monetary allowance of military personnel and the provision of certain payments to them” and recognized that some of its provisions violate the constitutional rights of citizens. After that, he recommended the legislator to change the mechanism of material compensation for harm to family members of the deceased serviceman who are not his parents or relatives, but who have equal rights with them.

"loud" cases

In 1995, the new composition of the Constitutional Court confirmed the legitimacy of most of the normative acts of Boris Yeltsin, who thus tried to end the war in Chechnya and restore the country's Constitution there. And in 2014, the Constitutional Court refused to consider the complaint of Dmitry Tretyakov, a resident of Togliatti, that the Supreme Court did not accept him statement of claim on the unconstitutionality of the dissolution of the USSR by a decision of the Council of Republics Supreme Council USSR dated December 26, 1991.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, at the request of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State Duma, one fifth of the members of the Federation Council or deputies of the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, the legislative and executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, allows cases on compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation:
a) federal laws, regulations of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation;
b) the constitutions of the republics, charters, as well as laws and other normative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, issued on issues related to the jurisdiction of the state authorities of the Russian Federation and the joint jurisdiction of the state authorities of the Russian Federation and the state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
c) agreements between state authorities of the Russian Federation and state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, agreements between state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
d) international treaties of the Russian Federation that have not entered into force.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation resolves disputes on the competence of:
a) between federal government bodies;
b) between state authorities of the Russian Federation and state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
c) between the highest state bodies of the subjects of the Russian Federation.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, on complaints of violation of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens and at the request of the courts, verifies the constitutionality of the law applied or to be applied in a particular case, in the manner prescribed by federal law.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, at the request of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation, the legislative authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation, gives an interpretation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
Acts or their separate provisions, recognized as unconstitutional, lose their force; international treaties of the Russian Federation that do not comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation are not subject to entry into force and application.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, at the request of the Federation Council, issues an opinion on compliance with the established procedure for accusing the President of the Russian Federation of high treason or committing another grave crime.

Comm. Kashepov V.P.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is one of the highest federal judicial authorities. The powers, procedure for the formation and operation of the Constitutional Court, in accordance with Article 128 of the Constitution, are established by federal constitutional law. The federal constitutional law "On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation" was adopted on July 21, 1994.
The main function of the Constitutional Court is the exercise of constitutional control in order to protect the foundations of the constitutional order, the fundamental rights and freedoms of man and citizen, to ensure the supremacy and direct effect of the prescriptions of the Constitution throughout the territory of the Russian Federation. Constitutional control consists in identifying legal acts of state bodies and officials that contradict constitutional provisions, as well as in taking measures to eliminate these deviations. If a legal act is declared unconstitutional, it loses its legal force. The Constitutional Court exercises judicial power through constitutional proceedings.
The Constitutional Court is formed by the President of Russia and the Federation Council in the manner prescribed by law (Article 9 of the Law "On the Constitutional Court"). The law grants the right to submit proposals to the President on candidates for judges to members (deputies) of the Federation Council and deputies of the State Duma, as well as legislative (representative) bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the highest judicial bodies and federal legal departments, all-Russian legal communities, legal scientific and educational institutions. The listed subjects of the right of selection of candidates can name several candidates for each vacancy. In the official clarification of the State Legal Department of the President of the Russian Federation, clauses 1 and 2 of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation “On the replacement vacancies federal judges" of December 25, 1993. it is said that the Decree expressly provided that the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and the All-Russian Congress of Judges should submit two candidates for each position.
The proposal of the President on appointment to the position of a judge of the Constitutional Court must be considered by the Federation Council within fourteen days. The Federation Council, after an appropriate discussion of the submitted candidates in committees and commissions, makes a decision on the appointment individually by secret ballot. A person who receives a majority of the total number of members (deputies) of the Federation Council in the course of voting is considered to be appointed to the position of a judge of the Constitutional Court. After the announcement of the voting results on the candidates nominated by the President of the Russian Federation, the Chairman of the Federation Council announces the time for the swearing-in of persons appointed to the position of judges of the Constitutional Court. The swearing-in is carried out by the Chairman of the Federation Council in a solemn atmosphere in the presence of the State Emblem and the flag of the Russian Federation in the meeting room. The swearing-in is carried out in accordance with the Decree of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of October 25, 1994. "On the procedure for swearing in judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation".
In case of withdrawal of a judge from the composition of the Constitutional Court, a candidate for a vacant position of a judge shall be submitted by the President of the Russian Federation to the Federation Council no later than one month from the date of opening of the vacancy. Judge of the Constitutional Court is irremovable. His powers may be terminated or suspended only in the manner and on the grounds established by the Federal Constitutional Law "On the Constitutional Court".
The current legislation makes the highest demands on the judges of the Constitutional Court. A candidate for the position of a judge of the Constitutional Court may be a citizen of the Russian Federation who has reached the age of at least 40 years by the date of appointment, with an impeccable reputation, having a higher legal education and work experience in the legal profession for at least 15 years, possessing a recognized high qualification in the field of law. A judge of the Constitutional Court is appointed for a term of 12 years. Appointment to this position for a second term is not allowed. The age limit for serving as a judge of the Constitutional Court is 70 years.
The law establishes strict rules that determine the inadmissibility of occupations and actions that are incompatible with the position of a judge of the Constitutional Court (Article 11 of the Law "On the Constitutional Court"). A judge of the Constitutional Court cannot be a member of a representative body, hold or retain other state or public positions, engage in other paid activities, except for teaching, scientific or other creative activities; not entitled to defend or represent in court, arbitration court; cannot belong to political parties, participate in political activities; is not entitled to publicly express his opinion in the media on an issue that may become the subject of consideration of the Constitutional Court, before a decision on this issue is made.
The law provides special guarantees for the independence of judges of the Constitutional Court. The independence of a judge of the Constitutional Court is ensured by his irremovability, inviolability, equality of rights of judges, the procedure for suspension and termination of the powers of a judge established by the Law "On the Constitutional Court", the right to resign, the obligatory nature of the established procedure for constitutional proceedings, the prohibition of any interference in judicial judge of the material and social security, security guarantees corresponding to its high status.
Material and other guarantees to the judges of the Constitutional Court for the independent and full implementation of constitutional proceedings, the preservation of the scientific potential of the Constitutional Court, and the increase in the level of social protection of judges are determined by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 15, 1995. "On Ensuring the Activities of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation".
The Constitutional Court is one of the branches of the judiciary and performs its functions in the forms of constitutional legal proceedings established by law. The main principles of the activities of the Constitutional Court are independence, collegiality, publicity, competitiveness and equality of the parties. The Law “On the Constitutional Court” also refers to the principles of constitutional proceedings the oral proceedings (Article 32), continuity court session(Article 34).
The originality of constitutional proceedings leaves its mark on the list and content of its principles: among them there are no indications of legality, the principle of the presumption of innocence, the right to defense, the participation of representatives of the people and other principles of justice. This is due to the fact that the Constitutional Court does not administer justice on specific criminal and civil affairs. The function of exercising constitutional control excludes the participation in the proceedings of the accused, the defendants, their defense lawyers, plaintiffs and defendants. A citizen may take part in constitutional proceedings in limited cases when he maintains a complaint that, in his particular case, before the relevant court, a law that is contrary to the Constitution has been applied or may be applied.
The collegiality of constitutional proceedings differs from the collegiality of justice: representatives of the people are not involved in the consideration of cases in the Constitutional Court, since the cases resolved by it require deep legal knowledge and high professionalism. At the same time, the consideration of cases under the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court and the adoption of decisions on them can take place only in a collegiate composition: in a plenary session or sessions of the chambers.
The current Constitution has changed and expanded the powers of the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court has the right to initiate legislation on matters within its jurisdiction (Part 1, Article 104 of the Constitution).
To eliminate the politicization of the activities of the Constitutional Court, its main functions are more clearly defined and the limits of constitutional control are determined. The Constitution and the Law "On the Constitutional Court" indicate an exhaustive list of acts subject to consideration by the Constitutional Court in terms of their compliance with the Constitution. The first group includes acts of the federal level: federal laws, regulations of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government of Russia. The second group consists of acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, constitutions of the republics, charters, as well as laws and other normative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The verification of the constitutionality of laws and other normative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation is carried out by the Constitutional Court only on those of them that are adopted on issues related to the jurisdiction of state authorities of the Russian Federation and the joint jurisdiction of federal state authorities and state authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation. The Constitutional Court does not have the right to exercise constitutional control over acts that are within the jurisdiction of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation. The third group includes agreements between state authorities of the Russian Federation and state authorities of the subjects of the Federation, agreements between state authorities of the subjects of the Federation. The fourth group of acts in this classification are international treaties of the Russian Federation that have not entered into force.
The jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court also includes the resolution of disputes about competence between state authorities at the federal level and at the level of subjects of the Federation (between federal bodies, between state authorities of the Federation and state authorities of the subjects of the Federation, between the highest state bodies of various subjects of the Federation).
The current legislation on the Constitutional Court limits the circle of subjects that can apply to the Constitutional Court. If previously this authority was public organizations and parties, any deputy of the Supreme Council, now only the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council, the State Duma, a group of deputies constituting 1 / 5 members of the Federation Council or deputies of the State Duma, the Government, the Supreme Court or the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, as well as legislative and executive authorities of the subjects of the Federation. Recognition of normative acts or their individual provisions as unconstitutional deprives them of legal force. International treaties of the Russian Federation recognized as inconsistent with the Constitution shall not be subject to entry into force and application. Recognition of a normative act or agreement or their individual provisions as not in accordance with the Constitution is the basis for the cancellation in the established manner of the provisions of other normative acts based on a normative act or agreement recognized as unconstitutional.
One of the main powers of the Constitutional Court is the realization of the right of citizens to judicial protection from encroachments of state bodies and officials on their rights and freedoms. The Constitutional Court considers individual or collective complaints of citizens about the violation of their constitutional rights and freedoms and checks the constitutionality of the law applied in a particular case. Citizens whose rights and freedoms are violated by the law applied or to be applied in a particular case, associations of citizens, as well as other bodies and persons specified in Article 96 of the Law "On the Constitutional Court" have the right to appeal to the Constitutional Court. The issue of violation of rights and freedoms may be the subject of proceedings of the Constitutional Court also at the request of the courts. Consideration of these cases by the Constitutional Court should become one of the most essential guarantees of observance of the rights and freedoms of citizens, carried out by the judiciary.
Giving the courts the right to apply to the Constitutional Court with a request for the constitutionality of laws provides them with the opportunity to influence, to a certain extent, the future change of the law, the imperfection of which has been revealed in judicial practice. This right of the courts and the obligation of the Constitutional Court to consider these issues should be a factor in ensuring the supremacy of the Constitution, the subordination of normative acts, and strengthening the rule of law.
The Constitutional Court, as a body of constitutional control, is the only state body that has the right to interpret the provisions of the Constitution. The law clearly defines the circle of officials and state bodies that have the right to apply to the Constitutional Court with a request for the interpretation of the Constitution. This right is vested in the President, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation, and the legislative authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation. Thus, the Constitutional Court has no right to interpret the Constitution on its own initiative.
The interpretation of the Constitution, carried out in accordance with the procedure established by law, is official and binding on all state authorities (representative, executive, judicial), local governments, enterprises, institutions, organizations, officials, citizens and their associations (Article 106 of the Law “On Constitutional Court).
The Constitution resolves in a new way the issue of the role of the Constitutional Court in the procedure for dismissal of the President of the Russian Federation: the Constitutional Court gives an opinion only on compliance with the established procedure for bringing charges of high treason or committing another serious crime. Signs of high treason and serious crimes are contained in Art. , UK. Such a request is considered by the Constitutional Court subject to a number of conditions. Only the Federation Council has the right to apply to the Constitutional Court with such a request. The request is admissible if the charge is brought by the State Duma and there is a conclusion of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the presence in the actions of the President of the signs of the corresponding crime. The request shall be sent to the Constitutional Court not later than one month from the date of the adoption by the State Duma of the decision to bring charges. The conclusion must be given by the Constitutional Court no later than ten days after the registration of the request. If the Constitutional Court ascertains non-compliance with the established procedure for bringing charges against the President, the consideration of the charge is terminated.
To improve the internal organization of the activities of the Constitutional Court and taking into account the volume and complexity of its work, significant changes are envisaged in its structure and organizational forms of legal proceedings. For these purposes, along with plenary sessions as a traditional form of constitutional proceedings, the Constitutional Court holds sessions of two chambers, including ten and nine judges, respectively.
All judges of the Constitutional Court must participate in plenary sessions. The absence of a judge at such a meeting is possible only for a good reason. The non-participation of a judge in the sessions of the Constitutional Court or the evasion of voting more than two times in a row without good reason is the basis for the termination of his powers. The plenary session is authorized to make decisions on cases under consideration or other issues if there are at least 2/3 of the total number of appointed judges. Its work is led by the Chairman of the Constitutional Court.
At the plenary session, in contrast to the sessions of the chambers, any issues within the competence of the Constitutional Court may be considered. At the same time, Article 21 of the Law exhaustively defines the list of issues that are considered exclusively at plenary sessions. These questions can be divided into two groups. The first includes issues related to the implementation of the main function of the Constitutional Court - the exercise of constitutional control: on the conformity of the constitutions of the republics and the charters of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation with the Constitution of the Russian Federation; on the interpretation of the Constitution of Russia; on giving an opinion on compliance with the established procedure for charging the President of the Russian Federation with high treason or committing another grave crime; about the message of the Constitutional Court; about the legislative initiative.
Only plenary sessions consider issues related to the organization of the work of the Court as a whole: on the election of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Judge-Secretary of the Constitutional Court; on the formation of the personal composition of the chambers of the Constitutional Court; on the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court and amendments and additions to it; on the order of consideration of cases in plenary sessions and the distribution of cases between chambers; on the suspension or termination of the powers of a judge of the Constitutional Court, as well as on early dismissal of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and secretary judge.
The remaining issues are considered by the chambers of the court, formed only from among the judges of the Constitutional Court. The President of the Court and his deputy may not be members of the same chamber. The composition of each chamber is updated every three years.
The bodies organizing the work of the Constitutional Court are the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and judge-secretary of the Constitutional Court. At the plenary session of the Constitutional Court, judges by secret ballot by a majority of the total number of judges shall individually elect from among their members for a term of three years the said officials. The Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Judge-Secretary may be elected for a new term upon the expiration of their term of office. The law provides for a procedure for the early dismissal of these officials from office. This release may take place at the initiative of at least five judges who believe that the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Judge-Secretary of the Constitutional Court are unfairly fulfilling their duties or abusing their rights. Question about early dismissal specified persons decided by a majority of at least 2/3 of the total number of judges of the Constitutional Court by secret ballot.