Translated material
Ode to monitoring
Experts and politicians discussed why laws are so poorly enforced in Russia
Last week, the Academy of Civil Service hosted a two-day all-Russian scientific conference “Monitoring of Legislation and Law Enforcement Practice.” At the first meeting, the conference participants, among whom were members of the Federation Council, State Duma deputies, representatives of the Public Chamber, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Constitutional and Supreme Arbitration Courts, complained about the still imperfect Russian legislation, the lack of a unified system of state financing in this area and even... read odes to Russian lawsThe head of the Senate, Sergei Mironov, recalled that the conference can be called an anniversary, since it is being held for the fifth time - since 2003. During this time, changes took place in the state system, centers for monitoring legislation were created in the regions of Russia, and the motto of monitoring was formulated as “collective creativity, dialogue between government and society.” The upper chamber itself has been monitoring adopted laws for several years and issuing annual reports on the state of legislative activity in the country.
This conference is dedicated to analyzing the results of collective efforts to create a system for monitoring legislation and law enforcement practice in Russia. And the organizers intend to create an all-Russian data bank on the practical results of legal monitoring.
When asked who is ultimately responsible for a “bad” law, the Chairman of the Federation Council replied that “the legislator must be responsible for ensuring that the laws adopted do not worsen the condition and position of people, citizens.” But the legal possibility of liability for such consequences still exists in the Federation Council “at the level of an idea” - there is no law on liability for poor-quality laws in Russia.
Mr. Mironov was replaced as the moderator of the conference by the Chairman of the Senate Commission on the Methodology for the Implementation of Constitutional Powers, Gennady Burbulis. After each speech, he summed up the results, commented on questions from the audience and even allowed himself to joke. Participants agreed that most laws remain at the draft stage or are simply not implemented. According to Vladimir Beketov, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnodar Territory, only 18% of initiatives “took the form of law.”
Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Arbitration Court of Russia Vasily Vetryansky complained about “inter-industry and inter-system contradictions in the current legislation.” For example, according to the Civil Code, the sale of a building without land is permitted, but the Land Code does not allow this. Yuri Tikhomirov, first deputy director of the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the government, distinguished himself with rather radical statements. He, in particular, stated that “the theory of separation of powers is outdated” (the Russian authorities clearly also think so), and the law is “a book that no one reads.”
The Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, Vladimir Lukin, noted that “hasty” laws will not help in resolving government issues. According to the auditor of the Accounts Chamber, Sergei Ryabukhin, the main problem of the legislation is that “there is no unified system of public financing.” That is, laws are often not supported by corresponding financial obligations of the state.
The last speeches of the conference participants resembled a literary evening: the reports included quotes from the classics, Gennady Burbulis read an ode and a poem dedicated to monitoring and nominated for a special competition.
Indeed, the conference involved holding competitions among authorities, experts and journalists for the best report on the state of legislation, as well as for the most creative coverage of activities in the field of legal monitoring.
Yuri Tikhomirov, apparently describing the legislative process in Russia, remembered a play where one of the characters - the “sofa-lyer” - put forward the theory that the best thing is to lie down and do nothing. And in an ode written by an unnamed native of the Altai Territory, it was said that “monitoring the legal space” is “a reality, not a thing,” as well as “the guardian of the state,” that he is “always on the road” and to look for it (monitoring!) follows among people.
In general, odes to monitoring legislation were sung. But the most famous formula of Russian lawmaking - “the law is that whatever the drawbar turns, it ends up there” - has remained unsurpassed.