“Either to the premieres or to the leadership of the State Council”: Experts about the new Putin authorities

Vladimir Putin made a plan of constitutional reform, which will change the entire system of power in Russia. The State Duma and the Federation Council will receive more powers, the president’s power will be limited, the State Council will receive new powers - an advisory body, which is traditionally seen as a spare site for Putin after the expiration of its fourth term. The Bell interviewed specialists in constitutional law and political scientists about how Putin’s proposals will change the Russian authorities.

Alexey Makarkin, deputy director of the Center for Political Technology

“The president is unlikely to prepare for himself the place of the chairman of the State Duma. I can’t imagine that Putin came to meetings of the parliament and gave the floor to Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and then he heard the performances of the deputies. Most likely, Putin copies the state management system , which was now organized by Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan. After Nazarbayev left the presidential post, he took on other government posts - and several, not one. This gives him the opportunity in different ways to influence statelit. Perhaps the State Council will become just another position for Putin after 2024, what others will be - let's see. ”

Evgeny Minchenko, President of Mintchenko Consulting

“Putin outlined the directions in which he can go after 2024. He indirectly said that he could either return to the prime minister’s chair, but now with legitimacy by supporting the parliament, or will go to the leadership of the State Council. Putin is unlikely to go to the post of State Duma speaker - this work requires perseverance and the painstaking work of the manager. ”

Dmitry Badovsky, head of the ISEPI Foundation

“It is impossible to discuss the amendments to the Constitution proposed by Putin until we see the project itself, where the formulations, design and the general message of all changes are very important. Now it is clear that the upcoming elections to the State Duma in 2021 gave additional importance, and if the amendments are adopted, the status of the deputy is increasing significantly. The authorities can also combine the elections to the State Duma with voting on constitutional amendments. ”

Georgy Satarov, President of the Indem Foundation, one of the co -authors of the current constitution

“Putin speaks of a strong presidential republic, while he offers amendments that introduce serious elements of the parliament. All this creates the feeling that he did not even read the constitution deeply. The president’s words about the change in the Constitution are indecent, since he does not hide his intentions to prepare a convenient chair for himself for years to come. ”

Abbas Gallamov, political scientist

“The list of amendments proposed by the President to the Constitution is decorative in order to cover the only main message - perhaps Putin is preparing the place of the State Duma speaker for himself. A referendum or nationwide vote will give power to solve another problem - it will give society the feeling that changes are taking place in Russian political life. Why do people go to protests? Mostly due to the feeling of stagnation in socio-political life. Now you will see that all the media will begin to actively discuss Putin's proposals, demonstration discussions will begin. Firstly, society will have a feeling of changes in life, and secondly, it would seem to people that the issue of the issue for discussion and referendum is an indicator of the democracy of power. In addition, it might seem to people that after 2024 the wrong president may be elected and collapse will come in society. Now that Putin has announced the new leaders of politics and limited the number of presidential terms, this intensity will subside. ”

Konstantin Kalachev, political scientist

“Putin’s proposals may mean that he himself in 2021 will head the lists of“ United Russia ”to the State Duma. Firstly, the party in the authorities will gain more votes, and secondly, Putin himself will get the opportunity at the end of the deadline for presidential powers or even before its end to move to the chairman of the State Duma and continue to control the country's life from there. At least he reserves such an opportunity. ”

Alexander Ermolenko, partner FBK Legal, specialist in constitutional law

“A referendum is called any federal vote on any question. He has a lot of procedural points, so here, of course, will be guided by the Law on the referendum. The last referendum in Russia was dedicated to the adoption of the Constitution in 1993. It would be too difficult to create a new legislative framework for such voting.

In the proposed amendments, it is necessary to divide the technical moments and the real background. It would seem, the Federation Council, the Russian “House of Lords”, is endowed with great influence. But the simultaneous appearance of the State Council immediately reduces its value and gives rise to legal uncertainty. Decisions will be made, as now, when the question was decided by the one who was the first to go to the main office. Throughout the world, the interests of the regions are decided through the upper house of the parliament, or the regions do not have a special representation, as in the UK, where regional parties in ordinary parliament operate.

As for the presidential term: after it was increased to six years, the reservation “in a row” in principle lost its meaning. The current proposal only emphasizes that the increase was an extra step.

The generally recognized principles and norms of international law are now an integral part of the legal system of the Russian Federation. For the past 10 years, this fact has been trying to limit this fact through the Constitutional Court, and the difference between it and the ECHR already exists. Now they want to “do not take the IS from the hut” completely. International law makes sense only in the part where it affects human rights, and those countries in which there may be problems with the legislation or its law enforcement. The fact that in recent years from a legal point has been made with Russian legislation and courts, monstrously, and the constitution remained the last island of untouched nature. It is terrible that now they will climb there. ”

Olga Propopylova, lawyer of the Rus Sitting Foundation, Specialist in Constitutional Law

“In general, the proposed amendments on the distribution of public and power powers cause, rather, a sense of decorative redistribution of powers, further building the vertical of power and strengthening the role of the State Council in conjunction with the violation of the principle of independence of the forensic power.

The President used very flexible formulations, which in practice can subsequently be used to justify the introduction of changes to the Constitution bypassing the order and procedure approved by it. For example, he mentioned that the amendments proposed by him “do not affect the fundamental foundations” of the Constitution, but this is not at all so. The proposal to consolidate the priority of the Constitution over the provisions of international law and the decisions of international bodies are conflicting with part 4 of Article 15. This norm is enshrined just in the first chapter - the “Fundamentals of the Constitutional system”, which the Federal Assembly is not entitled. For this, the constitution provides for a special mechanism with the participation of the Constitutional Assembly. To date, the Federal Constitutional Law on this body has not even been adopted, which, according to the Constitution, should determine the procedure for its convocation and work.

In the public field, ideas were made to go around this procedure and make an appropriate amendment to Article 79 of the Constitution, the changes of which occur in normal mode. But this option is obviously vicious even from a purely formal point of view, since it will lead to the presence in the constitution of two contradictory provisions, which is directly excluded by Article 16 of the Constitution.

The President suggested that the amendments can be adopted through the preliminary participation of citizens in “voting” for a package of amendments. This, of course, also see a catch. Obviously, the president does not mean a referendum. Most likely, since the FKZ about the referendum does not give a direct answer to the question of whether such questions can generally be submitted to the referendum and in what form, this is seen in the administration too difficult. But the “popular vote” is not regulated by anything, and here there is a broadest freedom of discretion in determining the format, procedures, the obligation of the decision, etc.

The adoption of amendments on the priority of the Russian Constitution over the provisions of international law and, as the president specifically made a reservation, over the decisions of international bodies, will actually mean the final design of the mechanism of non -fulfillment of not only the decision of the ECHR, but also potentially international obligations in any other areas, and not only in the field of human rights protection. ”