Liability statute power amnesty supreme law legislation prisoners judges fundamentals amend
Constitutionism
Adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 with 54.5% of the
vote, the Constitution took effect on the day it was published – 25 December
of the same year. It set out the 1 of government as well
as proclaiming the rule of law, the ideological neutrality of the state, political
pluralism, competitive elections and a separation of power, guaranteeing
fundamental human rights to the Russian people. The Constitution
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establishes a semi-presidential system that encompasses strong executive
2 and increased independence for the president. Since its
adoption in a 1993 referendum the Russian Constitution is considered to be
the 3 of the land. Article 15 of the Constitution reads that
it ―shall have supreme legal force and have direct effect, and shall be
applicable throughout the entire territory of the Russian Federation.‖ Courts
are guided by the Constitution and it trumps federal and local laws.
Amendments
Few amendments have been made to the Constitution since its adoption. The
most significant of these was made in 2008. It concerned the term of office
to be held by the President of the Russian Federation, which was increased
from four to six years.
20th anniversary
Constitution Day of December 2013 was the culmination of anniversary
events that continued throughout the entire year. A special
4 resolution was devoted to the 20th anniversary of the
Constitution, releasing from criminal 5 those citizens
who had committed crimes as minors, women with dependent children,
pregnant women, women over the age of 55 and men over the age of 60,
persons with disabilities, participants in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power
Station rescue operation, military service members, internal affairs staff
members and other individuals who have defended Russia. It granted
freedom to around 25,000 6, including Khodorkovsky,
punk protest group Pussy Riot and Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise ship
case demonstrators.
Constitutional laws
Constitutional laws cannot become part of the constitution or
7 parts of it absent a special legal act on
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constitutional amendment. They are typically enacted in important areas of
constitutional law, such as Article 56 which allows for the passage of the
constitutional laws necessitated by a state of emergency.
Statutes
Statutes are the predominant legal source of Russian law, and may only be
enacted through the legislative process. Codes are the basis for law on a
matter, and they are usually supplemented with 8 to
develop certain provisions. There are gaps in some of the codes, but even
still the 9 will find a basis for deciding the case in a
given code. Codes are interpreted flexibly, and interpretation may be based
on enumeration of ―general principles‖ of the codes. General principles are
usually articulated at the beginning of the codes in the first chapter to outline
the reason for the legislation. Reasoning by analogy is also allowed.
The Russian Civil Code is the ―constitution‖ of the market economy, and is
special in the hierarchy of codes, since it will supplant contradictory text in
other codes. New codes and laws supersede old ones, unless a
10 expressly preserves the old law.
Judicial decisions, judicial practice and explanations of supreme courts
Russia is a civil law country; and, strictly speaking, decisions rendered by
courts are not binding on other courts. However, the lower courts generally
follow the principles established by the supreme courts. Moreover,
according to Art.308.8 of the Code of Procedure in Commercial Courts, the
Supreme Court can set aside a decision of a lower court on the grounds that
this decision contravenes uniformity in interpretation of law as established
by case law. In practice, but not in theory, precedents of the higher courts are
becoming an important Russian law.