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2.1. Typology of the Russian Constitutional System: Politics and Beyond

Course video 6 of 21

Constitutional Reforms in Russia

Universidade Estadual de São PetersburgoUniversidade Estadual de São Petersburgo

The course prepared by one of the best Russian experts in constitutional law will focus on political, economic and cultural dimensions of the Russian constitutional system. Historical background of constitutional reforms and today developments will be discussed, basing on concrete examples of these developments. The course will both observe the specific of the Russian constitutional system in comparison to the other constitutional systems and penetrate into the key characteristics of the Russian constitution. Since adoption of the current Russian constitution of 1993 this constitutional system made a great evolution. The course will help to understand what ideas and concepts stand behind the Russian politics, both domestic and international, which principles lie in the basement of the legal framework for cultural, political and economic life of the Russian society. Foreigners and Russians see the Russian constitutional system in the «distorting mirror» of mass media; both of them need professional analysis of how the legal, governmental and economic systems are designed in Russia. The course will present this kind of analysis by a Russian scholar, familiar to contemporary development of constitutionalism in the world, who is able to present the view from inside Russia, but to position the Russian constitutional system in the a wide context of the world constitutionalism. On the finishing this course the students will: 1. make analysis of legislative and judicial acts, taken by Russian state authorities in the context of the Russian constitution, its main values and basic principles 2. to give expert assistance for interaction with the Russian government structures in a wide range of political and economic questions Know: 1. the specific of the Russian constitution, Russian legal, political and economic system 2. the history of forming and development of the contemporary constitutional system of Russia Have the capacity to: 1. better understand of political, economic and legal processes in Russia 2. make prognosis of the development of the Russian legislation and judicial practice, the reaction of the Russian state bodies to events in the world and to the decisions made by foreign states and international organizations

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Ministrado por

Sergei A. Belov
Associate Professor of Constitutional Law, Candidate of law (PhD)

Transcrição

[MUSIC]

In Russia, as in many other democracies,

as in many other countries, the doctrine and

the practice of law insist on some exceptionalism.

And Russian exceptionalism is a kind of searching for own constitutional identity.

We will try to describe in general how it works in the Russian case,

and I will try to argue why it appeared in Russia, and how it developed.

So the first idea which I would stop on is, what is

the typology of constitutional systems, and where is the place of Russia there?

To look for own identity means that

a state, a constitutional system, differs from the others.

And if it does not, it is just a way to put

on some shelf on the part of classification and

to describe a certain case through

a characteristic of its general time.

For Russia, there is an obvious difficulties

with making classification or typology of constitutional system.

And there are a few causes for this.

So the first to mention is to say

that the typology of

constitutional system does not usually allow to take into consideration

the difference between formal and factual state of situation.

So if the Russian constitution declares some principle or

declares some institutions,

it doesn't mean in each time that all these principles and

institutions do really exist.

And do really play those role which

they supposed to play according to the text of the constitution.

So if we will try to judge on the constitution text only,

we could make typical accusation of the Russian

constitutional of the Russian government system as samely parliamentary republic.

While the president has the right to appoint prime minister

only on consent of federal parliament, of State Duma.

But, in fact, it doesn't mean that State Duma do really play

crucial part in the procedure of appointment of prime minister.

So that is why it is quite hard to make a clear and

definite typical accusation basing on

the formal text of the constitution only.

The other difficulty is that the typology,

any typology actually, will take into consideration

quite a static rather than dynamic situation.

And it means that in this very moment,

we can classify the Russian constitutional system in one way.

But in a year or in a decade, the situation will change and

we will need to make another assessment of what the Russian constitutional system is.

So this is the second difficulty to make

clear typology of the Russian constitutional system.

And the last point which I would like to mention is that

any typology makes a very rough and very general description.

And sometimes does not pay proper attention to those

specific of a constitutional system or governmental system,

which is sometimes quite substantial and quite crucial.

So for the Russian constitutional system,

we cannot put it in a certain place of general typology.

Sometimes because of the lack of self-identity inside the Russia and

inside the Russian constitutional

scholarship and political system.

In Russia, since the beginning of 19th century,

there is a part of political and

public discussion about what Russia is on the world map.

And do we need to follow some way which was

done by Western democracies in the legal,

political, economic development of Russia or

we should seek for our own way?

The first approach was supported by those who were called Zapadniks,

means zapad, like west, in Russian.

And they tried to argue that Russia does not make anything original, but

just to follow the other countries in general development of constitutional,

legal, and political-economical system.

But the others, who were called Slavyanofils,

they insisted on priority of specific of the Russian

social system, the Russian society in general.

And they tried to argue that Russia should

find its own original way, its own original system.

Those disputes, this discussion, is still on agenda in Russia.

Maybe they are not now called like they were called in 19th century.

But still, this public discussion about liberals who argue for

development like in Western democracies.

And those who try to protect the specific of orthodoxy,

Russian specific political, legal, and economic system.

It is still the discussion which we

see in the newspapers, in TV,

in political debates, etc., etc.

So today we see that Russia has

no clear self-identity.

While we can find some tendencies and

we can see that today we hear more

arguments in favor of specific of Russian way of development.

Rather than protection of ideas to follow the Western

economic or political systems as a sample.

And the last point I would like to stop on is how

to classify the Russian legal system precisely.

If we talk about Russian society in general,

we can doubt what the Russian identity is.

But the legal system is a more formal and

more static object for classification.

But when we try to make classification typology of the Russian

legal system, we find some other difficulties.

And namely those which concern the fate of the Soviet legal system and

its rudiments in the modern countries.

Today, we can find in many scholar publications,

in many scientific articles, the question is the Soviet

law dead or it is still a part of

those legal system which exist in former Soviet countries.

Russia is one of these and

we can try to discuss when the Russian law deviated

from the development of the Soviet system far

enough to say that today we have very specific,

but still already not Soviet system.

I would say that in public law, at least formal side of way,

like formal institutions, or

formal principles are written down in the constitution.

They are very unlike those principles and

institutions which were in the Soviet constitutional system.

But today we cannot say that the way of thinking, the way of

argumentation, the system of values, and other quite more

deep things of legal system of regulation

is really far from those which were of the Soviet system.

And classification of legal system sometimes is based only on formal and

surface view on legal institutions.

But when we think about more substantial thing,

it is very hard to put Russia on the map of different legal systems of the world.

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