Moscow University Law Bulletin. 2023. 6.

The author’s approach to the theory and practice of constitutionalism in the system of Russian legal education is presented. The very concept of constitutionalism is considered in this case on the basis of the unity of scientific, doctrinal, legal implementation and educational, methodological principles. This presupposes the need to substantiate new approaches both to the structure and content of the educational course on constitutional law, and to the organizational, legal, and methodological issues of its teaching. In this regard, the main guideline of the domestic legal education system should not be a narrow sectoral one (criminal security, corporate civil law, etc.), but a constitutional model of fundamental training of legal personnel. This presupposes the recognition of the ideas of constitutionalism as the basic principle of the system of teaching legal disciplines, bearing in mind the unity of legal theory and legal practice, lawmaking and law enforcement, considered on the integrative basis of legal positivism and the sociology of law, sociocultural, axiological characteristics of the legal existence of the individual, society and state. 

At the same time, attention is drawn to negative trends associated with derogation of attention to the national system of constitutional law, deformation with the inclusion of Russia in the Bologna process of domestic philosophical and ideological principles of legal education, and the transition to a two-level system of training legal personnel (bachelor’s — master’s degrees). In this regard, specific directions for improving the teaching of constitutional law are proposed, taking into account the national characteristics of the philosophical and ideological foundations of domestic legal education, and the feasibility of transition to a constitutional model of training legal personnel is substantiated.

The results of a study of the human rights practice of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the context of external challenges and threats are presented, the role of the institute of human rights as one of the integral elements of national sovereignty is considered. An attempt has been made by scientists and practitioners to study issues related to finding a balance between generally accepted standards and national characteristics in the protection of human rights, choosing tools to ensure effective monitoring of human rights and freedoms at the supranational level, and forming effective mechanisms by international organizations for human rights violations using the most optimal and constructive means. 

Guided by one of the main principles of human rights activity — mercy and humanism — outside politics, it seems necessary to study and comprehend existing conceptual approaches in the legal doctrine in the field of human rights protection and methodological tools of foreign colleagues-ombudsmen in order to test best practices and improve the effectiveness of human rights assistance. 

Taking into account modern realities caused by the systemic crisis of the international system for the protection of human rights and freedoms, the main directions of human rights activities, the main international and foreign human rights platforms for the development of cooperation are identified, new formats and promising areas of international cooperation in the field of human rights aimed at strengthening national sovereignty, respect for the principles of equality, independence and justice are highlighted.

At the same time, attention is drawn to negative trends associated with derogation of attention to the national system of constitutional law, deformation with the inclusion of Russia in the Bologna process of domestic philosophical and ideological principles of legal education, and the transition to a two-level system of training legal personnel (bachelor’s — master’s degrees). In this regard, specific directions for improving the teaching of constitutional law are proposed, taking into account the national characteristics of the philosophical and ideological foundations of domestic legal education, and the feasibility of transition to a constitutional model of training legal personnel is substantiated.

The Constitution of Russia, despite pessimistic forecasts during its adoption, caused, among other things, by the idea of the targeted, anti-crisis nature of this document, was a reliable basis for the formation of national consent, reconciliation of society, and became the most important guarantee of the preservation of Russian socio-cultural identity based on traditional spiritual and moral values. In modern socio-historical and geopolitical conditions, the consolidating role of the Russian Constitution and its potential associated with ensuring the sovereign development of Russian statehood is increasing. Designed to ensure state development in conditions of historical turbulence, the Russian Constitution enshrined flexible, self-adjusting mechanisms for balancing the interests of the individual, society and the state, based both on respect for the heritage and traditions of our ancestors, and on the desire for social progress. It is necessary to consistently reveal the normative, value-semantic content of the current Constitution of Russia, for which an essential prerequisite should be its demythologization in the sense of abandoning its distorted interpretations inspired by the currents of liberal-individualistic globalism. Some judgments on this matter, concerning, in particular, the ideological side of state development, the rights and freedoms of man and citizen in the system of constitutional values, spiritual, moral and legal education in the education system, are set out in the article with the expectation of further scientific dialogue and the formation of a new constitutional paradigms of Russian statehood.

The article reveals various aspects of the influence of the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 on the development of national constitutional justice. Such development is ensured through the improvement of constitutional norms by the legislator and, in this regard, the significance of the Law of the Russian Federation on the amendment to the Constitution of the Russian Federation of March 14, 2020 No. 1-FKZ, the adoption of which led to a certain modification of the existing model of constitutional justice, is revealed. It is shown how the understanding of constitutional norms on the organization and activities of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation has changed under the influence of amendments made to the Federal Constitutional Law “On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation” in 2009, 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2020. In addition, a significant role in the development of constitutional justice is played by the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation itself, which ensure the interpretation of constitutional norms in a certain socio-political context. Many of these positions were further constitutionally and legislatively fixed. The influence of the Constitution of the Russian Federation on the development of constitutional justice is revealed from several thematic perspectives: ensuring the autonomy and independence of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation as a body of state power; its composition, powers; the legal force of its decisions; regional constitutional justice. In conclusion, the author’s view of the problems under consideration is offered.

The article reveals the negative consequences of a straightforward transfer of economic categories and approaches to civil law. In this case both the variety of legal forms of property relations and their historical ties to different legal systems (Continental civil law and Anglo-American common law) are neglected. Thus, the author criticizes the application of the ‘economic analysis of law’ concept, which is based on the economic approach to common law, for legal analysis of Continental legal concepts and ideas, which are alien to it. An observation is made that the scope of this concept is limited to business relations, as the development thereof has brought to life the trend of civil law economization. Conventional and economic nature of the concepts of ‘form of ownership’ and ‘intellectual property’, fallacy of legal definitions of ‘non-cash money’, ‘uncertificated securities’, and ‘digital property’, as well as confusion of economic and legal categories in the Anglo-American classification of property rights are emphasized. The article concludes that it is necessary to replace economic approaches to civil law with a legal analysis of economy, which makes it possible to legally define property relations and exclude unreasonable confusion of economic and legal concepts.

The article examines the history of the formation of representative power in Russia: the emergence and development of Soviets of workers’, peasants’ and soldiers’ deputies and the highest representative institution — the State Duma. The following shows the activities of the State Duma, the range of interests of their deputies, their attention to the problem of whether the Duma is a parliament or not. The process of formation of Soviets since February 1917 as an All-Russian representative authority is shown. The problem of correlation between the theory of Marxism and the practice of its application in the RSFSR is considered. It is shown that the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918 never mentioned the classical formula of Marxism “dictatorship of the proletariat”, blurring it with the dictatorship of workers. However, during the Civil War, in order to retain power, there is a transition to the de facto dictatorship of the Bolshevik Party. The article draws attention to the moral and political level of the members of the CPSU (b), I. V. Stalin’s personnel policy in both party and Soviet organizations. The institute of purges of party and Soviet workers is considered as a way to get rid of both political opponents and embezzlers, thieves, drunkards, etc. of the public. The new Constitution of the USSR of 1936 was to fulfill the task of finally purging the state from the party dictatorship and ensuring the union of party members and non — party members.

This article deals with the problems of the formation of the predecessor of the modern Donetsk People’s Republic — Donetsk province and traces its incorporation into the RSFSR, and then the transition to the Ukrainian SSR. April 26, 1920 should be recognized as the date of the entry of Donbass into the Russian Soviet Republic, when the RSFSR recognized the decision of the Soviet government on the allocation of the new province borders. Nowadays, archival data allow us to conclude that there is no legal transfer of the Donetsk province of the Ukrainian SSR. At the end of 1920, the territory of Donetsk province was politically recognized by the Bolsheviks as Soviet Ukraine, without observing the constitutional procedure for the region’s withdrawal from the Russian Federation. The Ukrainian SSR received its political recognition as a national republic — the Ukrainian people exercised their right to secede. Donbass emerged on the basis of self-determination of the workers of this region, who fought for independence and Soviet power. The author shows which variants of the borders of the Donetsk province were originally intended and on what principles the inclusion of individual territories in its composition was based.

The article shows the social and philosophical-theoretical foundations of the idea of the rule of law. Based on world political and legal thought, the nature and evolution of this phenomenon is revealed. It is argued that in the presence of the institution of human rights, the mechanism of separation of powers and the predictability of the actions of state power, the rule of law can be assessed not only as an ideal, but also as a real way of organizing the state. It has been demonstrated that public order is a constant compromise between various forces in society, determined by the intensity of social interests. One of the ways to overcome political alienation is the subordination of the state to law, designed to ensure predictability of the actions of state power, guaranteeing a stable legal order. It is emphasized that the issue of the state being bound by law cannot be resolved within the framework of the theory of legal positivism and requires turning to meta-legal concepts (justice, good morals, common good) that lie outside positive law, and their basis and boundaries must be sought in philosophical and legal principles. Special attention is paid to the understanding of the social state — a state that establishes social (material) guarantees for broad layers of the population, fights poverty and introduces legal mechanisms for this purpose. It is shown that a legal social state is one of the central problems of Russian liberal philosophy of law. The rule of law, from the point of view of its representatives, must be supplemented by the “right to a decent existence”.

The article deals with the definition of the judiciary and its authority as one of its descriptions as they are presented in procedural science. Attention is paid to the constitutional basis of the independence of judiciary. It is shown that authority of the judiciary is one of its independence guarantees. The difference between internal and external independence of judiciary as it has been treated in pre-revolutionary science is examined, as well as a definition of the authority of the judiciary as a sufficiency of its powers that make it possible to judiciary to control all the criminal procedure, the definition of the subsidiary bodies of judiciary and their role in provision of the authority of judiciary under the Judicial Reform of 1864. A conclusion is drawn that there are two aspects of the authority of the judiciary: judicial and procedural. Authority of the judiciary is also compared with the principle of equality of everyone under the law and in trial. The evolution of the definition of the authority of the judiciary in soviet science, when the separation of powers has been rejected and subsidiary bodies of judiciary has been separated from it, and in modern procedural science is exposed. Justice as a key power of the judiciary is compared with its other powers including those administered not by courts.

The article focuses on the constitutional changes in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, aimed at the protection of spiritual and moral values. It is concluded that in the current conditions there is a clear retreat in Western countries from the recognition of the absolute nature of personal (inalienable) rights, and, on the contrary, the adoption of legal measures to limit them and even to establish responsibility for those actions that do not fit into the formed mainstream, which is confirmed by the facts of discrimination on the basis of nationality, use of native language, restrictions on freedom of religion, freedom of movement, as well as property rights and others. The author consolidates with the position of those scholars who believe that values are the highest level of social regulation, the basis for the development of personality and maintenance of legal order in society. Attention is drawn to the similarity of the new constitutional norms of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in terms of strengthening traditional family values, the formation of respect for the feat of arms of the people during the Great Patriotic War, the need to honor the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland, to ensure the protection of historical truth and others. The analysis of amendments and additions to the constitutions of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus convinces us of the desire of our states to preserve the basic constitutional values, to strengthen them, to provide for measures aimed at preventing emerging threats to the unity of society and the erosion of public consciousness.

The legal regulation of deprivation of liberty as a measure of criminal liability is not limited to criminal law rules on its purpose and other application. Punishment by imprisonment is associated with a whole complex of regulatory norms of criminal executive, criminal procedural and other sectoral legislation. A conclusion is made about the complex nature of the formation of the legal status of deprivation of liberty and on this basis a differentiation is made of the elements that form it, depending on their functional purpose, influence on the content and nature of the origin of other legal institutions and measures of criminal law. Theoretical foundations of penitentiary criminopenology are being developed, which allows us to talk about classifying deprivation of liberty as a type of punishment as a penitentiary type of criminal liability. This direction creates the prerequisites for a comprehensive solution to the problem of saving penalization, including penitentiary repression at all stages of its regulation (from the establishment of criminal law sanctions to full implementation in relation to a specific convict). The system of penitentiary criminology is revealed as an independent direction in the doctrine of punishment by deprivation of liberty, its subject and main parameters are determined. Certain aspects of the social, criminal-political, criminological and criminal-legal conditionality of the nature of differentiation and individualization of criminal penitentiary repression are considered. The content of punishment in the form of imprisonment is analyzed in terms of measuring the parameters of penitentiary criminology. On this basis, the content of the protective task of criminal law in the conditions of the development of the social state and modern society is clarified.

Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset was debuted at the annual WWDC on 5 June 2023, the new headset seamlessly blends the real world and virtual world, the Vision Pro can be controlled by voice, hands and eye movement. The rapid development of technology also brings corresponding risks to people, which include not only privacy violation, but also injuries such as dizziness, migraine, brain injury, etc. .At present, although China has a number of legal regulations on the risks of new technology, they are still not perfect for such a latest model of mixed reality headset. The article presents and analyzes the risks of using a mixed reality headset, reveals the problems of imperfections in the current legislation in China, and suggests ways to overcome the shortcomings.

The article analyzes the role and place of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and its principles in regulating relations related to the use of wage labor and constituting the subject of labor law, as well as issues of practical application of international and sectoral principles of law in the field of labor. The issues related to the consolidation and development of constitutional principles in the labor legislation of the Russian Federation are analyzed. First of all, these are the basic principles of legal regulation of labor relations and other directly related relations, enshrined in Article 2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. It is clarified that the principles are not “slogans” and purely theoretical constructions — they should be actively used at the stages of rulemaking and law enforcement. This provision is illustrated by the judicial practice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. The problem of the correlation of such important categories as politics, economics and law is touched upon, the need for an optimal ratio of their inherent mechanisms in all spheres is emphasized.

Based on an analysis of legal norms and the original texts of the constituent documents, the publication argues that the constituent acts of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, i. e. the Agreement on the creation of the CIS of December 8, 1991 and the Protocol to it of December 21, 1991) came into full force on December 21, 1991. Thus, the Commonwealth as an interstate association was formed precisely on this date, December 21, 1991, and not December 8, 1991, as is widespread in domestic legal science. At the same time, based on an analysis of official information from the CIS Executive Committee, a reasoned answer is given to a question that has not previously been covered in legal science (Russian, and especially foreign) — on what date did the constituent acts of the Commonwealth fully come into force for each CIS member state? In addition, the publication assesses the legal status in the Commonwealth of Azerbaijan, Georgia (before its withdrawal from the CIS in 2009), Moldova and Ukraine.

The article represents the abstracts of the report at the plenary session of the joint XXIV International Scientific and Practical Conference “Legal Support of Russian Sovereignty: Problems and Prospects”