democracy

The issue of the historical succession of the organizational and institutional mechanism of people’s control in the USSR by the modern system of public control: A political and legal aspect

Introduction. At present, an obvious scientific interest in the Soviet historical experience of constructing political institutions and organizing public administration is growing. In this context, there is an urgent need to compare and identify the generic qualities of people’s control in the USSR and public control in the Russian Federation, to clarify the general and specific patterns of their development, to conduct a comparative analysis of the ideological, conceptual, regulatory, legal, and organizational and institutional characteristics of the phenomena under consideration. Theoretical analysis. People’s control in the USSR and public control in the Russian Federation have a lot in common, especially in the context of assessing their social nature and essence. Theoretically, both phenomena characterize the content of the democratic foundations of the constitutional system and are considered the most important guarantee and condition for the implementation of democracy in a political system of a certain type. The authors also single out separate content aspects that characterize the authenticity of both types of control, which are manifested to a greater extent in their essential definition and intended purpose. Public control is an integral feature and, at the same time, a function of civil society - the sphere of self-organization and activity of free citizens and their associations. The theoretical and methodological configuration of people’s control was based on considering it as an auxiliary control function for the state, not of society, but of the people as a political community of all citizens of the USSR. Empirical analysis. It was revealed that people’s control in the USSR and public control in the Russian Federation are characterized by a high degree of legal regulation. The authors highlight the main differences of both types of control. These differences are of an organizational and institutional nature and refer to features of the subject-object composition, forms and results of activities. Results. The retrospective study of the genesis of public control and the practical implementation of the conceptual paradigm at the present stage of the development of the Russian Federation allows us to defi ne it as the result of the institutional historical succession of the forms of democracy that developed during the Soviet period of the functioning of the national political system.

Features of Constitutional and Legal Regulation of Public Control in the Soviet System of Public Administration

The article of E.V.  Berdnikova  is devoted to the historical analysis of features  of a constitutional and legal regulation of public control in the Soviet system of public administration.  Object.  The main object  of the work is to study the specificity of social control as  the constitutional and legal institute of the Soviet legal system.  Results.  The author analyzes  the regulatory  framework, which laid the basis for the organization of the system  of public control over the activities  of public authorities in Soviet Russia. The paper shows that social control is only  a tool, which the Soviet government skilfully used  in  the ideological and organizational  direction,  turning it against  unwanted new mode of social subjects, forming the basis for the so-called principle of democratic centralism, a closed  totalitarian system of government decision-making.  Conclusions.  In the conclusion the author deduces about the feature of the formation of people’s  control of the USSR, their functioning and accountability  predetermined by the fact  that the mechanism  of social control was offset by a control state. When the external effect  of a democratic socialist system of public  control of the workers are not given the role of managers but the managed. The formality of the idea  of Soviet democracy  Deterministic practical essence of people’s  control as  one of the activities  of the legislature.

Legal Certainty and Democracy: What the “Constitutional Legislator” Allows

Introduction. The article analyzes the legal certainty of the individual as the stability of the content of fundamental rights and freedoms in the context of democratic processes of reforming the current legislation and the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Theoretical analysis. The article notes that the need for stability of fundamental human rights and freedoms is in some contradiction with their dynamic, evolutionary nature. The author questions the possible and necessary limits of majority democratic will with regard to the transformation of the legal system, in general, and constitutional rights and freedoms, in particular. The article addresses some “points of tension” between democracy and the rule of law. Results. On the basis of the article, it is concluded that participation in the processes of democratic transformation of the legal system can be considered as a right to democracy and, in this understanding, it needs the search for a balance with other fundamental rights and freedoms. It is on the basis of this balance that the legal certainty of the individual must be ensured, combining, on the one hand, the stability of the substantive characteristics of fundamental rights and freedoms, and, on the other hand, the expansion of legal claims and the evolution of human rights.

Legal Problems of Interaction between the State and Political Parties in Modern Russia

Introduction. The article substantiates the judgment about the lack of regulation of the issue of interaction between the state and political parties: the law stipulates neither the principles nor the form, nor the order, nor the sphere of interaction of political parties with the state. There is no mechanism for taking into account and implementing the recommendations and proposals of political parties in the state management sphere, which makes it impossible for political parties to have a real impact on state policy. Meanwhile, the legislation on political parties contains the requirements for the establishment, activities of parties, as well as the system of state guarantees in the information, financial and other spheres.

The purpose is to justify the idea that one can speak of unilateral impact of the state on the parties rather than of parity interaction of the state and political parties.

Theoretical analysis. The legislative regulation of interaction between parties and the state is enshrined only in article 10 of the Federal law “On political parties” in the form of a ban on mutual influence on each other’s activities, which is clearly not enough for effective cooperation. Namely, it should be a condition for the full development of political and state-legal systems. The lack of clearly defined principles, forms and methods of interaction between the state and political parties led, firstly, to the state’s influence on political parties, primarily through the system of financial and information resources provided to the parties participating in the elections, and, secondly, to selective control over the activities of political parties, which leads to inequality of the actual situation of the latter.

Conclutions. The analysis of the Russian legislation has shown that the multidimensional goal of creation and activity of political parties in Russia cannot be realized, as political parties are in subordinate position when interacting with state, as there are no effective guarantees and mechanisms of influence on the state legal life.

To the Question of the Legal Status of People

Introduction. Stable development of Russia as a multinational democratic state requires consideration not only of the characteristics of a nation as a historical and cultural community of people living on the same territory, and the determination of its constitutional-legal status as a subject of Vlastnosti. Purpose. The main aim of this work is the justification of the legal personality of the people as the owner of statutory measures of behavior and participant regulated by legal norms of social relations. Results. The authors considered the scope and content of the exclusive constitutional legal status of the people as a special collective subject. Availability of generic legal capacity allows people not just to be a subject of law, and member of the constitutional legal. In this regard, are considered forms of realization of the constitutional legal status of the people within specific relationships, as well as indirectly, through various socio-political institutions. Conclusions. The authors come to the conclusion about the necessity of clarifying the constitutional-legal status of the people.