Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation

The Civic Chamber (In Russian: Общественная палата) is a consultative civil society institution with 168 members created in 2005 in Russia to analyze draft legislation and monitor the activities of the parliament, government and other government bodies of Russia and its Federal Subjects. It has a role similar to an oversight committee and has consultative powers. A convocation of the chamber is in power for a three-year term.

The creation of the chamber was suggested by Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, on September 13, 2004.

The Civic Chamber was organized according to the federal law On the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation (Full text in Russian: [1]), that had been approved by the State Duma on March 16, by the Federation Council of Russia on March 23, had been signed by the President on April 4, had been published on April 7 and had come into force on July 1, 2005.

According to the law, on September 30, 2005, the President selected 42 members of the chamber who were supposed to have distinguished merit for the state and society.[2] On November 15, 2005, the second part of the Chamber was organized as the first 42 members had elected 42 more deputies from All-Russia public associations. On December 23, 2005, These 84 members in turn elected 42 representatives of regional and interregional public associations (List of the members of the Civic Chamber in Russian: [3]). To qualify for the procedures, public associations had to be registered as such at least a year before July 1, 2005.

The first session of the chamber was opened on January 22, 2006. The chamber has been headed by Evgeny Velikhov, Secretary of the Civic Chamber. He is a physicist, and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

According to the Federal Law ‘On the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation’ the purpose of the Civic Chamber is to help citizens interact with government officials and local authorities in order to take into account the needs and interests of citizens, to protect their rights and freedoms in the process of shaping and implementing state policies, and to exercise public control over the activities of executive authorities.

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