Law of the Russian Federation

The primary and fundamental statement of laws in the Russian Federation is the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

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 fundamentals of government as well as proclaiming the rule of law, the ideological neutrality of the state, political pluralism, competitive elections and a separation of powers, guaranteeing fundamental human rights to the Russian people. The Constitution establishes a semi-presidential system that encompasses strong executive power and increased independence for the president. Since its adoption in a 1993 referendum the Russian Constitution is considered to be the supreme law 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.

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.

Constitution Day of December 2013 was the culmination of anniversary events that continued throughout the entire year. A special amnesty resolution was devoted to the 20th anniversary of the Constitution, releasing from criminal liability 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 prisoners, including Khodorkovsky , punk protest group Pussy Riot and Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise ship case demonstrators.

Constitutional laws cannot become part of the constitution or amend parts of it absent a special legal act on 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. However the Constitutional Court was able to foreclose the possibility that constitutional laws could be used to circumvent the legislative process in the Case Concerning Interpretation of Art. 136 of the Constitution, VKS, 1995, No. 6, p. 10. Nevertheless, constitutional laws enjoy special status within hierarchy of laws, since federal constitutional laws will displace federal laws.

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Wikipedia