What is federal law: definition, features and application

The Russian Federation is a state called to ensure and protect the interests, rights and freedoms of people. Such security is possible only with competent compilation and application of legal norms. A special place in the entire legal system of the country is the Federal Law - Federal Law. What is the Federal Law, and what role does it play in the legal field of Russia? The answer to this question will be provided in the article.

Russian Federal Law in the country's legal system

It is known that Russia is one of the countries with a Romano-Germanic type of legal family. This means that the leading role in the country is occupied by legislative and executive decisions - laws and by-laws. Judicial precedents in Russia are not legal sources.

The highest legal force has the basic law of the country - the Constitution. It consists of nine chapters, eight of which regulate the main social and political spheres. Each chapter of the Constitution is formed on the basis of the norms of federal constitutional laws.

The second most important place is occupied by simple federal laws. These are normative acts issued by representative authorities, verified by courts and signed by the head of state. Federal laws regulate the main public spheres of activity - for example, education (Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation"), medicine, individual civil relations, etc.

FKZ and FZ: the main differences

What is a federal law, and how does it differ from laws of a constitutional nature? As already mentioned, the FKZ fix only the most general provisions on the state structure of the country. All chapters of the main law of the country were formed after the adoption of the relevant FKZ, which contained provisions on human rights and freedoms, state structure, political regime, etc. In addition, constitutional laws enshrine state attributes: anthem, flag and coat of arms.

Federal laws are based on constitutional norms. None of their provisions should be contrary to the rules enshrined in the basic law of the country and the relevant acts. The differences between the laws are seen in the order of their adoption. So, for the adoption of the FCL there is a much more complex and multifaceted registration procedure.

Signs of Federal Laws

The question of what the Federal Law is will help answer the characteristics of the main features of regulatory acts. Laws are characterized by a special legal force, especially for federal ones. Regulations have a direct impact on social relations through coordination methods.

A normative legal act is a product of norm-setting activity, and therefore has a special structure. Each law should have a name, as well as a general part, containing strictly systematized norms. Each individual law should concern only one public sphere, or some part of it. So, in a normative act provisions from different legal spheres should not be combined - for example, from civil and criminal.

Finally, the last and main feature of federal laws as acts of the Russian Federation is the priority of human rights and freedoms. A similar sign indicates the humanity and legality of the adopted norms.

Law functions

The Federal Law Service of the Russian Federation is necessary to achieve several goals at once.Firstly, the very nature of law is regulated, which consists of morality and morality. In other words, laws qualitatively determine the proper behavior of people. Secondly, laws protect the most significant social relations. This is manifested in detail in specific legal sectors - criminal, civil, labor, etc. Finally, thirdly, the law is formed according to the norms of ideology. Moreover, he develops and supplements it due to the emergence of new norms and rules.

Thus, any federal law aims to protect the interests, rights and freedoms of man. This goal is achieved in a variety of ways in any public sphere.

The procedure for the adoption of federal laws

What is the legislative process, and how is it manifested? The answer to this question is given by the country's main regulatory act - the Constitution. It states that only a representative body, the Parliament, can be the publisher of federal laws. In Russia, the Parliament is bicameral, and even bears the original name - the Federal Assembly.

Ideas on the formation of certain laws are put forward in the lower house of Parliament - the State Duma. If the idea is approved, a draft law is formed. It is considered at three readings. The first reading procedure involves identifying the main errors and problem areas in the project. The same thing happens during the second reading. At the last draft meeting, legislators vote in favor of adopting or not adopting the law. If two-thirds of the voters support the adoption of the law, the draft, drawn up and verified in the lower house, is sent for consideration to the Federation Council - the supreme parliamentary chamber.

The role of the Federation Council in the legislative process

In the upper house of parliament, senators decide the fate of the law. If, according to the results of voting, the draft is accepted, then it will go to the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, where it will be checked for compliance with constitutional norms.

At the very end of the process, the law is signed by the head of state. He has the right to veto the law - that is, reject it. The veto can be overcome by repeated readings and votes, but with a large number of parliamentarians who favor the adoption of the act.

Codes

Most Russians are aware of the existence of the so-called codes - major regulatory acts that regulate a particular public sphere. So, there is a Criminal Code, as well as Civil, Labor, Family, Budget, Tax, etc. Each similar law is formed on the basis of many separate federal laws.

The Russian Federation is one of the countries with a Romano-German legal system. This, in turn, means a variety of legislative areas. For example, you can take the Civil Code. This is a huge four-part legal work. Each part was adopted according to separate federal laws. For example, the fourth part, which regulates the norms of intellectual law, was adopted in 2006. On December 18, Federal Law No. 230 dated December 18, 2006 was considered and signed, which served as the legal basis for the existence and implementation of the fourth part of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Each change to the Code is also regulated by the relevant federal acts.

Areas of law

There are an incredible amount of federal laws in Russia. The exact figure cannot be called. because hundreds of new acts are adopted annually. Moreover, some laws are abolished, amended, unified and in every way transformed. That is why it is necessary to tell not about the laws themselves, but about the social spheres that they regulate.

To date, the main regulatory act governing criminal norms is the Russian Criminal Code. It is constantly supplemented by many federal laws. The latest changes were made in July 2017, it was then that the FZ-250 came out on 07/29/2017. It talked about the addition and elimination of certain criminal norms.The same goes for civil law. For example, in FZ-147 dated July 1, 2017, it was said that some articles were amended in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Thus, the federal laws of the Russian Federation can be divided into two groups: general and narrowly targeted. The first concern large public areas, as illustrated above. However, there are more institutional laws aimed at regulating narrow social spheres. An example will be discussed below.

The sphere of education

The educational environment is regulated by the Federal Law "On Education" of the Russian Federation. What does this law look like? It’s worth starting with the name. The adoption date plays an important role here. The fact is that the number used in the name could already be taken into account in the past. Here is the abbreviation of the law on education: "No. 273-FZ of 12/29/2012." The title also indicates the date of the last change in the regulatory act.

Federal laws themselves most often consist of chapters, paragraphs, and articles. The first chapter almost always indicates general provisions. This includes the subject of the law, regulatory methods, basic concepts, principles, etc. Subsequent chapters describe the subject of the story directly, as well as moments associated with it. The last chapter contains the final provisions that describe the procedure for adopting norms. The dates of the adoption of the law by the State Duma and the Federation Council are indicated.