State power in modern Russia is largely based on law, as the main regulator of public relations. This approach is new because the territory of the Russian Federation spent most of its history under the flags of monarchist and republican-totalitarian states. As we understand, the centralization of power in such countries is quite large, but the role of law is insignificant. Thus, the modern legal system of Russia is a huge step forward towards achieving a perfect democratic system.
Analyzing the created legal system of this state, it is necessary to emphasize the large role of normative acts. They not only streamline and regulate social relations, but also allow holistically and effectively to implement the rule of law in real life. The similar significance of normative acts exists due to the rigid hierarchy in which they are located. The hierarchy of legal acts, as well as the general provisions of the legal system, will be discussed later in the article.
The concept of the legal system
The hierarchy of legal acts directly depends on the legal system, which is a complex socio-political structure. Its concept is interpreted differently by many scientists, however, there is the most “classical” definition. The legal system is a combination of three basic and very important elements: the legal culture, the legal system and the process of law enforcement.
The hierarchy of legal acts in many respects depends on each element of the system, because these two categories complement each other. Firstly, normative acts are one of the sources of law in the state, and secondly, the legal system provides a hierarchy of legal acts through the implementation of law and improving the legal culture of society. Thus, we are talking about a continuous process that operates continuously. The hierarchy of normative legal acts of the Russian Federation is directly related to the legal system of this state, which will be discussed in more detail later in the article.
The legal system of the Russian Federation
The legal system of the Russian Federation has a slightly more specific structure than the one presented above. First of all, it includes not only the national system of legal norms, but also the obligations of international legal Russia to foreign countries.
The structure is also complemented by the level of legal culture of the population and established legal practice. The hierarchy of normative legal acts of the Russian Federation is built from the existing constitution, democratic regime as well as some historical aspects. It is the hierarchical structure that allows you to effectively use the entire legal system of the state in everyday life. Moreover, the structuredness of norms helps citizens to better understand and understand the essence legal activity as well as enjoy your freedoms.
The history of the formation of the modern legal system in the Russian Federation
The modern legal system of Russia began its formation in the 1980s. Back in 1978, amendments to the Constitution of the RSFSR were created, which affirmed the principles of a multi-party system, pluralism, separation of powers, freedom of business and private property. However, they were put into effect only in 1990 with the adoption of the Declaration on State Sovereignty of the RSFSR. The legal system was also supplemented by the adopted Declaration of the Rights and Freedoms of Man and Citizen. The political history of this country significantly influenced the structure and viability of law.Since the formation of the Russian Federation as an independent state, the sources of law necessary at that time began to appear. The hierarchy of regulatory legal acts also began to develop with the advent of the democratic regime in the Russian Federation. The efforts spent on the reconstruction of the state were not in vain. Today, the Russian Federation is a fairly powerful political and economic power, which operates in accordance with the 1993 Constitution of the Russian Federation.
What is a NAP hierarchy?
The hierarchy of legal acts – it is a rigid structure that is based on the legal force of acts of state power. There are other criteria for building a hierarchy. But in the Russian Federation, legal force is the main factor in building the structure. At the same time, there are several directions for building a structured regulatory system. The difference is that one direction takes as a basis for the most part the territorial and departmental principle of dividing normative acts, and the other - legal force, depending on the principle of separation of powers and existing bodies in the state. An important role is played by the historical process of state development. For example, the hierarchy of legal acts of the Republic of Belarus (Republic of Belarus) differs significantly from the Russian one. This fact for the most part depends on the political processes that took place in Belarus after the collapse of the USSR.
Legal act. Concept, types, hierarchy
So, taking into account all the above aspects, we can distinguish two areas according to which a hierarchy of legal acts in Russia is built, namely:
- Vertical is a way of spreading the rule of law and systematizing legal acts from the Constitution of the Russian Federation to individual government departments. In addition, there is a territorial principle that forms the essence of the vertical direction. According to him, all normative acts are divided into federal (valid on the territory of the entire state) and regional.
- Horizontal, when the acts are equal in their legal force, but have a completely different priority at the time of application. This happens when two normative acts of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation are of equal legal force, but their application is limited to the territories of the regions. Another situation is possible with federal laws. Each of them is endowed with equal legal force, without exception, but this or that law is applicable in a separate legal field. The clearly described distinction traces between procedural and material acts.
Thus, the hierarchy of regulatory legal acts in the state exists due to such factors: their legal force, sectoral and territorial division, as well as the general regulator of the legal system - the constitution. Each level of the NAP system has a unique significance for the state and society, which will be discussed below. It is also necessary to understand the definition of the term “normative legal act” itself. To date, in the theory of state and law, this concept is deciphered as follows, namely: a document of an established form, of an official nature, which has a legal nature. In other words, NPA is a way of regulating society through the rule of law.
Constitution of the Russian Federation
The legal force of normative, legal acts, the hierarchy of which is based on this principle, is completely the source material from the main state law - the constitution.
This document includes key principles and factors of building the entire legal policy of Russia. It is in the constitution that fundamental human rights and freedoms are established, which correspond to world standards, the particularities of the separation of powers between legislative, executive and judicial bodies, the powers and scope of activity of central authorities. The Russian Constitution consists of two sections and a preamble.The first contains key norms, in other words, the body of the constitution, and the second section contains transitional and final provisions. In a detailed analysis of the basic law of the Russian Federation, the following constitutional principles of public administration can be distinguished:
- Democracy in the state as the main political regime of power. Russia's rich experience has shown that totalitarianism does not achieve the goals that a state with such great potential could achieve. Therefore, in the XXI century they decided to "try" something new, namely democracy. It should be noted that this choice has so far met all expectations.
- The Russian Federation is a very large country. To ensure a competent regulatory process, the principle of the federal structure of the country’s territory was introduced into the constitution.
- The rule of law and the rule of law live by the rule of law.
- The principle of the welfare state states that the whole policy of the authorities is aimed, first of all, at improving the well-being of citizens and their standard of living.
- The highest value in the state is a person and his life, which is manifested in the principle of humanism.
- Form of government in Russia - republican.
- Religion is completely separate from power. No religious denomination has an influence on the executive, judicial or legislative authorities, as well as the right to issue normative acts or in any way affect the social life of people.
Power sharing
The hierarchy in the system of regulatory legal acts largely depends on the principle of separation of powers. Firstly, legislative bodies issue the most important legal acts that have the greatest legal force throughout Russia. The executive bodies are also empowered to issue certain types of legal acts that operate exclusively in the field of work of a given agency. As for the judicial authorities, they do not issue normative acts, but they have the right to interpret the essence of federal laws and constitutional norms if there is a problem in the process of law enforcement. An important role is played by international legal acts. If they are authorized by the relevant authorities and do not contradict the existing Constitution of the Russian Federation, then their norms have priority over other regulatory acts of the state.
Second Hierarchy - Federal Laws
Laws are the second “link” on the basis of which the hierarchy of normative legal acts of the Russian Federation is built. These are the key legal acts in the system of public regulation. They are published exclusively by the legislative bodies of Russia.
The subject of regulation can be almost any issue of federal or territorial significance. Laws are always binding throughout the Russian Federation. They are endowed with a higher legal force. All other state acts must comply with the laws and not contradict them. Responsibility for violation of federal laws is only possible if it is spelled out in them or regulated by other regulatory acts. Thus, the hierarchy of federal regulatory legal acts is headed by the constitution, and laws play a key role. It should also be noted a number of issues that most often become the subject of legislative regulation, for example:
- Amendment, adoption and observance of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and state laws.
- Territorial and federal structure of Russia.
- Normative regulation in the field of ensuring and protecting the rights and freedoms of man, citizen.
- Ensuring state security and law and order in the country.
- Regulation of the activities of the system of public authorities (executive, legislative, judicial, individual services and departments).
- Organization and control of the economic activity and financial situation of a power.
- Foreign policy activities of the Russian Federation.
This is an incomplete list of all issues that may be the subject of legislative regulation in Russia. Every year, socio-political relations are becoming more and more new, which leads to a change in priorities in government.
Acts of the President of Russia
The hierarchy of by-laws is headed by decrees and orders of the President of the Russian Federation. These documents may not contradict federal laws and the Constitution. The main subject of the president’s legal acts is the issues of federation, in other words, the sphere of government of the country. Like laws, they are binding on the entire Russian Federation without exception.
The following LAs issued by the president are described in the constitution: decrees and orders. Although there are no particular differences in them, legal scholars share these terms as follows:
- Decrees are the decisions of the president of Russia of a regulatory nature. As a rule, they are repeated or continuous. Decisions are also called documents by which people are released or appointed to government posts, political asylum is given, state awards, ranks, honorary titles, etc. are assigned.
- Orders are presidential decisions that are operational in nature. They cannot contain regulatory requirements. Most often, the subject is the work of the Presidential Administration.
Presidential acts largely supplement the legislation of Russia, because their publication is much more dynamic, although the number of regulatory issues is much narrower than that of federal laws. Here we can trace the main principle of the institution of the presidency - a purely managerial character.
Government Laws
According to the competence of the Russian government, the regulatory legal acts of this body can be issued on a number of clearly identified issues:
- For the development of the federal budget.
- Carrying out credit and financial policies.
- In order to carry out political programs in the field of culture.
- Implementation of measures to ensure the inviolability of borders, the rule of law, the rule of law, the fight against crime, etc.
In addition to the list presented, it is the government that is responsible for the implementation of constitutional norms and federal laws. The hierarchy of subordination of normative legal acts in the Russian Federation can be clearly seen in the relationship of laws and by-laws of the government. Thanks to the latter, the legislation is implemented in the everyday life of citizens, in other words, the rule of law acts properly. Government regulations have two main forms:
- Decisions - acts of repeated action, normative, acting on an unlimited number of persons.
- Orders - acts of a non-normative nature.
The legal force of normative legal acts, the hierarchy of which is based on vertical subordination, is of no small importance in the process of issuing orders and decrees of the Russian government. They cannot contradict presidential decrees, laws and the constitution, otherwise their action ceases. Thus, acts of the government of the Russian Federation have less legal force in comparison with other federal documents. But they are given priority over departmental and territorial regulations.
Departmental legal acts
Departmental acts are issued by individual ministries or other executive bodies. They regulate relations on certain issues and in a particular area. It is worth noting that the circle of persons to whom departmental acts are extended is strictly defined, therefore, the scope of their legal implementation is quite narrow. These documents are issued to organize the activities of a political program of a certain type. Acts come into effect only after passing registration with the bodies of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.This stage is the key, because the acts are rigorously tested before they are allowed to act and to actually regulate the relations for which they are created. Structural units executive bodies authorities cannot issue departmental acts. As for the types of departmental acts, today the following are distinguished: orders, decrees, orders, rules and instructions.
Normative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation
Acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are issued exclusively on issues arising in the process of territorial administration of a particular region. They cannot be contrary to federal laws or the constitution. Such acts are not new in modern Russia. Territorial authorities actively use their “own” acts to more effectively organize local authorities. Their legal force is limited exclusively to the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation. The main types of such acts include laws subjects of the federation regional by-laws and legal acts of local authorities. It should be noted that the hierarchy of regulatory legal acts in the Republic of Kazakhstan (the Republic of Kazakhstan) at the territorial level is very similar to the Russian one, although minor differences can be traced in some issues.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the existing NPA system in Russia has proved its effectiveness and expediency in the process of government. The hierarchy of normative legal acts in Russia is headed by the constitution, which largely emphasizes the dominant role of the principles of democracy and the rule of law in the country.