The status of a deputy is a whole complex of duties and rights that are vested in a person who is called upon to represent the will of the Russian people. In addition to duties and rights, it also includes some prohibitions and restrictions. So, we will consider in this article what features are inherent in the deputy status, as well as what privileges and restrictions exist for persons called deputies.
General concept
The status of a deputy is a certain complex of legal features, which include not only privileges, but also some restrictions. In the Russian Federation, the concept of “deputy” and the main features of its status are enshrined in basic regulatory acts. These include, first of all, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Federal Law "On the status of a deputy", "On the choice of deputies to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation", as well as acts in the official Regulations of the State Duma.
The structure of the status under consideration includes not only the elements mentioned above, but also some goals, as well as tasks that must be performed by a person with a deputy mandate. Special attention is paid to the functions of the deputy, as well as the responsibility that he is obliged to bear for their failure to fulfill.
Who can be a deputy
In accordance with the legislation currently in force on the territory of the Russian Federation, a person who, at the time of assignment of the mandate has reached 21 years of age, may become a deputy. This person must have Russian citizenship, as well as have the right to participate in elections.
The legislation also states that the same person may simultaneously be a deputy of both the Council of Federations and the State Duma. However, the legal status of a deputy of the State Duma does not allow the simultaneous possession of a deputy mandate and a position in local self-government bodies, as well as participation in the representation of state power.
The deputy’s activity is work on a permanent and professional basis for which remuneration is due.
Basic rights
It should be noted that the status of a deputy gives all mandate holders a certain range of rights. In accordance with the above normative acts, any deputy has the full right to submit draft laws to the State Duma. In addition, they are given the opportunity to make both parliamentary and parliamentary requests.
Deputies have the right to participate in meetings and hearings, as well as in special and parliamentary commissions. During the meetings presented, as well as outside the period of their course, mandate holders have the right to appeal to members of the Government to explain specific issues. They also have the right to make similar appeals to senior officials, which in practice is often done to introduce requirements for taking various coercive measures against violators of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens. Appeal to the media is also one of the preemptive rights of deputies.
Duties
The interpretation of the concept of the legal status of deputies states that, in addition to fundamental rights, its structure also includes obligations. It should be noted that the main one is compliance with the established rules of etiquette and compliance with the code of parliamentary ethics.
In the process of conducting their professional activities, each deputy is obliged to report on the work done to the voters.In accordance with the rules established by law, each deputy is obliged to regularly submit a declaration that reflects the level of income, as well as a similar document on the acquired property.
Any of the representatives of the authorities, regardless of the level of his mandate, must strictly fulfill all the instructions issued by the State Duma, as well as the commission in which he himself is a member. For the group of persons under consideration, a prerequisite is to attend all meetings held by the faction. The purpose of this is to carry out the intended set of actions, which is carried out based on the unity of opinion and position. Any activity of a faction member should be aimed at achieving the goals set by the program.
Guaranteed Activities
Considering all the subtleties and features of the legal status of deputies, it should be determined that its structure includes a set of guarantees that are established for a person for the entire period of his activity. Thanks to these guarantees, deputies have the opportunity to carry out all their legal actions without the possibility of creating any obstacles from the outside. In modern practice, two main guarantees of this type can be distinguished: deputy indemnity and immunity.
As for parliamentary immunity, this concept provides a certain set of privileges and legal advantages that allow the holder of a mandate to act without any obstacles, but within the framework of his legal rights.
Indemnity is a certain complex of guarantees of a legal nature, which combines social guarantees. This complex is aimed at ensuring the independence of the considered group of persons. Indemnity is part of a kind of remuneration for work, it contributes to the fact that the deputy is approved as a person.
The basic guarantees of the activities of deputies also include social and material security.
Social and material security
As already mentioned above, the main guarantees that make up the status of a deputy of the Federal Assembly and other representative bodies include social and material security. All the features of its provision, as well as the permissible amounts, are regulated by Federal Law No. 3 of 05/08/1994. Its provisions state that all persons who are deputies are subject to compulsory insurance in case the time comes for his death or bodily harm. .
This type of guarantee is provided at the expense of the federal budget. As for the size of insurance, it should be equal to the size of its annual salary. In the event that a deputy is physically damaged, he must receive mandatory material compensation in an amount representing the difference between the amount of his monthly salary and the amount of the established pension, which should not include state insurance payments.
Special attention should also be paid to the peculiarities of the medical and household provision of the deputy. It includes the possibility of a free spa treatment, as well as a free stay in medical institutions - all expenses associated with the improvement and treatment of a deputy are borne by the federal budget.
In the event that a deputy has more than five years of working experience in the type of activity under consideration, then he will be given a pension allowance, which is taken into account in the case of the appointment of old-age pension and disability. After the appointment of a material benefit, its amount may be regularly recalculated, but only if the person continues to conduct his labor activity after retirement.The establishment of surcharges and the recalculation can only be made if a written application is submitted.
The status of a deputy of the Duma and the Council of Federations involves the issuance of office space for the implementation of its activities. The cabinet is provided in the building of the chamber of the Federal Assembly to which it belongs. There are some requirements to the provided premises. In particular, they consist in the availability of organizational equipment, furniture and communications.
Moreover, these mandate holders have the right to provide them with housing in the capital, in good condition. The requirements indicate that it should have everything that is necessary for a comfortable stay. Until the moment when housing is provided, the deputy has the right to stay in a hotel room, payment for accommodation in which will be made at the expense of the federal budget. After the person has been deprived of his deputy powers, he is obliged to vacate the previously occupied premises.
The status of a deputy of the Council of Federations and the State Duma implies the need to provide a group of persons with it with opportunities for the priority use of communications, as well as postal services. In all types of vehicles, the deputy has the right to free travel, for which he is issued a special certificate. If boarding a transport is carried out on coupons with an indication of the seat number, then in this case the representative of the government must purchase a ticket for himself free of charge and out of turn, having presented his ID.
In any locality of Russia, deputies of the State Duma and the Council of Federations have the right to an extraordinary settlement in the hotels of the city. Payment for accommodation is carried out at the expense of the federal budget. As for the basic requirements for numbers, it must be separate, and also equipped with a landline telephone. The persons accompanying the deputy are also entitled to extraordinary placement in the same room.
Labor Rights Guarantees
The status of a deputy of a representative body and all other formations presupposes the fulfillment of his duties in the framework of labor activity, for which material compensation is set in the amount established by law (231 084 rubles).
It should be noted that deputies have certain guarantees of their labor rights, which are expressed primarily in a clear definition of the term for the exercise of powers. He is fully counted in the length of service or in the service life. In the event that a person after the expiration of his powers enters into the civil service or engages in any other type of labor activity no later than 6 months from the date of resignation, his work experience will be considered continuous.
In the event that a member of the Council of Federations or the State Duma, even before receiving the deputy’s mandate, was engaged in labor activity at some enterprise, then after the resignation of his powers, he will be given the previous job with the preservation of not only the position, but also the size of the salary.
Some labor guarantees are also provided for the spouses of those deputies who, due to the performance of their duties, were forced to move to a temporary residence in Moscow. In particular, they also retain all the conditions that are prescribed by the employment contract and upon returning to their hometown, the spouse has the right to reinstate themselves at their previous place of work on conditions corresponding to previous or superior to them. At the moment, the person retains seniority, interest premiums are established, and all laid benefits are taken into account.
Like any other person in an employment relationship, a deputy has the right to annual leave. It should be noted that its duration should be at least 42 calendar days per year.
Deputy mandate
The status of a deputy of the Russian Federation provides for the existence of a specific document that confirms that he has a specific set of rights, obligations and guarantees. In addition, it determines membership in any fraction.
The concept of a deputy mandate is clearly presented in the content of the Law on the Status of a Deputy. It states that the mandate is an official document that is provided to certify the existence of a specific set of responsibilities and rights. Despite the official explanation, this term has two more interpretations.
In the first of these, the mandate is presented not in the form of a certificate, but as a certain set of duties and rights defined by law, as well as some privileges and all other elements that are components of the status of a deputy.
As for the second interpretation, it represents the mandate as some form of special relationship that arises between voters and the deputy himself. They are based on a certain nature inherent in the traditional activities of the deputy.
The modern political system provides for two types of mandates. The first of them is called free. Only members of the State Duma can have such. The status of such a mandate suggests that its owner is a representative of the entire Russian people. However, in his activity, such a person cannot be dependent on the orders of the country's population, nor can he be removed from office by the will of the people, even if he does not live up to expectations.
As for the second type of mandate, its presence presupposes the status of a local deputy. Its owners can only become representatives of those bodies that are entities in municipalities. The holder of such legal status is fully accountable to his voters for each stage of his work.
Features of the status of a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly and the Council of Federations
The main feature of the status of the considered group of persons is that it involves a certain immunity of the deputy. First of all, it is expressed in the fact that against personal deputies of the Duma it is forbidden to conduct any personal searches, detentions, arrests, or even detention.
In addition, in relation to the group in question, employees of specialized bodies are not entitled to carry out administrative and criminal procedural measures, a striking example of which is the search. Any coercive measures can be applied only if the person was detained right at the crime scene, and also if the security of the entire state or individual citizens requires it.
In the event that it is required to bring the deputy to justice, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation must request permission from the appropriate chamber to which the person’s mandate relates. In the event that the chamber refuses to grant permission, it will be a good reason to drop any charges from the deputy and not bring him to criminal or administrative liability.
All the powers conferred on a status of a deputy of the Council of Federations or the Duma are valid from the moment of conferring a mandate until the expiration date. During his term, persons with a mandate are not entitled to engage in any kind of labor activity or business. This category of people is allowed to do science and teaching in higher educational institutions of the country. In the event that a violation of such a requirement is established, a deputy mandate may be revoked on this fact.
Local deputies: status features
What distinguishes the guarantees of local deputies from the legal status of the Council of Deputies or other local political entity? The main feature is the lack of complete immunity. This is due to the fact that each deputy of a certain territorial society, which may be a village, village, separate city, etc., represents the interests of its population, and also bears full responsibility to the public for work done or work not done. Such deputies are elected for a fixed term of five years.
The status of a deputy of the Council of Deputies implies the possibility of withdrawing a mandate from a person if it causes distrust. Feedback can be made by citizens themselves.
Early Termination
Considering the features of the legal status of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly, it should be noted those conditions under which an early termination of their powers is possible. One of them is a voluntary desire, which must be expressed in writing. In the event that a deputy is elected to a similar position in another legislative body, he is also obliged to resign his powers in the same place.
The reason for the early termination of parliamentary powers is also a number of legal circumstances. These include cases of limitation or complete deprivation of legal capacity, the entry into force of a court conviction, as well as the loss for any reason of the citizenship of the Russian Federation, for example, obtaining the citizenship of another country.