In the Russian legal system, the variety of sources of law is very large. But it is also based on such a concept as a legal act. What is the specificity of their publication and what are the varieties of these sources of law? Is it possible to interpret the term LA in different ways? Which ones?
The traditional vision of nature
Some lawyers consider the following definition of the term “legal act” to be typical. This is a written document, which was adopted by the subject of law (state body, local government or direct democracy) in order to express the dictates of the authorities and regulate relations in society.
The main property of normative legal acts (or NPA for short) is normativity. Also, such sources are endowed with the property of non-contestable legitimacy.
Scientific vision of the nature of NPA
Among legal scholars, there is an opinion that the NLA is a written document that expresses the official will of a public authority regarding the establishment, adjustment or cancellation of certain rules of law (rules of a generally binding nature that are subject to repeated application).
The official vision of nature
Among the state authorities, samples of other definitions of what a normative legal act are used are used. According to one of them, a legal act is an act containing legal norms and regulations that are designed for long-term (usually) use and apply to an indefinite (or very wide) circle of people.
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation at one of the plenary sessions also gave a definition of the NLA. According to judges, acts of authorized authorities or officials that establish legal norms or rules of conduct addressed to an indefinite number of persons and subject to repeated application regardless of the presence or absence of legal relations regulated by the act are recognized as normative and legal.
Classification of legal acts
There are different types of legal acts. There are several reasons for their classifications. One of them depends on the legal status of the entity issuing laws (involved in law-making). The system of normative acts adopted in Russia implies the following classification of sources of law according to the criterion in question:
- These are acts of state bodies (on behalf of the Government of Russia, a regional or municipal structure of the executive branch).
- These are codes of practice published by public associations (as well as corporations).
- These are joint normative acts (which state bodies issue by joining forces, for example, with corporations).
- These are sources of law adopted in referenda by direct expression of the will of the people.
Types of legal acts may vary in geography of application. There are federal normative legal acts, sources of law of subjects, as well as laws issued by municipalities, and local acts (corporate, at the institution level). Another reason for the classification of legal acts is validity. There are documents whose validity period is not defined, but there are temporary sources of norms.
Legal acts and acts of law
Some lawyers distinguish between the concept of legal regulation and such a thing as an act of application of law. The differences between these two documents may be in the following nuances.
- First, legal acts are designed to manage typical, relatively common social relations. Acts of application of law govern private situations, create precedents. Example - the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is a legal act, and the decision of the mayor’s office regarding the appointment of those responsible for the city’s landscaping is an act of application of the law.
- Secondly, it matters who the action of the source of law is directed at.
Normative legal acts, as a rule, are not personified. They are addressed to an indefinite number of people. Acts of application of law have an individual orientation. The NLA may establish, adjust or repeal any standards. The act of applying the law does not have such properties. It can be part of the law enforcement process relating to the requirements of regulatory legal acts.
NLA and non-normative legal acts
A number of experts consider it necessary to distinguish between the concepts of legal acts and "non-normative legal acts." The criteria are as follows. A normative act is the result of the legislative work of authorities and officials. They have rules and norms of a generally binding nature, not personified, designed to be applied over a long period of time. Non-normative acts do not contain any of the listed features. One of their possible definitions is “time-limited prescriptions and addressed to specific subjects”.
At the same time, there is an opinion that non-normative acts are more stringent and set up unambiguous prescriptions indicating the legal consequences for a particular person or group. Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation contains the rules according to which a person who believes that a non-normative legal act issued to him violates the principles of rights and freedoms can challenge his obligations that have arisen according to the content of the act.
Scope of regulation of federal laws
One of the key types of federal legal acts in Russia is laws. According to some lawyers, their sphere of regulation includes the following key issues:
- realization of the rights, freedoms, duties of citizens, their protection;
- establishment of norms of legal liability of citizens for certain actions.
The sphere of regulation of the Federal Law includes issues of federal relations. This is the management of democratic processes (elections at various levels, referenda).
Legal acts of the Russian Federation at the federal level are responsible for ratification or denunciation of agreements signed by Russia with other states. Federal laws regulate budget policy, tax collection, duties. Federal Law - sources of norms relating to national security, military policy. At the federal level, key issues are resolved in relation to the justice system, the resolution of civil disputes, the work of arbitrations, lawyers and lawyers. Federal laws are designed to regulate the most diverse spheres of public life and state building. There is a Federal Law "On Joint Stock Companies", there is a similar act regulating the activities of LLCs. Some lawyers allow the classification of federal laws into two types - current acts and codified ones.
Constitution is an act with a higher legal force
The most important Russian legal act is the Constitution. He has the highest legal force. This source of law is endowed with a constituent character: the requirements and norms contained in the Constitution are the basis for absolutely all other legal acts issued in Russia. This source of law is published by none other than the Russian people. The Constitution is not only a legally significant document. This is the basis of key social and political processes. It expresses the public consent of people, each of whom may have a completely unique political interest. The Constitution of the Russian Federation enshrines the key characteristics of the state system, the structure of government, relations between the country's population and socio-political institutions.
Specificity of Federal Constitutional Laws
A subspecies of the Federal Law is constitutional laws. They have some specifics. These laws are adopted with the aim of regulating the processes that are expressly stated in the Constitution of the country. Among these, for example, the status of key state institutions. Their activities are regulated by constitutional laws - “On the Government”, “On the Constitutional Court” and the like. There are acts regulating the introduction or abolition of statuses that affect the degree of state sovereignty. Among them, the law on the introduction of martial law. The federal constitutional laws of Russia introduce rules and norms regarding the administrative and political structure of the country, determine the rules by which new entities can be admitted to the federation. The legal force of constitutional laws is higher than that of ordinary federal laws (according to Article 76 of the Constitution). These acts are adopted in a more strict manner. For example, in order to approve or amend the constitutional law, at least 60% of the members of the Federation Council and at least two-thirds of the deputies of the State Duma must vote “for”.
Laws of the subjects of the Federation
Each of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation — whether it is an autonomous okrug, krai, oblast or republic — has the right to issue its own laws. Such regulatory legal acts are adopted by the legislative or representative body of the subject (most often, this is the state council). The acts issued by the authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation are designed to regulate issues relating to key areas of social political and economic development of the region.
The main criterion is the compliance of the adopted law with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and others with a higher legal force of the NLA. Example: there is a Federal Law “On General Principles of Local Self-Government”. The norms prescribed in it should be taken into account when forming the legislative framework regarding the work of municipalities of the constituent entities of the Federation. If, say, the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan adopts its law on local self-government, then the norms contained therein should not contradict the Federal Law, which is indicated above. Some lawyers believe that the effect of the legal acts adopted by state bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation cannot extend to civil legal relations, since they are outside the jurisdiction of regional structures.
Features of municipal legal acts
Municipal legal acts differ from the legal acts of the federal and regional levels in that they are valid only in a certain territory - city, district, district. The system of legal acts of the municipal level consists of the following sources:
- charter of a territorial unit;
- sources of law published by the local representative authority;
- acts adopted by the mayor, administration and other officials (in accordance with the charter).
Municipal legal acts may be adopted by the population at a local referendum or gathering. It is noteworthy that these legal acts have the same legal force as the charter. Moreover, a few years ago, the Ministry of Justice of Russia issued an order regulating the ratio of the municipal charter at the stage of its state registration and sources of law approved at the people's assembly. If the approved charter contains rules that contradict those contained in the legal acts adopted at the referendum, then it is recognized as not complying with the Constitution of Russia and cannot be registered.
International laws of the Russian Federation
There is a special type of legal acts - the Federal Law on the ratification or denunciation of international agreements of Russia. They are adopted on the basis of the provisions of Article 106 of the Constitution. These laws have a specific adoption procedure, but are a full part of the national legal system. This type of regulatory publication is published through the Bulletin of International Agreements. Article 15 of the Constitution states that treaties signed by the Russian Federation with other countries are more priority than national legislation. And therefore, some lawyers call such legal acts the highest in the hierarchy of federal laws.
Government Laws
Normative acts of the Government of the Russian Federation are issued in accordance with Article 115 of the Constitution, as well as in accordance with the norms of the constitutional law “On Government”. What is the legal nature of government regulations? In order to comply with the requirements of the Constitution, the Federal Law, the decrees of the head of state, the Government of Russia issues special forms of documents - decrees, orders, and also monitors their implementation. Acts issued by the Government are thereby by-laws. They must fully comply with the Constitution and other sources of law at the federal level. The rulings, according to some lawyers, are the most significant form of government regulation. These sources regulate key issues within the competence of the executive branch of Russia. Orders are legal acts regulating current issues. Both types of government sources of law are accepted, as a rule, by the Presidium, but in some cases the Prime Minister of Russia can publish them.