The device of the modern state is impossible without the use of legislative tools. By considering and adopting laws, the rules of public relations are formed. Moreover, normative acts, on the basis of which the legal sphere is regulated, cover many spheres of life of citizens, ensuring order in the country. At the same time, consideration of the legislative platform is impossible without a focus on the constitution. It not only provides the concept of basic rights and obligations of citizens, but also reflects the optimal balance in the balance of political forces. To a large extent, the law is also a regulator of this balance. The concept, signs, types and characteristics of laws will help to better understand their nature and practical functions.
Concept of law
Formally, the law is a legal document that reflects the rules of regulation of the most significant social relations. In other words, this is the legal basis of the state. The importance of laws was understood by rulers in ancient times. Another thing is that the form and content of ancient laws were very different from modern regulatory documents. As a rule, the established norms served in some way as a systematized processing of established customs. In order to be able to more accurately determine the concept of law and the types of laws, it is worth turning to the period of bourgeois-democratic reforms. After all, it was then that the principles of concentration of the right to legislative activity in the hands of the parliament representing the people were approved.
Nowadays, the law should be considered as the highest form of popular expression. With its help, the government determines and approves the foundations of legal regulation. Along with this, normative acts can act as a means of supplementing the existing legislative base. But it is important to understand that state laws do not depend on other authorities except the highest legislative branch. But this does not mean that laws cannot be repealed or edited. In this case, changes in acts that were previously approved taking into account the content of the adjusted law will inevitably follow. This mainly relates to by-laws supporting the implementation of the law.
Signs of Law
As the legislative system was formed, regulatory documents had different characteristics. The following features that distinguish the law of the Russian Federation are relevant today:
- The law is adopted only by an authorized authority, that is, the legislative. But this does not mean that this right is vested exclusively with representatives of the authorities at the federal level. The State Duma, republican bodies, city representative bodies, etc. can draft and approve draft laws.
- The law is intended to regulate the most significant social relations. In particular, with the help of this document, the foundations of the political and economic systems, the basic rights of citizens, as well as the competence of the federal government and representatives of local self-government can be fixed.
- One of the most important characteristics of the law is also its universality. True, there are documents that relate to certain groups of people - for example, employees in a particular area. So, the police law of 2011 expanded the powers of law enforcement officers. But this applies only to representatives of the police.
- The adoption of the law takes place in a special procedural order, which has special regulations. In particular, the procedure is determined by constitutional acts.
- The law is provided by the highest legal force. This means that all by-laws are of secondary importance to him and should not conflict.
Varieties of laws
The main classifications of normative acts come from the significance that a law carries for the legal system. The concept, signs, types and features of the adoption of the document - all these factors affect what group the law will belong to. At the moment, the Russian system of legislation involves the division into the following types: constitutional, federal and laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
The first category includes laws that are approved on the most significant issues related to the Constitution. These, in particular, include laws on the referendum, on the symbols of the state, on the judicial system, on martial law, etc.
Those acts that are adopted on the basis of and for the implementation of the Constitution are federal. With their help, the government regulates various aspects of public relations, affecting political, social and economic areas. For example, the same police law can be attributed to this group. At the same time, federal lawmaking documents have their own division - in particular, there are ordinary and codified legal materials.
The laws that are adopted by the constituent entities of the Russian Federation can be called the lowest link in the legislative activity of the state, which, however, does not plead with their significance. The features of such documents include the fact that they cannot contradict federal legislation and work exclusively within the boundaries of their subject. It can be the Constitution of the republics, regional and regional charters.
Other classifications of laws
In addition to the classification described, there are many other criteria for the separation of laws. The most significant principles of systematization in terms of content and validity. In this context, the concept of law and the types of laws are particularly closely related. If we talk about the semantic content of the act, then general and special documents are highlighted. In the first case, it is assumed that the law will apply to all citizens. Special regulatory documents work only in relation to certain classes and groups.
Laws can also have different validity periods. Distinguish between permanent and exceptional legislative documents. If the situation with the first category is obvious, then the second requires clarification. Usually it includes the laws of the Russian Federation, the effect of which is designed for a certain period, due to a temporary emergency. Such circumstances may be caused, for example, by environmental, natural, social and other factors.
There are other classifications of laws that are based on the subject of regulation, areas of action, scope of regulation and focus on areas. For example, the subject of regulation may be the constitutional framework, administrative or criminal law. The orientation can also be different, since laws can affect social issues, the nuances of budgeting, and the means of resolving economic problems in a broader sense.
Constitution as a fundamental law
From the point of view of legislation, the Constitution is the primary document defining the entire legal system. The principles of the formation of the entire legal framework for lawmaking are based on the same set of standards. The category of laws closest to it in spirit is constitutional. Such acts are not simply developed as a continuation of the Constitution, but also develop, and also specify its content.
Codification laws are also an important tool for regulating public relations with a direct focus on the Constitution. In this case, the concept of law and the types of laws should be considered as regulatory frameworks in individual law-making institutions. Codification laws are aimed at regulating a significant and very extensive sphere of relations, including labor, property, etc. At the same time, there can be different forms of expression of such laws. One of them is an act of federal law, which contains fundamental, general rules regarding the joint conduct of the state. That is, such a code can determine the direction of development of the Federation with the subjects.
In the structure of the legal sphere of the state, the Constitution can be considered not only as the main law, giving rise to the formation of a legal base. With its help, the organization of power takes place, the constitutional system is consolidated, a federal structure is being implemented , as well as the system and powers of governing bodies. In addition, the Constitution determines what the electoral system and the foundations of justice will be.
Who makes laws and how?
To begin with, it is worth saying that the procedure for adopting laws is governed by regulations, which, in turn, are developed on the basis of the Constitution. Laws at the federal level are adopted by the State Duma, and then they are approved by the Federation Council. In both cases, the adoption is realized by voting - that is, by the largest number of votes approving a specific bill. If the document was rejected in the Federation Council, then it can be accepted again provided that two-thirds of the votes are gathered. When the draft laws are approved by the Federation Council, it is sent for signature by the President within 5 days. In turn, the head of state can sign the adoption of the law within two weeks.
Further, the adopted law is promulgated through official publication. The platform for posting information on the document may be the state media or the official website of the parliament. After 10 days from the moment the material is published, the law enters into force. However, the president may not sign the law using the veto. Then approval can be achieved by overcoming two-thirds of the votes in both houses of the Federal Assembly. An adopted law is a document that has a registration number and a letter index. For example, the F3 marking applies in the case of ordinary laws, and if we are talking about constitutional documents, a designation in the FKZ format is assigned. The name of the laws also includes the date of their adoption.
Action of law
Lawyers consider the action of legislative projects in terms of time, space and the people it focuses on. So, the duration of the law is limited to points from the moment it enters into force and until canceled. Moreover, its action may be suspended by another law. The period during which the law works can be determined initially. But most often, the termination of his work is connected either with the replacement of an improved version or cancellation through the judicial authority. It must also be said that a violation of the law can only occur if it was discovered during the validity period of the document.
According to general provisions, the effect of a legislative document in space covers the entire territory of the state, including its subjects, inland waters and territorial seas, as well as airspace. The laws also apply to diplomatic missions, military units, vehicles assigned to state ports, etc. But there may be restrictions on the operation of the law in space. Similar nuances are also determined using legislative tools.
The distribution to a circle of persons in accordance with the general provisions is also determined by the boundaries of the distribution of the sovereignty of the state and its jurisdiction. This means that the application of the law applies not only to direct citizens of the state, but also to people who are on its territory in the status of migrants. But there are plenty of all kinds of exceptions for the effect of laws on different groups of people. For example, there are documents that apply only to employees of a certain category.
Examples of laws of the Russian Federation
As already mentioned, laws can cover a wide variety of spheres of state structure, social and public life. Among the most significant documents of recent years was the law on education, which was adopted in 2013. In accordance with it, every citizen still has the right to free education, monitoring of universities should be carried out annually, and in the learning process more emphasis is placed on an individual approach to students.
Many laws that were adopted back in the early 1990s remain relevant. So is the 1992 Consumer Protection Act. It regulates the relations between manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, consumers of goods and other participants in market relations. However, in recent years, many amendments to this law have been introduced, but its basis remains the same.
The relatively new law on advertising, which was adopted in 2006, has also undergone changes. So, the 2014 edition of the law, the authors identified a number of restrictions for advertisers. In particular, a ban was introduced on abortion services, and the list of goods previously covered by this law was expanded by means of diagnostics, prevention, rehabilitation and traditional medicine methods.
Regulations
Each law may be supplemented by special acts. Among the signs of such documents can be identified compliance with the law and focus on the regulation of aspects of public relations. For example, today the mentioned law on consumer protection has 20 by-laws, the action of which is focused on the implementation of the main document.
The adoption of by-laws is also carried out by the authorities within their competence and is mandatory on the basis of the legislative framework. However, there are several varieties of regulations that can be attributed to the category of by-laws. These, in particular, are decrees signed by the president himself. It may also be decisions adopted by the chambers of the FS.
The development of acts may be carried out by departments, ministries and other authorities that issue instructions, orders and regulations. It is worth noting acts from municipal authorities. They also act in accordance with the laws and apply only to the borders of a particular municipality. It is important to understand that a legal act does not affect the provision of the law, but only increases the efficiency of its implementation. At the same time, it cannot be attributed to the wording of the law.
Conclusion
Today, Russia has a harmonious system of legislative production, which is a hierarchical structure that directly includes laws, regulations, codes, etc. Accordingly, the concept of law and types of laws in this case should be considered as important aspects in the theory of state and law . The Constitution plays the most important role in the structure of the legal system, on the basis of which the authorized body adopts laws.
In turn, the law has the highest legal force, but does not contradict the Constitution. Given the significance of each act of lawmaking, a special procedural rule was developed for the adoption of laws. This procedure is also determined by the Constitution, the basis of which is guided by the legislative body. The admission procedure includes several stages, the passage of each of which ensures its final approval and entry into force. Initially, the State Duma is involved in the development of bills, and then consideration of the finished material is transferred to the Federation Council. At the final stage, the laws of the Russian Federation are approved by the president. This is followed by the publication of the document.
The subject of lawmaking can be a variety of areas of public life - from the organization of the political system to the installation of social benefits. General laws usually cover all segments of the population and are distributed throughout the state, but there are exceptions. For example, the law on military duty applies only to males.
It has already been noted that the law of the Russian Federation is endowed with the highest legal force. But in this regard, it must be said about international treaties, which in the legal hierarchy can be higher than Russian legislation. Of course, this applies only to those agreements that were signed by authorized representatives of the state. Typically, the signing procedure is supplemented by the ratification of the document, but this is not always required. It should be noted that the supremacy of an international treaty over laws is enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.