The New Russian Constitution and International Law

1994 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gennady M. Danilenko

The new Russian Constitution, which was approved by a popular referendum on December 12, 1993, entered into force on December 25, 1993. From a broad political perspective, the 1993 Constitution signifies a complete departure from the Communist dictatorship and a passage to democratic government. As a new basic law for a “democratic federal legal state,” the Constitution became an important step toward the establishment of a Rechtsstaat in Russia.

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-238
Author(s):  
Sergei Iu. Marochkin

AbstractIn this article, the author discusses the problem of ensuring equality and non-discrimination in a legal system. Equality and non-discrimination constitute universally recognized standards in the protection of human rights. At the same time, one can hardly assert that the universal community has put an end to discrimination. The author considers the problem as applied to the Russian legal system. The standard is incorporated in the Russian Constitution still remains topical in Russia. Based on his analysis of legislation and judicial practice, the author concludes that the problem reveals itself on the levels of both law-making and law application, the latter including administration of justice. As one of the conclusion, the author raises a question: is legal discrimination inherent in a legal system like other negative phenomena, such as delinquency, incoherencies, lacunas, defects, conflicts of legal norms and breaches of law-making procedural rules?


2021 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 227-238

227State immunity — Jurisdictional immunity — Exceptions — Acta jure gestionis — Acta jure imperii — Once a trader always a trader — State of emergency — Law-making — Legislature regulating legal relations initially established by acta jure gestionis qualifying as acta jure imperiiEconomics, trade and finance — European Monetary Union — Hellenic Republic — Public debt — Bonds — Greek sovereign debt crisis — Sovereign debt restructuring — Collective Action Clauses — Secondary market — Bond exchange — Financial stabilityRelationship of international law and municipal law — Compatibility with Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany — General principle of international law — Article 25 of German Basic Law — Right to a lawful judge — The law of Germany


2021 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 503-530

503Relationship of international law and municipal law — Treaties — European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 — Role of European Court of Human Rights — Judgments of European Court of Human Rights and Russian Constitutional Court — Whether interdependent — Resolution in case of conflicting judgments — Supremacy of Russian law — Russian Constitution — Section 1 of Article 6.21 of Russian Administrative Offences Code — Whether compatible with Russian ConstitutionRelationship of international law and municipal law — Treaties — International instruments — Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 — European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 — International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 — Rights and duties — Rights of freedom of expression — Restrictions on rights — Whether necessary in democratic society — Public health and morals — Moral values — Relevance — Russian Constitution — Article 15(4) of Constitution — International law an integral part of Russian legal system — Implementation of international provisions — Constitutional recognition of traditional family values in Russian society — Respect for dignity of others and Russian morality — Prohibition of propaganda arousing hatred — Article 29(2) of Russian Constitution — Traditional family values in Russian society — Role of family — Russia’s legislative approach — Whether conforming with Russian Constitution — Whether contradicting International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 or European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 — Section 1 of Article 6.21 of Russian Administrative Offences Code — Whether compatible with Russian ConstitutionRelationship of international law and municipal law — Treaties — United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 — Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, 2007 — Rights of children — Traditional family values in Russian society — Russian Constitution — Protection of children from sexual exploitation and abuse — Dissemination of information related to sexual self-determination — Whether information damaging to health and development of children — Whether Russia obliged to create conditions for propaganda, support and recognition of same sex union under Constitution or international law — Section 1 of Article 6.21 of Russian Administrative Offences Code — Whether compatible with Russian Constitution504International tribunals — European Court of Human Rights — Jurisdiction — Whether Court having competence to review conformity of Russian legislation with European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 — Constitutional requirement to exhaust domestic remedies before appealing to interstate bodies for human rights protection — Article 46 of Russian Constitution — Judgments of European Court of Human Rights and Russian Constitutional Court — Whether interdependent — Resolution in case of conflicting judgments — Section 1 of Article 6.21 of Russian Administrative Offences Code — Whether compatible with Russian ConstitutionHuman rights — Prohibition on discrimination — Equality of all persons — Human dignity — Right to private life — Freedom of speech — Sexual self-determination — Sexual discrimination — Right to disseminate information related to sexual self-determination — Whether exercise of right violating rights of others — Rights of minors — Balancing of rights — Moral values — Relevance — Whether public activity unconditionally lawful under Russian Constitution — Approach under international instruments — Duties and restrictions — Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 — European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 — International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 — Articles 13, 17, 19, 29 and 55 of Russian Constitution — Traditional family values in Russian society — Role of family — Russia’s legislative approach — Whether conforming to Russian Constitution — Whether contradicting International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 or European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 — Section 1 of Article 6.21 of Russian Administrative Offences Code — Whether compatible with Russian ConstitutionHuman rights — Rights of children — Traditional family values in Russian society — Russian Constitution — Protection of children from sexual exploitation and abuse — United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 — Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, 2007 — Dissemination of information related to sexual self-determination — Whether information damaging to health and development of children — Whether Russia obliged to create conditions for propaganda, support and recognition of same sex union under Constitution or international law — Section 1 of Article 6.21 of Russian Administrative Offences Code — Whether compatible with Russian Constitution — The law of the Russian Federation


AJIL Unbound ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 208-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jure Vidmar

In the 1990s, international legal scholarship was marked by democratic idealism and the belief that democracy had become the only legitimate political system. The more radical proposals even speculated about legality of pro-democratic intervention. Such re-conceptualizations of international law were met with determined criticism. However, even skeptical voices were willing to admit that democracy nevertheless did have some limited normative force in post-Cold War international law. While it would be an exaggeration to say that nondemocratic governments are illegitimate per se, a consensus started to emerge that international law prohibited at least a coup against a democratic government. In the absence of a workable definition of substantive democracy for international law purposes, a democratic government was understood as an authority which comes to power in an electoral process that is reasonably free and fair.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-345
Author(s):  
Abdulmalik M. ALTAMIMI

AbstractThis paper aims to provide a comprehensive legal analysis, reminding the reader of the missing roles and potential of the the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC]. Interstate disputes threaten the very existence of the GCC. Moreover, they call into question the GGC's mechanisms for co-operation and for ensuring the peaceful settlement of disputes. For instance, the GCC's Charter, commercial arbitration rules, and the Basic Law of the Economic Judiciary Commission all provide provisions for peacefully settling disputes between GCC Member States and their citizens. GCC states are also members of the League of Arab States [Arab League], another important regional organization with dispute settlement procedures. However, GCC and Arab League judicial and quasi-judicial mechanisms have not been invoked to date, arguably because the states prefer a diplomatic settlement. This paper reviews the GCC's mechanisms for co-operation and dispute settlement, referencing public international law to formulate recommendations to reform the GCC.


2003 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
pp. 871-888
Author(s):  
Andreas Paulus

Robert Kagan's article and book on the future of transatlantic relations have gained much prominence in the debate on the reasons for and impact of the transatlantic rift on the war against Iraq. However, and regrettably, Kagan's work confirms rather than challenges the prejudices and stereotypes of both sides. After putting Kagan's approach in a political perspective, I intend to show that the antinomies used by Kagan and other participants in the debate, such as might and right, unilateralism and multilateralism, prevention and repression, hegemony and sovereign equality, democratic imperialism and pluralism, constitute useful analytical tools, but do not in any way capture the divergence of values and interests between the United States and Europe. However, the result of such an analysis does not lead to the adoption of one or the other extreme, but to the realization that international law occupies the space between them, allowing for the permanent re-negotiation of the place of “Mars” and “Venus” in international affairs.


Author(s):  
Shu-Perng Hwang

This article critically approaches the recent decision of the German Federal Constitutional Court regarding the ban on strikes for civil servants. It shows that the judgment cannot be seen as a decision committed to international public law, as some scholars suggest. By once more adopting a material understanding of Art. 33 para. 5 Basic Law and thereby not only confirming the constitutionality, but in particular the constitutional status of the ban on strikes for civil servants, the court holds on to the absolute primacy of the Basic Law that is not to be undermined by the ECHR or the jurisprudence of the ECtHR as a means of interpretation. The reference to the need to contextualize the jurisprudence of the ECtHR as well as the emphasis on the national particularity of the Federal Republic of Germany clearly indicate that, by developing a state-centred principle of commitment to public international law, the court does not seek to align and harmonize the requirements of the ECHR and the Basic Law by developing a state-centred principle of commitment to public international law but rather to achieve a delimitation of competences between the spheres of the ECtHR and the Federal Constitutional Court.


Author(s):  
A. P. Lyubimov ◽  
A. M. Oreshenkov

INTRODUCTION. The article analyzes the current problems of the consular service. In the practical work of officials of the consular service of the Russian Federation, periodically arise situations in which it is necessary to make decisions taking into account the hierarchy of national legal acts and norms of international law, which are an integral part of the legal system of Russia. The situation complicated by the lack of a normative document that clearly and unambiguously regulates the hierarchy of legal acts that make up this system. The present article, based on the experience of the authors' work abroad, is a comprehensive study for making possible decisions within the framework of the issue under consideration on those non-standard issues that periodically are faced by employees of consular offices.MATERIALS AND METHODS. This article is based on the analysis of the provisions of article 15 of the Russian Constitution (taking into account the recently introduced amendments to the Constitution), on the decisions of the Constitutional and Supreme courts of Russia, laws of the Russian Federation, in particular, of the Civil code of the Russian Federation and the Federal law «On international treaties of the Russian Federation», and also in comparison of the legal systems of Russia, USA and Norway in the question of the primacy of national or international law, as well on real situations that occurred during one of the author's work in the consular service of the Russian MFA. The research method is based on the General scientific method of cognition.RESEARCH RESULTS. The article leads to the conclusion that in the question of the primacy of national or international law in the domestic legal system of a state gives its legislation different degrees of freedom to the Supreme state bodies in a flexible approach to the implementation of international legal obligations within the framework of the generally recognized principle of international law «pacta sunt servanda» – «treaties must be observed». Besides, within the framework of Russian national law, there are legally established opportunities to implement the norms of subordinate normative acts in the presence of a law that regulates the same type of relations in a different way.DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS. The article provides a regulatory framework that can be used by Russian foreign offices and the MFA in case of violation by the authorities of the host country of the norms of bilateral and multilateral treaties to which Russia and the country concerned are parties. As a conclusion, it is suggested that a clear understanding of the hierarchy of normative acts in the Russian legal system is necessary for its competent application by officials of Russian foreign offices in solving issues in the field of national legislation, as well as the use of international law by these persons in protecting the rights and interests of the Russian Federation, its legal entities and individuals.


Author(s):  
Chris Thornhill

This chapter presents an account of the constitutional law of transnational society from a distinctively political perspective. It uses a neoclassical definition of the constitution as the legal norms that frame the actions of a political system to examine and construct constitutional functions that reach beyond the legal systems of nation-states. It advances the thesis that the concept of transnational constitutional law can be applied to three separate legal-political domains in contemporary global society. This concept can be used to analyze constitutional aspects of international law, and it can be applied to national constitutional law, both of which have a strong transnational dimension and are supported by normative elements that are formed through transnational processes. This concept can also be applied to characterize and examine an emergent, conclusively transnational legal order, in which legal formation occurs in more spontaneous and contingent fashion. In each domain, constitutional norms produce an underlying inclusionary structure for distinct political functions in society, and transnational constitutional law is defined, most essentially, by its ability to support the relative autonomy of political exchanges and political interactions.


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