The Constitution and Federal Treaty: Problems of Interrelation

Review. Based on documentary sources (transcripts of the Congress of People's Deputies, the Supreme Council and the Constitutional Commission of Russia) and other materials the author -- Member of the Constitutional Commission and the Chairman of the Legislation Committee of the former SC - examines the features of interrelation between the Constitution and the Federal Treaty (FT), dwells on some aspects of political and legal debates that took place during its incorporation into the former Constitution of 1978 (with amendments and additions) before the activities of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation were terminated. The paper indicates that the focus of the controversy between proponents and opponents of the Federal Treaty was made on the problems of interpretation of the place of the Treaty in the Constitution, its legal nature and implementation. The former thought that the FT needs appropriate mechanisms, procedures, further interpretation of the principles of implementing different norms. Opponents objected to the legislative regulation of the FT implementation, fearing that it would substitute the Constitution and, thus, will make it unnecessary document. They did not accept the idea of creating a new Council of the Federation as an alleged mechanism of the Federal Treaty implementation For the first time the article examines the controversial practice of the 1992-1993 concerning the FT application by legislative and executive authorities. It is noted that a particular problem of correlation between the Constitution and the FT gets a special glow in the context of the Constitutional Reform implementation in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (Bashkortostan, Yakutia, Tuva, etc.), discussion of the draft Constitution drawn up by the Working Group of the Constitutional Commission, preparation of basic provisions of the Constitution, as well as a draft "Constitutional Treaty" aimed at resolving the political crisis By the end of the summer in parliamentary circles three mutually exclusive opinions emerged: 1) to use the full potential of the Federal Treaty and "not to engage in constitutional race» (V.B. Isakov); 2) to abandon "apologetics of the Federal Treaty" and accelerate the adoption of a Parliamentary draft of a new Constitution (O.G. Rumyantsev); 3) to support the Constitutional Meeting on finalizing the Presidential Draft Constitution (M.A. Mityukov, etc.). In particular, with some degree of criticism, the author highlights some theoretical and juridical and technical studies of the heads and experts of the Constitutional Commission in the field of correlation of the Constitution and the FT: with regard to "the true proportion" of these acts; division of the text of the Treaty into declarative and regulatory content; structural and comprehensive incorporation of the FT into a future new Constitution, etc In conclusion, the paper sums up the results of the study carried out during the first period in the development of the correlation between the Constitution and the Federal Treaty.

Constitution of the Russian Federation, Federal Treaty, legal nature, correlation, Federation, Congress of People's Deputies of RSFSR (the Russian Federation), Supreme Soviet, Constitutional Commission, President of Russia

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