a compulsory act of removing the President of the Russian Federation from office on the basis of accusations of high treason or committing another serious crime. Removal from office in this sense is a measure of constitutional responsibility (constitutional legal sanction) applied to the head of state. In foreign constitutional law, the institution of removing the head of state from office is called impeachment.

In Russian legislation, such a measure was first provided for when the post of President was introduced in 1991. The President could be removed from office if he violated the Constitution and laws of Russia, as well as the oath he had taken.

The current Constitution of the Russian Federation has significantly changed the grounds and order of O. from D.P. RF. The procedure for removal is legally complicated, many institutions of the country's supreme power are involved in its implementation: both chambers of the Federal Assembly, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, which creates guarantees against political voluntarism and ensures high competence in decision-making on this issue. The State Duma has the right to bring charges, and the decision on O. from D.P. The Russian Federation can only be accepted by the Federation Council. The Constitution of the Russian Federation stipulates the following conditions and procedures O. from D.P. RF: 1) 1/3 (at least 150) deputies of the State Duma have the right to initiate the removal of the President of the RF from office; 2) to charge the President with high treason or other grave crime and make a final decision on this issue, the State Duma forms a special commission, which, upon the accusation by a majority of votes (226 deputies), issues its opinion; 3) the accusation of the President of high treason or the commission of a grave crime by him must be confirmed by two conclusions: a) the Supreme Court - on the presence in the actions of the President of the Russian Federation of signs of such (such) crimes; b) the Constitutional Court - on the observance of the established procedure for bringing charges; 4) the decision on O. from D.P. The RF must be adopted by the Federation Council no later than three months after the State Duma brings charges against the President. If the decision of the Federation Council is not adopted within the specified period, then the accusation against the President is considered rejected. The decisions of the State Duma to bring charges, and the Federation Council on O. from D.P. RF. adopted by the chambers by a qualified majority - 2/3 of the total number in each of the chambers (respectively 300 and 119). O.Dep. P. RF from office terminates his powers, he loses immunity and can be prosecuted on a general basis with other citizens.

An attempt to remove the President from office in accordance with the above procedures was made by the State Duma of the second convocation in May 1999. However, the chamber did not receive the necessary number of votes in the voting process for making this decision. Fewer than 226 State Duma deputies voted for the decision to bring charges against the President.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

RESOLUTION FROM THE POSITION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

a measure of constitutional responsibility of the President of the Russian Federation, expressed in the early termination of his powers in connection with the commission of certain offenses.

O. from D. P. RF was envisaged when the post of President was introduced in 1991. According to the Constitution, he resigned from office in case of violation of the Constitution of the RSFSR, laws of the RSFSR, as well as the oath he had given. This decision was taken by the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR on the basis of the opinion of the Constitutional Court of the RSFSR by a two-thirds majority of the total number of deputies on the initiative of the Congress, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR or one of its chambers.

The voting procedure of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation was applied once - in March 1993. In April 1993, the Congress appointed a referendum on the main provisions of the new Constitution of the Russian Federation. However, on March 11, 1993, the VIII Congress decided to cancel the referendum. In response, on March 20, 1993, the President announced on television his Decree on a special procedure for governing the country and on the appointment of a referendum for April 25, 1993 - on the issue of confidence in the President of the Russian Federation, as well as on the draft new Constitution (the entire text, not only main provisions) and the law on elections to the federal parliament.

At the urgently convened IX Extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies on March 28, 1993, proposals were voted to dismiss the President of the Russian Federation from office and to recall the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation. Voting was secret, with one ballot for both candidates. Out of 1033 deputies, 924 received ballots for voting, and when opened, 909 ballots were found in the boxes. 617 deputies voted for the dismissal, 268 against. A qualified majority of two-thirds, that is, 689 votes, was required to make the decision, so the proposal for dismissal did not pass.

According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 (Article 93), the President of the Russian Federation can be removed from office by the Federation Council only on the basis of an accusation made by the State Duma (Duma) of high treason or committing another serious crime. The Constitution of the Russian Federation does not provide for other grounds for dismissal.

The detachment procedure is as follows. A proposal to bring charges against the President of the Russian Federation may be submitted on the initiative of at least one third of the State Duma deputies of their total number. The Duma forms a special commission and receives its opinion on the merits of the issue. According to the Rules of the State Duma, the discussion of the proposal of the deputies is held at a meeting of the State Duma, at which the representative from the deputies of the group that brought the charge and the chairman of the special commission speaks. Deputies, experts speak; plenipotentiary representatives of the President and the Government in the State Duma may receive the floor out of turn. The State Duma decides to bring charges against the President by two-thirds of the total number of deputies of the chamber. The decision is taken by secret ballot using ballots.

The decision of the State Duma is submitted to the Federation Council (SF), as well as to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The Constitutional Court gives an opinion on the observance of the established procedure for bringing charges against the President, and the Supreme Court - an opinion on the presence of signs of a crime in the actions of the President. At a meeting of the Federation Council, consideration of the issue begins with a report by the Chairman of the State Duma on the grounds for bringing charges against the President, then the floor is given to the Chairman of the Constitutional Court and the Chairman of the Supreme Court to announce the conclusion of these bodies. The opinion of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and Judicial-Legal Issues is being heard. The President is invited to the meeting of the Federation Council, he or his representative may be given the floor at their request. The decision of the Council of Federation to dismiss the President from office is made by two-thirds of the votes of the total number of members of this chamber. Voting is secret using ballots. The decision must be made no later than 3 months after the State Duma charges charges against the President. If the decision of the Federation Council is not adopted within the specified time period, the accusation against the President is considered rejected. (S.A.)

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

1. The President of the Russian Federation may be removed from office by the Federation Council only on the basis of an accusation made by the State Duma of high treason or committing another grave crime, confirmed by the conclusion of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the presence of signs of a crime in the actions of the President of the Russian Federation and the conclusion of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on compliance with the established procedure for bringing charges.

2. The decision of the State Duma to bring charges and the decision of the Federation Council to dismiss the President from office must be adopted by a two-thirds majority in each chamber on the initiative of at least one-third of the State Duma deputies and subject to the conclusion of a special commission formed by the State Duma.

3. The decision of the Federation Council to remove the President of the Russian Federation from office must be made no later than three months after the State Duma brings charges against the President. If within this period the decision of the Federation Council is not adopted, the accusation against the President is considered rejected.

Commentary on Article 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation

1. The commented article establishes the grounds, conditions and procedure for removing the President from office, i. E. termination of powers in addition to or against the will of the person holding this position. The very possibility of such a detachment is a certain reflection of the principle of separation of powers on a situation when high treason of the President threatens the foundations of the constitutional order, the defense and security of the state, its sovereignty and independence, the integrity and inviolability of the territory of the Russian Federation, and indicates the existence of exemptions from the inviolability of the President. ... In this case, it is, in essence, also about the lifting of immunity and bringing the person concerned to account on a general basis and in the usual manner.

The only body that has the right to bring charges against the President of high treason or committing another serious crime is the State Duma.

At the same time, the domestic constitutional and criminal law doctrines are unanimous in the fact that the concept of high treason is disclosed by criminal legislation. The basis for this conclusion is provided by the literal interpretation of Part 1 of Art. 93 of the Constitution, in which the grounds for dismissal - "high treason", "other grave crime" - are united by the union "or", and the conclusion on the presence of signs of a crime of high treason in the actions of the head of state is given by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

It seems, however, that the very concept of high treason by the President cannot be equated with the concept of high treason contained in the Criminal Code. According to Art. 275 of the Code, high treason is the commission by a citizen of the Russian Federation of actions to provide assistance to a foreign state, foreign organization or their representatives, aimed at the detriment of the external security of the state. The President is not an ordinary citizen, but the head of state, endowed with broad powers; the range of acts constituting the corpus delicti "high treason of the President" - can and should be specially stipulated in the criminal law and cannot be reduced to those specified in Art. 275 of the Criminal Code (espionage, issuance of state secrets, other assistance to a foreign state, foreign organization or their representatives in conducting hostile activities against Russia). In this context, the oath of the head of state could play a significant role in the subject personification of the President's high treason (see commentary to Article 82).

As for charges of committing another serious crime, their types are determined by the Criminal Code and are not subject to broad interpretation. At the same time, however, it is necessary to take into account that the Criminal Code for the first time legislatively classified crimes depending on the nature and degree of social danger of the act, highlighting grave crimes and especially grave crimes.

Part 1 of the commented article provides that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which gives an opinion on the presence of signs of a crime in the actions of the President, as well as the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, which gives an opinion on the observance of the established procedure for bringing charges, participate in the process of removing the President from office. At the same time, the lexical structure of Part 1 of Art. 93 allows us to conclude that the inconsistency of the accusation with the requirements established by it, both in content (the accusation was not confirmed by the conclusion of the Supreme Court) and in procedure (the established procedure for bringing charges was not observed, as established by the conclusion of the Constitutional Court) entails the termination of the process of removal. At the same time, however, the very procedure for bringing charges is described in Part 2 of Art. 93.

As for the issue of dismissing the head of state from office, his decision is attributed to the powers of the Federation Council - the chamber of parliament, formed in a special manner, reflecting the federal nature of the Russian state. As one of the highest constitutional bodies, the Federation Council is at the same time a chamber of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, which are equally involved in its formation. At the same time, if half of its members receive their powers from the bodies of people's representation, then the other half acts on behalf of the bodies of executive power of the constituent entities.

This determines the nature of the Federation Council - a part of the Russian parliament, which, however, is not itself an organ of people's representation, but represents the subjects of the Federation. Hence the inadmissibility of the dependence of the Federation Council on political parties. To resolve the issue of dismissal from office, the political neutrality of this chamber is especially significant, which should be taken into account in the ongoing discussion about a possible reform of the procedure for its formation. This is especially important in the context of the transition to a proportional electoral system at the elections of deputies to the State Duma, which predetermines the decisive influence of the parties of the parliamentary majority on the outcome of voting on any issue in this chamber.

2. Initiating charges against the President is the prerogative of the State Duma deputies. To raise such a question, it is required to collect signatures of at least 150 deputies. As indicated in Ch. 22 "The procedure for the State Duma to bring charges against the President of the Russian Federation" of the State Duma Rules of Procedure, deputies are obliged to indicate specific signs of a crime that is imputed to the President of the country, as well as to justify his involvement in this crime.

After that, the Duma is obliged to form a special commission. Its task is to assess both the observance of the procedural rules (the presence of a quorum for bringing charges, the correctness of the counting of votes, etc.), and the factual validity of the charges. Moreover, for the sake of objectivity, the commission should include representatives of different factions and deputy groups. In terms of the tasks entrusted to a special commission, it is similar to a parliamentary commission of inquiry, since it has the right to hear at its meetings any persons who can report the facts underlying the accusation, consider relevant documents, and hear a representative of the President.

The result of the activities of this commission is a conclusion on the existence of factual circumstances underlying the accusation, as well as on the observance of the procedure for bringing such an accusation.

Only after this does the State Duma gather for its session, which may be declared closed, and considers both the proposal to bring charges against the President and the conclusion of a special commission. The main report on the presentation of the accusation is made by one of the deputies who signed the "accusatory" document. The co-report is made by the chairman of the special commission. By decision of the Duma itself, invited experts and other persons whose assessments and testimonies are of significant importance may take part in a meeting of the lower chamber, by decision of the Duma itself.

If the Duma, by a majority of at least 300 votes, adopts a resolution to bring charges against the President, this resolution is sent within five days to the Federation Council, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. At the same time, however, the question arises whether the decision of the State Duma to bring charges against the President is the basis for the suspension of the powers of the head of state and their temporary execution by the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation? In the Constitution on this score - although a positive answer appears to follow from the logic of constitutional regulation - there is no clarity: it can be introduced either by the interpretation of the Constitutional Court or by federal law. In this case, one should take into account the legal position formulated by the Constitutional Court in Resolution of 01.12.1999 N 17-P * (988), which concerned the dismissal of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation during the investigation of the criminal case initiated against him. The court concluded that in the absence of other legal regulation, such dismissal by virtue of parts 1 and 2 of Art. 80, part 1 of Art. 85, art. 90 of the Constitution is implemented by an act of the President. As for the head of state, the basis for the suspension of his powers should be a resolution of the State Duma, which should simultaneously resolve the issue of imposing the duties of the President on the Chairman of the Government.

The adoption by the State Duma of a resolution on the refusal to bring charges, which is final and subject to official publication, should automatically lead to the termination of the suspension of the powers of the head of state.

The procedure for considering the issue in the Supreme Court about the presence of signs of a crime imputed to the President of the country has not been regulated. This means that it is not known what kind of judicial structure within the Supreme Court should consider this issue - the full members of the Supreme Court, the Plenum of the Supreme Court, its Presidium or the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases. Hence follows the obligation of the Federal Assembly to regulate this procedure.

3. Part 3 of the commented article refers to the final stage of resolving the issue of removing the President from office. The constitution does not bind the "upper" house of parliament with any previous decision. It is understood that the Federation Council should consider and take into account the facts and circumstances established during the consideration of the case in the State Duma and the Supreme Court only insofar as the case for dismissal reached the upper house. But these facts and circumstances are not decisive for this chamber of parliament.

The Federation Council begins considering the charges against the President after receiving the resolution of the State Duma and the opinion of the Supreme Court (provided that this opinion contains confirmation of the presence of signs of a crime in the actions of the President). At the same time, the Rules of Procedure of the Federation Council also provide for the receipt by it of the opinion of the special commission of the State Duma and the transcript of the meeting of the lower house, at which the issue of bringing charges against the President was considered. This means that this chamber independently evaluates all materials and independently interprets their legal content. The regulations of the Federation Council (like the regulations of the State Duma) define in great detail all procedural actions to resolve the issue of removing the President from office.

In particular, immediately upon receipt of all the materials mentioned above, they are sent to the Federation Council Committee on Legislation and Judicial and Legal Issues. After that, the Federation Council immediately convenes to a meeting to send a request to the Constitutional Court to issue an opinion on the observance of the established procedure for bringing charges against the President.

Chapter XV of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation not only regulates the procedure for considering an appeal on this issue and giving an opinion, but also supplements the regulation of the entire process of dismissal from office. In particular, the Law establishes a deadline of one month from the date the State Duma makes a decision to bring charges against the President for the Federation Council to send a request to the Constitutional Court.

The law also requires that not only the text of the resolution of the State Duma on bringing charges, but also the minutes or the transcript of its corresponding meeting, the texts of all documents related to the discussion in the Duma, and the text of the conclusion of the Supreme Court should be attached to the request of the Federation Council.

The Constitutional Court is obliged to give its opinion not later than 10 days after the registration of the request. It can state either compliance or non-compliance with the established procedure for bringing charges. Moreover, according to Part 2 of Art. 110 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, in the event the Constitutional Court adopts a decision on non-compliance with the established procedure for charging the President with high treason or committing another serious crime, the consideration of the charge provided for by the Constitution is terminated.

No later than three days after the receipt of the opinion from the Constitutional Court on the observance of the established procedure, an extraordinary meeting of the Federation Council must be convened with the inclusion in its agenda as the first issue of removing the President from office. Both the President himself and the heads of the highest bodies of state power are invited to this meeting. The Speaker of the State Duma speaks at it - with a report on the grounds for bringing charges, the President of the Constitutional Court - for the announcement of the conclusion, the President of the Supreme Court - for the announcement of the conclusion given by this Court. Then the opinion of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and Judicial and Legal Issues is heard. Finally, the floor, if he so wishes, can be given to the President or to his appointed representative.

As a result, by secret ballot (using ballots), if there is, of course, a quorum, a resolution is adopted to remove the President from office. If such a decision does not gain 2/3 of the votes of the total composition of the Federation Council, the consideration of the charges against the President is terminated.

The termination of the accusation by the Federation Council means that, on these grounds, this President cannot be further charged.

The Constitution establishes a deadline for resolving the issue of removing the head of state from office - three months from the date the State Duma brings forward the accusation, which is restrictive: if a decision of the Federation Council is not adopted within this period, the accusation against the President is considered rejected.

The first stage consists in bringing forward charges against the President of the Russian Federation by the State Duma for his removal from office.

A proposal to bring charges against the President of the Russian Federation for his removal from office may be submitted on the initiative of at least 1/3 of the total number of deputies of the State Duma. The proposal must contain specific indications of signs of a crime that is imputed to the President of the Russian Federation, as well as justification of his involvement in this crime.

The proposal to bring charges against the President is sent by the State Duma to a special commission formed by the chamber to assess compliance with procedural rules and the factual validity of the charge, as well as to the Supreme Court to give an opinion on the presence of signs of crime in the actions of the President of the Russian Federation.

A special commission is elected by the State Duma, consisting of a Chairman, his deputy and 10-12 members. The chairman of the commission is elected by the State Duma by open vote by a majority of votes of the total number of deputies of the chamber. The members of the commission are elected on the proposal of factions and deputy groups by a general list by a majority of votes from the total number of Duma deputies. The deputy chairman of the commission is elected at its meeting. The composition of the commission is formed taking into account the equal representation of the faction and deputy groups.

A special commission verifies the factual validity of the accusation against the President, the observance of the quorum required to bring the accusation, the correctness of the counting of votes and other procedural rules established by the Rules of Procedure of the State Duma.

The commission hears at its meetings persons who can report on the facts underlying the proposal to bring charges, considers the relevant documents, hears the representative of the President of the Russian Federation. The commission, by a majority vote of its members, adopts a conclusion on the existence of factual grounds (reality of events) on which the proposal to file an accusation is based and the procedure for bringing an accusation has been followed.

The proposal to bring charges against the President of the Russian Federation and the conclusion of a special commission are considered at a meeting of the State Duma. By decision of the chamber, the meeting may be declared closed. At this meeting:

1) the delegate of the group speaks with a report on the proposal to bring charges;

2) the chairman of the special commission makes a report;

3) the conclusion of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the presence of signs of a crime in the actions of the President of the Russian Federation is heard;

4) Deputies, invited experts and other persons, whose assessments and testimonies are of significant importance, the plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation, take part in the discussion.

Based on the results of the discussion, the State Duma, by a two-thirds majority of its deputies, adopts a resolution to bring charges against the President of high treason or committing another grave crime in order to remove him from office. The resolution is adopted by secret ballot using ballots. The resolution of the State Duma on bringing charges against the President is sent to the Federation Council within 5 days.

If the proposal to bring charges against the President does not receive the support of a two-thirds majority of the total, the State Duma adopts a resolution to refuse to bring charges against the President, which is final and subject to further publication. The resolution is sent, signed by the Chairman of the State Duma, to the Federation Council, as well as to the President of the Russian Federation.

The second stage consists in the adoption by the Federation Council of a decision on the removal of the President of the Russian Federation from office.

At the request of the Federation Council, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation gives an opinion on the observance of the established procedure for bringing charges against the President of the Russian Federation of high treason or committing another serious crime. In accordance with Article 108-110 of the Federal Constitutional Law of June 21, 1994 "On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation", such a request is considered permissible if the charge is brought forward by the State Duma and has an opinion of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the presence of signs of a corresponding crime in the actions of the President of the Russian Federation.

This request from the Federation Council to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation shall be sent no later than one month from the date of the adoption by the State Duma of the decision to bring charges. Attached to the request is the text of the decision of the State Duma to bring charges, the minutes or transcript of the discussion of this issue at the meeting of the State Duma and the texts of all documents related to this discussion, as well as the text of the conclusion of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

The opinion must be given by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation no later than 10 days after the registration of the request.

If the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation gives a conclusion that the procedure for bringing charges has been observed, then in order for the President of the Russian Federation to be removed from office, it is necessary to vote for this decision by 2/3 of the members of the Federation Council of its total composition.

In the event that the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation adopts a decision on non-compliance with the established procedure for bringing charges against the President of the Russian Federation of high treason or committing another serious crime provided for by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the consideration of the charge is terminated.

Part 3 of Article 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation specifically stipulates the period during which the Federation Council must make a decision to remove the President from office. This decision must be made no later than 3 months after the State Duma brings charges. And if the decision of the Federation Council is not adopted within the specified period, the accusation will be considered rejected.

This is the procedure for removing the President from office, which expresses the peculiarities of his constitutional responsibility.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation, like the basic laws of other countries, only regulates the removal of the President of the Russian Federation from office. After being removed from office, he can be held liable if he has committed a crime under the norms of criminal law as an ordinary person.

Part 3 of Article 92 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation provides for the procedure for the temporary execution of presidential duties. It has been established that in all cases when the President is unable to fulfill his duties, they are temporarily assumed by the Chairman of the RF Government. However, the acting head of state is not entitled to exercise certain presidential powers, namely: to call a referendum; dissolve the State Duma; make proposals on amendments and revision of the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

In its ruling No. 10-P of July 6, 1999, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation officially expanded the interpretation of Part 3 of Article 92. He established that the temporary fulfillment of presidential duties means both their fulfillment within three months prior to the election of a new President (on the grounds specified in Part 2 of Article 92), and for an unknown period in the event of a decision of the President himself to temporarily transfer his powers either in the case when it is objectively ruled out that the President makes a decision on the temporary imposition of duties on the Prime Minister (for example, in case of illegal isolation of the head of state). Therefore, now the named dispute can be considered officially over.

As a matter of fact, the President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin applied this model even before such an interpretation, when in the fall of 1996 he temporarily transferred his duties to the then Prime Minister V.S. Chernomyrdin. It happened in the following way. First, on September 19, 1996, Decree No. 1378 “On the temporary performance of the duties of the President of the Russian Federation” was issued. Its significance was reduced to determining the scope of powers of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation as the interim President of the country and the procedure for legal registration of the beginning and end of the period of temporary fulfillment of duties. This rather complicated construction was not chosen by chance: it meant that such a model could be used sometime in the future, under other political circumstances, as a precedent.

On the day of the surgery that the President of the Russian Federation underwent, i.e. On November 5, 1996, Presidential Decree No. 1534 was adopted, which bore the character of a direct temporary transfer of presidential powers to VS Chernomyrdin. It was called that way: “On the assignment of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation V.S. temporary execution of the duties of the President of the Russian Federation. ”They determined not only the day, but also the hour - 7 hours 00 minutes - of the beginning of the temporary fulfillment of the duties of the head of state. The next day, after BN Yeltsin came out of the anesthesia, on November 6 he signed the last in this series Decree No. 1535 "On the termination of the temporary performance by the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation of the duties of the President of the Russian Federation." This execution, according to the Decree, ceased from 6:00 a.m. on November 6, 1996.

Moreover, it is characteristic that the last Decree declared invalid the Decrees of both November 5 and September 19, 1996. This emphasized that we are talking about one-time documents, no common regulatory framework for solving this issue is being created, and if in the future that something like this will happen again, then new decrees of the President will be required.

Conclusion

Over the past decades, the number of states in whose political systems the institution of the presidency is successfully developing has increased. In our opinion, this is due to the fact that this institution has a definite advantage. With regard to the Russian Federation, there were their own reasons, which largely determined the transition to the institution of the presidency. These include both objective and subjective factors.

Too little time has passed since 1991 to appreciate the presidential power, which, together with other institutions, is formed and learns from mistakes.

Taking into account the experience of foreign countries and Russian reality, the advantages of the institution of the presidency include the following:

The head of state bears personal responsibility for the state of affairs in the country;

The President can take operational measures to maintain order in difficult situations; responsible for the security of the country;

ensures the implementation of domestic and foreign policy;

Has the ability to coordinate the activities of various branches of government, ensuring the unity of state activities.

All this and much more are the most common and typical advantages of presidential power.

However, there are still many questions that are not fully answered in the Russian Constitution. For example, about the limits of the President's immunity; on the mechanism of early termination of powers, etc. The Constitution of the Russian Federation does not provide for the adoption of a federal law "On the President of the Russian Federation". However, the development of the adoption of such a normative legal act would serve to remove certain problems in the exercise of presidential power in Russia.

The Russian state is faced with the task of improving the entire system of government bodies. The imbalance of the state mechanism does not allow to effectively use the potential of state power in solving economic, social, and political problems

Important areas for improving the state mechanism are to ensure clearer interaction between the branches of government, federal bodies and government bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, effective organization and activities of executive bodies, and their coordinated purposeful work. The President of the Russian Federation has a responsible role in this.

The forms and methods of solving these problems directly affect the issue of the powers of the President of the Russian Federation. The legal literature should pay more attention to the study of the constitutional framework of his powers. The extensive decisive activity of the President of the Russian Federation, the correlation between the practice of his activities and its constitutional foundations should be subjected to a comprehensive analysis.

Bibliography

Constitution of the Russian Federation. - M - 1994.

Federal constitutional region of June 21, 1994 "On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta - 1994. - June 23.

Federal Constitutional Law of January 30, 2001 "On the State of Emergency" // Collected Legislation of the Russian Federation. - 2001. - Art. 2277

Federal Constitutional Law of January 30, 2002 "On Martial Law" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. 2002. - February 2

Federal Law of May 27, 1996 "On State Protection" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. - 1996.- June 8.

Federal Law "On guarantees to the President of the Russian Federation, who has terminated the exercise of his powers, and to members of his family" dated February 12, 2001. Rossiyskaya Gazeta. - 2001 .-- February 15.

Federal Law of June 11, 2001 "On Political Parties" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. - 2001.- July 15.

Federal Law of June 12, 2002 "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. - 2002 .-- June 15.

Federal Law of January 10, 2003 "On the Elections of the President of the Russian Federation" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. - 2003 .-- January 16.

Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of April 22, 1996 No. 10-P "In the case of the interpretation of certain provisions of Article 107 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation" // SZ RF. - 1996. - No. 18. - ST. 2253.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of February 15, 1994 No. 319 "On the standard (flag) of the President of the Russian Federation" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta - 1994. - February 22.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of June 10, 1994 No. 1185 "On ensuring interaction between the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. - 1994 .-- June 21.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 23, 1996 "On the procedure for publication and entry into force of acts of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation and normative legal acts of federal executive bodies" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. - 1996 .-- May 27.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 19, 1996 No. 1378 "On the temporary performance of the duties of the President of the Russian Federation" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. - 1996 .-- September 22.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of October 2, 1996 No. 1412 "On Approval of the Regulations on the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation" 28.08.2997 No. 946, dated 01.09.1997 No. 958, dated 19.09.1997 No. 1039, dated 06.10.1997 No. 1068, dated 30.10.1997 No. 1146, dated 12.02.1998 No. 162, dated 11.08.1998 No. 945, dated 14.11 .1999 No. 1520, dated 27.06.2000 No. 1192, dated 17.08.2000 No. 1521) // SZ RF. 1996. No. 41. Art. 4689; 2000. No. 34. Art. 3438.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of August 5, 1996 No. 1138 "On the official symbols of presidential power and their use when the newly elected President of the Russian Federation takes office" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. - 1996 - August 6.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 31, 1996 "On ensuring the activities of the plenipotentiary representative of the Russian Federation in the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation" 917, dated 30.01.1999 No. 163, dated 01.09.2000 No. 1606) // SZ RF. 1997. No. 1. Art. 118; 2000. No. 36. Art. 3636.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 19, 1997 No. 1039 "On the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Foreign Policy" // Ross. Newspaper - 1997. - September 26.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of August 2, 1999 "On the approval of the Regulations on the Security Council of the Russian Federation" // SZ RF. - 1999 - No. 32 - Art. 4041; - No. 47.-Art.5684.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of April 21, 2000 "On the military doctrine of the Russian Federation" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. - 2000 .-- April 24.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 13, 2000 No. 849 "On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Federal District" (as amended by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of June 21, 2000 No. 1149. of 09.09.2000 No. 1624) // SZ RF.2000. No. 20.Art. 2112; No. 38. Art. 3781.

"Regulations on the Procedure for Interaction between the President of the Russian Federation and the Chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in the Legislative Process" (with amendments and additions introduced by Presidential Decrees), approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of April 13, 1996 // SZ RF. 1996. No. 16. Art. 1842; 1997. No. 20. Art. 2238: No. 41. Article 4680

Resolution of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation of April 5, 2000 "On the results of the election of the President of the Russian Federation" // Ross. newspaper - 2000.-April 7

Of the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978 as amended by the law of May 24, 1991 // Air Force of the RSFSR. 191. No. 22. Art. 776.

Law of the RSFSR dated June 27, 1991. "On the assumption of office of the President of the RSFSR" // VVS-1991.- No. 21- Art.708

Alekhin A.P., Kozlov Yu.M. Administrative law of the Russian Federation. Part 1. Textbook.- M .: Tais, -1995.

Baglai M.V. Constitutional law of the Russian Federation: Textbook for universities.-3rd ed. and additional - M., 2001.

Barabashev A.G. Parliament and Government in the Russian Federation // Constitutional system of Russia. Issue 2 - M., -1995.

The Big Dictionary of Law / Ed. AND I. Sukharev, V.D. Zorkina, V.E. Krutskikh. - M., –1999

State law of bourgeois and liberated countries. -M., -1986. Skuratov Yu.I., Shafir M.A. Presidential power in the USSR.-M., - 1991

Executive power in the Russian Federation / Ed. Nozdracheva A.F., Tikhomirova Yu.A. - M .: BEK, 1996

Commentary and the Constitution of the Russian Federation / General. ed. Yu.V. Kudryavtseva - M., - 1996.

Constitutional Law: Textbook / Ed. prof. V.V. Lazareva - M., 1998.

Constitutional system in Russia M., - 1995.

Krasnov Yu.K. State law of Russia. History and Present: Textbook. - M., -2002.

Matveeva T.A. Problems of the implementation of the constitutional principles of the activities of public authorities in the Russian Federation. / On Sat. Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 and the development of sectoral legislation, - Voronezh. - 1995

Scientific and practical commentary on the Constitution of the Russian Federation / Otv. ed. V.V. Lazarev. - M., 2001

Sakharov N.A. The institution of the presidency in the modern world. - M.-1994

Skuratov Yu.I. Institute of presidency in the republics of the Russian Federation of parliamentary type. // Law and Life. –1996.-№10.

Skuratov Yu.I. Parliament and President in the Russian Federation // Constitutional system of Russia. Issue 2. –M., -1995.

Modern foreign constitutions. M. - 1992 - S. 162 - 163.

Strekozov V.G., Kazanchev Yu.D. Constitutional law of Russia: Textbook. - M., 1997. S. 178-179.

Suvorov V.N. Constitutional status of the President of the Russian Federation. Abstract of thesis. dissertation of the doctor of jurid. sciences. - M., - 2000.

Okunkov V.A. President of the Russian Federation. Constitution and Political Practice - M, -1996

Tolstik V.A. The hierarchy of sources of Russian law. Nizhny Novgorod.-2002.

Yakubov A.E. Removal of the President from office and criminal law. // Vestnik Mosk. up-that. Series 11, Law, - 1994. - No. 5.

See: Big Dictionary of Law / Ed. AND I. Sukharev, V.D. Zorkina, V.E. Krutskikh. - M.,

Sakharov N.A. The institution of the presidency in the modern world. - M .: Jurid. lit., pp. 5-7

See: Yu.I. Skuratov. Institute of presidency in the republics of the Russian Federation of parliamentary type. // Law and Life. –1996.-No.10.- P. 54.

See: There. - S. 54-55

Air force. -1991.- No. 17. -St. 510,512; - No. 21. Art. 708; No. 26. Article 880

VVS - 1991-. No. 22.- Art. 776

See: T.A. Matveeva Problems of the implementation of the constitutional principles of the activities of public authorities in the Russian Federation. / On Sat. Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 and the development of sectoral legislation, - Voronezh. - 1995-p. 96.

See: Constitutional Meeting: Transcripts of Representative Group Meetings. -M., -1993, -8 June. -WITH. 10-11.

Lekhin A.P., Kozlov Yu.M. Administrative law of the Russian Federation. Part 1. Textbook.- M .: Tais, -1995. -WITH. 116-117; Executive power in the Russian Federation / Ed. Nozdracheva A.F., Tikhomirova Yu.A. - M .: BEK, 1996.S. 4-5

See: A.G. Barabashev. Parliament and Government in the Russian Federation // Constitutional system of Russia. Issue 2 - M., -1995. -WITH. 78-79

See: Yu.K. Krasnov. State law of Russia. History and Present: Textbook. - M., -2002. - P. 440

See: State law of bourgeois and liberated countries. -M., -1986. -WITH. 87-89; Skuratov Yu.I., Shafir M.A. Presidential power in the USSR.-M., - 1991.-P.6-7

See: Yu.I. Skuratov. Parliament and President in the Russian Federation // Constitutional system of Russia. Issue 2. –M., -1995. - S. 70-71

The newly elected President of the Russian Federation is entrusted with the highest order of the country - "For Services to the Fatherland" I degree with an order chain (See: Order for the President from "Russian Crafts". -Russian newspaper. - 1996. - August 2).

See: Yu.K. Krasnov. Decree. op. -WITH. 441-442

See, for example: Resolution of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation of April 5, 2000 "On the results of the presidential elections in the Russian Federation" // Ross. newspaper - 2000.-April 7

See: Constitutional Law: Textbook / Ed. prof. V.V. Lazareva - M., 1998 .-- P. 375

See: Yu.K. Krasnov. Decree. op. - S. 438

Articles 109,111,117 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation establish the grounds on which the President of the Russian Federation can dissolve the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, as well as cases of restriction of this right

See: "Regulations on the procedure for interaction of the President of the Russian Federation with the chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in the legislative process" (with amendments and additions introduced by Presidential Decrees), approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of April 13, 1996 // SZ RF. 1996. No. 16. Art. 1842; 1997. No. 20. Art. 2238: No. 41. Article 4680

Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of April 22, 1996 No. 10-P "On the case of the interpretation of certain provisions of Article 107 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation" // SZ RF.- 1996. -No. 18.- Art. 2253

See: V.N. Suvorov Decree. op. - P. 20

The regulation on the plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Federal Assembly was approved by the order of the President of the Russian Federation of March 30, 1994 // Ross. newspaper. –1994. –1 April

Cit. Quoted from: V.N. Suvorov -Decree. cit. - p. 14

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 31, 1996. "On ensuring the activities of the plenipotentiary representative of the Russian Federation in the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation" 09/01/2000 No. 1606) // SZ RF. 1997. No. 1. Art. 118; 2000. No. 36. Art. 3636

Vedomosti RF 1992.-№15.- Art. 769; 1993.-№2.-Art. 77; SAPP. 1993.-No.52.- Art. 5086

Sobr. laws of the Russian Federation. -1999.-№32.- Art. 4041; No. 47.- Art. 5684

See: Federal Constitutional Law of January 30, 2002 "On Martial Law" // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. 2002.-February 2

See: Federal Constitutional Law of January 30, 2001 "On the State of Emergency" // Collected Legislation of the Russian Federation.-2001.-№23.- Art. 2277

See: Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 19, 1997 No. 1039 "On the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Foreign Policy" // Ross. Newspaper - 1997 - September 26.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of October 2, 1996 No. 1412 "On Approval of the Regulations on the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation" 28.08.1997 No. 946, dated 01.09.1997 No. 958, dated 19.09.1997 No. 1039, dated 06.10.1997 No. 1068, dated 30.10.1997 No. 1146. dated 12.02.1998 No. 162, dated 11.08.1998 No. 945, dated 14.11 .1999 No. 1520, dated 27.06.2000 No. 1192, dated 17.08.2000 No. 1521) // SZ RF. 1996. No. 41. Art. 4689; 2000. No. 34. Art. 3438

See: V.G. Strekozov, Yu.D. Kazanchev. Constitutional law of Russia: Textbook. - M., 1997.S. 178-179

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated May 13, 2000 No. 849 "On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Federal District" (as amended by the Decrees of the President of the Russian Federation dated June 21, 2000 No. 1149. dated 09.09.2000 No. 1624) // SZ RF. 2000. No. 20. Art. 2112; No. 38. Art. 3781

See: SAPP.-1994.-№13, - art. 1001; -№11.-st. 867; -№14, -Art. 1070; SZ RF.-1994.-№15.-st. 1714; -1996.-No. 18. Article 2116.

See: SAPP.-1994.-№15.-art. 1215; SZ RF.-1994.-№4.-st. 305; -1995.-No.4.-Art. 281; -1996.-No.4.-Art. 262.

SAPP.-1993.-No.7.- Art. 598

Cit. Quoted from: Tolstik V.A. The hierarchy of sources of Russian law. Nizhny Novgorod.-2002.- S. 143-144

Constitutional system in Russia M., - 1995.- P.64

See: The Constitutional System of Russia. Issue 2.- M., - 1995. P. 76

See: Scientific and practical commentary on the Constitution of the Russian Federation / Otv. ed. V.V. Lazarev. 2nd., Ed., Add. and revised - M., 2001.- S. 461

See: M.V. Baglai. Constitutional law of the Russian Federation: Textbook for universities.-3rd ed. and additional - M., 2001. - S. 423.

See: Yu.K. Krasnov. - Decree. op. - S. 74-75

See also: Federal Law "On guarantees to the President of the Russian Federation, who has terminated the exercise of his powers, and members of his family" dated February 12, 2001. Rossiyskaya Gazeta. -2001. -February, 15.

See: Commentary and the Constitution of the Russian Federation / General. ed. Yu.V. Kudryavtseva - M., - 1996 .-- P. 393

See: Modern foreign constitutions. M. - 1992 - S. 162 - 163.

For more details see: A.E. Yakubov. Removal of the President from office and criminal law. // Vestnik Mosk. up-that. Series 11, Law, - 1994. - No. 5. - S. 51 - 52.

See: Art. 121 of the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978 as amended by the law of May 24, 1991 // Air Force of the RSFSR. 191. No. 22. Art. 776.

See: Scientific - practical commentary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation - pp. 465 - 466.

Bulletin of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation - 1999 - No. 5

See: Scientific and practical commentary on the Constitution of the Russian Federation. - S.463-464.

See V.A. Okunkov. President of the Russian Federation. Constitution and political practice - M, -1996 - pp. 134-137.

President of the Russian Federation: removal from office

Tsoriev Zaurbek Nokhovich,

Master's student of the Department of State Law of the North Ossetian State University named after K. L. Khetagurova.

In 1991, the post of President of the Russian Federation was established in the Russian Federation in the mechanism of the highest authorities during the period of constitutional reforms. This innovation entailed colossal changes in the system of state bodies established by that time; In the process of the formation of the system of state power in Russia, the place and role of the president was and remains the subject of particularly sharp controversy, subsequently taking a central place for many reasons.

So, Okunkov L.A. writes: "... from the current Constitution it follows that above these powers - executive, legislative and judicial - there is a coordinator: the presidential power, which unites the activities of all these powers."

Grachev N. I. notes: “In fact, here lies the concept of the president as the bearer of the highest legitimacy (legality) of power in the state, the political leader, the guide of the nation, leading it, the arbiter and the supreme coordinator in relation to the parliament, the government and all to the authorities and administration of the constituent entities of the Federation ”.

“The President of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, is the head of state ... This is what determines the powers of the President of the Russian Federation to form the Government of the Russian Federation, determine the directions of its activities and control it, as well as the constitutional responsibility of the President of the Russian Federation. Hence follows the role of the President of the Russian Federation, including in the selection of a candidate and appointment to the post of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. "

A distinctive feature of the President of the Russian Federation as a subject of constitutional and legal responsibility is a responsible high position, a special position in the system of public authorities.

The legislative basis for the constitutional and legal responsibility of the President of the Russian Federation is governed by Art. 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which deals with presidential responsibility in general.

Article 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation establishes a very complicated procedure for bringing to justice the highest official of the state, which is practically impracticable. And in this sense, the immunity of the President of the Russian Federation is practically absolute, which means that it is not fully democratic and fair.

The very term "impeachment" originated in the XIV century. in England. At the time, it meant the procedure by which the House of Commons brought an abuse of power charge against the Royal Ministers before the House of Lords. This measure was used to combat the arbitrariness of officials.

The US Constitution borrowed the concept of "impeachment" and gave it a new meaning - now the term meant the filing of charges against officials, including the president. At the same time, the accusation against the President of the United States is brought forward by the House of Representatives before the Senate. It should be noted that initially impeachment meant only the first stage of the procedure for removing a state person from office, but nowadays this term is used to refer to the entire process.

So what is impeachment today? Impeachment is a set of norms of constitutional law that secure the grounds, as well as a mechanism for initiating and considering charges brought against the head of state by authorized government bodies.

The institution of impeachment is the most important feature of a democratic and legal state, since the presence of such a procedure, enshrined in legislation, is a kind of restraining force against the arbitrariness of the ruler.

As you know, our legislation does not use the concept of "impeachment". An analogy of impeachment, which is widely known in foreign constitutional law, in Russian legislation is the institution of the dismissal of the president from office.

In our country, two attempts were made to remove from office the President of the Russian Federation in relation to Boris Yeltsin, but both of them failed. The first attempt was made on July 12, 1995 in connection with the events in the city of Budennovsk during the hostilities in the Chechen Republic, when the State Duma of the Russian Federation considered the creation of a special commission. However, according to the results of the voting, the resolution was not adopted. The second attempt was initiated by the deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation in April - May 1998, and then a special commission was created to prepare the corresponding conclusions. The opinion of the special commission on each of the five points of accusation against the President of the Russian Federation was submitted for consideration by the State Duma of the Russian Federation. But none of the five charges received the required two-thirds of the votes of the State Duma deputies to proceed with the procedure.

Although the impeachment was not adopted by the State Duma in 1999, nevertheless the very formulation of the question, the scrupulous year-long work of the special commission of the State Duma, a comprehensive consideration and assessment of Boris Yeltsin's activities at the plenary sessions of the Duma, a heated public debate on the main problems of the country's life and the general political process, discussion of impeachment in the media, at meetings and rallies - all this had a huge impact on the country and the formation of a national outlook on the essence and meaning of the rule of law in the modern world, the role and responsibility of the President of the Russian Federation as the guarantor of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the supreme leader of the state ...

The meaning of the institution of removing the president from office is to force the president to control, to measure his behavior with the Constitution, laws, moral norms that exist in society not only during the election period, but also between elections.

Removal of the head of state from office is the highest form of his responsibility. In this case, we are talking about constitutional responsibility, which is a specific type of legal responsibility, in which the occurrence of adverse consequences for its subjects is primarily aimed at protecting the Constitution.

The removal of the president from office, as a measure of constitutional responsibility, was first enshrined in the Russian Federation simultaneously with the introduction of the post of President of the RSFSR, the mechanism of which was defined in Art. 121 of the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978. At the same time, the procedure for removing the president from office was significantly different from the current one in the presence of broader grounds of responsibility (violation of the Constitution, laws, oath) and a simplified procedure for application (the decision was made by the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR on the basis of the conclusion of the Constitutional Court). In addition, the previous Basic Law provided for such a measure of responsibility as the “automatic” loss of powers by the President in the event of his dissolution or even suspension of the activities of the legally elected authorities.

So, the Constitution of the Russian Federation enshrines the possibility of removing the President of the Russian Federation from office only on the basis of an accusation made by the State Duma of high treason or committing another serious crime, confirmed by the conclusion of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the presence of signs of a crime in the actions of the President and the conclusion of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on the observance of the procedure for bringing charges (Clause 1 of Art. 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).

The decision of the State Duma to bring charges and the decision of the Federation Council to dismiss the President from office must be adopted by 2/3 of the total number in each of the chambers on the initiative of at least 1/3 of the State Duma deputies and in the presence of the conclusion of a special commission formed by the State Duma ( Clause 2, Article 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).

The decision of the Federation Council to remove the President from office must be made no later than three months after the charge is brought against the President. If within this period the decision of the Federation Council is not adopted, the accusation against the President is considered rejected (clause 3 of article 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).

In accordance with Part 2 of Art. 177 of the Rules of Procedure of the State Duma, a special commission is elected by the State Duma, consisting of a chairman, a deputy chairman and 13 members of the commission. The chairman of the commission is elected by the members of the commission by open vote.

A special commission verifies the validity of the accusation of the President, the observance of the quorum required to bring the accusation, the accuracy of the counting of votes, the observance of procedural rules, etc.

In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Russian President is endowed with extremely broad powers. The influence of the President on the processes taking place both in the state and in the public life of the country is very great. At the same time, the direct basis for the removal of the President from office in accordance with the current Constitution of the Russian Federation is only the accusation of high treason or the commission of another grave crime.

Meanwhile, the main duties of the President of the Russian Federation are provided for in Art. 80 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which says that the President of the Russian Federation "takes measures to protect the sovereignty of the Russian Federation, its independence and state integrity, ensures the coordinated functioning and interaction of government bodies." As A.L. Sergeev, the scope of the President's responsibilities is incomparably wider than the grounds for his possible responsibility.

Let us turn to foreign experience in resolving this problem.

First of all, it should be noted that at present there is a group of countries where the head of state has immunity and, as a result, does not bear any legal responsibility at all. This legal formula is typical of monarchies. "The King's personality is inviolable, and he is not subject to responsibility" (Article 56 of the Spanish Constitution).

In some countries, the institution of counter-signature is provided. The task of this legal institution is to transfer responsibility from the head of state to a subordinate official for the normative act they jointly sign. So, in accordance with Art. 58 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany, for "the effectiveness of the prescriptions and orders of the Federal President, they must be countersigned by the Federal Chancellor or the competent federal minister."

Turning directly to the most common method of influencing the President - dismissal from office - it is worth noting that one of the most typical grounds enshrined in many constitutions, as well as in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, is treason... However, in each country the concept of "high treason" is considered differently. Moreover, the constitutional meaning of high treason is far from always identical to the criminal-legal corpus delicti. So, in Art. 68 of the French Constitution explicitly states that in relation to the actions of the President of France, the authorities deciding the issue of his responsibility are not obliged to adhere to the definition of the corpus delicti contained in the criminal law and the penalties provided for by it.

In a number of foreign states, the basic laws do not limit the list of grounds for dismissing the head of state to certain offenses at all. Thus, the President of Estonia can only be prosecuted on the proposal of the Chancellor of Justice with the consent of the majority of the members of the Riigikogu or if the Seimas of Latvia agrees with a majority of at least 2/3 of the votes.

Touching upon the experience of foreign countries in relation to the problem under study, it should be noted that there are differences regarding the very mechanism of dismissal of the highest official in the state. So, depending on the degree of parliamentary participation in the process of removing the President, the following types are distinguished:

1. Full parliamentary dismissal procedure from the post of the head of state. The most typical example here is the United States. The entire process of bringing the President to impeachment takes place in parliament: one chamber acts as an accusation, the other as a court.

2. Incomplete parliamentary procedure bringing to responsibility the head of state. Here we can take the Federal Republic of Germany as an example. Parliament brings charges and judges the President by a body of constitutional justice, which is not an organ of parliament and cannot include members of parliament or the country's Supreme Court.

3. Semi-parliamentary procedure bringing to responsibility the head of state. The parliament, acting in the role of the prosecutor, decides only the question of bringing the President to justice, and the question of the President's guilt is decided by a special judicial body created by the parliament.

In relation to the President of the Russian Federation, accusations are being made by the lower house of parliament - the State Duma. The question of the President's guilt is decided by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The highest body of constitutional justice, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, monitors compliance with the procedure for bringing charges. The decision to remove the President from office is made by the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. Thus, the Constitution of the Russian Federation enshrines an incomplete parliamentary procedure for dismissal from office.

Considering the procedure for removing the President from office, it is necessary to emphasize its complicated procedure, which makes it difficult to bring the head of state to constitutional and legal responsibility. The point is not so much that both chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are involved in this procedure, but that the decision on the removal of the President of the Russian Federation from office must be made no later than three months after the nomination by the State Duma charges against the President. If within this period the decision of the Federation Council is not adopted, the accusation against the President is considered rejected.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation leaves unresolved a number of fundamentally important issues related both to the adoption by the State Duma of the decision to bring charges against the President of the Russian Federation of high treason or other serious crime, and to the actions of other federal state bodies participating in the procedure for applying constitutional responsibility to the President of the Russian Federation. In particular, the Constitution of the Russian Federation does not provide the State Duma with the right to seize the necessary documents, call witnesses, including officials, carry out other investigative actions, without which it is impossible to formulate any reasonable accusation against the President of the Russian Federation of high treason or other serious crime. It seems strange, how can a person be charged with a crime without being able to investigate all the circumstances of the committed act? It seems that it is necessary to eliminate this gap and regulate the right of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, including with the participation of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, to initiate and ensure the collection of the necessary information proving the fact that the President of the Russian Federation has committed the incriminated acts. There is also no legally established procedure for the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to issue an opinion on the presence of signs of a crime in the actions of the President of the Russian Federation. The Constitution of the Russian Federation also has problems on issues related to the formulation of charges.

The foreseen basis for the removal of the President of the Russian Federation from office looks strange due to the fact that, along with high treason, only serious crimes are provided for as crimes for the commission of which one can lose the relevant status, although the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation also provides for such a group of crimes as especially grave (Art. .15). It seems, following the literal wording of the law, that at the moment, apart from high treason, the President of the Russian Federation cannot be held accountable for a single serious crime. This provision of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is not only restrictive, but also determines liability for less significant punishments, excluding liability for more severe ones.

N. Kolosova believes that in order to resolve issues related to the removal of the President of the Russian Federation from office, it is necessary to determine the possibility of re-bringing charges; the words "charge of committing another serious crime" in Art. 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation to be replaced with the words "charge of all criminal offenses."

According to A.A. Kondrashev, it seems unjustified that the President of the Russian Federation is not responsible for crimes of small and medium gravity, since this violates one of the basic constitutional principles - the principle of equality of citizens before the law and the court. The scientist believes that in the "Constitution of the Russian Federation and in the federal criminal procedure legislation, it is necessary to fix the grounds and procedure for bringing the President to criminal responsibility both for committing criminal offenses and for violating the Constitution, failure to comply with decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation or other federal courts."

Thus, the issues of constitutional responsibility of the President of the Russian Federation are solved incompletely and contradictory, which, in turn, makes it difficult to transfer this responsibility from the formal legal sphere to the political sphere.

In order to establish the real constitutional responsibility of the President of the Russian Federation, it seems necessary, first of all, to eliminate the gaps in the current legislation, in particular to expand the list of grounds for prosecution, and secondly, to simplify the procedure for removing the head of state from office.

As the basis for the removal from office of the President of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to establish the commission by the head of state of high treason, another grave or especially grave crime, as well as other acts that are incompatible with the status of the head of state. That is, the grounds for dismissal from office should not be the commission of crimes, but the commission of acts incompatible with the status of the head of state, because through the removal from office, a person is brought to constitutional and legal responsibility, but this does not mean (at least, I think, it should not mean) that the head of state who has committed a crime will avoid criminal responsibility for it, having lost only his office. Thus, dismissal from office should follow in case of committing an act incompatible with this position, be it a crime or other violation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Thus, the basis of the responsibility of the President of the Russian Federation from criminal law should be modified into a constitutional legal tort.

And the grounds for removal from office should be not only a crime (criminal law tort), but another act that goes beyond the powers of the President of the Russian Federation, i.e. forming a constitutional and legal tort. In particular, the basis for the removal of the President of the Russian Federation from office should be a gross violation of a number of constitutional obligations or the appropriation of power, if these actions created a threat to the security and territorial integrity of the state, violated the rights and freedoms of citizens, or the head of state was repeatedly (three or more times) imposed warning about the unconstitutionality (illegality) of activities.

It is necessary to concretize the very concept of high treason. It is difficult to find an example when one of the lawyers of the criminal law sphere would formulate this concept in relation to the head of state, i.e. to the person who has the most enormous decision-making capabilities through which it is possible to harm both the country and the people living in it, because the President of the Russian Federation has access to classified information, which is a state secret, and also all power structures are in his jurisdiction.

Marino I. in his article devoted to the Constitutional meeting held in the summer of 1993, at which the draft of the future Constitution of the Russian Federation was discussed, declares with confidence that it is precisely the refusal of the representatives of the then President (B.N. Yeltsin) to establish in the Basic Law of the country what should be understood under the terms “seizure of power” and “high treason”, and allowed the President of the Russian Federation himself to “decipher” these concepts in his own way and, three months after the discussion on the new Constitution, to liquidate two parliamentary bodies - the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation.

When establishing the grounds and measures of constitutional responsibility in relation to the President of the Russian Federation, it seems to us, we should also consider softer measures of responsibility for a number of constitutional offenses. After all, dismissal from office is an extreme measure that contributes to the termination of powers and deprivation of the status of the relevant official. With the help of restrictive and preventive measures of responsibility, it is possible to ensure the activities of the head of state within the legal framework.

To ensure the activities of the President of the Russian Federation, scientists-constitutionalists envisage the introduction of a number of measures and the establishment of the appropriate grounds for constitutional tort, in particular, it is proposed to “regulate by legislative means the issue of the framework within which the President of the Russian Federation has the right to issue decrees, as well as provide for his responsibility for violation of the principle of supremacy laws in the Russian Federation "; provide for liability for violation of the constitutional obligations of the President of the Russian Federation and abuse of rights.

For the formulation of constitutional tort, it is necessary, first of all, to highlight those obligations, the failure to fulfill (improper fulfillment) of which should entail responsibility. Kolosova N.M. believes that the Constitution of the Russian Federation does not speak about any of the duties of the President of the Russian Federation directly. The only thing that can be noted, according to her, is the words of the oath. Subject to replacement in Part 1 of Art. 82 of the Constitution of the words "I swear" on "I undertake" the following duties of the President of the Russian Federation are obtained:

1) the duty to respect and protect human and civil rights and freedoms;

2) the duty to comply with and protect the Constitution of the Russian Federation;

3) the duty to protect the sovereignty and independence, security and integrity of the state;

4) duty to serve the people faithfully.

Analyzing the duties-oaths, Kolosova N.M. comes to the conclusion that these duties are more abstract in nature.

However, the duties of the President of the Russian Federation are nevertheless enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, since a list of actions that the President of the Russian Federation carries out is determined, therefore, has the obligation to perform them. In addition, giving oaths the status of duties is very conditional. The text of the oath can serve as a basis for responsibility only if there is a direct fixation of sanctions for violation of the oath (which is not provided for by the Constitution of the Russian Federation), and the text of the oath is hardly specific, the meaning and purpose of the oath is different from that of the grounds of responsibility.

Delicts on the constitutional and legal responsibility of the President of the Russian Federation should be based on the designation of failure to fulfill his most important duties and be enshrined in a special law on constitutional and legal responsibility.

In conclusion, we would like to note that despite the obvious democracy and characteristics of the institution of impeachment as an integral feature of the rule of law, it can be used not only as a tool for the necessary and objective protection of the interests of the state and society, but also as a method of unfair political struggle. In practice, very often the impeachment procedure was used precisely in the context of political confrontation, as a way to eliminate a competitor. Nevertheless, such a legal institution is an integral part of a developed state. Because the power must always be controlled, no matter how democratic it is. Meanwhile, the use of accurate and competent legal techniques, the use of international experience and a conscientious approach to the normative regulation of the procedure for impeachment of the president will minimize the likelihood of situations in which both the dismissal of the head of state as a result of an unfair political struggle and the impossibility of overthrowing the ruler are possible. committed the offense.

Literature

1. Constitutions of European countries. 1994.Vol. 3.P. 11.

2. Grachev N.I. Sat. scientific. articles. Saratov, 2005. Issue. 6, p. 41.

3. In the case of the interpretation of the provisions of Part 4 of Article 111 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation: Decree. Of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation from 11.12.1998. // Collected laws of the Russian Federation. 1998. No. 52. Art. 6447.

4. Kolbaia S.G. Removal of the President from office: world experience and problems of Russian legislation // Journal of Russian legislation. 2004. No. 4. P. 98.

5. Korovnikova E.A. Removal of the president from office as a form of parliamentary control // Constitutional and municipal law. 2007. No. 17. P. 22.

6. Constitution of the Russian Federation of 04/12/1978 // Bulletin of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. No. 15.P. 407.

7. State Duma Regulations Fed. Own. RF (as amended on 03/10/2006) ./ Resolution of the State Duma Fed. Sobr. RF of 22.01.1998, No. 2134-II GD "On the regulations of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation" // Constitutional and municipal law. 2003. No. 1. S. 5-8.

8. Sergeev A.L. Constitutional responsibility in the Russian Federation // Constitutional and municipal law. 2003. No. 1. S. 5-8.

9. Spanish Constitution. Constitution and statutes. Moscow: Progress, 1982.

10. Federal Republic of Germany Constitution of May 23, 1949 / Modern foreign constitutions. M., 1992.

11. Constitution of France / Constitutions of foreign states. M. Publishing house BEK, 1996.

12. US Constitution / Modern Foreign Constitutions. M., 1992.

13. Zinoviev A.V. answer-st // Izvestiya vuzov. Jurisprudence. 2003. No. 4. S. 4-16.

14. Kolosova N.M. the answer is in the Russian Federation: the responsibility of the state authorities. authorities and other subjects of law for violation of the constitutional legislation of the Russian Federation. M., 2000.S. 42-43

15. A. A. Kondrashev. Constitutional legal response in the Russian Federation; theory and practice. M. 2006.S. 111.

16. A.A. Kondrashev Op. Cit. P. 112.

17. Marino I. Removal of the President of the Russian Federation from office: developments, concepts, positions of the participants in the 1993 Constitutional Meeting // Constitutional and municipal law. 2010. No. 5. S. 51-52.

18. Kutafin OE sources of the constitutional law of the Russian Federation. M., 2002.S. 99.

19. Kolosova N.M. Op. Cit. S. 70-72.

20. Kolosova N.M. Op. Cit. P. 70.

21. Kolosova N.M. Constitutional responsibility in the Russian Federation. S. 70-72.

2. The President of the Russian Federation is the guarantor of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, human and civil rights and freedoms. In accordance with the procedure established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, he takes measures to protect the sovereignty of the Russian Federation, its independence and state integrity, and ensures the coordinated functioning and interaction of public authorities.

3. The President of the Russian Federation, in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal laws, determines the main directions of the domestic and foreign policy of the state.

4. The President of the Russian Federation, as the head of state, represents the Russian Federation within the country and in international relations.

1. The President of the Russian Federation is elected for a term of six years by the citizens of the Russian Federation on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot.

2. A citizen of the Russian Federation who is at least 35 years old and has permanently resided in the Russian Federation for at least 10 years may be elected President of the Russian Federation.

3. One and the same person may not hold the office of President of the Russian Federation for more than two consecutive terms.

4. The procedure for the election of the President of the Russian Federation is determined by federal law.

1. Upon assuming office, the President of the Russian Federation takes the following oath to the people:

"I swear, while exercising the powers of the President of the Russian Federation, to respect and protect the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, to observe and defend the Constitution of the Russian Federation, to defend the sovereignty and independence, security and integrity of the state, to faithfully serve the people."

2. The oath is taken in a solemn atmosphere in the presence of members of the Federation Council, deputies of the State Duma and judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

a) appoints, with the consent of the State Duma, the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation;

b) has the right to preside over meetings of the Government of the Russian Federation;

c) makes a decision on the resignation of the Government of the Russian Federation;

d) submit to the State Duma a candidate for appointment to the post of the Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation; puts before the State Duma the issue of dismissing the Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation;

e) at the suggestion of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, appoint and dismiss the Deputy Chairmen of the Government of the Russian Federation and federal ministers;

f) submit to the Federation Council candidates for appointment to the office of judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation; appoints judges of other federal courts;

f.1) submit to the Federation Council candidates for appointment to the post of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation and the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation; submits proposals to the Federation Council on the dismissal of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation and the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation; appoints to office and dismisses from office prosecutors of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as other prosecutors, except for prosecutors of cities, districts and prosecutors equated to them;

g) forms and heads the Security Council of the Russian Federation, the status of which is determined by federal law;

h) approves the military doctrine of the Russian Federation;

i) forms the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation;

j) appoints and dismisses plenipotentiary representatives of the President of the Russian Federation;

k) appoints and dismisses the high command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation;

l) appoints and recalls, after consultation with the relevant committees or commissions of the chambers of the Federal Assembly, diplomatic representatives of the Russian Federation in foreign states and international organizations.

President of Russian Federation:

a) appoint elections to the State Duma in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal law;

b) dissolves the State Duma in the cases and in the manner provided for by the Constitution of the Russian Federation;

c) appoints a referendum in the manner prescribed by federal constitutional law;

d) submits bills to the State Duma;

e) signs and promulgates federal laws;

f) addresses the Federal Assembly with annual messages on the situation in the country, on the main directions of the domestic and foreign policy of the state.

1. The President of the Russian Federation may use conciliation procedures to resolve disagreements between the state authorities of the Russian Federation and the state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as between the state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. In case of failure to reach an agreed decision, he may refer the resolution of the dispute to the appropriate court.

2. The President of the Russian Federation shall have the right to suspend the action of the acts of the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the event of a conflict of these acts with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal laws, international obligations of the Russian Federation or violation of human and civil rights and freedoms until this issue is resolved by the appropriate court.

President of Russian Federation:

a) manages the foreign policy of the Russian Federation;

b) negotiates and signs international treaties of the Russian Federation;

c) signs the instruments of ratification;

d) accepts the credentials and letters of recall from diplomatic representatives accredited with him.

1. The President of the Russian Federation is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

2. In the event of aggression against the Russian Federation or an imminent threat of aggression, the President of the Russian Federation shall impose martial law on the territory of the Russian Federation or in some of its localities with immediate notification of this to the Federation Council and the State Duma.

3. The regime of martial law is determined by federal constitutional law.

The President of the Russian Federation, under the circumstances and in the manner prescribed by the federal constitutional law, shall introduce a state of emergency on the territory of the Russian Federation or in some of its localities with immediate notification of this to the Federation Council and the State Duma.

President of Russian Federation:

a) resolve issues of citizenship of the Russian Federation and granting political asylum;

b) awards state awards of the Russian Federation, confers honorary titles of the Russian Federation, higher military and higher special titles;

c) grants pardon.

1. The President of the Russian Federation issues decrees and orders.

2. Decrees and orders of the President of the Russian Federation are binding on the entire territory of the Russian Federation.

3. Decrees and orders of the President of the Russian Federation must not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal laws.

The President of the Russian Federation has immunity.

1. The President of the Russian Federation begins to exercise his powers from the moment he takes the oath and terminates their execution upon the expiration of his term of office from the moment the newly elected President of the Russian Federation takes the oath.

2. The President of the Russian Federation shall terminate the exercise of powers ahead of schedule in the event of his resignation, persistent inability for health reasons to exercise his powers or dismissal. In this case, the election of the President of the Russian Federation must take place no later than three months from the date of early termination of the exercise of powers.

3. In all cases when the President of the Russian Federation is unable to fulfill his duties, they are temporarily performed by the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. The Acting President of the Russian Federation does not have the right to dissolve the State Duma, call a referendum, or make proposals on amendments and revision of the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

1. The President of the Russian Federation may be removed from office by the Federation Council only on the basis of an accusation made by the State Duma of high treason or committing another grave crime, confirmed by the conclusion of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the presence of signs of a crime in the actions of the President of the Russian Federation and the conclusion of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on compliance with the established procedure for bringing charges.

2. The decision of the State Duma to bring charges and the decision of the Federation Council to dismiss the President from office must be adopted by a two-thirds majority in each chamber on the initiative of at least one-third of the State Duma deputies and subject to the conclusion of a special commission formed by the State Duma.

3. The decision of the Federation Council to remove the President of the Russian Federation from office must be made no later than three months after the State Duma brings charges against the President. If within this period the decision of the Federation Council is not adopted, the accusation against the President is considered rejected.