At the Plenary Session of the X All-Russian Legal Forum, leading lawyers discussed the law that should overturn the entire mechanism of the state structure of the Russian Federation. The meeting was devoted to the basic principles of formation and competencies of local self-government bodies. Opening the event, Andrey Nazarov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan, called the simple transfer of Western models of local self-government to Russian realities a "generation of imbalances”.

- The first developments in the formation of local self-government bodies have pre-revolutionary roots. In the post-Soviet period, the country used a model based on, as it seemed at the time, the best foreign practices. The laws on general principles of local self-government adopted in 1995 and 2003 were based on them. However, the simple transfer of Western templates to Russian realities created a number of imbalances. Their elimination today is one of the priority state tasks ", - emphasized the Head of the Republican Cabinet of Ministers.

Andrey Nazarov said that new forms of improving legislation should be relevant to modern challenges, and the system itself should be adapted to the Russian specifics of the model of local government development. For this purpose it is important to ensure effective distribution of powers and self-sufficiency of municipalities, which are “closest to the people”.

Pavel Krashennikov, Chairperson of the State Duma Committee for State Construction and Legislation and Chairman of the Russian Association of Lawyers, delved into the issue in detail. At present, the country is going through another stage of reforming the local government system, and the changes in legislation should affect the everyday life of citizens. The chairperson noted that despite the urgency of the bills related to the budget and the special military operation, this law is of special importance because it directly affects the authorities with which citizens interact on a daily basis.

- This is indeed the most important law. It is clear that we have a very important story with the budget. But this law touches our lives every day. That's why we pay very much attention to it,” - Pavel Krasheninnikov emphasized.

He noted that the current legislation regulating local self-government is outdated and has become a source of many legal contradictions. The previous legal acts have already turned into a big tangle of contradictions, which we deal with on a daily basis. These contradictions are interfering with the normal work of local authorities and need to be urgently resolved.

One of the most important changes proposed in the new draft law is the transition to a one-tier system of local self-government.

- One of the most important issues is the transition to a one-tier system. We must eliminate those “matryoshka dolls”, which were created by the last law on local self-government. This refers to the situation when within one body of local self-government there are other structures, creating confusion, hindering efficiency in solving many issues," - the speaker emphasized.

To eliminate these “matryoshka dolls” in the future it is proposed to simplify the structure of local self-government, which will increase the efficiency of government bodies. An important aspect of the reform is the provision of “walking distance” to local self-government bodies, which guarantees citizens the opportunity to communicate directly with the authorities without having to travel long distances. In addition, the key issue is a clear distribution of powers between local governments and the subjects of the Federation. The speaker says that under the new law, a system will be developed whereby all powers relating to local governance will be precisely set out in the legislation.

- We want to make sure that all powers are exactly written in the law of local government. We managed to do it in the law on public authority in the subjects of the Federation, and we hope that everything will be clear here too. One of the goals of the bill is to prevent the situation when the powers are distributed on the basis of verbal agreements or remain unclear,” - he said.

The Speaker also told about the importance of cooperation with the subjects of the Federation in the implementation of reforms. He told that in some regions the transition to a single-tier system has already begun. “The transition to a one-tier system has already started in 20 subjects of Russia, in 25 of them it will be done next year. This is an important step, and we need to give the regions the opportunity to choose how they will implement these changes,” - he said. This includes the possibility for the regions to introduce special laws that will regulate the transition to the new system.

Special attention was paid to the topic of powers. The speaker explained that the new regulations will detail which powers remain with local authorities and which can be transferred to a higher level. An important aspect is the possibility of “splitting of powers”, when, for example, control over certain actions remains with the municipalities, but part of the responsibilities are transferred to the regions.

Salavat Khusainov, Deputy Chairperson of the State Assembly - Kurultai of the Republic of Bashkortostan, continued speaking about this topic. He says that Discussions around it have been going on for more than a year. The development of this draft law was conditioned by the amendments to the Russian Constitution introduced in 2020. The current 131st federal law “On the General Principles of Organization of Local Government of the Russian Federation” was developed and adopted in 2003 under the influence of liberal ideas that spread in our country in the 90s. As a result of close contact with the collective West, Russia's political and economic weaknesses during this period led to the fact that the ideas of decentralization of power were simply scalped from foreign experience, without taking into account the national and cultural peculiarities of our country.

- However, the experience of building local government in Russia has shown that it can be neither managerially nor economically isolated from state power. As a result, from the very beginning the law worked in emergency mode. In order to balance the legal basis for the nationalization of local government, it was necessary to repeatedly amend this law ", - said the speaker.

He also emphasized that republican laws are regularly adopted in Bashkortostan to improve the system of local self-government.

- We were the first among the regions to legislate the Institute of Village Chiefs. We support legislative initiatives of the municipalities themselves. In general, in our republic local self-government bodies are in constant communication with all branches of state power ", - summarized Salavat Khusainov.

The fact that Bashkortostan's lawyers are in constant communication with the republic's residents was emphasized by Vladimir Gruzdev, Chair of the Board of the Russian Association of Lawyers. He says that Bashkortostan Office of Russian Association of Lawyers took second place among the regional divisions of the country at the end of the year.

- In the Republic of Bashkortostan there are 62 local branches, 106 centers of free legal aid. The stability shown by the region speaks of a high level of organization of work. And, of course, the most important thing is the feedback from citizens. The implementation of various socially significant projects is especially effective at the local level due to the limited territory and, of course, the accessibility of the population. It is very important for people to have the help which is near them ", - summarized Vladimir Gruzdev.

The speaker says that the Association works in 88 regions, more than 50 thousand people receive free legal assistance every quarter. Vladimir Gruzdev emphasized in his speech the legal assistance to citizens of new regions of the country.

- Our colleagues in the Donetsk People's Republic, Mariupol local branch, actively cooperate with local authorities. Members of the regional branch, lawyers, attorneys, notaries, monthly organize reception of citizens to provide assistance on various legal issues. Representatives of the branch also actively participate in interdepartmental meetings held by the Mariupol city administration. Here we need, as they call it, to help citizens to move to a new legal space ", - said Vladimir Gruzdev.

And the final chord, “a loud beating the drum” was the proposal of Andrei Nazarov to give the Republic of Bashkortostan a tacit status of the judicial capital of Russia. This statement was made by the Acting Prime Minister of Bashkortostan at the plenary discussion on of the X All-Russian Legal Forum.

-We will take our region out of the ratings and give an opportunity to other subjects of Russia to rise to the forefront", - explained The Head of the Cabinet of Ministers.

Andrey Nazarov noted that Bashkortostan is a leader among the regions of the country in terms of frequency and scale of legal and juridical events, even in comparison with Moscow and St. Petersburg.

- There is competition, and this is very good”, - said Pavel Krashennikov, Chairperson of the Russian State Duma Committee for State-Building and Legislation, joining the discussion. "Other regions are looking at you closely and are joining. It is great to be an example,” - added Pavel Krashennikov.

Andrey Nazarov noted at the press conference that at the press conference Bashkortostan's status of Russia's judicial capital is still conditional. The example of Moscow and St. Petersburg is given to encourage other regions to develop. “Bashkortostan will fight for this title”, - the Acting Prime Minister of Bashkortostan emphasized.

We would like to add that according to the results of rating of regional branches of the Russian Association of Lawyers in the I and II quarters of 2024, the Republic of Bashkortostan was in the second place, in the III quarter headed the TOP-3. The rating includes such criteria as the activity of the branch, including in the media sphere, interaction with governmental and non-governmental structures, the Association's Office.

We should recall that the X All-Russian Legal Forum is held as a part of the International Business Week in Ufa.

General Information:

On December 3 through 6, 2024 Ufa is hosting the XVII International Business Week Forum. The Forum is traditionally organized by the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

The republic is rightfully viewed as a congress-rich region that attracts guests from all over the world. Ufa has become a center of international events. For two weeks in a row, it is hosting significant forums.

The International Business Week is recognized by Maria Zakharova, Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, as a top-5 largest forums in Russia. This event strengthens the role of the region as a venue of business communication and cooperation. The Republic of Bashkortostan proves to be an expert ground for a meaningful dialog between the authorities and business community and strengthens its presence on the map of international business activity.

This year the Forum will be focusing on key prospects of the Republic of Bashkortostan and Russia in economy, export, innovation and investments during four field-specific days: December 3 - Entrepreneurship Day; December 4 - X All-Russian Legal Forum; December 5 - Yalta International Economic Forum; December 6 - International Business Week.

The Forum will feature an exhibition, a gastrofestival and a B2B negotiation area. There guests and participants will get to know about their colleagues' experience and extend their network. Besides, the event will hold business development and public administration awards.

https://ibw-bashkortostan.com/Please, feel encouraged to learn more about the business and entertainment programs of the XVII International Business Week at the official web-page: https://ibw-bashkortostan.com.

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