Because everyone’s experience is different, the feeling of reading the Constitution must be different. What I write below is just my own experience of reading the Constitution of the Russian Federation. It can also be said that it is just my experience of reading the Constitution. I think the Constitution of the Russian Federation is a good constitution, maybe because I read the following articles. I'll point them out to you one by one and briefly explain why I think these terms are good ones.
1. Usually Article 1 of each country’s constitution stipulates the nature of the country. The Constitution of the Russian Federation is no exception. The Russian Federation is a democratic federal state governed by the rule of law. A simple sentence, a few simple words, but each word has a profound meaning. * * * The words democracy, federation, and rule of law most fully summarize the essence of a Russian federal state! Combining the provisions of Article 4 of the Constitution of a sovereign state; the provisions of Article 7 of the welfare state; and the provisions of Article 14 of the secular state, we can summarize the Russians’ definition of the nature of their country: that is, the Russian Federation is a sovereign state with Democratic * * * federalism and secular welfare under the rule of law.
2. Article 13 of the Constitution: The state recognizes the diversity of ideologies, and no ideology can be used as the country’s mandatory ideology. This provision is stipulated as the fundamental system of the Constitution. The so-called fundamental system of the Constitution refers to the provisions of the Constitution that stipulate the nature and fundamental system of the country. This provision cannot be modified according to ordinary procedures. According to the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, in order to change the fundamental system of Chapter 1 of the Constitution, it is necessary to establish a new Constituent Assembly, formulate a new constitution, and hold a referendum. This demonstrates the importance of the provisions of Chapter I of the Russian Federation. Chapter * * * Sixteen Clauses. This clause is one of them. This shows the importance that the drafters of the Constitution of the Russian Federation attached to this provision. Precisely because of the existence of this clause, the entire Constitution of the Russian Federation, including the preamble, cannot find any words specifying any ideas or doctrines, let alone the names of any persons, no matter how great and important these names may be. Because any doctrine or idea stipulated in the Constitution is a direct violation of this article. Just imagine, if the Constitution stipulates a doctrine or ideology into the Constitution, it is equivalent to stipulating it as the country's mandatory ideology. Will there still be freedom of speech and thought in this country? Can there still be ideological diversity in this country? When I was talking to a Russian doctor of law, I asked him what he thought of this provision of the Constitution. In any case, he said, damn politics classes were canceled in every school in the Russian Federation.
3. Article 13 of the Constitution also stipulates that the Russian Federation recognizes political pluralism and a multi-party system. There is no mention of multi-partyism in subsequent constitutional provisions. Is it possible to build such an important institution on a single clause? I was extremely shocked. But if you think about it, it’s not surprising. In the view of Russians, there is no need for the constitution to make detailed provisions on the multi-party system, because the multi-party system is a natural existence of a normal society. Man is a political animal. When a few like-minded people get together, they may discuss political issues. If they want, they can form a political party. If they want to launch any candidate, such as MP or President, then the political party they form must be registered. The registration procedure is not complicated. Just go to the Registration Office of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation to get some forms and fill them out. If the Department of Justice unreasonably refuses to register them. They can sue in court. An independent court will definitely accept the case and make a fair decision. They can also ask some reporters to report publicly, and they can even go to Moscow's Red Square to demonstrate. This is also their constitutional right. They can even write directly to the President of the Russian Federation, who has a dedicated office for handling correspondence from citizens.
4. Article 15 of the Constitution: Laws and normative documents must be promulgated before they can become effective and applicable. In the Russian Federation, the importance of this provision is less about the concerns of Russian legislators about some serious problems in the former Soviet Union. Indeed.
During the former Soviet Union, how many regulations were conveyed in the name of internal documents? I wonder how many people were arrested based on these internal documents? How many people were even executed? The drafters of the Constitution may have noticed this serious historical problem and made such a provision in the fundamental constitutional system.
5. Article 15, paragraph 4, of the Constitution: Recognized principles and norms of international law and international treaties signed by the Russian Federation are an integral part of the legal system of the Russian Federation. If there is any discrepancy between the rules set forth in international treaties signed by the Russian Federation and the rules set out in the laws of the Russian Federation, the rules set out in the international treaties shall prevail. This is the famous priority principle of international law. There are very few constitutions that provide for such provisions in the basic constitutional system. According to this regulation, the United Nations Charter of Human Rights and a series of United Nations conventions have become domestic law of the Russian Federation and have priority over domestic law. In fact, the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation on human and civil rights and freedoms not only cover all the contents of the United Nations Charter of Human Rights, but also go far beyond this limit. Russia has acceded to Protocol Six of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits the death penalty as a criminal punishment in peacetime. This is not enough. The Russian Federation recognizes the validity of the European Court of Human Rights vis-à-vis the Russian Federation. In other words, citizens of the Russian Federation can sue the Russian Federation for human rights violations to the European Court of Human Rights, and the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights are absolutely recognized in the Russian Federation. I think this is an important feature of the Russian Federation Constitution and the cleverness of Russians. With this provision, it means that jurists working in the United Nations and many international organizations are legislating for the Russian Federation, and the latest legal achievements in the world will be adopted by the Russian Federation.
6. Article 20 first mentions the jury. This article stipulates that cases potentially punishable by death in the Russian Federation must be heard by a jury. This provision establishes an important criminal procedure system in the Russian Federation - the jury system. Article 123 of the Constitution once again mentions jury trials and expands the scope of jury trials to not only apply to death penalty cases, but also to other criminal cases that may be sentenced to serious crimes. Whenever a criminal defendant requests a jury trial, the court must seat a jury for him, including in cases against the defendant. As long as one of the defendants requests a jury trial, the entire case will be tried by a jury. In the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, there are detailed provisions on jury trials. It can be said that the jury system in the Russian Federation is basically the same as that in the United States. Of the 12-person grand jury, 14 people were selected from 20 candidates at a time to participate in the trial, and 2 people served as reserve juries. 12 jurors cast their final vote. If the defendant is found not guilty, the judge in court must declare him innocent and release him immediately.
7. Article 22 of the Constitution: The arrest and detention of any person may only be decided by a court, and the period of temporary detention before the court’s decision shall not exceed 48 hours. This is not a simple rule. This article is directly related to the status and authority of courts, procuratorates and investigative agencies, judicial independence and the protection of important citizens' rights. Because in old Russia, the power of arrest was mainly exercised by the prosecutor's office and investigative agencies. The new constitution stipulates that arrests must be decided by the courts. This is obviously a major institutional change. After reviewing other articles, we found that many measures that limit citizens' constitutional rights must be decided by the courts. For example, restricting and monitoring citizens’ communications (Article 23 of the Constitution); entering and searching citizens’ homes (Article 25); restrictions on citizens’ property including compulsory expropriation of state-owned property (Article 35); etc., combined with other articles, we Institutional changes were found to have indeed occurred in the Russian Federation. That is, judicial power is exercised exclusively by courts, that is, judicial power is the judicial power of the Russian Federation. The procuratorate is no longer a judicial organ and does not exercise judicial power, nor does the investigative agency exercise judicial power. I think this institutional change is profound. In my opinion, this change plays an important role in the entire system reform of the Russian Federation. It is the basic prerequisite for the realization of judicial independence in the Russian Federation and the realization of a series of litigation rights such as the right to defense of criminal defendants. Lowering the status of prosecutors is equivalent to raising the status of lawyers.
Only in this way can the prosecutor and lawyer standing in front of the court be equal parties, and it is possible for criminal defendants to obtain real defense.
8. Article 27 of the Constitution: Provisions on freedom of movement and freedom of leaving and returning to the country. Do not underestimate this clause. Freedom of movement mainly means that any Russian citizen can move freely within Russia without any restrictions. What are restrictions? For example, if you go to Moscow to work and study, you do not need to go through any registration procedures in Moscow, such as a temporary residence permit, or if you drive to Moscow, you do not need to go through the vehicle registration procedures to enter Moscow. This is the basic meaning of free movement. The implications of freedom to leave Russia and freedom to return to Russia are profound. I just mentioned that Russian citizens can sue the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights, but if you are not free to leave the Russian Federation, how can you implement your prosecution? ! During the Soviet period, there was a large presence of political dissidents in the Russian Federation. These people were forced to leave their home countries and could not and did not dare to return to their home countries. With this provision taking effect, such tragedies are gone forever. According to Putin, Russian citizens only need to bring their passport and rubles when going abroad. Because the ruble is an international freely convertible currency. The Russian Federation recognizes dual citizenship. Studying the economy of the Russian Federation in transition, there is a serious problem of capital outflows. At that time, I kept thinking why the country did not take restrictive measures. Now I understand that in the Russian Federation there cannot be any restrictions on the movement of people and money. Putin said: We should create the best environment to attract talents and capital, rather than rely on artificial restrictions. Happily, the rate of capital outflows from the Russian Federation is declining. At present, a large amount of money is flowing back to the Russian Federation, and a large amount of talent is also flowing to Russia.
9. Article 29: Guarantee the freedom of mass media and prohibit press censorship. News supervision is called the fourth estate. The Russian Federation abolished censorship and enacted a law on mass media. Mass media are largely privately owned. 1000 publications were issued without even being archived. Not to mention censoring news content. The media in the Russian Federation not only plays a supervisory role but is also a necessary condition for a multi-party system. Just think, if a political party cannot independently own its own mass media, there is almost no need for it to exist.
10. Article 30 stipulates: The right to establish associations and trade unions. This provision is guaranteed by the Law on Social Organization of the Russian Federation, the Law on Trade Unions and the Civil Code. The provisions on civil subjects in the Civil Code fully recognize citizens’ freedom of association, the civil status of social groups, and the resulting rights and obligations.
11. Article 31 stipulates the rights of assembly, demonstration and picketing. The Law on Picketing of Assemblies, Processions and Demonstrations of the Russian Federation also specifically implements and guarantees this right. There are large and small parades every day in the Russian Federation. This is the basic state of normal society. As the saying goes, when there is injustice, there will be complaints. I think picketing of rallies and demonstrations is a social stress reducer. The result of emotional release is the avoidance of greater turmoil.
12, Article 37: Recognizes the right to resolve individual and collective labor disputes through the methods of labor dispute resolution provided for by federal law, including the right to strike. The Constitution of the Russian Federation directly recognizes the right to strike. No wonder I kept hearing about strikes in Russia during the Yeltsin era.
13, Article 41: Public officials who conceal facts and circumstances that threaten people’s lives and health will be held accountable in accordance with federal law. This clause is easily reminiscent of Beijing’s jokes during the SARS period. When SARS broke out on a large scale in Beijing, the former Minister of Health also said that there were no suspected cases of SARS in Beijing. I just don’t know if this minister has taken legal responsibility.
14, then look down. Everyone has the right to safeguard their rights and freedoms through judicial protection. Decisions and actions (or inactions) of state authorities, local self-government bodies, social organizations and public officials may be brought before the courts. (Article 46); No one may be deprived of the right to have his or her case heard in accordance with the law by the courts and the judges responsible for hearing the case. (Article 47). This provision reaffirms the important status of judicial power. Any decisions and actions are subject to judicial review. No matter what the decision is.
It may be a law, it may be a specific decision, and citizens can file a lawsuit in court. The court must accept, hear and rule unconditionally. I think going to court to sue is the last line of defense for civil rights and a means of relief. If society cannot ensure the independence and smoothness of this measure, then society will get violence, riots and unrest.
There are many classics in the "Constitution of the Russian Federation". There will be new discoveries every time you look at it. The above is just my personal experience and is for reference only.