Abstract: The subject of this research is a set of legal norms regulating social relations that arise in the context of use and protection of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The goal lies in formulation of the conclusions and recommendations for the improvement of legal regulation in this sphere. The relevance of the selected topic is substantiated by interest of the state in the development of Arctic Zone as a strategic resource base for accelerating the economic growth of the Russian Federation. Among the priority national interests are also the environmental protection of region, conservation of the native habitat and traditional way of living of the indigenous small-numbered peoples. This emphasizes the importance of intensification of use and preservation of the vulnerable areas of the region. The author dwells on the current issues of the formation of territories of traditional management of natural resources and legal status of their lands; rights of the indigenous peoples to land in their native habitat and traditional economy; provision of land plots to entrepreneurs who are the residents of the Arctic Zone; protection of the Arctic lands, etc. The conclusion is made on the existence of gaps and contradictions in legislation of the indicated sphere, which requires revision and improvement. This pertains to the questions of formation of the territories of traditional management of natural resources, maintenance and modification of their boundaries, establishment of the special protection regime in the federal law, etc. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that the adopted simplified procedure for providing entrepreneurs who are residents of the Arctic Zone with land plots aimed at expansion of the development of natural resources of the Arctic, may negatively affect the status of lands and overall fragile environment of the Arctic Zone, and thus, lead to infringement upon the interests of the local population, including the indigenous peoples. The author formulates a number of recommendations for the improvement of legislation, among which is the amendments to the Paragraph 2 of the Article 39.34 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation on the establishment of highly restricted cases of termination of permits using the land plots by the indigenous small-numbered peoples.

Keywords: protection of AZ lands, provision of lands, resident of the Arctic zone, TPP lands, land rights, territories of traditional nature use, indigenous peoples, AZ lands, Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, the standard of responsibility of residents

Abstract: The severe natural conditions of the Arctic have impeded the economic development of the region for centuries. The norm for the recognition of special rights of circumpolar states to establish their own legal order in the region was established as a result of international custom. The application the generally accepted United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allowed the Arctic countries to establish the own zones of jurisdiction, which enables the extraction of natural living and mineral resources. Such jurisdiction was also extended to shipping routes that require constant maintenance and significant investments; thus the shipping routes are close to acquiring the status of canals. However, the climate warming and ice melt have turned the Arctic from the isolated region with limited geopolitical and geoeconomic significance to the next frontier of opportunities for the world’s countries. There is currently no single all-encompassing treaty on the use of the Arctic. The legal order consists of the regional and subregional agreements, national legislation, and soft law. The circumpolar states actively and extensively used the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) for establishing the limits and legal regime of the zones of own jurisdiction in the Arctic Ocean. In May 2008, five Arctic coastal states signed the so-called Ilulissat Declaration, acclaiming the current trends in the development of legal order in the Arctic. For ensuring the political, economic interests of the Arctic states in the region, as well as global security and protection of regional environmental sensitive to detrimental effects, it is necessary to develop a uniform position of the coastal states on the entirety of regional problems in view of the growing activity of the non-Artic states that declare their national interests in the Arctic region.

Keywords: international law, national interests, Arctic states, marine transport routes, Arctic, international agreements, global warming, legal regime, environmental protection, ice melting

Abstract: This article analyzes the legislative wording of the motion for judgment of acquittal, which from the perspective of the Russian language rules creates ambiguity for making a rehabilitating decision. This in turn, leads to the fact that the theory of criminal procedure features different interpretations of such terms as “failure of evidence” and “lack of proof” used in the Article 302 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation to denote the circumstances for acquittal of the defendant. Similar technical and legal inaccuracies are not only the subject of scientific discussion, but also carry practical importance, since the accurate determination of facts that comprise the grounds for the judgment of acquittal depends whether the court finds the defendant not guilty. The conclusion is made that the existing form of articulation of the grounds for the judgment of acquittal is not unified. Taking into account the Articles 299 and 339 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, the author agrees with the need for validating “negative facts” in the course of acquittal procedure. The author forms an opinion on feasibility of omitting the term “lack of proof” in the text of the law, since by virtue of the principle of presumption of innocence, acquittal of the defendant without additional regulation is equally possible in the instance of proof of the absence of circumstances specified in law or failure to proof.

Keywords: non-involvement, unproven, absence, presumption of innocence, acquitting, grounds for acquittal, acquittal, innocence, justice, guilt

Abstract: The object of this research is justice and balance viewed as the paramount legal categories. The subject of this research is the interrelation between them reflected in the materials of law enforcement practice of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Research methodology leans on the systemic and axiological approaches; general scientific methods of deduction, induction, analysis and synthesis; sociological method of content analysis used in studying the decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation; as well as statistical for quantitative processing of the acquired data. Special attention is given to the questions of fair coordination of the constitutionally protected values and balanced distribution of subjective rights and legal responsibilities among the parties to legal relations. The following conclusions determine the theoretical novelty of this research: 1) analysis of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation demonstrated the semantic correlation between the legal categories of justice and balance; 2) it is admissible to consider the orientation towards achieving certain balance as one of the essential criteria of the principle of justice; 3) classification of the objects amenable to balancing in relation to each other is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the principle of justice; 4) such classification determines the two level of balance: the firs one implies coordination of the constitutionally protected values, while the second one suggest the coordination of rights and responsibilities of the parties to legal relations; 5) formulation is provided to the three general riles of balanced distribution of subjective rights and legal responsibilities within the specific legal relations; 6) an original definition is given to the legal balance, which largely reveals the content of the principle of justice.

Keywords: constitutionally protected values, claim to justice, Constitutional Court, legal principles, public interest, private interest, principle of justice, justice, common good, legal balance

Abstract: This article provides a peer review of the conceptual monographic research of PhD in Law, Docent Valentina Mikhailovna Bolshakova “The Dynamics of Judicial Reforms in Russia in late XIX – early XX centuries (historical-legal research)”. The relevance and timeliness of the monograph are determined by the need to acquire the knowledge on the judicial sphere for the purpose of implementation of the effective and fair justice, as well as establishment of an optimal and modern judicial system. The solution to this problem is requires scientific substantiation. The Russian historical-legal science has accumulated a vast number of works that describe the functionality and social role of the judiciary. However, there are no research within the historical-legal literature dedicated to the dynamics of judicial transformations in the structural, organizational, and functional aspects of the judicial system. The monograph of V. M. Bolshakova successfully fills the gap in the field of studying judicial structures, representing fundamental research on the dynamics of the Russian judiciary, which is well-founded from a general theoretical, applied and historical perspectives. It not only reveals the details of the structure of the judicial system at various stages of its existence, but also the causes and consequences of judicial reforms and transformations. The authorial analysis of the judicial reforms also contains the concept of their dynamics. The examination of judicial institutions is of particular value.

Keywords: periodization, classical chrono-discrete institute, judicial branch, judicial reforms, principles of the judiciary, the structure of the judiciary, judicial system, judicial institutions, conceptuality, social sensitivity