Sustainable Rural Development and Digitalization: Legal Aspect

Ivakin Viktor Ivanovich PhD in Law Associate Professor of the Department "Legal Support of Public Administration and Economics" of the Law Institute of the Russian University transport 127994, Russia, Moscow, Obraztsova str., 9 p. 9 list.interneta@yandex.ru

Legal aspects of sustainable rural development and the role of digital technologies in this issue are an important element of today's realities. The fact is that at present, during the period of digitalization, not enough attention is paid to the designated problem by legal scholars engaged in agrarian law. Insufficient attention is also paid to this issue by representatives of municipal and information law. For example, in scientific works, in particular, articles, not to mention monographs and dissertations, although, on the other hand, there are such studies of a non-legal nature ^[1]. Nevertheless, it is clear to everyone that this ratio is very relevant. Thus, the websites of rural municipalities show various problems of farmers. Among them, the adoption of relevant regulatory legal acts regulating the use of digital technologies at the local level. On the pages of the websites of these entities, you can also get, in particular, other information that somehow represents the situation in the analyzed areas. Hence, already from this provision, to a certain extent it will be seen how effectively agrarian relations are developing, for example, in a separate part of the territory of a particular subject of the Russian Federation.

            In the present age of digitalization, digital technologies are of great importance for the functioning of the entire system of legal norms. In this regard, we will analyze some issues of the relationship of these categories, their interaction with each other, the order of regulation of relevant public relations in agriculture, in the agricultural sector. Although, on the other hand, these problems may be the subject of more detailed research.

To disclose the designated issue, it is necessary to refer not only to the norms of law, but also to practical activities affecting the use of information technologies in the designated area. However, first of all, it should be noted that relations related, for example, to digitalization in our country are regulated by various regulatory and legal sources. Among them, in particular, Federal Law No. 149-FZ of July 27, 2006 "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection", the last amendments to which were made on July 14, 2022. Here it is also necessary to mention Federal Law No. 8-FZ of February 9, 2009 "On ensuring access to information on the activities of state bodies and local self-government bodies", which regulates access to information related to the work of not only the relevant state structures, but also rural municipalities. Additions to this act were made, for example, on July 14, 2022. Naturally, here it is necessary to name the sources regulating agricultural relations directly. Among them, first of all, the Federal Law "On the development of Agriculture", the last changes to which were made in December 2021. These are also other, including federal laws, decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, resolutions of the government of the country, acts of the subjects of the Federation.

        Next, let's go, for example, to the website of any rural municipality. A picture of the position of the specified territory is visible from it. Previously, of course, it was impossible to imagine such a thing. So, in order to get information before the so-called Internet period, it was necessary to contact the organization directly in real time, or call this government institution or contact the media, including newspapers, magazines. So, for example, on the website of the Ivensky Village Council https://ss07.rmorshansk.ru /, located in Central Russia, Tambov region, Morshansky district, where we find that this authority has such a structure as the permanent commission on budget, social issues and taxation. We find the surname of the chairman of this standing committee and the surnames of the commission members. Also on the website there is information about the chairman of another permanent structure, namely the commission on local self-government. No other such relevant commissions have been found in the composition of this Council of People's Deputies, that is, here, in the specified rural municipality, only two permanent commissions function. Although, apparently, there could be a permanent commission directly related to agriculture. At the same time, as can be seen, the relevant decisions on the composition of the above-mentioned commissions were issued on April 1, 2008. In addition, the regulations on these commissions, adopted on March 1, 2011, are published on the website. This normative act has three chapters and more than twenty articles. And any person, including specialists of agrarian law, wherever he is, on any territory of the country or abroad, can get acquainted with this source of law, if desired, give an analysis of it, compare it with the acts of other rural municipalities and draw the necessary conclusions. And all this is possible only thanks to the Internet, that is, digital technologies. Thus, from the designated act, which is the regulation for 2011, it follows that on the basis of the Charter of the said rural entity, the council may elect from among the deputies for the term of its powers the corresponding standing commissions. These structures are necessary in order to pre-consider and prepare issues related to the competence of the SND. It can be seen from here that thanks to such technical technologies, it is possible to get acquainted with the work of any permanent commission of any, including rural municipalities, to see their composition, regulations on these commissions, the nature of their activities.

          On the website of the specified village council of the Morshansky district, you can find the column "Council decisions". This column contains the decisions taken by this council in the period over the past five years, that is, from 2017 to 2022. Of these, you can view the newest ones. So, it can be seen that 23 decisions were published in 10 months of the current period of 2022. Among them, for example, the decision, which was issued on June 23, 2022. This act has No. 216. The specified decision approved the mechanism for posting on the Internet on the official website of the designated local rural self-government body, as well as providing certain information in connection with publication in the mass media. Namely, those data that are related, for example, to income, expenses, property and property obligations, which are provided by persons holding a position in the specified rural municipality, or rather substituting municipal positions in such an entity. Or substitute positions in local rural authorities. In addition, the document also discussed the procedure for providing the designated information by persons who fill the positions of heads of rural institutions of the municipality of this village council. This decision was made on the basis of the relevant federal laws. Namely, Federal Law No. 131-FZ of October 6, 2003 "On the General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation". This act establishes fundamental principles in the field, including rural local self-government and Federal Law No. 273-FZ of December 25, 2008 "On Combating Corruption". The latter source, in turn, is aimed at combating this process. In this connection, the designated local decision invalidated similar decisions of this village council, adopted in 2014 and 2015, related to the introduction of appropriate amendments to the said act and 2 decisions for the past, 2021. According to paragraph 3 of the analyzed act issued by the specified rural municipality, this decision is published in the print media, namely the published bulletin and everything is posted on the website. Control over the execution of the decision is entrusted to one of the permanent commissions, namely the commission that deals with problems related to local self-government. In accordance with paragraph 1 of the decision, the duties of the designated self-government bodies of this village council for the placement of the above-mentioned information are established. At the same time, as stated in the cited rule of law, information is necessarily published on the Internet not only about income, but also other information, and not only, for example, persons filling rural municipal positions, but also their spouses, as well as children who have not reached the age of majority, except in some cases. It can be seen from this that the cited norm has been consolidated on the basis of the relevant federal act. The decision states that such information is information about real estate, where not only the area should be indicated, but also the type and countries where such real estate objects are located. The Internet also publishes information about the income that the employee and family members of the employee have, information about vehicles that are owned by these entities. This information should indicate the types of vehicles and their brand, as well as indicate information about those sources at the expense of which land plots, vehicles or a security were purchased, in particular. Or a share in the authorized capital of an organization, or digital financial assets or digital currency, in the case when expenses exceed the employee's income for the last 3 years preceding the reporting year. This information is posted on the official website in a certain form, which is given in the relevant appendices.

Nevertheless, on the basis of paragraph 4 of this Procedure, it is prohibited to indicate a number of certain information on the website of this village Council of People's Deputies. For example, other information, which includes information about other incomes of an employee and his minor children. It is also prohibited to indicate personal data related to the surname, first name, patronymic, year of birth, etc. of spouses, children or other family member of certain employees. It is also prohibited to provide information that allows you to determine the place of residence of these persons, their phone numbers and other information about the means of communication, for example, e-mail. A ban has been introduced related to the publication on the website of this rural municipality and those data that will allow determining the location of an immovable object belonging to these entities. From here it can be seen that the latest technologies seriously contribute to the implementation of legal norms that are directed against the corruption component.

There are other information on the official website of the considered Ivensky rural settlement. In particular, the budget performance report for 6 months of 2022, the report for 12 months of 2021. The column related to the reception of citizens is of interest. So, there is a schedule of reception of the population approved by the order. All this is convenient. The fact is that, probably, almost every villager has a computer or a phone or a laptop, and always, if necessary, you can see the work schedule of the administration of this rural municipality. The specified schedule shows that the reception is conducted not only by the head of the Village Council, but also by his deputy. The schedule of reception related to personal issues has also been approved, this schedule was approved on October 27, 2020 by the order of the head of the Village Council for No. 10-R.

The relevance is also represented by the graph of the website of the specified village council related to public hearings. When downloading the information, it can be seen that in this case it is said about the issues of surveying on the territory of the rural municipality in question, due to the fact that the water supply network is being designed. An explanatory note is given to the specified surveying project, which includes certain information, surveying drawings and other data. There is also other information on the website of the rural municipal body in question. So, it is recommended to turn to the help of a virtual assistant for tax issues. There is also a notice on the site, which says about the beginning of the development of a project related to heat supply. All this is aimed at improving the life of the rural population of this territory.

Interest is also aroused by the column of the site, where we are talking about staffing in the territory of the rural municipality in question. So, information is given about the qualification requirements that a person needs to fill certain positions in this SND. All requirements are approved, as can be seen, by a certain act, expressed in the corresponding decision. However, there are no vacancies now.

A lot of information is devoted, as mentioned above, to personal data. For example, on the basis of Federal Law No. 152-FZ of July 27, 2006 "On Personal Data", the relevant resolution was approved by the specified administration. The designated act has No. 72. Based on this source, a special procedure for access to the premises associated with the automated system, as well as requirements for the premises where such systems are located, has been established.

From here, thanks to digital modern technologies, you can quickly get acquainted, for example, with the personal composition of the deputies of the district, which includes the municipal rural formation we are analyzing, namely the Morshansky district of the Tambov region. From the specified site https://rmorshansk.ru It follows from the administration of this unit that the deputies of the designated named rural district council in most cases are elected heads of rural and settlement administrations. The head of the village administration under consideration, who is a deputy of both the village council and the district council of People's deputies, is no exception. Also, pensioners, heads of forestry departments, directors of a number of secondary schools, chairman of the district Council of People's deputies, teachers, heads of branches of secondary schools, heads of: production site, department of the Rosselkhoznadzor, heads of farms, kindergarten teachers, directors of agricultural firms, district internists were elected as deputies of the said rural district council of deputies. At the same time, it should be noted that, with only a few exceptions, all deputies have higher education.

For further consideration of the issue, we open, for example, the website page of such a municipality as the Troitskoroslyai Village Council https://r32.tmbreg.ru/10125/15585.html , which is located on the territory of the Central Federal District, that is, the Central Federal District of Russia, also in the Tambov region, but in the Sosnovsky district of this subject of the Russian Federation. It clearly shows that the site is functioning successfully and is a source of obtaining the relevant necessary information of an official nature. Namely, information follows from it, for example, about who heads the village council, his surname, first name, patronymic. The address of the location of this authority organization, the hours of reception by the management. However, nevertheless, for example, it is not possible to find specifically who is a deputy of the specified council, the corresponding surnames are not named here, since the site shows that this page has not been found. But perhaps it may fill up soon. Since, most likely, elections of deputies were held on the territory of the entity in question on September 11, 2022, as elsewhere in the country. We return again to the main page of the site of this rural education. And here the structure of the council is also not filled in and an inscription appears that an error has occurred. There is no information here, for example, about permanent commissions, although on the websites of other rural similar administrations, as mentioned above, you can find relevant information, or rather the corresponding columns.

         Analyzing further the website of the Troitskoroslyai village Council, it should be said that the structure of the administration of this authority includes, in addition to the head of administration, also the chief accountant, specialist, technical and service personnel. This organization operates on the basis of the relevant Charter, adopted as follows from the information, in 2011, and which is constantly being amended.

It can be seen from this that the activities of rural municipalities and the use of digital technologies are regulated by various regulations relating to both municipal law and agrarian law. The Constitution of the Russian Federation also occupies an important place here. The local self-government bodies in this act are directly referred to in chapter 8 of the basic law of the country, which includes several articles. The sources of regulation in these areas also include various codes that have the status of federal laws. Here you can name the Land Code, the Forest Code, Urban Planning and other relevant codified acts.

           The sources of regulation of the relations in question are, in addition, also acts issued in the subjects of the Federation, in which the appropriate place is given to the regulation of municipal relations, including rural municipalities. Moreover, these are not only issues related to digital technologies, but also other ones. For example, housing and communal complex, culture, mass media, etc. Among them are Constitutions of subjects and their charters.

         At the same time, it should be said that the corresponding analysis, for example, of the latest textbooks on agrarian ^[2], municipal ^[3] and information law ^[4], shows that none of them stand out paragraphs, not to mention chapters on the use of information technology in the system of local self-government local governments, including rural self-government. This circumstance undoubtedly confirms that there is actually no awareness of the phenomenon of using the named technical method of information and its significance in management activities in the agricultural sphere of relations. The place of computer technology for solving problems at the local level, which include ecology, agriculture, education, etc., is not realized. Although, nevertheless, there will be certain scientific research, including those related to the agricultural sector, where the technical technologies and agriculture in question are affected from the point of view of law, including on at the local municipal level. As an example, we can cite an article by N.I. Solovyanenko ^{[5, pp. 50-51]}, in which the author touches on the problems of legal regulation of digitalization of agricultural business. At the same time, it is rightly pointed out that digitalization, including agriculture, will require appropriate changes to legislation. In general, such changes are partially, for example, in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation Articles 160, 309, 783.1 have already been made.

This is also evidenced by the First International Scientific and Practical Conference "Digital Technologies and Law" held on September 23, 2022 in Kazan as part of an International Forum organized by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan under the auspices of the Government of the Russian Federation. The program of this event included presentations on various topics. Among them, among others, "Digitalization of zootechnical activity as a mechanism of legal regulation of animal husbandry by the norms of agrarian law". Speaker Solyanik S.V. – Master of Agricultural Sciences, researcher at the Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus on Animal Husbandry (Zhodino, Republic of Belarus). At the same time, no other similar studies were announced on the forum. At the same time, the planned collection of this conference has not yet been published, so it is not possible to analyze this article and other works, if they are provided by researchers. Although, it should be noted that according to the designated conference, it is planned to issue not one, but 6 volumes at once, where about 400 articles will be published. The publication date of the collection was scheduled for November 30, the upload date to the RSCI was December 20, 2022. Hence, at the same time, this fact indicates that considerable attention is paid to the correlation of legal issues of digitalization and agriculture. This is evidenced by the fact that among the listeners of this international forum, for example, the deputy head of the library of the Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, which is located in the city of Gorki of the Republic of Belarus. In addition, the head of the editorial and publishing department of the Izhevsk State Agricultural Academy (Izhevsk, Russia) and other persons are also among the listeners. All this is evidence that the topic we are considering is undoubtedly relevant. This is partially confirmed by studies that do not directly address legal issues, but analyze the problems of digitalization in agriculture. In these works, it is rightly noted that the most important strategy for the development of the agricultural sector of the country is the transition to the creation of sustainable development through the use of appropriate tools for digitalization of all fundamental agricultural processes that will create a high-quality sector of the economy in the future. The analysis of all solutions shows, scientists emphasize, that it is necessary to use artificial intelligence in the agricultural sphere, the use of big data, blockchain, drones, the Internet of things, agro-scouting, and therefore IT specialists need to be trained specifically for the agricultural sphere of relations ^{[6, pp. 11-12]}.

Regarding the legal aspects, research is needed, both of a dissertation and monographic nature, other scientific works on the digitalization of various types of agricultural activities. Such as legal issues of the use of digital technologies in agronomy, animal husbandry, seed production, horticulture, dacha farming, horticulture, and other sectors of the area under consideration. It is also the use of digital technologies and legal issues in various territories of rural settlements, which include auls, villages, hamlets, hamlets, settlements and other settlements. Interesting in this regard is the article of the candidate of Legal Sciences O.V. Popova, which the scientist titled "Digital Village" ^{[7, pp.534 – 538]}.

        Hence, the consideration of this issue indicates that it is necessary to continue the close interaction of digital technologies, agrarian relations and law, which will contribute to the development of these phenomena, so necessary for the development and establishment of progress. If necessary, legal acts may be adopted to regulate these relations. Moreover, the weighty word remains with representatives of scientific communities, specialists in both agrarian law and municipal law and information technology law, for joint activities in order to obtain effective results.