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Administrative and municipal law
Reference:

Representative Bodies of Local Self-Government as an Object of Public Control: Constitutional and Legal Analysis

Goncharov Vitalii Viktorovich

PhD in Law

Associate Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Higher Education, Polytechnic Institute (branch), Don State Technical University in Taganrog

347900, Russia, Rostov region, Taganrog, Petrovskaya str., 109a

niipgergo2009@mail.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 

DOI:

10.7256/2454-0595.2024.1.39878

EDN:

RYXAZA

Received:

01-03-2023


Published:

06-07-2023


Abstract: This article is devoted to the analysis of modern problems and prospects for the development of the institute of public control over representative bodies of local self-government in the Russian Federation. This topic is of particular relevance due to the fact that these public authorities are directly elected by the people. The subject of the analysis is the relevant provisions of the legislation of Russia devoted to the consolidation of the mechanism of organization and implementation of public control over the activities, acts and decisions of representative bodies of local self-government and the practice of their application. General and private scientific methods were used in the work, in particular, dialectical, logical, historical-legal, formal-legal, comparative-legal. The author examines the role and place of representative bodies of local self-government in the system of public authorities in the Russian Federation. The paper identifies and formalizes the main problems that hinder the organization and implementation of public control over representative bodies of local self-government in the Russian Federation, develops and justifies a system of measures for their optimal resolution. The issues of development in the scientific legal doctrine and introduction of new forms, methods, principles and types of public control measures in relation to representative bodies of local self-government in the Russian Federation need further scientific understanding.


Keywords:

public control, democracy, representative bodies, local self-government, responsibility, powers, formation, problems, development prospects, Russian Federation

This article is automatically translated.

Introduction.

The processes of organization and implementation of public control over local self-government bodies are widely studied in the works of A. E. Epifanov, [8, pp. 29-33] V. A., Zhuravleva, [9, pp. 122-126] M. A. Kilesso, [11, pp. 24-30] A.V. Kurochkin, [12, pp. 420-426] T. N. Mikheeva, [13, pp. 145-148] D. G. Novikova, [14, pp. 92-93] E. D. Tsareva, [17, pp. 198-202] as well as a number of other authors.

However, in the above-mentioned works, the proportion of studies devoted to the analysis of representative local self-government bodies as an object of public control does not seem to be sufficient, since this type of public authorities occupies a central place in the system of municipal government.

This circumstance determines the choice of the topic of this scientific research, the purpose of which is not only to analyze modern problems that hinder the organization and implementation of public control over the activities, acts and decisions of representative bodies of local self-government, but also to develop a system of measures to resolve these problems.

In turn, the relevance and practical significance of this scientific research consists in the need to ensure the further development of the institute of public control at the municipal level by resolving identified and formalized problems that hinder the organization and conduct of its activities in relation to representative bodies of local self-government.

The main text.

The system of public power in the Russian Federation is represented by federal and regional state authorities, as well as local self-government bodies, which exercise the powers delegated to them by the multinational people of Russia, which, in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, is the bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power in the country. Public authorities in Russia are both directly elected by the people and are formed by public authorities elected by the people. At the same time, the organization and conduct of the process of implementation by the people of forms of direct democracy (for example, free elections and referendums), as well as the powers delegated by them to public authorities, need constant monitoring by society in order to prevent usurpation of power, misappropriation or retention of powers, or falsification of the results of direct forms of democracy. In this regard, the institute of public control acts as the most important legal guarantee for the implementation, protection and protection of the constitutional principles of democracy and public participation in the management of state affairs, thanks to which citizens of the country, as well as numerous public associations and non-governmental non-profit organizations are able to exercise control not only over public authorities and their officials, but also over state and municipal organizations, other bodies and organizations that are endowed by federal laws with the right to exercise certain public powers.

Despite the fact that the possibility of organizing and implementing public control measures in relation to the activities, acts and decisions of local self-government bodies is directly provided for by the legislation on public control, in particular, Federal Law No. 212-FZ of 21.07.2014 "On the Basics of Public Control in the Russian Federation", the practical implementation of this institution of civil society, as we have already as noted in previous studies, [4, pp. 64-67] is associated with numerous problems. At the same time, a number of authors rightly note that despite these problems, [12, pp. 420-426; 7, pp. 78-81] public control in municipalities is the basis for the formation and development of civil society. [16, pp. 104-110]

The foundations of the legal status of local self-government bodies in the Russian Federation are defined in the Constitution of Russia, in Federal Law No. 131-FZ of 06.10.2003 "On General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation", a number of federal laws on the interaction of state authorities and local self-government bodies, for example, in Federal Law No. 414-FZ of 21.12.2021 "On the general principles of the organization of public Power in the Subjects of the Russian Federation", in regional and municipal charters, as well as in regional legislation on local self-government, and in relevant municipal regulatory legal acts.

In the context of this scientific research, we will analyze the problems of organizing and exercising public control over representative local self-government bodies, which, as a number of authors rightly point out, occupy the main place in the system of local self-government bodies [2, pp. 43-54; 10, pp. 255-262] for a number of reasons: 1) representative bodies of local self-government (their deputies) are the only bodies of municipal power within municipalities that can only be directly elected by the population of a given municipality, while heads of municipalities can be elected both by their population and by representative bodies of local self-government, and heads of local administrations that are executive and administrative bodies municipal formations may be appointed under a contract concluded based on the results of a competition (except in cases when the head of the municipality is simultaneously, in accordance with the charter of the municipality and the head of the local administration); 2) representative bodies of local self-government are endowed with a significant part of the powers granted by the Constitution of Russia and Federal Law No. 131-FZ of 06.10.2003 "On the general principles of the organization of local self-government in the Russian Federation" to municipal entities (in particular, the authority to adopt the charter of a municipal entity, determine the procedure for managing and disposing of property in municipal ownership, making a decision on the election of the head of a municipal entity, as well as on his resignation, etc.); 3) representative bodies of local self-government They are represented by a large deputy corps, which carries out its activities both in a collective form (by holding meetings of the most representative local government body, its individual committees and commissions), and through individual work (with appeals from citizens, legal entities, by sending deputy requests, etc.).

Among the main problems hindering the organization and implementation of public control over representative bodies of local self-government, the following can be identified:

Firstly, a significant problem is the lack of consolidation of the institution of public control in the Constitution of the Russian Federation (while a separate chapter 8 is devoted to local self-government). There is a conflict when constitutionally unintended subjects of public control, on the basis of Federal Law No. 212-FZ of 21.07.2014, organize and carry out their activities in relation to a variety of public authorities institutionalized in the Basic Law of the country. This circumstance, as we have already noted earlier, [3, pp. 169-186] unfavorably distinguishes the institute of public control in the Russian Federation from the institute of people's control of power, which was enshrined in the Constitution of the USSR of 1977 and the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978. At the same time, the above-mentioned constitutions defined the concept of the institution of people's control of power, fixed its structures and levels, described in detail the mechanism of interaction of state administration bodies of the USSR (RSFSR), including their local level, with the bodies of people's control. This, on the one hand, gave the people's control bodies authority and significance in the eyes of local government bodies, and on the other hand, increased the importance of people's control measures in the eyes of ordinary citizens of the USSR.

In this regard, it seems necessary to consolidate the institution of public control in the Constitution of the Russian Federation as, on the one hand, the most important legal guarantee for the implementation, protection and protection of the constitutional principles of democracy and public participation in the management of state affairs, and on the other hand, as one of the forms of direct democracy in the country. It should be noted that attempts to institutionalize public control in the Basic Law of the country were already made at the dawn of Russia's independence after 1991 in separate drafts of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In particular, one of the projects was supposed to dedicate one of the sections of the Basic Law to civil society in the Russian Federation, the most important institution of which is public control. However, the draft prepared in the Administration of the President of Russia and submitted to a national referendum on 12.12.1993 did not provide for a section on civil society, as well as the institute of public control itself.

It seems that the Constitution of the Russian Federation should fix not only the concept of the institution of public control, its forms, principles, methods, types of activities, but also the list of its subjects, criteria for identifying objects, the mechanism of interaction of subjects of public control with public authorities (including representative bodies of local self-government).

Secondly, a significant problem in the organization and conduct of public control measures in relation to the activities, acts and decisions of representative bodies of local self–government are the peculiarities of the formation of subjects of public control functioning at the municipal level - public chambers (councils) of municipalities.

An analysis of existing regulations on municipal public chambers, for example, the Regulations "On the Public Chamber of the Municipality of Krasnodar", shows that they include members elected by representative bodies of local self–government (for example, in the municipality of Krasnodar, this is half of the members of the Public Chamber - 12 people), as well as appointed by the head of the municipality (in particular, there are 12 of them in the municipality of Krasnodar). However, in most municipalities, as we have already noted earlier, the heads of municipalities are not directly elected by the population, but are elected by a representative body of local self-government (as in the above-mentioned municipality of the city of Krasnodar).

Thus, the public chamber (council) of a municipality, designed to monitor the activities, acts and decisions, including the representative body of local self-government, as a rule, consists partially or completely of members appointed by this representative body of local self-government, which calls into question both the legitimacy, effectiveness, and also, the very social nature of such subjects of public control.

In this regard, it seems necessary to fix in Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the basics of public Control in the Russian Federation" the mechanism for the formation of subjects of public control (except for the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, the procedure for the formation of which is regulated by a separate Federal Law). As an option, the public chambers (councils) of municipalities can be recruited from members who will pass a competitive selection by voting of voters living in the territory of this municipality on the website on the Internet "Public Services" (https://www.gosuslugi.ru ). The right to nominate candidates for this competition should be granted, in particular, to groups of citizens of the Russian Federation (for example, making up at least 0.1% of the total number of adult citizens of Russia registered in the territory of this municipality), local branches of public associations, as well as other non-governmental non-profit organizations. The formation of the composition of the competition commission, which will oversee the organization and conduct of this competition, should be entrusted to a higher subject of public control – the public chamber of the subject of the Russian Federation on whose territory this municipality is located (this will exclude the possibility of exerting pressure on the course of the competitive selection procedure by the municipal authorities in this municipality).

Thirdly, a serious problem, in our opinion, is the absence in the scientific and educational literature of mass studies devoted to the development of specific principles, methods, forms, types of public control measures in relation to the activities, acts and decisions of representative bodies of local self-government. It should also be borne in mind that the system of municipalities in the Russian Federation is quite complex and multilevel. In particular, according to the number of residents, municipalities can have both a small number of citizens and consist of hundreds of thousands and even millions of citizens (for example, according to unofficial data, the number of residents actually living in the municipality of Krasnodar may exceed 2 million people). [18] In this regard, it seems necessary to instruct the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation To analyze, together with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, the current regulations on municipal public chambers (councils) of municipalities in order, on the one hand, to identify the most successful forms, types, methods of implementing public control measures at the municipal level, and on the other hand, to develop model regulations "On the Public Chamber (Council) municipal formation", "On public control on the territory of the municipality".

Fourth, a significant problem in the organization and implementation of public control over the activities, acts and decisions of representative bodies of local self-government, as we have already noted in previous studies, [6, pp. 76-79] is the weak development of information support for the organization and conduct of public control activities at the municipal level.

It seems that it is necessary at the federal level to develop, under the leadership of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and with the organizational, technical and material support of the Government of the Russian Federation, a Federal program for the creation and technical support of sites on the Internet of subjects of public control that will allow Russian citizens, public associations and other non-governmental non-profit organizations to participate online in the process organization and implementation of public control measures, including by initiating them. In addition, thanks to the functioning of these sites, subjects of public control will have operational information: on the results of consideration by local self-government bodies of appeals from citizens living on the territory of this municipality; on the effectiveness and efficiency of decisions taken by local self-government bodies (since this problem, according to a number of authors, is significant especially at the level of municipalities). [1, pp. 41-43; 15, pp. 119-122]

Fifthly, a certain problem in the field of organization and implementation of public control over representative bodies of local self-government is the lack of elaboration of the institute of electoral control in the current electoral legislation. The system of public control over the election process, as we noted in previously published works, [5, pp. 66-69] essentially boils down to the activities of public observers. However, recent changes to the electoral legislation (for example, regarding the introduction of the institute of remote voting) have significantly limited the possibilities of electoral public control, which requires the development of new methods, techniques of public control over remote voting (especially in elections of deputies of representative bodies of local self–government - as the most numerous type of elections).

Sixth, an important problem in the organization and implementation of public control over representative bodies of local self-government is the lack of consolidation in the current criminal and administrative legislation of measures of legal responsibility of officials of public authorities (including deputies of representative bodies of local self-government, officials of the apparatus of these authorities) for actions that create obstacles in the implementation of representatives subjects of public control of its relevant activities. In this regard, it is necessary to supplement the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses with relevant articles on the establishment of measures of administrative and criminal responsibility for offenses and crimes related to countering the legitimate activities of subjects of public control.

Conclusion.

Based on the results of the conducted scientific research , a number of conclusions can be drawn:

1. The activities, acts and decisions of representative bodies of local self-government are one of the types of objects of public control in Russia, which requires the organization and implementation of its relevant activities by subjects of public control on a regular basis.

2. This institution of civil society should be enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, providing for the possibility of its organization and implementation in relation to representative bodies of local self-government as one of the most important objects of public control in the country.

3. Federal Law No. 131-FZ of 06.10.2003 "On the General principles of the Organization of local Self-Government in the Russian Federation" should contain provisions detailing the limits, methods, principles, forms and types of public control measures that need to be organized and implemented in relation to the activities, acts and decisions of representative bodies of local self-government.

4. The list of subjects of public control that can organize and conduct public control measures in relation to representative bodies of local self-government, as well as the mechanism of formation of these subjects, which would exclude the participation of the above-mentioned public authorities in the selection and approval of candidates for members of these subjects of public control, requires clarification.

5. Due to the fact that the legislation of the Russian Federation does not contain a mechanism for bringing deputies of representative bodies of local self-government to legal responsibility for countering the legitimate activities of subjects of public control when organizing and conducting public control measures in relation to the activities, acts and decisions of these public authorities, it is necessary to develop and consolidate in the current criminal and administrative legislation measures of responsibility of deputies of representative bodies of local self-government, as well as officials of the apparatus of the above-mentioned public authorities, for the above-mentioned opposition.

References
1. Bagmet, A.M., & Bychkova E. I. (2021). Some problems of realization of the constitutional right of citizens to appeal to state authorities and local self-government bodies. Russian justice, 3, 41-43.
2. Byalkina, T. M. (2018). Representative bodies in the structure of local self-government bodies: legal foundations and practical problems. Bulletin of the Voronezh State University. Series: Law, 4(35), 43-54.
3. Goncharov, V. V. (2019). Constitutional and legal foundations of public control in the Russian Federation. Monograph. Moscow: "Alicegroup".
4. Goncharov, V. V., Gritsai, D. V., & Pavlov, N. V. (2020). Executive bodies of local self-government as an object of public control in the Russian Federation. Agrarian and land law, 12(192), 64-67.
5. Goncharov, V. V., Davydova, E. M., Petrenko, E. G., & Poyarkov, S. Yu. (2023). Electoral forms of public control in the Russian Federation: modern problems of organization and implementation. Law and the State: theory and practice, 1(217), 66-69.
6. Goncharov, V. V., Maksimova, S. M., Petrenko, E. G., & Poyarkov, S. Yu. (2023). On problems and prospects of development of information support of public control in the Russian Federation. Law and state: theory and practice, 1(217), 76-79.
7. Gusev, A.V. (2012). Public control over representative authorities in the Russian Federation. Law enforcement agencies: theory and practice, 1, 78-81.
8. Epifanov, A. E. (2022). On the question of the implementation of human rights by local self-government bodies (theory and practice of public control). Philosophy of Social Communications, 1(58), 29-33.
9. Zhuravleva, V. A. (2019). Organization of public control in the practice of local self-government of the city of Belgorod: a sociological analysis. Alley of Science, 6(33), 122-126.
10. Karyukov, A.M. (2021). Representative bodies of municipalities of the Russian Federation: methods of formation and development trends at the present stage. Modern city: power, management, economy, 1, 255-262.
11. Kilesso, M. A. (2016). Principles of public control over the activities of local self-government bodies in Russia. Gaps in Russian legislation, 2, 24-30.
12. Kurochkin, A.V. (2022). Local self-government as an object of public control in the Russian Federation: problems and ways to solve them. Modern problems of linguistics and methods of teaching Russian at university and school, 35, 420-426.
13. Mikheeva, T. N. (2015). On some aspects of public control over local self-government bodies. Mari Legal Bulletin, 1(12), 145-148.
14. Novikov, D. G. (2018). On the issue of public control over the activities of local self-government. Scientific journal, 4(27), 92-93.
15. Sosnovskikh, A.V. (2015). Meetings of citizens – special rights to appeal to local self-government bodies! State and municipal management in the XXI century: theory, methodology, practice, 16, 119-122.
16. Usmanova, R. M. (2016). Public control in the system of local self-government as a factor in the development of civil society. The rule of law: theory and practice, 3(45), 104-110.
17. Tsareva, E. D., & Pavlov, N. V. (2019). Features of public control over the activities of local self-government bodies and officials. Synergy of Sciences, 40, 198-202.
18. [Electronic resource]. Retrieved from https://tass.ru/obschestvo/12946923

First Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The subject of the research in the article submitted for review is, as follows from its name, representative bodies of local self-government as an object of public control. The stated boundaries of the study are fully respected by the author. The methodology of the research is not disclosed in the text of the article, but based on the analysis of its content, it can be concluded that the scientists used universal dialectical, logical, historical-legal, formal-legal research methods. The relevance of the research topic chosen by the author is justified as follows: "Despite the fact that the possibility of organizing and implementing public control measures in relation to the activities, acts and decisions of local governments is directly provided for by legislation on public control, in particular, Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 07/21/2014 "On the Basics of Public Control in the Russian Federation", the practical implementation of this institution of civil society, as we It has already been noted in previous studies [4, pp. 64-67] is associated with numerous problems." The author also needs to list the names of the leading scientists involved in the study of the problems raised in the article, and reveal the degree of their study. The scientist does not directly say what the scientific novelty of the study is. In fact, it manifests itself in identifying a number of problems in the organization and implementation of public control over representative bodies of local self-government, as well as identifying possible ways to solve them. The author's proposals for the modernization of current legislation are quite interesting and well-reasoned (for example, "the Constitution of the Russian Federation should enshrine not only the concept of the institution of public control, its forms, principles, methods, types of measures, but also a list of its subjects, criteria for the identification of objects, the mechanism of interaction of subjects of public control with public authorities (including representative local self-government bodies)"; "it seems necessary to fix in Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 07/21/2014 "On the Basics of Public Control in the Russian Federation" the mechanism for the formation of subjects of public control (except for the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, the procedure for the formation of which is regulated by a separate Federal Law)", etc.). Thus, the article submitted for review It makes a definite contribution to the development of the sciences of constitutional and municipal law, and deserves the attention of the readership. The scientific style of the research is fully sustained by the author. The structure of the work is not entirely logical in the sense that in fact the final part of the study is missing. In the introductory part of the article, the author substantiates the relevance of the chosen research topic. In the main part of the work, the scientist identifies the main problems of the organization and implementation of public control in relation to representative bodies of local self-government, and also identifies possible ways to solve them. The content of the work fully corresponds to its name and does not cause any special complaints. The bibliography of the study is presented by 12 sources (monograph and scientific articles, analytical data). From a formal and factual point of view, this is quite enough. The sources used in writing the article allowed the author to reveal the research topic with the necessary depth and convincingly substantiate his positions on controversial issues. The appeal to opponents is general, not private. Basically, the author refers to certain theoretical works in support of his judgments. The scientific discussion is conducted by the scientist correctly. Conclusions based on the results of the study, combined in the final part of the work, are missing as such, which is unacceptable for a scientific article. The article needs additional proofreading, as it contains typos, spelling, punctuation, syntactic and stylistic errors. The interest of the readership in the article submitted for review can be shown by specialists in the field of constitutional and municipal law, provided that it is slightly improved: additional justification of the relevance of the research topic, disclosure of its methodology, clarification of the structure of the work, introduction of additional elements of discussion, refinement of its final part, elimination of violations in the design of the article.

Second Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

REVIEW of the article on the topic "Representative bodies of local self-government as an object of public control: constitutional and legal analysis". The subject of the study. The article proposed for review is devoted to topical issues of public control in relation to representative bodies of local self-government. The author examines the problems that arise in theory and in practice in this field. Thus, the main problems hindering the organization and implementation of public control over representative bodies of local self-government are highlighted, and an author's solution to the problems considered is proposed. The subject of the study was the norms of Russian legislation, the opinions of scientists, and practice materials. Research methodology. The purpose of the study is stated directly in the article. The author conducts a study, "the purpose of which is not only to analyze modern problems that hinder the organization and implementation of public control over the activities, acts and decisions of representative bodies of local self-government, but also to develop a system of measures to resolve these problems." Based on the set goals and objectives, the author has chosen the methodological basis of the study. In particular, the author uses a set of general scientific methods of cognition: analysis, synthesis, analogy, deduction, induction, and others. In particular, the methods of analysis and synthesis made it possible to summarize and share the conclusions of various scientific approaches to the proposed topic, as well as draw specific conclusions from the norms of legislation. The most important role was played by special legal methods. In particular, the author actively applied the formal legal method, which made it possible to analyze and interpret the norms of current legislation (first of all, the norms of the legislation of the Russian Federation, acts of the regional and municipal level). For example, the following conclusion of the author: "An analysis of existing provisions on municipal public chambers, for example, the Provisions on the Public Chamber of the Municipality of Krasnodar, shows that they include members elected by representative bodies of local government (for example, in the municipality of Krasnodar, this is half of the members of the Public Chamber – 12 people), as well as those appointed by the head of the municipality (in particular, there are 12 people in the municipality of Krasnodar)." Thus, the methodology chosen by the author is fully adequate to the purpose of the study, allows you to study all aspects of the topic in its entirety. Relevance. The relevance of the stated issues is beyond doubt. There are both theoretical and practical aspects of the significance of the proposed topic. From the point of view of theory, the topic of public control over the activities of representative bodies of local self-government is complex and ambiguous. Indeed, with the formal necessity and importance of such control, from a practical point of view it is difficult to implement. The author is right, noting in the work that "The activities, acts and decisions of representative bodies of local self-government are one of the types of objects of public control in Russia, which requires the organization and implementation of appropriate measures by subjects of public control on a regular basis. This institution of civil society should be enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, providing for the possibility of its organization and implementation in relation to representative bodies of local self-government as one of the most important objects of public control in the country." From a practical point of view, it should be recognized that it is necessary to improve legal regulation in this direction. Thus, scientific research in the proposed field should only be welcomed. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the proposed article is beyond doubt. Firstly, it is expressed in the author's specific conclusions. Among them, for example, is the following conclusion: "the public chamber (council) of a municipality, designed to monitor the activities, acts and decisions, including those of a representative local government body, as a rule, consists partially or completely of members appointed by this representative local government body, which calls into question as legitimacy, effectiveness, as well as the very social nature of such subjects of public control." These and other theoretical conclusions can be used in further scientific research. Secondly, the author suggests ideas for improving the current legislation. In particular, "Due to the fact that the legislation of the Russian Federation does not contain a mechanism for bringing deputies of representative bodies of local self-government to legal responsibility for countering the legitimate activities of subjects of public control in the organization and conduct of public control measures in relation to the activities, acts and decisions of these public authorities, it is necessary to develop and consolidate in the current criminal and in the administrative legislation, measures of responsibility of deputies of representative bodies of local self-government, as well as officials of the apparatus of the above-mentioned public authorities, for the above-mentioned opposition." The above conclusion may be relevant and useful for law-making activities. Thus, the materials of the article may be of particular interest to the scientific community in terms of contributing to the development of science. Style, structure, content. The subject of the article corresponds to the specialization of the journal "Administrative and Municipal Law", as it is devoted to legal problems related to the definition of legal aspects of public control over the activities of representative bodies of local self-government. The content of the article fully corresponds to the title, since the author considered the stated problems and achieved the research goal. The quality of the presentation of the study and its results should be recognized as fully positive. The subject, objectives, methodology and main results of the study follow directly from the text of the article. The design of the work generally meets the requirements for this kind of work. No significant violations of these requirements were found. Bibliography. The quality of the literature used should be highly appreciated. The author actively uses the literature presented by authors from Russia (Bagmet A.M., Bychkova E.I., Goncharov V.V., Davydova E.M., Petrenko E.G., Poyarkov S.Yu. and others). Many of the cited scholars are recognized scholars in the field of constitutional and municipal law. Thus, the works of the above authors correspond to the research topic, have a sign of sufficiency, and contribute to the disclosure of various aspects of the topic. Appeal to opponents. The author conducted a serious analysis of the current state of the problem under study. All quotes from scientists are accompanied by author's comments. That is, the author shows different points of view on the problem and tries to argue for a more correct one in his opinion. Conclusions, the interest of the readership. The conclusions are fully logical, as they are obtained using a generally accepted methodology. The article may be of interest to the readership in terms of the systematic positions of the author in relation to issues of public control over the activities of representative bodies of local self-government and legal regulation on this issue. Based on the above, summing up all the positive and negative sides of the article, "I recommend publishing"