Responsibility as a Principle of Public Control in the Russian Federation

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     Porkashyan Margarita Arturovna Student, Department of "Theory of State and Law", Institute of Service and Entrepreneurship (branch), Don State Technical University in Shakhty 346500, Russia, Rostov region, Shakhty, ul. Shevchenko, 147 niipg2010@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Spektor Lyudmila Aleksandrovna PhD in Law Head of the Department "Theory of State and Law", Institute of Service and Entrepreneurship (branch), Don State Technical University in Shakhty 346500, Russia, Rostov region, Shakhty, ul. Shevchenko, 147 niipg2010@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction.

Numerous works by R. Y. Burimov, ^{[2, pp. 84-90]} M. A. Kilesso, ^{[7, pp. 24-30]} S. V. Narutto, ^{[8, pp. 13-18]} S. L. Nuzhnova, ^{[9, pp. 89-92]} O. are devoted to the analysis of the principles of organization and implementation of public control in the Russian Federation, enshrined in Russian legislation. A. Okolesnova, ^{[10, pp. 196-228]} I. V. Teplyashina, ^{[11, pp. 100-103]} as well as a number of other authors. However, the analysis of scientific and educational literature devoted to this institution of civil society has shown that insufficient attention, in our opinion, is paid to the study of issues of expanding the list of the above-mentioned principles of public control formalized in Russian legislation, which determines the choice of the topic of this scientific research, the purpose of which is not only to analyze the main problems associated with the consolidation of and the implementation of responsibility as a principle of public control, but also the development of a system of measures to resolve them.

The main text.

The Institute of Public Control in the Russian Federation acts as one of the most important legal guarantees for the implementation, protection and protection of the constitutional principles of democracy and public participation in the management of state affairs, since through it Russian citizens, public associations, other non-governmental non-profit organizations have the right to monitor the activities, acts and decisions of public authorities, state and municipal organizations, other bodies and organizations that are endowed by federal laws with the right to exercise certain public powers.

At the same time, the institute of public control, as we have already noted in previous studies, acts as a condition for ensuring parity in the model of modern Russian government, through which a balance of state and public interests is achieved when determining the directions of development of Russian society and the state. ^{[5, pp. 25-29]}

The organization and activity of the institute of public control is based on a certain system of principles - the basic, most general principles that determine the content and main directions of regulation of this institution of civil society in the Russian Federation.

Russian legislation at the federal level has fixed the basic principles of public control in Article 6 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the Basics of Public Control in the Russian Federation". These principles, based on their impact on the process of public control, can be classified into several groups: 1) principles of the organization of public control (this group, in particular, should include the priority of the rights and legitimate interests of man and citizen, voluntary participation in the exercise of public control, a variety of forms of public control); 2) principles of public control control (which include, for example, the publicity and openness of the exercise of public control and public discussion of its results, the inadmissibility of interference in the sphere of activity of political parties).

At the regional level, the principles of public control are enshrined in the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation regulating issues of public control, as well as on the organization and activities of regional public chambers. At the same time, the analysis of the regional legislation on public control shows that it can be classified into three groups according to the degree of formalization and detail of the principles of public control: 1) where the principles of public control enshrined in Article 6 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ of 21.07.2014 were taken as a model for fixing the principles of public control (for example, the Law of the Sverdlovsk Region of 19.12.2016 No. 151-OZ "On Public Control in the Sverdlovsk Region); 2) where these principles are not fixed at all (in in particular, the Law of the Republic of Tatarstan No. 62-ZRT dated 20.07.2017 "On the regulation of certain issues related to the implementation of public Control in the Republic of Tatarstan"); 3) where the principles of public control are enshrined not in regional laws on public control, but in the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation devoted to the organization and activities of regional public chambers (for example, The Law of the Krasnodar Territory dated 03.03.2017 No. 3575-KZ "On the Public Chamber of the Krasnodar Territory and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Krasnodar Territory").

An analysis of municipal regulatory legal acts on municipal public chambers (councils) shows that in most of them the principles of public control are not singled out separately, although a reservation is made that these subjects of public control are created, in particular, to implement certain principles. In particular, in the municipality of Krasnodar, the Municipal Public Chamber was established in accordance with the resolution of the Administration of the municipality of Krasnodar dated 18.08.2010 No. 6214 "On the Public Chamber of the Municipality of Krasnodar" for the implementation of democratic principles of civil society development, consideration of the needs and interests of citizens, protection of their rights and freedoms, effective resolution of local issues.

It seems that the list of principles of public control enshrined in Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the basics of public control in the Russian Federation" is not exhaustive and requires the addition of a number of other principles.

Firstly, this list should be supplemented with the principles of public control dedicated to the processes of organizing this institution of civil society, in particular, the principle of centralism and decentralization. The consolidation and implementation of this principle will make it possible to combine the concentration of issues of coordination of the processes of formation and functioning of some subjects of public control in the hands of other subjects of public control (for example, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation) with the consolidation of a list of subjects of competence and powers for a particular subject of public control, which he must carry out independently without interference from other subjects of public control control, as well as public authorities and their officials.

Secondly, the above-mentioned list of principles of public control should be supplemented with principles that fix the system of requirements for persons authorized to organize and conduct public control activities, as well as the rules of their behavior both in the process of carrying out the above-mentioned activities and outside of it (in everyday life), in particular, the principle of ethics and professionalism in activities of representatives of subjects of public control. The consolidation and implementation of this principle of public control will, on the one hand, increase the level of professionalism of persons organizing and conducting public control events, and on the other hand, minimize the risks of their violation of the rules of ethical duty, so as not to discredit the reputation of the institute of public control in the Russian Federation.

Thirdly, the list of principles of public control needs to be supplemented with general legal principles aimed at ensuring a full-fledged regulation of public relations in the field of public control, in particular, the principle of responsibility, the analysis of problems of consolidation and implementation of which, as well as ways to resolve them, is the purpose of this scientific research.

Responsibility as a principle of public control should be understood as the obligation of participants in public relations in the field of public control to undergo adverse consequences of their illegal behavior in case of violation of legal norms governing the organization and implementation of public control measures in the Russian Federation.

At the same time, the principle of responsibility applies both to the activities of representatives of subjects of public control, and to the activities of officials of public authorities, state and municipal organizations, other bodies and organizations implementing certain public powers on the basis of federal laws, whose activities, acts and decisions act as objects of public control.

The consolidation and implementation of responsibility as a principle of public control in the Russian Federation are associated with numerous problems, including the following:

Firstly, a certain problem in the consolidation and implementation of responsibility as a principle of public control is the lack of formalization of this institution of civil society in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which unprofitably distinguishes it from the institute of people's control, which was enshrined in the constitutions of the USSR of 1977 and the RSFSR of 1978. At the same time, these constitutions detailed the basic principles and goals of the organization and functioning of the institute of people's control, which made it possible to form a universal legal framework for the organization and conduct of measures of people's control in relation to the entire system of objects of people's control in the USSR (RSFSR as its union

Secondly, a certain problem is the lack of unification of the principles of public control in federal and regional legislation on public control, as well as in relevant municipal regulatory legal acts, which creates obstacles in the formation of a unified legal space in the field of formation and functioning of the institute of public control in the Russian Federation.

Thirdly, a significant problem in the consolidation and implementation of responsibility as a principle of public control is the fact that it is not mentioned in Article 6 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the basics of public control in the Russian Federation", along with a number of other principles that we mentioned earlier in this scientific study. In addition, this principle of public control, as a rule, is not mentioned in the regional laws on public control and on regional public chambers, as well as in the relevant municipal regulatory legal acts.

Fourth, a significant problem in the consolidation and implementation of responsibility as a principle of public control is, in our opinion, the fact that in the domestic scientific and educational literature, the main focus of researchers is on analyzing the role of this institution of public control in the mechanism of bringing to legal responsibility certain violators of the current legislation, ^{[1, pp. 22-28]} or on the analysis of the role of this principle in bringing to justice the objects of public control, as well as their representatives, in case of violation by the latter of the legislation on public control. ^{[3, p. 6-8; 6, p. 42-48]} However, the current legislation on public control does not contain provisions on the responsibility of officials and representatives of public authorities, state and municipal organizations, other bodies and organizations exercising certain public powers on the basis of federal laws, for example, for countering the activities of representatives of subjects of public control for the organization and conduct of its events, for concealing information that they must provide to subjects of public control at their request, for incomplete presentation of this information, its distortion, falsification of documents containing this information, obstruction of access of representatives of subjects of public control to visit objects of public control, etc.

Fifthly, a certain problem in the consolidation and implementation of responsibility as a principle of public control is the lack of elaboration in educational and scientific literature, as well as in local regulations of subjects of public control, of provisions on the responsibility of representatives of subjects of public control for not effective and unfair performance of their duties in the organization and conduct of public control events, which had the consequence is the disruption of these events, their conduct in violation of the deadlines specified in the legislation on public control.

Sixth, a significant problem in the consolidation and implementation of responsibility as a principle of public control is the lack of consolidation in the legislation on public control of the mechanism of responsibility of representatives of subjects of public control for concealing information from the heads of the subject of public control regarding their personal interest, which may affect the objectivity and impartiality of the organization and conduct of public control events.

Conclusion.

To resolve the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to develop and implement a number of measures, including the following:

1. The institution of public control should be enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, detailing in it the basic principles, forms, methods of public control, a list of its subjects and objects, or their identifying features. This will make it possible to unify Russian legislation on public control at the federal and regional levels, as well as relevant municipal regulatory legal acts.

2. The list of principles of public control, enshrined in Article 6 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 21.07.2014 "On the basics of Public Control in the Russian Federation", in order to ensure full and optimal legal regulation of public relations related to the organization and implementation of public control measures in Russia, needs to be supplemented by a number of principles, in particular: centralism and decentralization in the organization and activities of subjects of public control; ethics and professionalism in the activities of representatives of subjects of public control; responsibility.

3. At the same time, the principles of public control enshrined in federal and regional legislation on public control, as well as in relevant municipal regulatory legal acts, need to be unified with the simultaneous inclusion of the above-mentioned principles in the list of principles of public control, first of all, the principle of responsibility.

4. Federal Law No. 212-FZ of 21.07.2014 "On the Fundamentals of Public Control in the Russian Federation" should contain provisions detailing the implementation of responsibility as a principle of public control.

5. Due to the fact that the legislation of the Russian Federation does not contain a mechanism for bringing to legal responsibility persons guilty of countering the processes of organizing and implementing public control measures, it is necessary to develop and consolidate in the current criminal and administrative legislation measures of responsibility of officials and official representatives of public authorities, state and municipal organizations, other bodies and organizations exercising certain public powers on the basis of federal laws, whose activities, acts and decisions act as objects of public control, for countering the legitimate activities of representatives of subjects of public control.

As we have already noted in previous studies, in order to implement responsibility as a principle of public control, it is necessary to supplement, in particular, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with Article 149.1 "Obstruction of the lawful activities of representatives of subjects of public control", which should provide for criminal penalties for perpetrators. ^{[4, pp. 184-185]}

In turn, the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation should be supplemented with Article 5.70 "Violation of the legislation on public control of the Russian Federation". ^{[4, p. 185]}  In this article, it is necessary to provide for administrative and legal liability measures against both representatives of subjects of public control and representatives, as well as officials, objects of public control, for violation of legislation on public control, for example, in terms of concealing information necessary to provide during public control events, its distortion and falsification of documents containing the specified information, not allowing representatives of subjects of public control to carry out the specified activities on the territory of objects of public control, etc.

6. The legislation on public control should detail the institution of conflict of interest, fixing in it the mechanism of responsibility of representatives of subjects of public control for concealing information from the heads of the subject of public control regarding their personal interest, which may affect the objectivity and impartiality of the organization and conduct of public control events. In particular, it is necessary to formalize the possibility of removing representatives of subjects of public control who have a personal interest in conducting relevant public control events from participating in them. In case of repeated concealment of such information, it should be possible to prohibit these persons from exercising such powers, for example, for a period of five years or more. If the above-mentioned information about personal interest is repeatedly concealed by a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, regional public chambers, municipal public chambers (councils), then this should be the basis for termination of membership in these subjects of public control of these persons.

It seems that the implementation of the above-mentioned proposals and measures will not only strengthen the institution of public control in the Russian Federation, but also increase its authority and significance in the eyes of society.