Glasnost as a Principle of Public Control in the Russian Federation: 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

Introduction.

The issues of consolidating and implementing the legal principle of glasnost are widely studied in the works of A. I. Bagauetdinova, ^{[1, pp. 90-95]} V. V. Goncharov, ^[3] V. V. Grib, ^{[4, pp. 3-13]} D. N. Zakharenkov, ^{[6, pp. 22-26]} A. D. Khairov, ^{[12, pp. 162-166]} and also many other authors. At the same time, despite the fact that the principle of publicity is not fixed among the principles of public control in Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 07/21/2014 "On the Foundations of Public Control in the Russian Federation", its significance and role in various spheres of public control are actively explored in the works of S. V. Gromyko, ^{[5, pp. 124-131]} D. S. Mikheeva, ^{[8, pp. 76-80; 9, pp. 84-93]} T. N. Mikheeva, ^{[10, pp. 13-19]} E. E. Popova, ^{[11, pp. 167-174]} Y. S. Ovichnikova, ^{[13, pp. 106-109]} and some other scientists. At the same time, the number of studies devoted to substantiating the place and role of publicity in the system of principles of public control, identifying and formalizing the main problems preventing its consolidation in the current legislation on public control and implementation in practice of subjects of public control, developing and justifying a system of measures to resolve these problems, seems insufficient. This circumstance determines the choice of the topic of this scientific research, the purpose of which is to popularize the need to introduce this principle of public control into the conceptual apparatus of legislation on public control as the most important principle of this institution of civil society in the Russian Federation. Achieving this goal of scientific research involves solving a number of scientific tasks, among which the following can be distinguished: a) substantiation of the role and place of the institute of public control in the system of legal guarantees for the implementation, protection and protection of the constitutional principles of democracy and public participation in the management of state affairs; b) analysis of the system of principles of public control in the Russian Federation, enshrined in the legislation on public control; c) analysis of the concept of publicity as a principle of public control and its relationship with the concepts of the principles of publicity and openness, enshrined in Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 07/21/2014 "On the Basics of Public Control in the Russian Federation"; d) formalization and justification of the author's definition of the concept of "publicity" as a principle of public control in the Russian Federation (with a list of its main typifying features); e) identification and formalization of the main problems associated with the consolidation and implementation of the principle of transparency in the organization and activities of subjects of public control; f) development and justification of a system of measures to resolve these problems, including by making amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Russian Federation The Federation and the current legislation.

A number of scientific research methods are used in the work, including: formal-logical; historical-legal; comparative-legal; statistical; sociological, as well as a number of others.

The main text.

The Russian Constitution of 1993 consolidated the legal status of the multinational people of Russia as the sole source of power and bearer of sovereignty in the country, exercising their powers both directly (in particular, through the institution of free elections and referendums) and indirectly (for example, through the activities of public authorities and their officials).  However, the constitutional principles of democracy and the participation of society in the management of state affairs need a system of legal guarantees of implementation, protection and protection in order, on the one hand, to prevent the seizure of power (misappropriation or retention of authority by any public authorities and their officials), and on the other hand, to The powers delegated by the people were exercised in the interests of the whole people, or its majority, and not in the interests of foreign societies and States, or a minority of the population. The most important place in the system of legal guarantees of the above-mentioned constitutional principles is occupied by the institute of public control, formalized in Russian legislation since 2005, which allows citizens of the country, as well as public associations and other non-governmental non-profit organizations to participate in monitoring the activities, acts and decisions of state authorities, local governments, state and municipal organizations, other bodies and organizations that are endowed by federal laws with the right to exercise certain public powers.

The legal basis of the institute of public control in the Russian Federation is a set of its principles, that is, the basic, most general legal principles, in their entirety necessary and sufficient for the implementation of legal regulation of public relations related to the organization and implementation of public control measures on the territory of the country. The basic principles of public control are enshrined in Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 07/21/2014 "On the Basics of Public Control in the Russian Federation" (according to its 6th article, these principles are enshrined in 12). At the same time, a number of other normative legal acts also enshrine the principles of public control, in particular, in article 4 of Federal Law No. 76-FZ dated 06/10/2008 "On Public control over ensuring human rights in places of forced detention and on assistance to persons in places of forced detention." However, in the above-mentioned Federal Law, they are formulated as principles of public control and assistance to persons in places of forced detention. In addition, the list of principles enshrined in this Federal Law and in Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 07/21/2014 do not coincide (both in number and in the wording of the names). In particular, Federal Law No. 76-FZ of 06/10/2008 additionally highlights the principle of equality.

However, in our opinion, the list of principles of public control enshrined in Russian legislation on public control needs to be adjusted. In particular, we believe that the list of principles of public control in Russia, enshrined in current legislation, should be supplemented by the principle of transparency.

At the same time, the principle of publicity should not be identified with the principle of publicity and openness already enshrined in the legislation on public control (although in other languages, for example, English, the concept of publicity and publicity are identical and are designated by one word – "publicity"). The concept of glasnost has been used for a long time in the domestic scientific conceptual apparatus and legislative conceptual apparatus. In particular, the concept of "glasnost" in pre-revolutionary Russia was strongly associated with the concept of "voice". For example, members of various assemblies who have the right to vote – that is, the right to participate in decision-making - were called vowels. As follows from the pre-revolutionary Encyclopedic dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron, since "1785, members of city dumas have been called vowels, and since the introduction of zemstvo institutions, members of zemstvo assemblies, county and provincial ones have also been called." ^[2] A new breath in the use of this concept in the legislative conceptual apparatus was given by the founder of the Soviet state V. Lenin, who argued that glasnost is an integral element of democracy. ^{[7, p. 138]} This term was actively used in the 80s by Mikhail Gorbachev during perestroika, which ended with the collapse of the USSR. At the same time, in the above-mentioned cases, the concept of "glasnost" was used, on the one hand, as an antipode to the concept of "censorship", and on the other hand, as a means (tool) self-government of the people, the population, and its individual groups.

In turn, the concept of "publicity" focuses on the demonstrative nature of activities, events, etc. The concept of "openness" implies, on the one hand, the freedom to place (broadcast) information in the environment, and on the other hand, the absence of censorship on its transmission and placement (broadcast). Thus, the concept of "openness" is already the concept of "publicity". It covers this concept.

What are the characteristics of the concept of "glasnost" in the context of its use as a designation of one of the principles of public control?

Firstly, the principle of publicity implies bringing information about the organization and activities of subjects of public control, as well as about the public control measures they carry out, to the citizens of the Russian Federation.

Secondly, the implementation of the principle of transparency means that it is not allowed to conceal or distort any information that has become known to representatives of subjects of public control during the organization and conduct of public control events in Russia.

Thirdly, the principle of publicity presupposes the existence of a mechanism to ensure that information is communicated to the entire population (or its overwhelming majority).

Fourth, the principle of transparency is impossible without the development and implementation of a mechanism for the responsibility of any public authorities, their officials, legal entities and individuals for obstructing the processes of bringing the above-mentioned information to the population of the country.

Fifthly, the principle of publicity presupposes the absence of self-censorship of the above-mentioned information carried out by subjects of public control under the influence of both public authorities and other subjects of the political system of society (for example, political parties, social movements, etc.). At the same time, the absence of self-censorship of information should not mean a violation of the main features of the disseminated information about the organization and implementation public control in the Russian Federation, among which are: a) the timeliness and relevance of the information disseminated; b) its truthfulness (that is, it must correspond to reality); c) it should not be biased (it should not be distorted by personal, class, group, political, etc. assessment); d) it should be understandable, logically structured, reasoned, stated with taking into account all the rules of the Russian language.

The consolidation and implementation of the principle of transparency in the organization and activities of subjects of public control are associated with numerous problems, among which the following can be distinguished:

Firstly, a significant problem preventing the consolidation and implementation of glasnost as a principle of public control is the lack of formalization of this institution of civil society in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. This, on the one hand, undermines the authority of the institution of public control in the eyes of the population and the apparatus of officials, and on the other hand, does not allow us to determine the necessary and sufficient list of basic legal principles of the organization and functioning of this institution of civil society. In this regard, it seems necessary to amend and supplement the Basic Law of the country, in terms of consolidating the concept and principles of public control (including the principle of publicity), its objects, subjects, forms, methods and types of events.

Secondly, a certain problem, as we noted earlier, for ensuring the development of the institution of public control is, in our opinion, the lack of consolidation at the level of Federal law among the principles of public control of the principle of publicity. In this regard, in Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 07/21/2014 "On the Basics of Public Control in the Russian Federation", the principle of openness and publicity, enshrined in Article 6, should be divided into two separate principles: publicity and publicity.

Thirdly, a significant problem hindering the implementation of glasnost as a principle of public control is the lack of its consolidation in other normative legal acts on public control. In this regard, it is considered necessary, on the one hand, to include the principle of publicity as the legal basis for public control in Federal Laws No. 76-FZ dated 06/10/2008 "On Public Control over ensuring Human Rights in places of forced detention and on assistance to persons in places of forced detention"; No. 32-FZ dated 04.04.2005 "On The Public Chamber of the Russian Federation". In addition, model laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation and model normative legal acts of local governments on the organization and implementation of public control at the level of Russian regions and municipalities should be developed and consolidated at the level of federal laws.

Fourthly, a certain problem in the implementation, protection and protection of publicity as a principle of public control is the absence of measures of legal responsibility of public authorities, their officials, as well as other objects of public control, enshrined in criminal and administrative legislation, for countering the legitimate activities of representatives of subjects of public control to disseminate information related to the organization and conduct of public control measures. In this regard, it seems necessary to consolidate in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as well as the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, the relevant legal structures providing for a measure of criminal and administrative liability of persons for violation of publicity as a principle of public control.

Fifthly, a significant problem hindering the implementation of glasnost as a principle of public control is the lack of a systematic approach in securing legal guarantees for the implementation, protection and protection of this principle of public control.  In this regard, it seems necessary to develop and consolidate a system of measures to develop these legal guarantees. In addition, a system of measures for the development of publicity as a principle of public control should be developed and consolidated at the State level. For example, you should: a) oblige the media to provide free airtime on television, radio, newspaper and journal square are the representatives of subjects of public control for information on the organization and implementation of their activities of social control (regardless of the form of ownership and organizational-legal forms of data owners, media); b) require the public authorities to report on its activities to the subjects of public control of the appropriate level; C) to oblige the subjects of public control to report the results of its activities in the legislative (representative) bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government; g) to oblige the subjects of public control, to publish annual reports on their activities in the official mass media (newspaper "Rossiyskaya Gazeta", "Russian news", the official regional and local Newspapers and other media); d) to oblige the Public chamber of the Russian Federation together with the Government of the Russian Federation to organize the centralized training of bachelors, specialists and masters "PR in the field of public control" at the expense of the Federal budget; e) to compel the subjects of public control to organize the passage of their representatives (staff) regular advanced training at the expense of the Federal budget; g) to oblige the Public chamber of the Russian Federation together with the Government of the Russian Federation to develop a Federal program for the development of information transparency of the organization and activities of subjects of public control (in this program it should fix the stages of development of the system of information support of the organization and activities of subjects of public control); d) to compel the subjects of public control to create sites in the network "Internet" (and after the development and implementation of independent information and communications national network – the network), which is necessary to place the timetable of public control, the list of representatives of the subject of social control, the results of the conducted measures of social control, including the violations of the current legislation, the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, information on measures taken by public authorities, other public control measures for elimination of the revealed violations, etc.); C) to oblige the subjects of public control on their information sites in the network "Internet" to provide a mechanism for feedback from citizens of the Russian Federation; K) to require law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation on their websites in the Internet to report on the action taken on the results of the appeal to him of subjects of public control information and documents disclosing the misconduct of public monitoring of the current legal provisions and the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of citizens of the Russian Federation; l) to oblige the objects of social control to publish on their websites in the network "Internet" on the one hand, information about the outcomes in relation to their activities, acts and decisions of measures of social control, on the other hand, information on measures taken to eliminate the causes and conditions that gave rise to these violations of the current legislation and to the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of citizens of the Russian Federation which were identified during the organization and conduct of activities of public control his subjects; m) to oblige the laws governing the organization and functioning of the mass media, the owners of the media to create a separate headings, a program dedicated to the issues of organization and implementation of public control in the Russian Federation (with partial or full reimbursement for these activities from the Federal budget); n) to oblige the Public chamber of the Russian Federation to exercise control over the observance of the principle of publicity of the subjects of public control (with the right direction relevant recommendations of the data subjects).

Conclusion.

In the course of our research, we have made a number of conclusions, among which the following can be distinguished:

1. The Institute of Public Control in Russia 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, as it strengthens the opportunity for both citizens of the country and non-governmental non-profit organizations to participate in monitoring the activities, acts and decisions of public authorities, as well as other public facilities control.

2. The analysis of the system of principles of public control has shown that in the current legislation there is no unified approach in determining, on the one hand, the very name of these principles (for example, variants of their designation as "principles of public control", "principles of public control and assistance to persons in places of forced detention"), and on the other on the other hand, a personal list of these principles.

3. Publicity as a principle of public control in the Russian Federation should be understood as a set of legal norms that consolidate, on the one hand, a mechanism that guarantees the undistorted transmission of information about the organization and activities of subjects of public control, as well as about their public control activities to the citizens of the country, and on the other hand, a mechanism of responsibility any public authorities, their officials, as well as legal entities and individuals, for obstructing the processes of bringing the above-mentioned information to the population of the country.

4. The main problems related to the consolidation and implementation of the principle of transparency in the organization and activities of subjects of public control are: a) the lack of formalization of this institution of civil society in the Constitution of the country; b) the failure to consolidate at the level of Federal Law (or by-laws) the principle of transparency among the principles of public control; c) the absence of measures of legal responsibility of public authorities, their officials, as well as other objects of public control enshrined in criminal and administrative legislation, for opposing the legitimate activities of representatives of subjects of public control to disseminate information related to the organization and conduct of public control events; d) the lack of a systematic approach in securing legal guarantees for the implementation, protection and protection of the specified principle of public control.

5. The resolution of the above-mentioned problems will require the implementation of a system of measures: a) incorporation into the Basic Law of the country of the concept and principles of public control (including the principle of transparency), its objects, subjects, forms, methods and types of activities; b) consolidation of the principle of transparency in legislation on public control, in particular, in Article 6 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ dated 07/21/2014 "On the Basics public control in the Russian Federation" by dividing the already existing principle of openness and publicity into two separate principles: publicity and publicity, in other federal laws on public control, as well as in model laws of subjects of the Russian Federation, model normative legal acts of local governments devoted to the organization and implementation of public control at the level of Russian regions and municipalities, which should be approved by adopting appropriate federal laws; c) fixing in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as well as the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, the relevant legal structures providing for measures of criminal and administrative liability of persons for violation of publicity as a principle of public control; d) developing and consolidating a system of legal guarantees for the implementation of, protection and protection of the above-mentioned principle of public control, including the introduction of appropriate amendments and additions to the legislation of the country.