Democratism as a Basic Principle for Legislative Processes on Russia’s Federal Territories

Abstract

Democratism is a key principle of constitutional and legal regulation of all innovations in the legislative process. Public authorities of Russia’s federal territories need guarantees for their participation in the legislative process. The legal status of the Sirius Federal Territory remains dubious, which violates the rights of its residents to participate in solving national issues. The principle of democratism is violated when its forms are implemented by public authorities of the federal territory. A balance of interests between society and the state would be achieved if citizens could exercise their legislative rights, directly or through representative bodies of public authority. First, guarantees should be established in the norms of the general effect; second, a procedure should be elaborated on regulatory legal acts, depending on the region and its status. A legislative process is not only a set of forms of activity that turns a legislative idea into a draft law. It also presupposes the implementation of this process based on constitutional principles, i.e., democratism. This principle should become comprehensive since it provides all subjects with equal participation in the legislative process. In addition, democratism encourages all residents and /or representative bodies for such participation. As a result, it should not be subjected to restrictions depending on the type of territory. If guarantees for the implementation of the legislative initiative right are violated in the legislative process, they can be regulated by federal legislation. This procedure could help residents of the Sirius Federal Territory and extend these guarantees to identical territories, e.g., closed administrative-territorial entities, university towns, etc. The ultimate effectiveness of the legislative process depends on democratism.