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Legal and Political Implications of the 2020 Constitutional Reform — Anna Zotééva

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Legal and Political Implications of the 2020 Constitutional Reform — Anna Zotééva 5/2020 From the Russian Constitution to Putin’s Constitution: Legal and Political Implications of the 2020 Constitutional Reform — Anna Zotééva PUBLISHED BY THE SWEDISH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS | UI.SE Manuscript submitted for publication 25 October 2020. © 2020 The Swedish Institute of International Affairs Language editing: Andrew Mash Cover photo: TT NYHETSBYRÅN Introduction Section 1 describes changes to the system of checks and balances resulting from the constitutional reform. Section 2 examines Following a nationwide plebiscite, the the ideological innovations in the new Russian Constitution was amended on 1 July version of the Constitution and the laws 2020. Between January and March 2020 that followed from these. Section 3 there had been three modifications to the discusses the most recent changes to the constitutional amendment bill. The first was electoral law and section 4 draws wider a set of amendments concerned mostly conclusions from this survey. with the separation of powers, while the second was on family law and relations, religion and patriotism. The final set of Changes to the system of checks amendments contained the so-called reset and balances of President Putin’s presidential term, which allows him to remain in power until 2036. Before the plebiscite, various state The various amendments concerned very representatives argued that the aim of the different issues but were constructed as a constitutional reform was to achieve a more single reform, giving voters a choice to balanced separation of powers by support either all or none of them. strengthening the role of parliament. At first glance, the amendments to the A plebiscite was not constitutionally Constitution do to some extent re-distribute necessary and its implementation involved various competences of the president to the extensive procedural violations. The result is legislature and the government. For likely to have a significant effect on Russian instance, the State Duma (the lower legislation and the life of ordinary Russians. chamber of the Russian Parliament) now Some of the amendments could has the right to approve the candidate for presumably have a positive impact on the prime minister and his/her deputies. This is democratic process, such as the provision merely a change of wording, however, as that prevents the same person from serving the pre-reform text also provided for the a third term as president or the right of the Duma to “endorse” the future amendments strengthening economic and prime minister. If a candidate for prime cultural rights and the rights of people with minister is rejected, however, the disabilities. However, there are two major Constitution now states only that the downsides to the updated Constitution: a president may dissolve the State Duma. transformation of the previous system of He/she is no longer obliged to do so. That checks and balances in favour of the said, whereas before the president was president, including the reset of Putin’s entitled to appoint all ministers, the prime presidential term; and the ideologization of minister now has the authority to nominate the Russian Constitution. In addition to the some ministers for approval by the State constitutional reform, 2020 has also been Duma. characterized by extensive amendments to Russia’s electoral law, which can only be At the same time, however, other understood in the context of the concurrent amendments clearly strengthen the constitutional transformation. This brief president’s powers. First, the president now describes the most significant amendments has the right to appoint all of the main and analyses the consequences they are “siloviki” (literally: “people of force”), likely to have for future political meaning all the officials in charge of the developments. military, police, security services and other © 2020 The Swedish Institute of International Affairs 3 governmental bodies entitled to use force. Whereas most of these bills simply Second, the president now has the power to incorporate constitutional provisions into dismiss the judges of the Constitutional ordinary laws, some of them elaborate on Court and the Supreme Court – a them further. According to the law prerogative that threatens their professor, Elena Lukyanova, for example, a independence. The number of judges on the bill on the Constitutional Court seeks to Constitutional Court has been reduced from reduce the number of complaints to the 19 to 11, reducing turnover while Court and to make the Court less accessible encouraging homogeneity of opinion. to individual litigants. Finally, the new Constitution awards the Constitutional Court the right to judicial Contrary to the expectations of many preview, meaning the ability to examine bills pundits, the bill on the State Council does before they are passed. Tamara not cast more light on its role in Russia’s Morshchakova, a former judge on the new “post-constitutional” political reality, Constitutional Court, considers this as it is more vague than the current measure to be a de facto extension of the presidential decree on this topic. Thus, it is presidential power of veto vis-à-vis acts of not clear whether the Council is to make parliament. While the president cannot veto decisions by voting or by consensus. In bills that have been adopted in parliament addition, whereas the soon to be defunct by a qualified majority, or supermajority, it presidential decree details the composition will now be possible for him to forward a bill of the State Council, the president will now to the Constitutional Court, which can have the discretion to appoint anyone he declare it unconstitutional. Finally, the pleases to be a member. Thus, the bill could Constitution now mentions the State be described as a form of framework Council, which had previously been a legislation that leaves room for future consultative body of the President, the work political creativity. of which had been regulated by presidential decree. Many observers had seen the State The ideological amendments Council as Putin’s possible next career move after his current term of office ends in 2024. The Constitutional chapter on rights and The reset of his presidential term freedoms is written in a liberal manner and introduced in the new Constitution, is modelled on various international however, has made the purpose of the State instruments for securing human rights. Council less clear. However, a number of ideological amendments were added to the The reform of the system of checks and Constitution by means of the July plebiscite, balances in the new Constitution leading to obvious discrepancies between subsequently resulted in several bills that the original chapter on human rights, which amend ordinary legislation. As the new cannot be amended, and new ideological version of the Constitution has already been provisions in other chapters. adopted, there is no doubt that these bills implementing the constitutional provisions in legislation will also be passed soon. © 2020 The Swedish Institute of International Affairs 4 Ideological elements added to the Constitution: . Protection of Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity (art. 67 sec. 2.1), . Definition of Russia as the successor of the Soviet Union (art. 67.1 sec. 1), . Mentions of God and of a “historically developed state unity” (art. 67.1 sec. 2), . Protection of “historical truth” and a ban on “denigrating the significance of the deeds of the people who defended their Fatherland” (art. 67.1 sec. 3), . Children as a priority of the state policy and their patriotic upbringing (art. 67.1 sec. 4) . The Russian language as the language of “state-bearing people” (art. 68 sec. 1) . Culture as a unique heritage of Russia’s multicultural people (art. 68 sec. 4) . Support for cultural and linguistic pluralism as well of Russians abroad (art. 69 sec. 2 and 3) . Marriage as a union between a man and a woman (art. 72 sec. 1.ж.1) . Preservation of traditional family values (art. 114 sec. 1в) These distinctly ideological amendments following adoption of the new Constitution are seen by many as merely symbolic was to pass a number of bills on Russia’s political measures that will not necessarily “territorial integrity” and the ceding of its be implemented in full in ordinary territory. One bill, passed at the end of July legislation and that should not cause 2020, extended the definition of extremist significant policy modifications “on the activities to comprise “alienation of part of ground”. However, two new sets of bills the territory of the Russian Federation”. closely associated with the ideological Other bills propose administrative as well as provisions in the new Constitution were criminal penalties for “public calls submitted to parliament shortly after the challenging the territorial integrity of the plebiscite in July. These bills concern the so- Russian Federation”. They also propose called ban on ceding territory, and family criminal liability for “violations of territorial law. The choice of amendments that the integrity” or concrete actions aimed at the Russian legislature decided to implement ceding Russian territory. The legislation in through ordinary legislation illustrates the latter bills has not yet been passed. which issues are most important to the current political elite. The first two sets of There were no legal reasons for the bills submitted to parliament following the introduction of a constitutional amendment constitutional amendments and their to protect Russia’s “territorial integrity”. implications for the life of ordinary Russians Since its first adoption in 1993, the are discussed below. Constitution has contained a clause stating that Russia’s territorial integrity must be The ban on ceding territory respected. This provision is also supported The new version of the Constitution by sanctions in the criminal code. However, introduced a ban on actions and calls for the amendments make the concept of actions “with the intention of alienating part ceding territory more explicit in Russian of the territory of the Russian Federation”.
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