KAZAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW Volume 2, Winter 2017, Number 4 Journal President: Ildar Tarkhanov (Kazan Federal University, Russia) Journal Editor-in-Chief: Damir Valeev (Kazan Federal University, Russia) International Editorial Council: Russian Editorial Board: Sima Avramović Aslan Abashidze (University of Belgrade, Serbia) (Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Susan W. Brenner Russia) (University of Dayton School of Law, USA) Adel Abdullin William E. Butler (Kazan Federal University, Russia) (Pennsylvania State University, USA) Lilia Bakulina Michele Caianiello (Kazan Federal University, Russia) (University of Bologna, Italy) Igor Bartsits Peter C.H. Chan (The Russian Presidental Academy (City University of Hong Kong, China) of National Economy and Public Hisashi Harata Administration, Russia) (University of Tokyo, Japan) Ruslan Garipov Tomasz Giaro (Kazan Federal University, Russia) (University of Warsaw, Poland) Vladimir Gureev Haluk Kabaalioğlu (Russian State University of Justice (Yeditepe University, Turkey) (RLA Russian Justice Ministry), Russia) Gong Pixiang Pavel Krasheninnikov (Nanjing Normal University, China) (State Duma of the Russian Federation, William E. Pomeranz Russia) (Kennan Institute, USA) Valery Lazarev Ezra Rosser (The Institute of Legislation (American University Washington College of Law, USA) and Comparative Law under the Government George Rutherglen of the Russian Federation, Russia) (University of Virginia, USA) Ilsur Metshin Franz Jürgen Säcker (Kazan Federal University, Russia) (Free University of Berlin, Germany) Anatoly Naumov Paul Schoukens (Academy of the Prosecutor's Office (KU Leuven, Belgium) of the Russian Federation, Russia) Carlos Henrique Soares Zavdat Safin (Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, Brazil) (Kazan Federal University, Russia) Jean-Marc Thouvenin Evgeniy Vavilin (Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense University, France) (Saratov State Academy of Law, Russia) KAZAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW . Volume 2, Winter 2017, Number 4 KAZAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW Volume 2, Winter 2017, Number 4 Journal executive secretaries: Marat Zagidullin (Kazan Federal University, Russia) Jarosław Turłukowski (University of Warsaw, Poland) Editor of English texts: Natalia Samoilova (the University of St. Andrews, Scotland) Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief: Elena Bazilevskikh (Kazan Federal University, Russia) Journal team: Rustem Davletgildeev, Ruslan Sitdikov, Ivan Korolev, Maxim Voronin, Marat Shamsutdinov, Ramil Gayfutdinov, Ivan Novikov, Iskander Asatullin, Durmishkhan Afkhazava, Nikita Makolkin, Murat Kamarov, Kamilla Khabipova, Alina Astafyeva, Anastasiia Bychkova, Olga Anisova, Tatiana Shishkina, Suyumbika Nigmatullina, Iuliia Ustkachkintseva. «KAZAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW» ISSN 2541-8823 (registered by The Federal Service The reprint of materials of the journal for Supervision of Communications, “Kazan University Law Review” is allowed Information Technology only with the consent of the Publisher. and Mass Communications in Russia Link to the source publication is obligatory. on 17 November 2016 The Publisher or the Editor’s office does not render (certificate number PI № FS 77-67763 information and consultations and does not enter (ПИ № ФС 77-67763)) into correspondence. Manuscripts can not be returned. The Founder and the Publisher Publication: are not responsible for the content of four issues per year (one issue per quarter) advertisements and announcements. Opinions expressed in the contributions are those Editorial office: of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the room 326, 18 Kremlyovskaya St., official view of the organizations they are affiliated KAZAN, 420008 Russia with or this publication. KAZAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW . Volume 2, Winter 2017, Number 4 Dear Readers, I would like to present for your attention the fourth regular issue of the Kazan University Law Review, final in 2017. This issue of the journal, which is now lying in front of you, presents articles on topical problems of theory and practice of Russian and foreign law. The opening article is written by our great teacher, Professor Boris Zheleznov, one of the authors of the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan, an outstanding scholar and lecturer of the University of Kazan (Russia). In his article, Professor Zheleznov elaborates on the history of formation of the modern status of republics in the 1990s in Russia. It is very valuable that this material is presented in the first person, from the point of view of the direct participant in the modern constitutional process taking into account the author’s own memories as well as the archival documents. The next article written by our colleague, a remarkable graduate of the University of Kazan and now the pro-rector and professor of Saratov State Law Academy, Evgeny Vavilin (Russia) is devoted to the fundamental question of the principles of civil law. It is very important that the article analyzes the content and functional purpose, the role of the main principles of civil legislation, identifies the problems associated with their non-compliance in the process of legalization and enforcement. Comparing the system of civil law principles of Russia and China, the author reveals the uniqueness of the two legal orders and the general developmental tendencies, analyzes the most urgent problems related to both the imperfection of the system of principles and the lack of a mechanism for their implementation in civil law relations. Of international nature are the science of notarial law and contiguous with it the civil procedural doctrine, which are very extensively presented in the article of the assistant professor of the University of Kazan Marat Zagidullin (Russia). In the Russian legal reality, the system of control over the activities of notaries and the institution of their responsibility has undergone significant changes in recent years. These changes are generally of positive nature and among others include the following: the Code of Professional Ethics for Notaries in the Russian Federation was approved, a multi-level system for reimbursing property damages and liability insurance, increased insurance amounts, increased criminal liability, etc. At the same time, there is a presumably large number of latent offenses by notaries performing inexpensive or insignificant notarial acts that is a consequence of the ineffectiveness of traditional means of control and KAZAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW . Volume 2, Winter 2017, Number 4 measures of liability of notaries provided by law. To solve the above problems, the author of the article suggests rather interesting solutions including the introduction at the legislative level of other, non-traditional means of control and responsibility of notaries, such as a unified rating system and detailed statistics of each notary’s activity and based on it a strict system of fines and other measures of responsibility, as well as a system of instant response to complaints from citizens and organizations. In the “Commentaries” section we present an interesting comparative legal study of our colleague from the Research Center of East European and Central Asian Law, the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw, Patrick Kalinowski (Poland), examining legal issues related to the real estate trade in Poland. As for the content of the article, it should be noted that in the introduction the author presents the concept of real estate trade within the framework of the doctrine of agricultural law and the definition of agricultural real estate. Then he shows the main institutions of real estate law comparing them to the institutions of civil law and others. Special attention is paid to specific norms of agricultural law related to the sale of agricultural real estate, which are perceived as controversial. The author refers to these provisions as more advanced provisions of the Constitution of Poland and the European Union. To complete the practical section of the current issue, we present “Conference Reviews” that contain materials of our colleagues from Kazan on the events held at the University of Kazan and University of Nanjing (China) in the autumn and winter of 2017: Review of the 13th International Scientific Conference “Derzhavin Readings” (Kazan Federal University , September 21-23, 2017, Kazan, Russia) and Review of the annual international symposium: “The development of the Rule-of-Law in the Processing of Modernization” (Nanjing Normal University, October 20-21, 2017, Nanjing, China ). Dear readers, the final issue of 2017 falls on New Year’s and Christmas holidays. Let me express my sincere gratitude for our joint work. We are glad to have all of you as our authors and readers and we hope to serve you in the new year as well. Have an amazing 2018! With best regards, Editor-in-Chief Damir Valeev KAZAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW . Volume 2, Winter 2017, Number 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Damir Valeev (Kazan, Russia) Welcoming remark of the Editor-in-Chief ...........................................................3 ARTICLES: Boris Zheleznov (Kazan, Russia) The historical formation of the present status of the republics in the 1990s in Russia ...............................................................................................6 Evgeny Vavilin (Saratov, Russia) Principles of Civil Law of Russia and China ....................................................... 26 Marat Zagidullin (Kazan, Russia) Types of legal liability of the notary: actual problems ...................................... 42 COMMENTARIES: Patryk