Constitutional-legal conditions for application of international treaties of the Russian Federation

Abstract

This article discusses the questions of application of international treaties concluded on behalf of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation, federal executive branches, or authorized organizations. The subject of this research is the constitutional norms of the Russian Federation and other normative legal acts that regulate the procedure for concluding, executing and terminating the international treaties of the Russian Federation, legal provisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, as well as scientific works on the topic. Special attention is given to the analysis of the constitutional principle that the international treaties of the Russian Federation are part of the legal system of the country. The author reveals the gaps in the current legislation of the Russian Federation specifying the constitutional provisions on the conditions for application of international treaties in the Russian Federation. It is established that the 2020 constitutional reform has improved the mechanism for protecting state sovereignty, and led to formulation of the constitutional-legal condition for application of the decisions of intergovernmental bodies adopted based on the provisions of international treaties of the Russian Federation. The article makes recommendations for the improvement of constitutional-legal regulation of application of international treaties of the Russian Federation. The conclusion is drawn on the existence of mandatory (compliance of the international treaty with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, its formalization, enactment, and consent to its universal binding), as well as optional (publication of domestic acts for application of the international treaty) constitutional-legal conditions for application of international treaties of the Russian Federation.