Issues of Assessing the Constitutionality of Transitional Normative Regulation (Based on the Practice of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation)

Abstract

The article analyzes the practice of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on the issues of checking the constitutionality of transitional legal norms. These issues have not previously been the subject of a special study. Meanwhile, the establishment of transitional regulation is a widely used technique in rule-making activities. Its significance lies in ensuring the stability of the position of participants in the relevant legal relations in the context of changes in legal regulation, when the risks associated with legal uncertainty objectively increase. The Constitutional Court considers the requirement of legal certainty as one of the manifestations of the principle of the rule of law, which is the basis for assessing the constitutionality of both normative regulation in general and transitional normative provisions in particular. At the same time, an analysis of the practice of judicial constitutional normative control makes it possible to identify the legal opinions of the Constitutional Court, which formulate specific criteria for assessing the constitutionality of transitional regulation. In particular, the fundamental importance is emphasized – including in the context of the reform of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 2020 – of the legal opinion of the Constitutional Court, according to which, when changing the legal regulation, the principle of maintaining citizens› trust in the law and the actions of the state must be observed, which implies, among other things, the inadmissibility making arbitrary changes to the existing system of norms. The need to continue the study of the issue of the criteria for resolving by the Constitutional Court of issues of compliance with the Constitution of transitional legal norms is emphasized. The task of developing an appropriate methodology seems to be very relevant given the widespread practice of establishing transitional norms as part of the intensive updating of legal regulation in the country.