ISSUES OF CONSTITUTIONALISM IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROJECTS OF THE XIX CENTURY IN RUSSIA

Abstract

The article is devoted to domestic constitutional projects of the XIX cen tury and above all, the practically unexplored issue of the nature of the regulation of the institutions of constitutionalism in them. We also note that these issues were in the focus of attention of foreign scientists. But they also did not concentrate on reflecting the problems of constitutionalism in them. It is indicated that, unlike some constitutional projects of the second half of the XVIII century. 19th century projects were voluminous, fundamental, prepared at a higher theoretical level. All these documents reflected the interests of various segments of the population, representatives of various kinds of legal thought, and mainly monarchy, liberalism, and revolutionary movements. Hence, in principle, there was a different approach to the regulation of constitutionalism, although at that time they did not think about it. In this regard, the conclusion is drawn that monarchist projects were embellished with tsarism. Only some of them mentioned such institutions of constitutionalism as representation, status of an individual, and law. Most of them are only proposals for the creation of various kinds of deliberative bodies, which were not endowed with any authority. Liberals are also advocates of only restricting the monarchy peacefully. They are for the constitution, constitutional monarchy, popular representation. Representatives of the revolutionary movement called for the elimination of serfdom, tsarism, the republican form of government. Their projects featured such institutions of constitutionalism as the constitution, separation of powers, popular representation, the individual and, above all, its rights and freedoms, legality, and self-government. In preparing the article, three main scientific methods were primarily used — dogmatic, historical-legal, comparative-legal.