Law-Making Initiative of Citizens in the Subjects of the Russian Federation: Problems and Prospects

Abstract

One of the forms of citizens' participation in solving issues of national importance in the subjects of the Russian Federation is the law-making initiative of citizens. The concept of "citizens' law-making initiative" is understood as the right for citizens of the Russian Federation who have an active electoral right in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation to submit draft normative legal acts to public authorities. According to the legislative (representative) body of state power of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, in order to implement a law-making initiative by citizens of the Russian Federation, it is possible to submit a draft Charter of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation and a draft law of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. This article is considered to identify and characterize the factors that influence the actual implementation of the legislative right of the law-making initiative of citizens. The author confirms the importance of self-governing rights of citizens for the development of a democratic state and establishes the need to increase the effectiveness of the implementation of the law-making initiative of citizens in the regions of Russia, including those by improving the existing legal regulation. As a result of the comparative legal analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that the lack of law enforcement practice at the moment indicates the formal nature of this institution of direct democracy, and the identified problems of implementing law-making initiatives in the subjects of the Russian Federation are due not only to the insufficiency of legal regulation, but also social and economic mechanisms. The author has prepared and formulated recommendations on changing the current legislation, which will contribute to the popularization and introduction of the considered form of direct democracy into public power, taking into account current public interests and modern technical capabilities.