Legal Foundations of the Local Community in the Russian Federation: Concept, Structure, Forms of Interaction with Local Self-Government Bodies

Abstract

Introduction. In the light of the constitutional innovations of 2020 regarding the legal regulation of civil society as a whole, and in particular of its individual public law institutions, as well as the legal position of the Constitutional Court, formulated in a number of its resolutions and definitions, regarding the recognition of the local community as a source and subject of local self-government, the problem of legalization seems urgent the legal definition of “local community” in the current legislation. Theoretical Basis. Methods. The methodology of the study is largely determined by its goals, the main of which is to formulate a set of scientifically based conclusions about the concept based on a systematic legal analysis of various points of view of researchers, the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation regarding the place and role of the local community in the system of local self-government as its source and subject of implementation, the structure of the local community and the forms of its interaction with local self-government bodies and on their basis to develop practical recommendations for improving legislation in this area. The work uses general scientific methods (system analysis, dialectical, formal-logical) and special research methods (system-legal, comparative-legal, historical-legal, formal-legal). The application of these methods of scientific research makes it possible to determine the structure of the local community as an institution of civil society and a subject of local self-government, to identify intra-system connections, forms of interaction of the local community with local self-government bodies, patterns and trends corresponding to this process. Results. The theoretical, methodological, scientific and practical issues of defining the concept and structure of the local community, as well as the requirements imposed in the legislation to its elements in the face of organized associations of the population of the municipality are disclosed. A methodology has been developed for determining the grounds for classifying the forms of interaction of the local community with local self-government bodies depending on the forms of direct implementation of local self-government by the population, forms of participation of the population in the implementation of local self-government and forms of public control defined in the legislation. The criteria for determining the unity of the forms of interaction between the local community and local self-government bodies, enshrined in the Federal Law “On the General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation” and the Federal Law “On the Basics of Public Control in the Russian Federation” in solving issues of local importance, are analyzed. Discussion and Conclusion. The formation of a local community as a public legal institution of civil society, a subject and source of local self-government is a necessary condition on the path of its development as the basis of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation and one of the forms of democracy, which determines the advisability of introducing the legal term “local community” in current federal legislation.