Self-Regulation as an Alternative Mechanism of Private Governance and Dispute Resolution in Russia and Kazakhstan

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The article seeks to explore self-regulation as an innovative, effective legal mechanism of private governance of any economic or professional activity and dispute resolution, which aims to substitute state regulation and thereby limit state interference in the economy. The research methodology consists of the critical analysis of scholars’ publications, different legislative acts and judicial practice of their enforcement in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan as well as finding legal uncertainties and gaps and making solutions for their settlement in the sphere in question. Special attention is paid to the comparative method. On the examples of the law of these two countries, it is argued that self-regulation as such lays down the freedom of economic activity guaranteed in the constitutional, business and other legislative provisions and stipulates uniting the subjects of economic or professional activity within a self-regulatory organization mainly under the scope of corporate law. It includes (a) setting standards and other rules for pursuing any economic or professional activity by members of a self-regulatory organization; (b) monitoring compliance with such requirements and applying different alternative methods of resolution of legal disputes with the participation of its members. Such corporate normative acts adopted by non-governmental actors are suggested to be recognized as a specific type of source of private law to be clearly enshrined in the present legislation of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan. Unlike recommendatory documents of most non-profit organizations, they are mandatory and can be enforced through legal instruments determined in the special legislation on self-regulation. It allows the proper balance of private and public interests under the joint state and private governance of economic and professional activities. The article also stipulates enlarging the application of self-regulation to digital and other new spheres, which require a lot of rules to be adopted.